Politics & Government

Infobullets: Transit Art, SummerFEST Success and Top Honors For Lakewood Cops

Here is Interim City Manager Heidi Wachter's weekly report.

Council Meetings:

The City Council's next study session is scheduled for Monday, July 22, 2013 beginning at 7 p.m., in the City Hall Council Chambers located at 6000 Main Street SW. City Council agenda items will be:

  1. Update on economic development strategies
  2. Joint meeting with the Redevelopment Advisory Board
  3. Review of proposed code amendment relative to firearm ranges
  4. Endorsing the Pierce County Library System as a non-city entity to participate in the Association of Washington Cities Employee Benefit Trust.

On Monday, Aug. 5, at 5:30 p.m., the City Council will tour the Clover Park Technical College Health and Sciences Facility building. Following the tour, the City Council will hold its regular meeting beginning at 7 p.m., in the Clover Park Technical College Rotunda located at 4500 Steilacoom Blvd. SW Building #3. City Council agenda items will be:

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  1. Approving proposed code amendment relative to firearm ranges
  2. Endorsing the Pierce County Library System as a non-city entity to participate in the Association of Washington Cities Employee Benefit Trust
  3. Proclamation recognizing Dr. John Walstrum for dedicated services as President of Clover Park Technical College
  4. Proclamation recognizing the Lakewood Library’s 50th anniversary.
Council Recognizes the Best of the South Sound winners

At the Monday, July 15 Council meeting, the following people were recognized for being “Best of The South Sound” winners:

  1. Dr. Amber Marie Thiessen
  2. Chambers Creek Veterinary Hospital
  3. Ms. Vicky Nelson
  4. Harborstone Credit Union
  5. Ms. Barb Williams
  6. Infusion Interior Design
  7. Mary Dodsworth, City of Lakewood Parks and Recreation Director, who was recognized for being a Best Pet Park of the South Sound winner.
Parks Update:New Art Exhibit

The City Hall rotating art exhibit is featuring student art from the Clover Park School District this quarter. The artwork is done in a variety of mediums and showcases the outstanding talent of our local students. The exhibit has been installed in the first floor elevator alcove area and will be displayed until the end of September.

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Transit Connector Project art installation

Artwork commissioned by the Lakewood Arts Commission was installed on the gateway arch at the Transit Connector Project this week. The five oversized Garry Oak leaves were created by artist David Eisenhour to represent the native fauna associated with our community.

SummerFEST Success!

Our two day SummerFEST festival concluded on Sunday evening July 14 around 7 p.m. A glorious sunny weekend created a festive park setting humming with excitement. Over 75 public market vendors and 20 food vendors provided a variety of things to see, eat and buy. Families enjoyed the two stages of entertainment, a soccer tournament and Police, Fire, Army Strong and community displays. Over 1,000 children played in the KidZone and more than 130 cars were displayed at the Partners for Parks car show. Young and old enjoyed The Princess Bride, our Comcast/Xfinity outdoor movie in the park. This annual event brings our community and guests together to celebrate Lakewood.

SummerFEST Triathlon

Over 130 athletes swam, rode and ran on Sunday, July 14 at Lakewood’s second annual SummerFEST Triathlon. We are thankful to the City of Lakewood and South Sound Sports for their overall coordination and support of this event. We couldn’t have done this without our presenting sponsor St. Clare Hospital and all our partners: Army Strong Recruiting, YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties, West Pierce Fire and Rescue, JBLM Air Force and Army staff, Lakewood Parks, Recreation and Community Services and Police Department staff, Tacoma Maritime Institute and Sea Scouts, Town of Steilacoom, Pierce County, JBLM and DuPont communities, Franciscan Health System volunteers and all the others who volunteered their time to support the activities before, during and after the event. Creating a healthy and vibrant community where opportunities abound is our vision and Sunday we made that vision come true! Check out the great photos at Triathlon photos .

Legal Update:

During the week of July 8- July 12, 2013 the Cities of Lakewood and University Place received 31 cases for review by the Prosecutor. Of these, 10 charges were filed in Court. This is in addition to the in-custody cases already filed for both cities.

Annual Police Awards Ceremony and Commissioning

On Wednesday, July 17th, the Lakewood Police Department held its Annual Awards Ceremony and Commissioning where we honored both officers and office staff for their hard work and dedication to the Lakewood Police Department, the City of Lakewood and citizens.

Commissioning

  • Officer Jessica Vanzant
  • Officer Skylar Eastman
  • Officer Jordan Feldman
  • K9 Kira (Inv. Conlon)
  • K9 Kona (Ofcr. Syler)
  • K9 Ranger (Ofcr. Czuleger)
  • Detective Christopher Bowl
  • CCO Sean Dunn

Medal of Distinguished Service: Awarded to Officer Joseph Kolp and Officer Paul Osness for an act that involved significant risk to the life of the employee.

Medal of Meritorious Service: Awarded to Investigator Jeffery Hall for demonstrating exceptional performance that involved no significant risk to the life of the employee and is performed above and beyond the call of duty.

Life Saving Award: Awarded to Officer Joseph Kolp, Michael McGettigan, Detective Rey Punzalan, Officer Phil Davis, and Officer Nick McClelland for an act that attempted to and/or resulted in saving the life of another.

