Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Reporting on the Action
It's a challenge to keep track of everything going on in Lakewood. One of the more helpful summaries around is the city's annual report. The 2006 report is now available as a PDF file.
The report is 24 pages, but it's worth a look - or at least keeping on hand - if you have a question about what's going on with different aspects of cityhood.
You'll learn, for example, that in 2006, the Community Development Department "processed over $87 million in new building permit valuation – the most construction activity since incorporation. It exceeds 2005 construction activity by 22 percent."
You'll learn the parks department "created several partnerships to offset program costs and generated revenue to offset youth programs, park reservations, athletic field use and special events. Received over $1.2 million in grants and donations to offset program development and operations."
You'll learn crime as a whole is down 13 percent; and property crime is down 17 percent. (Property crime was a big issue for me in my 2003 campaign, so that statistic is very gratifying).
That said, gangs are a big problem throughout Pierce County. The report says "Lakewood’s violent crime rate of 8.3 incidents of part 1 violent crime (murder and non-negligent homicide, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault) per 1,000 citizens remains fifth highest in Washington." (If there is a bright side to this statistic, maybe it's that people will be less likely to disagree with me than they were in 2003 that we need more police officers on the streets).
Meanwhile, you'll learn that the Public Works Department "Retimed over 40 traffic signals and designed a signal timing coordination program for the City’s four major corridors (Gravelly Lake Dr., Bridgeport Way, Tacoma Way S. and Steilacoom Blvd.) which has resulted in overall travel time savings for City travelers of over 1,100 hours per day.
With the exception of the crime stats, I chose these highlights somewhat randomly. There is a lot of useful and interesting information in the report. Check it out.
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The report is 24 pages, but it's worth a look - or at least keeping on hand - if you have a question about what's going on with different aspects of cityhood.
You'll learn, for example, that in 2006, the Community Development Department "processed over $87 million in new building permit valuation – the most construction activity since incorporation. It exceeds 2005 construction activity by 22 percent."
You'll learn the parks department "created several partnerships to offset program costs and generated revenue to offset youth programs, park reservations, athletic field use and special events. Received over $1.2 million in grants and donations to offset program development and operations."
You'll learn crime as a whole is down 13 percent; and property crime is down 17 percent. (Property crime was a big issue for me in my 2003 campaign, so that statistic is very gratifying).
That said, gangs are a big problem throughout Pierce County. The report says "Lakewood’s violent crime rate of 8.3 incidents of part 1 violent crime (murder and non-negligent homicide, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault) per 1,000 citizens remains fifth highest in Washington." (If there is a bright side to this statistic, maybe it's that people will be less likely to disagree with me than they were in 2003 that we need more police officers on the streets).
Meanwhile, you'll learn that the Public Works Department "Retimed over 40 traffic signals and designed a signal timing coordination program for the City’s four major corridors (Gravelly Lake Dr., Bridgeport Way, Tacoma Way S. and Steilacoom Blvd.) which has resulted in overall travel time savings for City travelers of over 1,100 hours per day.
With the exception of the crime stats, I chose these highlights somewhat randomly. There is a lot of useful and interesting information in the report. Check it out.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Lakewood has a semipro sports team
Did you know Lakewood has a semipro football team? I sure did not. That's why we should all attend Lakewood Chamber of Commerce events more often. At the recent Lakewold event, where most of the attention was focused on the marvelous house and gardens, a couple of guys from the team attended the mixer and were appropriately honored for bringing semi-pro ball to Lakewood.
Actually, they brought semi-pro ball to University Place, in that they play at Curtis ... but the team is hoping to move to the Clover Park stadium. Close enough, for now. And they are definitely called the Lakewood Wolves. You can learn a lot more about the Lakewood Wolves at their web site. You can learn more about the league they play in at this web site.
Upcoming political events
This is just a quick reminder that my first campaign event and kickoff will be this coming Friday. If you did not get an invitation, mea culpa. If you are interested, please send me a note. There is still plenty of time to sign on and be there for the fun ... and positive discussions about Lakewood.
