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City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 7/15/2011

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Category: Weekly Info Bulletins
Published on Friday, 15 July 2011 01:00

July 15, 2011
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

  • Neighborhood Association Meetings Relocated to City Hall: Currently, three neighborhood associations meet at “Station 20” which is the West Pierce Fire and Rescue’s station on Pacific Highway. For the next two to three months, this station will be unavailable for these meetings. The Northeast and Lakeview Area neighborhood associations have therefore scheduled their July meetings at city hall in room 1E at 7 pm on July 19th and 6 pm on 28th respectively. The meeting locations for the six City-recognized neighborhood associations can be found under the “Weekly Meeting Schedule” link at www.cityoflakewood.us under “Regular Meetings.”
  • Camp Murray Gate Update: The City has announced a meeting at the Tillicum Community Center for Tuesday, July 19th from 7-9 pm, to provide an update on the Camp Murray Gate situation. Citizens are encouraged to attend to learn more about this issue that affects the Tillicum neighborhood and our military neighbors
  • Springbrook Playground Program: This FREE neighborhood program at Springbrook Park is sponsored by the Lakewood First Lions and St. Leo’s Food Connection and has provided nearly 300 free lunches in the first two weeks. Located at 12601 Addison Street SW in the area commonly referred to as “McChord Gate” offers games and activities for children and youth in addition to the lunch program. The Lions Club provides funding support for city parks and recreation staff to organize sport activities, board games and arts & crafts. St. Leo’s provides the free lunches through the USDA Summer Food Service Program. Bag lunches are served between 12:00-12:30pm for youth and children, 18 years old and younger. The lunch must be eaten on site and cannot be taken outside of the park. This is a drop-in program for children and youth that originated out of a federal Weed & Seed grant. This program helps to provide 3 of the 5 promises in Lakewood’s Promise: Caring Adults, Safe Places and a Healthy Start.
  • Parks & Recreation “Camp Create”: Campers were mixing and making delicious treats this week at Camp Create. Campers made banana pops, dirty wormy sundaes and took a trip to Dominos on Bridgeport where they toured the store and made their very own small pizzas. This was all on top of the fun that they had swimming, playing games and creating pieces of art to take home. Next week’s theme is “We are the Champions” and campers will have fun playing sports, learning new games and have a fun day at Harry Lang Stadium.

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 7/8/2011

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Category: Weekly Info Bulletins
Published on Friday, 08 July 2011 13:00

July 8, 2011
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

  • I-5 Construction this Weekend: WSDOT continues improvements to I-5 through Lakewood this weekend that may significantly delay traffic. Here is an excerpt from their press release yesterday: “Ramp and lane closures this weekend on Interstate 5 in Lakewood promise two things: first, summer weekend traffic could be horrific and second, the I-5 Clover Creek Bridge project is almost complete.” Learn more at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2011/07/07_I5CloverCreeknorthbound+Closure.htm
  • Summer Concert Series Kick Off: On Tuesday, July 5th, “Locust Street Taxi” kicked off the City’s summer concert series under a warm, blue sky at American Lake Park. Staff sent out a press release earlier this week to regionally promote these concerts since there are few venues that offer similar combinations of quality bands and beautiful scenery at no cost. The summer concert schedule can be found at www.cityoflakewood.us under “latest news and events.”
  • Shoreline Master Program Update: The Planning Advisory Board (PAB) was provided the first set of revisions to the draft Shoreline Master Program and introduced to a draft Cumulative Impact Analysis on July 6, 2011. The proposed revisions to the Shoreline Master Program reflect comments received from the original document made available to the public in January of 2011. Both of these documents will be available to the public, via the City’s website at http://www.cityoflakewood.us/departments/community-development/shoreline-master-plan-update.html . If you have further questions pertaining to the update of the Shoreline Master Program or you would like to be placed on the mailing list, please contact Marc Amrine at (253) 983-7753, or at the following email address .
  • Senior Activity Center Wild Horse Wind Farm Trip: Members of the Lakewood Senior Activity Center recently rode a bus to Ellensburg for lunch at the Roadside Inn and then hit the road again and arrived at their destination at the Wild Horse Wind Farm. The Wild Horse Wind Farm is a 229-megawatt farm built by Puget Sound Energy that consists of 149 1.8-megawatt Vestas V80 turbines on a 9,560-acre site located 15 miles east of Ellensburg on Whiskey Dick Mountain. Members were treated to an informative presentation and a tour of the site’s 350 foot tall turbines and 2,408 solar energy panels.

