Highlights from the weekly report (November 6) from City of Lakewood Manager, Andrew Neiditz to the Mayor and Council Members:
- Municipal Court Services for University Place: The city managers and key staffmembers from Lakewood and University Place met last week to further develop a proposed contractual relationship for Lakewood to provide municipal court services to UP starting in 2011. Staff will be preparing to present the proposal to the Lakewood City Council later this month.
- Lakewood participates in Defense Department conference: Mayor Richardson, ass’t city manager David Bugher, and senior planner Dan Penrose attended the Defense Community Conference sponsored by the DoD’s Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) in Orlando this week. There were over 800 in attendance from military base communities around the nation. Our delegation included representatives of Pierce County, the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, the Clover Park School District, the Thurston County regional planning council, and our governor’s office. The purpose of the conference was to assist in planning and coordination for growth on military bases.
- CPTC coordination: The city manager and senior staff met with the president of Clover Park Technical College and key staff on October 30th regarding general issues of coordination, including safety and security, proposals for changes to the college’s master plan, and opportunities to support the City’s economic development priorities.
- New Civil Service Commission member: Dennis Roden was appointed by the city manager on November 4th to fill an unexpired term on the Civil Service Commission. Mr. Roden is a long-time Lakewood resident and retiree from federal service with 35 years of human resources (HR) experience. He was most recently a senior level HR manager at Fort Lewis, reporting directly to the deputy garrison commander.
- AWC Regional Meeting: Mayor Richardson, Councilmember Neary, the city manager and communications director participated in the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) regional meeting in Tacoma last week, joined by about 35 others representing most of the cities in the Pierce County area. Discussion about the association’s services as well as legislative priorities was the main agenda item. It is anticipated that AWC will continue to support the issue of local control over gambling in the upcoming legislative session.
- Police Hand Out Halloween Candy: LPD Neighborhood Patrol Officers along with swing shift officers passed out over 600 candy bars to children in every patrol district on Halloween. The children and their parents were excited and great contacts were made between the police department and the community. The Lakewood Police Independent Guild Charity donated all of the candy and will double the amount next year as this was such a success.
- Lakewood Senior Activity Center celebrates Halloween: Over 50 Older adults celebrated Halloween at the Lakewood Senior Activity Center with a Jack O’ Lantern Jamboree. The room was filled with lots of older adults wearing costumes including many witches, a few princesses and some Cowgirls. Everyone enjoyed delicious creepy cuisine. The Older Adults did a team building activity creating Jack O’ Lanterns, meeting new friends and having fun. A great team of volunteers helped organize the party by making Jack O’ Lantern themed party favors and decorations and served as wonderful hostesses.
- Police Participate in Oakbrook Elementary School Carnival: NPO Jeremy Vahle and CSO Sandra Stauffer participated in the annual Oakbrook Elementary School carnival on October 24. They manned the softball toss booth and used the radar gun to measure the speed the kids threw the ball. Top speed was 60mph thrown by a 16 year old boy; second place went to a 14 year old girl who threw 52mph. About 150 kids participated in the event.
- Police Participate in Springbrook Park Halloween Party: CSOs Gail Conelly and Joy Browne participated in a Halloween party at Springbrook Park on October 31. The event was sponsored by Lakewood First Lions and Caring for Kids. The Lions provided a lunch of hot dogs, chips, juice and fruit treats, while Caring for Kids provided treat bags, along with toys and bags of school supplies for all of the kids. Caring for Kids also provided materials to make assorted masks and a Halloween necklace. There were approximately 250 people in attendance, despite the rainy weather. Everyone had a great time and appreciated the support of the Lakewood First Lions and Caring for Kids.