If, on the other hand, you would rather participate in Lakewood Cares secret campaign to take over the Lakewood Water District, you can find info about the upcoming Cares candidate training here.
(PS - As my loyal readers, both of you, already know, I am only kidding about the secret campaign, at least in terms of the Lakewood Water District. It's sort of an inside joke you have to find in the postings below, and it might not be worth the search)
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If, on the other hand, you would rather participate in Lakewood Cares secret campaign to take over the Lakewood Water District, you can find info about the upcoming Cares candidate training here.
(PS - As my loyal readers, both of you, already know, I am only kidding about the secret campaign, at least in terms of the Lakewood Water District. It's sort of an inside joke you have to find in the postings below, and it might not be worth the search)
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Big effects
The jury is still out, and discussions continue, about whether it makes sense for the city of Lakewood to cooperate with other government agencies to buy land around McChord Air Force Base. The idea would be to show the community is serious about preventing further development around the bases, which could, in theory, help prevent closure of the base.
The only update I have is that McChord Air Force Base dropped something into our weekly City Council packet that is interesting. It's called an "Economic Influence Statement." The report says that in 2006, McChord
- Employs either directly or indirectly about 17,000 jobs.
- Created enough economic activity to support 4,400 jobs.
- Has a payroll of $348 million.
- Pumped a total of $13.56 billion into the economy.
And that's just McChord! It just goes to show that our discussion about how to prevent bases from closing is very, very high stakes.
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The only update I have is that McChord Air Force Base dropped something into our weekly City Council packet that is interesting. It's called an "Economic Influence Statement." The report says that in 2006, McChord
- Employs either directly or indirectly about 17,000 jobs.
- Created enough economic activity to support 4,400 jobs.
- Has a payroll of $348 million.
- Pumped a total of $13.56 billion into the economy.
And that's just McChord! It just goes to show that our discussion about how to prevent bases from closing is very, very high stakes.
Statement about abatement
One of the issues that came up during discussion of the city budget had to do with how the city deals with dangerous buildings. I was not satisfied with our approach, one reason I voted no on the budget. I was also pretty hard on the city's abatement efforts in my recent announcement that I am running for re-election.
Coincidentally, the city manager has recently been presenting a lot of info about abatement to the council. I include this info below, verbatim, because I thought you might recognize some of the addresses and be interested. Even if you don't recognize the addredsses, you will learn what the city has in its arsenal to deal with dangerous buildings.
This report also just goes to show that even without enough resources, the city is putting more effort than I had realized into abatement. It's one more instance of this: that the people in Lakewood City Hall are quietly putting forth more energy than a lot of us realize.
(The following, by the way, has already been published in the city manager's weekly report to council. I mentioned this weekly source quite awhile ago, so it might be worth repeating - you can keep up with a lot of things by reading the weekly reports)
1) Property Address: 3906 Steilacoom Boulevard SW.
Condition: Commercial building vacant and heavily vandalized. Rear wall is collapsing; substantial quantity of asbestos to remove.
Status: Notice and Order was issued. Property owner applied for demolition permit. Demolition is currently under way.
2) Property Address: 11435 Pacific Highway SW.
Condition: Former Lakewood Court Mobile Home Park. Park contained nine abandoned mobile homes and two dilapidated buildings. Large amounts of garbage, and junk found onsite. Property has been vandalized.
Status: Notice and Order was issued. Vehicles and junk removed. Most of the mobile homes have been removed.
3) Property Address: 11618 Pacific Highway SW.
Condition: Abandoned auto body shop. Building in deteriorated condition and has been vandalized on numerous occasions. Property contains numerous junk vehicles, junk, trash, extensive weeds and an abandoned pole sign
Status: Notice and Order issued. City hired a contractor to demolish building and clean site. At the eleventh hour, the owner agreed to clean the property. Work is currently under way.