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 6/17/2011

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Category: Weekly Info Bulletins
Published on Friday, 17 June 2011 16:48

June 17, 2011
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

  • City hosts Military Contractors Workshop: The City held a Military Contractors Workshop on June 16th, featuring information and resources for companies interested in contracting with the military and other federal agencies. The workshop was attend by over 200 people from a variety of Lakewood, Pierce County, Thurston and King County firms and was held in the City Council chambers. The response to the workshop was very positive, and over 110 firms signed up for the drawing that was held for two follow-on workshops to be held over the next four weeks. The follow-on workshops are to aid firms in signing up for the registrations and numbers needed to begin the process of entering data bases and referral networks for future contracts, and will be held in the City's training room.
  • Lakewood 101: The first session of "Lakewood 101", an overview of city government, was presented to a "class" of 29 citizens on June 16th. The speakers included the city manager and a number of department directors.
  • LPD's 1,000th DWLS/DUI impound: Congratulations to Officer Ryan Moody, who caught the 1000th DWLS/DUI offender in the new emphasis program to enhance the safety of our streets.
  • Staff attends Washington Economic Development Conference: At the Washington Economic Development Conference this week Ellie Chambers-Grady, Linda Nguyen of Workforce Central, and Susan Suess of the Economic Development Board presented "Roasters, Soldiers, and Scientist's" -- the Pierce County Job Creation Model. The conference was partially funded by a Department of Labor Grant to feature best practices of Workforce and Economic Development partners working together to further economic growth and job creation in their area, and the team was selected to do the presentation. The conference presentations were filmed and will be uploaded to a Department of Labor website along with the white papers on the various topics.
  • Seven Youth Complete the Counselor In Training Program: Seven youth ages 13-17 completed Counselor in Training certification through the Parks, Recreation and Community Services CIT program. These youth learned about leadership, customer services and how to work with children in camps and other programs. They also received their CPR/First Aid certification. After completing their training they are offered opportunities to apply what they have learned through volunteer experiences in programs and classes offered by they Parks, Recreation and Community Services department.

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 6/24/2011

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Category: Weekly Info Bulletins
Published on Friday, 24 June 2011 01:00

June 24, 2011
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

  • Don't miss Lakewood SummerFEST 2011: Don't miss Lakewood SummerFEST 2011 at Fort Steilacoom Park. This event will kick off Saturday, June 25th at Noon. Admission is free and there are lots of activities for the whole family to enjoy including live performances on two stages, over 100 food, art and crafts and service vendors, Army Strong Fitness Expo, a three-on-three basketball tournament sponsored by the Seattle Storm, Partners for Parks Car Show, KIDZ Zone attraction, a soccer tournament and so much more. We will end the day with our movie at dusk, presented by Comcast, this year we are showing "How to Train Your Dragon." On Sunday will be Army Strong's free 5K fun run. For more information check out www.lakewoodsummerfest.com or call (253) 983-7887.
  • SHB Estates Project: The City has received an application for a proposed subdivision at 11604 and 11608 Interlaaken Drive SW (the "SHB Estates" project). The project site is zoned Residential Three (R3). The proposal will subdivide approximately seven acres into 33 single-family residential lots. The proposed lots range in size from 7,501 square feet to 9,851 square feet. A public hearing has been scheduled for July 6, 2011, before the City's hearing examiner. The decision on this project will be made by the hearing examiner and may be appealed to the Superior Court; the matter will not be on the Council's agenda.
  • Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Annual Meeting: Councilmembers Moss, Neary, and Whalen, along with the city manager, and assistant city attorney Mike Savage attended the AWC annual conference in Spokane this week with about 400 participants representing cities around the state. AWC has all 281 cities and towns in the State as members. Conference sessions covered numerous subjects ranging from civility in City Hall to community vision-setting to budget issues to public records. The city manager was a speaker with a presentation titled "When a Community Faces Tragedy -- Leading the Healing Process". The City of Lakewood also received a Municipal Excellence award for its CSRT (Community Safety & Resources Team) program.
  • 2011 Support Staff Conference: The City was a sponsoring agency for a training conference on a wide variety of topics on June 22-23 at the CPTC. Sessions included the Importance of Teams, Success Habits, Conflict Resolution, Customer Service Skills, Meeting Minutes Made Easy. There were over 250 attendees from 14 other public entities, including six cities and counties.
  • Senior Activity Center hosts vouchers for farmers markets: The Lakewood Senior Activity Center partnered with Pierce County Aging and Long Term Care to help distribute Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Vouchers. The program is funded by the US Department of Agriculture, State of Washington, and Pierce County. The check vouchers are valid at farmers markets and provide fruits and vegetables for lower income seniors and supports local farming by increasing the use of these farmers markets and roadside stands. The Center distributed 50 vouchers this year to seniors in our community.
  • CSRT presents at Crime Free Housing Class and Rape Aggression Defense Training: CSRT member Randy Richards spoke at the Crime Free Housing Class on June 15th on the topic of code enforcement, including information on junk vehicles, property maintenance, sign code violations, business license enforcement and mandatory garbage service. The class is presented annually to new apartment managers and owners, and successful completion of the course results in certification of apartment complexes. Lt. Steve Mauer, and CSO Gail Conelly, along with Sr. Animal Control Officer Buck conducted RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) Training for 18 students this week. This 12 hour/4 day class includes a Dynamic Simulation, where the students are able to practice their newly learned skills.
  • Police station tour for Scouts: On June 13th CSRT Staff CSO Gail Conelly conducted a tour of the police station and assisted 14 Boy Scouts from Troop 148 complete their Fingerprinting Merit Badge. The Scouts learned about the different types of fingerprints, the difference between civil and criminal printing, the history of fingerprinting, as well as being fingerprinted themselves. The Scouts learned a lot, as did the parents who joined them.
  • Staff attends assembly at Lakeview Hope Academy: CSRT Staff CSOs Gail Conelly and Mike Miller attended the end of year assembly on June 20th at Lakeview Hope Academy. During the assembly, they handed out certificates of appreciation to all Safety Patrol Team members, as well as photographs of the Safety Patrol Team. CSO's Conelly and McGinnis assisted the Safety Patrol Advisor, Myra Johnson, in training the Safety Patrol Team at the beginning of the school year.