Police Chief’s Commendation: Awarded to Sergeant Andy Estes, Officer Daniel Tenney, Detective Bryan Johnson, Officer Jason Cannon, Officer Jeffrey Carroll, Lieutenant Stephan Mauer, Officer Brian Markert, Officer Michael Wiley and Christine Badger with West Pierce Fire & Rescue, and to Investigator Peter Johnson for highly professional conduct or performance.

Police Chief’s Citation: Awarded to Officer John Babcock, Sharron Kanter and Victory Christian Ministries for significant contributions to the police-community relations or for aiding in the prevention of a crime and/or providing safety to the community.

Police Chief’s Core Value Award: Awarded to Officer Vince Sivankeo, Sergeant Andy Gildehaus, Sergeant Chris Westby, Erica Meeks, Dallas Allen, and Officer Dave Butts for exemplary representation of our Core Values: Integrity – Dedication – Teamwork - Competence – Courage – Respect.

Volunteer Century Awards: The following were recognized for over 100 hours of service with the Lakewood Police Department during our Awards Year (July 2012 to July 2013.)

  • Alvie Robbins 235.75 hours
  • Jason Woods 265.75 hours
  • Marilyn Henderson 105.75 hours
  • Sharron Kanter 587.75 hours
  • Madaline Wivel 185 hours
  • Dennis Folk 468 hours
  • George Baron 181 hours
  • Alberto Gonzalez 137.5 hours
  • Colton Isham 193.5 hours
  • Austin Lindquist 391.5 hours
  • Ulysses Sanchez 133.5 hours
  • Devin Smith 168.5 hours
  • Scott Stratton 431.5 hours
  • Marlene Texocotitla 160 hours
Community Development Updates:Kenworth Truck Dealership Opens

The Kenworth truck dealership opened this week. Kenworth is located on a three acre site at 12507 Pacific Highway SW. The building/sales area is about 26,000 ± square feet. The project was initiated in the spring of 2012.

Certificate of Occupancy Issued

The Clover Park Technical College’s new health sciences facility was issued its certificate of occupancy on Thursday, July 18. The new building will accommodate 2,166 full-time-equivalent students who are enrolled in the college’s healthcare training programs. The building has an area of 55,562 square feet. Construction began in January 2011.

Community Development Block Grant Program Provides Temporary Housing

Last weekend Lakewood experienced two apartment fires at 5515 82nd Street SW and 7517 Dean Street Court, which resulted in some families not having a place to live. Most families at the first address were relocated by the apartment’s management. The same was not the case for the other apartment. Here, the City stepped in and used its community development block grant program to provide temporary housing, and first and last month’s rent to qualified individuals. A total of seven, working families (18 persons) were provided assistance.

Building Permits

For the month June 2012, the permit counter received 128 building permits. Of these, 60 were approved the same day of permit application. For the week of July 15 through July 18, the permit counter received 67 permit applications of all types (planning, building, engineering, and business licenses).

On July 24, the City’s Hearing Examiner will conduct a public hearing to consider a shoreline substantial development permit, shoreline conditional use permit, and shoreline variance to construct a new single family residence and accessory structures at 13024 Naomilawn Drive SW. The applicant is Thomas Ellington. The property is located on a shoreline lot adjacent to American Lake. For more information, please contact associate planner Beth Jorgenson at (253) 512-2261.

Planning Advisory Board Meeting

This coming week, July 24, the Planning Advisory Board will conduct a public hearing to consider amendments to the City’s drive through regulations. For further details, contact principal planner Dan Catron at (253) 512-2261.

Community Safety Resource Team Updates:

The Lakewood Police Department and CSRT have been active in closing residences used for the production of illegal drugs. Two residences were recently declared uninhabitable, and actions on other properties are pending.

CSRT has taken action to revoke the business license for the Golden Lion Motor Inn, 9021 South Tacoma Way. Cause for revocation included building code violations (renting out uninhabitable rooms) and lack of adequate motel management. The owner appealed the City’s revocation. The appeal is now before the City’s Hearing Examiner. An appeal hearing is scheduled for August 28th.

Economic Development Updates:Aerospace Industry Summit

Economic Development staff attended the 2nd annual Tacoma/Pierce County EDB Aerospace Summit this week. We learned that Boeing is expecting to build 35,000 new airplanes in the next 20 years. Collaborative partnerships between government, academia, labor and industry have allowed for a significant increase in awareness and opportunity in this field. With 50% of the established workforce eligible to retire with five years, companies and agencies have come on board to reach out to k-12 schools and colleges around the region. From re-creating half a scull to reproducing a moon rock, advances in 3-D printing in all fields show promise in what would have been considered science fiction just a short two years ago. Contact the Economic Development staff to learn more about the industry and training opportunities.

Business Visits

This week staff met with several companies including a construction company looking to purchase property here and expand their services, a local professional services company, and a fitness studio looking to expand due to demand, a car dealer, two retailers and provided service to several ongoing clients trying to fill space or re-locate to new spaces.

Retail Sales Tax on the Increase

Distribution of retail sales and use tax to the city has increased by 11% year-to-date June 2013 over 2012. The department of revenue reports taxable retail sales, distributions, and gross business income tax annually, by quarter and monthly.

Mark Your Calendars

Aug. 6- National Night Out

Sept. 15- Raider Brigade Homecoming Parade and Celebration


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