4) Property Address: 14617 W. Thorne Lane SW.
Conditions: Property is unsecured. Property contains a dilapidated/collapsing house and garage. Trees are dangerous.
Status: Property was abated once already in 2001. A second Notice and Order was issued. Owner is currently obtaining an asbestos report preparatory to issuance of a demolition permit.
5) Property Address: 12907 Naomilawn Drive SW.
Conditions: House burned; property owner died.
Status: Notice and Order was issued. Building was secured at no cost to the City. Property is currently in probate.
6) Property Address: 11404 Cloverdale Court SW.
Conditions; House destroyed by fire.
Status: Notice and Order was issued. Property owner obtained demolition permit; site is clean of all debris.
7) Property Address: 95 West Shore Avenue SW.
Conditions: Notice and Order was issued. Hoarder house: numerous junk vehicles, extensive junk, trash, weeds, and construction debris.
Status: Over half the clean up completed by the owner. Owner has also been fined and is currently delinquent. City abatement is likely.
8) Property Address; 6717 100th Street SW.
Conditions: Burned out house (owner died in fire).
Status: Emergency abatement performed to secure structure. Notice and Order issued. Family member has arrived out-of-town to settle estate.
9) Property Address; 6902 146th Street SW.
Conditions: Abandoned hoarder house; abandoned vehicles; extensive piles of garbage.
Status: Notice and order issued. Abatement performed by the City.
Forward this post
Coincidentally, the city manager has recently been presenting a lot of info about abatement to the council. I include this info below, verbatim, because I thought you might recognize some of the addresses and be interested. Even if you don't recognize the addredsses, you will learn what the city has in its arsenal to deal with dangerous buildings.
This report also just goes to show that even without enough resources, the city is putting more effort than I had realized into abatement. It's one more instance of this: that the people in Lakewood City Hall are quietly putting forth more energy than a lot of us realize.
(The following, by the way, has already been published in the city manager's weekly report to council. I mentioned this weekly source quite awhile ago, so it might be worth repeating - you can keep up with a lot of things by reading the weekly reports)
1) Property Address: 3906 Steilacoom Boulevard SW.
Condition: Commercial building vacant and heavily vandalized. Rear wall is collapsing; substantial quantity of asbestos to remove.
Status: Notice and Order was issued. Property owner applied for demolition permit. Demolition is currently under way.
2) Property Address: 11435 Pacific Highway SW.
Condition: Former Lakewood Court Mobile Home Park. Park contained nine abandoned mobile homes and two dilapidated buildings. Large amounts of garbage, and junk found onsite. Property has been vandalized.
Status: Notice and Order was issued. Vehicles and junk removed. Most of the mobile homes have been removed.
3) Property Address: 11618 Pacific Highway SW.
Condition: Abandoned auto body shop. Building in deteriorated condition and has been vandalized on numerous occasions. Property contains numerous junk vehicles, junk, trash, extensive weeds and an abandoned pole sign
Status: Notice and Order issued. City hired a contractor to demolish building and clean site. At the eleventh hour, the owner agreed to clean the property. Work is currently under way.
4) Property Address: 14617 W. Thorne Lane SW.
Conditions: Property is unsecured. Property contains a dilapidated/collapsing house and garage. Trees are dangerous.
Status: Property was abated once already in 2001. A second Notice and Order was issued. Owner is currently obtaining an asbestos report preparatory to issuance of a demolition permit.
5) Property Address: 12907 Naomilawn Drive SW.
Conditions: House burned; property owner died.
Status: Notice and Order was issued. Building was secured at no cost to the City. Property is currently in probate.
6) Property Address: 11404 Cloverdale Court SW.
Conditions; House destroyed by fire.
Status: Notice and Order was issued. Property owner obtained demolition permit; site is clean of all debris.
7) Property Address: 95 West Shore Avenue SW.
Conditions: Notice and Order was issued. Hoarder house: numerous junk vehicles, extensive junk, trash, weeds, and construction debris.
