Highlights from the weekly report (December 5) from City of Lakewood Manager, Andrew Neiditz to the Mayor and Council Members:
- Bridgeport Way Construction Open House at City Hall: The Public Works Department will host an open house in the council chambers on Wednesday, December 10th between 4:30pm and 6:30pm to discuss a major construction project that will begin in early 2009. This $3.7 million project includes installation of curbs, gutters, and sidewalks on this major arterial between Steilacoom Blvd and 59th Ave. The project will also include new and modified traffic signals, street lighting and widening of Bridgeport Way north of 93rd St. to accommodate a 2-way left turn lane. It is anticipated that construction will take 6-8 months. Federal grants will cover $1.4 million and the City will pay the rest. During construction, traffic will be confined to one-lane each way and left turns may not be permitted. Affected local businesses and residents are encouraged to attend.
- Sound Glass project review: The city manager, ass’t city manager for development, and economic development manager met with the president and manager of Sound Glass, as well as the construction manager, this week as an “after action” de-brief in order to review the process involved in the successful completion of the major new commercial building on 75th Street W. This process is part of the City’s emphasis on economic development and a way to ensure quality improvement in the City’s business development practices. The process allows for a critical review of what steps went well in the City’s review of the project, and what steps could have been improved. Sound Glass in its new location is a very welcome enhancement to the City’s business community. The company was featured in the latest Business Examiner’s ‘2008 Fastest Growing Companies”.
- Lakewood Officer participates in 20th Annual Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Stair Climb: Lieutenant Heidi Hoffman participated in the 20th Annual Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Stair Climb on December 4th. Her team climbed the 56 floors of the Washington Mutual Building in Seattle and raised over $2,000 for the foundation. This is Heidi‚Äôs second year with this event and she completed her climb in 19 minutes, 27 seconds –14 seconds faster than last year.
- Lakewood Officers attend CALEA Conference: Ass’t Police Chief Mike Zaro and Officer Jeff Carroll attended the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma this week.
- Emergency Management Training Exercise: City staff from all departments participated in a table-top planning exercise this week with Pierce County Department of Emergency Management to practice response to a train derailment emergency. The City continues to work on improvement of its preparedness skills to deal with real disasters and emergencies.
- City Staff and Local Agencies Serve Turkey Dinner To 650: Human Services Program Specialist Kim Dodds joined Greater Lakes Mental Healthcare (GLMH) staff, Board members and community volunteers in serving its annual Thanksgiving dinner to 650 clients and their guests from Lakewood, Tacoma and Pierce County on November 25th. The event was funded by donations from staff, past and present Board members, Genoa Pharmacy, and Tacoma Public Utilities employees. The food was prepared by GLMH staff. This was the 15th dinner sponsored by GLMH which started by a small group of GLMH staff for clients participating in the Greater Lakes day treatment program. This year’s dinner brought an increase of approximately 150 guests over last year’s event. The City is one of many regional partners who have funded GLMH through human services.
- Burn Ban Changes: Rick Hess from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency provided details on burn ban changes in the region to the Tillicum-Woodbrook Neighborhood Association on December 4th. Washington State is coming into compliance with Federal EPA guidelines to reduce harmful particulates resulting from burning wood. More “Stage 2” burn bans are anticipated this winter; this means that the burning of wood will be strictly prohibited except in homes that have no other source of heat. These burn bans typically last for 2-4 days. PSCAA has seven inspectors working the area south of Seattle. Those citizens who burn wood as a primary source of heat can track burn ban periods on PSCAA’s website: www.pscleanair.org or newspaper or TV weather reports. Those wanting more information should visit this website. Violators could be fined up to $1000.