Highlights from the weekly report (October 8) from City of Lakewood Manager, Andrew Neiditz to the Mayor and Council Members:
* Domestic Violence Awareness Open House: In recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Legal Department hosted an Open House on October 6th to promote Awareness about Domestic Violence. Kevin Rundle, YWCA Director of Legal Services, and Cindy Johnson, Victim Advocate for the YWCA, made a presentation about their partnership with the City and the services the YWCA provides for victims of domestic violence in both Lakewood and University Place.
* Lakewood hosts Public Records Officers conference: The annual Washington Association of Public Records Officers (WAPRO) conference was hosted at the CPTC McGavick Center in Lakewood this week. Lakewood City Clerk Alice Bush is the president of the association, and the city manager presented a welcome to the attendees.
* CSRT attends Washington Association of Code Enforcement’s (WACE) Annual Education Conference: CSRT’s three code enforcement officers, attorney, and paralegal attended the Washington Association of Code Enforcement (WACE) annual education conference September 22 – 24, attending sessions on officer safety, abatements, “scenic vistas act” sign enforcement, identifying and contacting banks and agents for enforcement on foreclosure properties, animal hoarding, and mobile home park landlord/tenant law. Mike Savage and Doug Price were invited to sit on a panel for discussion of abatement procedures and participated in a round-table discussion of mobile home park enforcement issues. Staff also had opportunities to discuss the CSRT concept and Lakewood’s extensive collaboration with community partners and other enforcement agencies.
* City manager meets with Tillicum-Woodbrook Neighborhood Association (TWNA): At its regular monthly meeting on October 7th, the TWNA hosted a 90-minute Q & A session with the city manager regarding the Tillicum neighborhood plan, communication with the City, the sewer project, transportation issues, JBLM traffic problems, and the Camp Murray gate. Human services coordinator Kim Dodds presented special recognition certificates to several Tillicum citizens for their exemplary volunteer efforts.
* 29th Annual Civil Service Conference: Lakewood Civil Service Commissioners David Boyd and Dennis Roden, along with Civil Service secretary/chief examiner Dawn Avcular attended the annual Civil Service Conference in Yakima on October 1st.
* Staff attends state planners association annual conference: On October 4-6, senior planner Dan Penrose attended the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association’s annual conference in Kennewick, where he was a speaker at the “Keys to Collaboration for Regional Economic Development” session. He shared Lakewood’s role in crafting a regional response to growth at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He also gave a similar presentation to Lakewood United on October 7th, highlighting proposed concepts to alleviate congestion on Interstate 5 adjacent to JBLM.
* IPMA_HR Training in Seattle: HR director Debra Young attended the International Public Management Association-HR (IPMA) training conference in Seattle this week. As a presiding officer of the Western Region IPMA-HR, she assisted at the conference and attended sessions on The FISH! Philosophy, Maximizing Employee Engagement, and Engaging Organizations through Emotional Intelligence.
* CSRT provides training to CERT: CSRT staff Gail Conelly provided Disaster Organization and Disaster Psychology training to 25 Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members on September 30th. This was the last class before their disaster drill and graduation, which was held on October 2nd. The CERT training is sponsored and facilitated by the Lakewood Fire Dept.
* CSRT conducts Blood Borne Pathogens Training Classes: CSRT member Gail Conelly conducted three blood borne pathogens training classes for 57 employees of the Lakewood Police Department and CSRT members on October 6TH. This class is the second in a series held throughout the year, which is mandatory for certain City employees.
* LPD joins Auto Theft Task Force at the Fair: Members of the Lakewood Police Department, along with other partnering agencies, staffed an educational booth at the 2010 Puyallup Fair, September 10-26, with over a million attendees. The goal was to raise awareness and to educate citizens on how to prevent being a victim of auto theft. To help that cause, there were 182 Anti-Theft Clubs given out, as well as one free LoJack System.
* Justice Dept funding for car cameras: The Police Department received a grant from Justice Assistance for $79,730 to purchase in-car cameras. We are studying the various models in use and looking for the features most desirable for our department at this time.
* LPD Forensic Training in the community: Det. Bryan Johnson, Forensic Services Manager, did training on “Evidence Preservation for Fire and EMS” to approximately 25 Lakewood Fire and UP Fire Medic Staff on September 21st. Fire personnel requested the training to assist them in preserving all types of evidence they encounter at scenes. On October 4-5, he also did a presentation on “Forensic Investigation” to three 7th and 8th grade technology classes at Harrison Prep School in Lakewood. The students are interested in Forensics.