Status: Over half the clean up completed by the owner. Owner has also been fined and is currently delinquent. City abatement is likely.
8) Property Address; 6717 100th Street SW.
Conditions: Burned out house (owner died in fire).
Status: Emergency abatement performed to secure structure. Notice and Order issued. Family member has arrived out-of-town to settle estate.
9) Property Address; 6902 146th Street SW.
Conditions: Abandoned hoarder house; abandoned vehicles; extensive piles of garbage.
Status: Notice and order issued. Abatement performed by the City.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
By the rules
You may have seen news coverage like this article in The News Tribune about a discussion the Lakewood council had about public comment. Public comment is the part of council meetings where members of the public can raise any question or subject in front of the council and the rest of the audience. Some of you may recall that I conducted an Internet poll that asked you about the subject of council meetings and public comment. It's a dull subject to a lot of folks, but not to everyone who comes to meetings.
One thing that surprised me from the poll is that significant number of folks were staying away from meetings, they said, because they were turned off by 10-minute speeches by certain members of the public. While the council did argue about some rules changes, we did all agree that general public comment should be limited to three minutes. Three minutes is the rule in almost every city. Obviously people can also submit comments in writing, and a speaker can make a key point within three minutes pretty easily.
So you should know about this rule change, particularly if you were one of the folks turned off by longer speeches.
The part of the discussion that did attract news attention was sort of funny. Some council members persist in thinking that you can legislate 'nice.' I personally stand by my earlier comments that you have every right to say almost whatever you want during public comment as long as you say it within those three minutes. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out. Right now, we don't seem to have any good scandals going, but at some point someone angry will get up in front of the council. What happens then might be pretty interesting as the council argues whether he or she should be allowed to continue.
But back to the three minute rule ... If nothing else, the new limit should "tighten up" the length of council meetings and allow us to get to matters of general interest sooner than we have in the past. The brutal truth is that many members of the public leave as the evening gets longer, and it would be better to tackle important matters when these folks are still around.
I personally think it would be better to put public comment at the end of the meeting; it's important to hear and learn from public comment, but it's also important to get business of general interest done as early in the evening as possible when we have the largest audience. However, almost everyone who took my poll and the other council members think public comment at the end of the evening is a lousy idea. So I'm going to drop it. It's not that important. Let's see how the rule changes play out.
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One thing that surprised me from the poll is that significant number of folks were staying away from meetings, they said, because they were turned off by 10-minute speeches by certain members of the public. While the council did argue about some rules changes, we did all agree that general public comment should be limited to three minutes. Three minutes is the rule in almost every city. Obviously people can also submit comments in writing, and a speaker can make a key point within three minutes pretty easily.
So you should know about this rule change, particularly if you were one of the folks turned off by longer speeches.
The part of the discussion that did attract news attention was sort of funny. Some council members persist in thinking that you can legislate 'nice.' I personally stand by my earlier comments that you have every right to say almost whatever you want during public comment as long as you say it within those three minutes. It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out. Right now, we don't seem to have any good scandals going, but at some point someone angry will get up in front of the council. What happens then might be pretty interesting as the council argues whether he or she should be allowed to continue.
But back to the three minute rule ... If nothing else, the new limit should "tighten up" the length of council meetings and allow us to get to matters of general interest sooner than we have in the past. The brutal truth is that many members of the public leave as the evening gets longer, and it would be better to tackle important matters when these folks are still around.
I personally think it would be better to put public comment at the end of the meeting; it's important to hear and learn from public comment, but it's also important to get business of general interest done as early in the evening as possible when we have the largest audience. However, almost everyone who took my poll and the other council members think public comment at the end of the evening is a lousy idea. So I'm going to drop it. It's not that important. Let's see how the rule changes play out.
A real accomplishment
This year's gathering of the state legislature has lacked any one big-punch theme, unless you want to count the squabbling about the Seattle Viaduct. You mostly hear discussions about spending, Democrats vs. Republicans. But a number of things going on have a real effect in Lakewood.