City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 6/10/2011

Details
Category: Weekly Info Bulletins
Published on Friday, 10 June 2011 11:28

June 10, 2011
WEEKLY INFO BULLETIN
To: Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Andrew Neiditz, City Manager

  • Lakewood 101-June 16th: The Lakewood 101 debut will be conducted Thursday, June 16th from 6-8:30pm in the Council Chambers. Lakewood citizens are encouraged to attend and learn more about core city services such as streets, parks, and police and about the exciting challenges of economic redevelopment. Please consider participating in this new and informative "short course" in city government. Refreshments will be served at 5:30pm when the doors open. To RSVP, please contact Rebecca Hendricks at 983-7829 or .
  • Fort Steilacoom Off-Leash Dog Park Named Best of the South Sound: Fort Steilacoom's 22-Acre off-leash dog park was named "Best of the South Sound 2011" by South Sound Magazine. This area of the park continues to be a major draw for visiting dogs and their owners every day.
  • Councilmember Neary Recognized: Councilmember Walter Neary was recently recognized for his leadership in working with young people as a "2011 Governor's Leadership for Youth Award Recipient" during a ceremony in Lacey. For more information, visit www.cityoflakewood.us or the City's Facebook page.
  • Lakewood Senior Activity Center Open House: The Lakewood Senior Activity Center celebrated its Annual Open House, Thursday, June 2nd. The "Greatest Show on Earth" was enjoyed by almost 200 participants. Forty community partners attended including the Lakewood Police Department, West Pierce Fire & Rescue, Catholic Community Services, Pierce County Aging & Long Term Care and others that offer services for older adults. The Center also showcased the many of their programs: Art Classes, Health and Fitness Classes and Computer classes, and more. Participants enjoyed circus-themed refreshments, entertainment, and prizes.
  • Tyee Park After-School Program: This collaborative program developed from the Healthy Start Task Force of America's Promise held their last day of activities on Tuesday, June 7th. Activities included a healthy snack, a spirited relay race competition utilizing addition flash cards, jumping jacks, push-ups, sit-ups and running. The program was made possible by a grant from the Tacoma/Pierce County Health Department with the goal of increasing the amount of physical activity in young people.
  • Lakewood Community Collaboration: The Lakewood Community Collaboration hosted their annual celebration and quarterly joint collaboration with the Military Kids and Families Partnership on Wednesday, June 08, 2011. Over 65 social service partners attended. The objective is to increase collaborative opportunities for those serving our military community.
  • Staff attend Housing Forum: Staff attended the quarterly Tacoma/Pierce County Affordable Housing Consortium forum on Wednesday, which focused on the Foreclosure Fairness Act newly adopted by the state legislature. The law takes effect July 22nd and offers an intermediate mediation process for homeowners confronted with potential foreclosure. Washington is one of only three states in the nation with this requirement that is intended to improve communication between homeowners and their lenders in the hope of reaching a resolution outside of actual foreclosure. For more information, please visit http://www.commerce.wa.gov/site/1367/default.aspx
  • CSRT Supports Training to Thwart Bank Robberies: On June 2nd, Community Service Officers Miller and Conelly assisted Officers Devaney and Porche in conducting training on how to respond to bank robbery attempts for America's Credit Union - JBLM branch. The training was designed by the FBI to increase the knowledge and awareness of bank and credit union employees when dealing with robbery attempts.
  • Aggressive Begging Ordinance Update: City staff continues preparations to implement this ordinance adopted by the Council in April. The amendments place new limitations on place, time, and location of begging. A pamphlet was developed that explains the modified ordinance and provides resource information for those in need. This pamphlet is currently being handed out by patrol officers to those they see begging in Lakewood so they understand the changes prior to actual enforcement of the ordinance. Begging at major intersections on major arterials, and off and on ramps to the freeway, as well as within 25 feet of ATM's is now prohibited. On July 3rd, officers will begin enforcing all components of the ordinance. The full statute can be found at http://municode.cityoflakewood.us under Chapter 9A.04.

More Articles...

  1. City Manager's Weekly Info Bulletin 6/3/2011
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