Perhaps one of the most noteworthy accomplishments is the success of Sen. Mike Carrell and colleagues to do something genuinely constructive within the tough political environment of Olympia. Prodded by Sen. Carrell, the legislature set up a committee, co-chaired by Democratic Sen. Debbie Regala, to come up with several good ideas for programs that might reduce the number of inmates returning to prison.
I got to one of their study groups several months ago, and was struck by the incredibly difficult task of accomplishing anything constructive when you had all the points of view in the same room. Many times, social workers, police, attorneys and others don't even speak the same language when it comes to inmates and what to do with them. It took a long time for people to share all they wanted to share about crime and about offenders.
So to build a consensus around real ideas to reduce real crime is a real accomplishment. It's a lesson to people who mistake Sen. Carrell's strident tones for a lack of flexibility: Sen. Carrell has shown he can be both fleet afoot and smart working within both parties and the many sides of this subject.
It's a majestic accomplishment in the Olympia environment.
Sen. Carrell does not have to do this; he could continue to get plenty of votes and keep winning in Lakewood just by demanding that all inmates just be punished harder and harder. But smart Republicans want to save money - and an inmate who repeats crime over and over is a money pit. Returning someone to prison again and again is a waste of real money (not to mention the pain inflicted by the crime). And hopefully Republicans would join Democrats in saying that there is also no point to the waste of human life represented by a life of crime.
So that's my thought about the significance of the accomplishment. If you want to know more about the actual efforts to break the cycle of crime, here are some write-ups:
Here's a good summary from The Seattle Times.
Here's an editorial from The News Tribune
Here's some context by longtime state capitol correspondent David Ammons
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Perhaps one of the most noteworthy accomplishments is the success of Sen. Mike Carrell and colleagues to do something genuinely constructive within the tough political environment of Olympia. Prodded by Sen. Carrell, the legislature set up a committee, co-chaired by Democratic Sen. Debbie Regala, to come up with several good ideas for programs that might reduce the number of inmates returning to prison.
I got to one of their study groups several months ago, and was struck by the incredibly difficult task of accomplishing anything constructive when you had all the points of view in the same room. Many times, social workers, police, attorneys and others don't even speak the same language when it comes to inmates and what to do with them. It took a long time for people to share all they wanted to share about crime and about offenders.
So to build a consensus around real ideas to reduce real crime is a real accomplishment. It's a lesson to people who mistake Sen. Carrell's strident tones for a lack of flexibility: Sen. Carrell has shown he can be both fleet afoot and smart working within both parties and the many sides of this subject.
It's a majestic accomplishment in the Olympia environment.
Sen. Carrell does not have to do this; he could continue to get plenty of votes and keep winning in Lakewood just by demanding that all inmates just be punished harder and harder. But smart Republicans want to save money - and an inmate who repeats crime over and over is a money pit. Returning someone to prison again and again is a waste of real money (not to mention the pain inflicted by the crime). And hopefully Republicans would join Democrats in saying that there is also no point to the waste of human life represented by a life of crime.
So that's my thought about the significance of the accomplishment. If you want to know more about the actual efforts to break the cycle of crime, here are some write-ups:
Here's a good summary from The Seattle Times.
Here's an editorial from The News Tribune
Here's some context by longtime state capitol correspondent David Ammons
Lakewood and the base: helping each other
There is a lot of energy going into discussions aimed at focusing development into Tillicum and making it a better place to live and work. You can get updated on those efforts through Dan Voelpel's column , and more info should be posted soon on the city Web site.
One of the ideas the community came up with is, no surprise, tying the design of Tillicum to what's going on with its neighbor, Fort Lewis. So it's good news that a Lakewood youth is putting together a project that would help the base and its families. Here's some info from the family:
Lakewood Boy Scouts rebuilding and upgrading military picnic area
On Saturday, March 24, a team of Lakewood Boy Scout troops are descending on a picnic area in the Lake Lewis area on Fort Lewis to repair and upgrade the family picnic area set aside for military families. This repair and upgrade project is an Eagle Project for Wyatt B. Larsen, a boy scout with BSA Troop 51, St. Mary’s Church, Lakewood.
This Lake Lewis picnic area has fallen under disrepair leaving just stubs of concrete in the picnic area. “I was surprised it was called a picnic area,” said Larsen. “With just a little bit of work, we could really turn it around and provide a great place for our military families to enjoy.”
Picnic table bases were constructed many, many years ago using concrete bases with wood plank tops. The planks had deteriorated and rotted over the last 10 years (as you can see from the photo above - the concrete is there, but there's nothing to sit or put food on). Larsen met with his BSA Troop 51 leadership and the area Eagle advisor, Dawn Golden, to complete this project as part of his advancement to Eagle Scout, the highest advancement rank in Scouting.
Larsen has assembled manpower, materials, and cash donations to recreate the picnic area and add fire rings on gravel bases. The project is running close to $7,000 in supplies and labor. Boy Scouts from Troop 51 and 53 and members of the Bellarmine Preparatory Robotics team will be donating labor.
The donations and donors include:
Gravel from Miles Sand and Gravel
Excavator from Menotti Excavation
Lumber from Pinnacle Lumber and Plywood, Inc.
Coatings and application supplies from Lakewood Hardware and Paint
Fasteners from Tacoma Screw
Products, Drawings from BCRA Design
Funds: Dimmer Family Foundation
Fire Rings from Woodworth and Company
Shelters from Eaton Properties
Walter here again - You've got to love that a young man is getting involved in historic preservation so early in life! And as a bonus, Wyatt will be making life directly better for members of the military and their families. It's this sort of spirit that will remake Tillicum in turn.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Take A Shot at History
Got a photo like the one above? (yes, that's the old Clover Park High School behind the guys) Got any old photos from Lakewood at all?
Back from a business trip, and once again I am reminded we have a lot going on in this town. So let's try to catch up. First up ... the photo contest below was announced awhile ago, but the deadline has just been extended until April 15. This contest for old photos is a great opportunity to donate a copy of a photo to ... well, posterity ... but more immediately to the Lakewood Historical Society.
What follows is from a news release by the Lakewood Historical Society:
Lakewood Historical Society and Robi’s Camera Center are accepting historical
photograph entries into the “Lakewood History Photo Contest” through April 15.
The theme for entries to this competition is people, places or events that
relate to the history of Lakewood and were photographed in Lakewood, Pierce County.
Submissions to the “Lakewood History Photo Contest” may be made at Robi’s Camera
Center. Robi’s Camera Center is providing the expertise to assist customers preserve the original photograph and prepare a digital copy for the contest. They will copy the photo, and return the original to the owner. Prizes will be awarded and finalists will be displayed at the Lakewood History Museum.
Full information and the rules and conditions are available at Robi’s Camera Center at 10015 Gravelly Lake Road, Lakewood, Washington.
“As an example,” said Tod Wolf, General Manager of Robi’s, “if someone has a
photograph when Barnum and Bailey’s Circus came to Lakewood, with the elephants
strolling down the street, we can scan all the photographs in the shoebox and assist them to select the best to be digitally enlarged and mounted. You’ll even see the peanuts.”
(Walter here - if you do have a photo of the elephants parading down the street, I am pretty sure you can get that photo in the Lakewood history book, assuming Steve and I can update it in a few years)
But whether your photo is of an elephant, Norton Clapp or Aunt Frieda, it's still got value for this and future generations. Please consider visiting Robi's with your photo.
Robi’s is offering 50% off scanning for images being prepared for this contest and 30% off restoration that may be needed for the contest entry and 50% off printing of the entry.
Space permitting, all entries will be displayed at the new Lakewood History Museum,
6211 Mount Tahoma Drive.
