Steilacoom Town Administrator update, July 26

By Paul Loveless, Steilacoom Town Administrator

Upcoming Meetings:

• Council Meeting –  August 6, 2013 at 6:30 PM at Town Hall.
• Preservation and Review Board –  July 31, 2013 at 6:30 PM at Town Hall. (Revised date.)
• Civil Service – August 1, 2013 at 3:00 PM at the Community Center
• Planning Commission – August 12, 2013 at 6:30 PM at Town hall.

Council Future Agenda “Look-Ahead” Issues:

Copies of the Agenda and staff reports are available at all Town facilities once published. The Agenda and Council meeting minutes are posted to the Town’s official website.

Planned Town-wide Power Outage: On August 20th, we have tentatively scheduled a town-wide power outage lasting from 8 AM to 4 PM. Given the number of external parties involved (BPA, Tacoma Power, etc), this date is still tentative. Please be aware that at the request of the Steilacoom Historical School District, we are currently consulting with the other parties involved to determine if the date may be moved to August 19^th.  The outage is necessary to perform extended maintenance and upgrades at the substation. Please plan ahead and take this into account as you schedule that week.

Farmers’  Market: Wednesdays 3 – 7 pm — July 31 -August 28.

Summer Concerts: Next Wednesday, July 231, the Town will present Randy Linder with a Creedence Clearwater Tribute in Pioneer Park starting at 6:30 PM. Please remember no tents or alcohol are allowed in the Park.

Website Redesign and Development Project: Staff and the design team from CivicPlus are scheduled to meet again on Thursday, August 1st.

Calling all Photos: The Town is currently soliciting photos for use on the new website.  If you have digital photos that you feel highlight the best of Steilacoom that you would like the Town to consider and that you are willing to allow our use of at no cost, please forward them to Paul Loveless at paul.loveless@ci.steilacoom.wa.us.

Kiwanis/Key Club Sugar Shack: SHS Key Club members assisted by Kiwanis Club members will be operating a “Sugar Shack” at Sunnyside Park this year.  Scheduled hours are from 1 PM to 7 PM Tuesday through Sunday.

Saltar’s Point Park: Saltar’s Point Park remains closed. If anyone notices trespassers on the beach, please contact Public Safety using the non-emergency number – 253 798-4721.

Fire Danger Due to Hot, Dry Weather: It has been a cool, wet spring but we are now finally entering the summer season.  Soon the green spaces and forested areas will dry out and the fire danger will move to a high level.  We would like to remind residents that burning is not allowed on public property.  This includes the trails and beaches along Puget Sound, where the danger of fire burning up the banks and into the residential areas is high during the summer months.  Please use extra caution and help us keep Steilacoom safe!

Town-Wide Garage Sale: It’s that time of year, again, in Steilacoom: time for the annual Town-wide Garage Sale. The sale takes place between 9-4 on Saturday August 10. Garage “salers” can pick up a free location map at the Tennis Court, located on the corner of Lafayette and Wilkes streets.

At least 40 “salers” are expected to set up on the Court, plus additional sales throughout the town. The map will note who signed up, and the Chamber gives them signs “so you know they are a part of this wonderful Chamber of Commerce fundraiser for scholarships,” said Patti Young, C of C sale coordinator.

There are plenty of places to eat around town, and we have a wonderful beach and historical museum to visit while you are in town.

Visit the Chamber’s web page at www.steilacoomchamber.org to locate local restaurants and www.steilacoomhistorical.org to get more information about the Steilacoom Historical Museum at the corner of Rainier and Main streets.

Steilacoom garage sale hosts, please note: If you live in Steilacoom and plan to host a garage sale on Aug. 10, the Chamber encourages you to contact Sale Coordinator Patti Young and arrange to have your sale listed on the 2013 Map.  (Suburban Times 7/24/2013)

Public Safety:

Be Alert During the Warm Weather:

With the warm weather, we have seen an increase in park activity.  Please remember to secure your vehicles; if possible, do not bring valuables to the parks or leave them in your car; if you do leave items in your car, please do not leave them where they are clearly visible.

Although it is tempting to leave windows and doors open to provide increased air flow, please remember to secure your homes if you are not present or if you are in your yard.

Traffic Safety Emphasis:

A Traffic Safety Emphasis kicked off June 26^th.  Officers will be targeting various safety related traffic concerns including speeding, either not stopping or failure to come to a complete stop at stop signs, unlawful cell phone use, etc.  Results to-date are:

Speeding:             55 stops – 29 NOIs = 52.72% enforcement rate

Stop signs:             7 stops – 6 NOIs = 85.71% enforcement rate

Cellphone:           15 stops -10 NOIs = 66.66% enforcement rate

PSO Bailey an individual driving 89 in a 25 mph zone during the traffic emphasis.

Other contacts during the emphasis hours  included:

Defective equipment NOIs

DWLS Citations

Seatbelt violation NOIs

Failure to transfer title Citation

Warrant arrest – booking

Training:

PSO Webb, Rodriguez, and Derig participated in Active Shooter training on Wednesday the 24^th.

Public Works:

Streets and Storm:

Sequalish Street Project;

The Sequalish Street Reconstruction Project was advertised this week.  The bid opening is on August 13^th and staff is hoping to bring a recommendation to Council at the August 20^th meeting.

Main Street Overlay Project:

The Main Street overlay project contractor mobilized this week and has begun demolishing sidewalk ramps which are scheduled to be replaced as part of the project.  The sidewalk and overlay project is scheduled to extend through August.  Please utilize alternate routes.

Crew Emphasis:

The crew completed our annual crack-sealing program. Crack-sealing is an integral portion of our street maintenance program.  Additionally, they spent the week spraying for tansy ragwort and poison ivy and performing other right-of-way maintenance.

Electrical:

The Main Street and Lafayette Street electrical improvement project is underway.  The contractor is working along Lafayette street.  Please utilize alternate routes.

Crew Emphasis:

The crew focused on assisting and the guiding the contractor along with responding to two unplanned power outages.  One outage was associated with the contractor and impacted one house on Commercial Street across from Pioneer Park.  The second outage was in the 5^th and Jackson Street area impacting approximately eight homes and was caused by faulty wire.

Water/Sewer:

Crew Emphasis:

The Crew continued hydrant maintenance and generator checks.

Parks and Grounds:

The crew assisted with the set-up for the Farmers’ Market, prepared for the Salmon Bake this weekend, and performed other parks and buildings maintenance activities.

Other:

Steilacoom Salmon Bake set for July 28

The Suburban Times | July 4, 2013

The Steilacoom Historical Museum Association will be holding their annual ”Salmon Bake” at scenic Sunnyside Beach in Steilacoom, Sunday, July 28th from noon till 4:00 PM. The cost is $14 for the salmon meal, $6 for a hotdog meal. That includes drinks and desert.

There will be live entertainment and plenty of small town atmosphere. Invite family and friends to join you for fun, sun, great food and great people. There is pay parking at the beach or take the free shuttle from downtown.

Monument Dedication Service:

On Thursday, August 22, a dedication service is scheduled at 7:00 PM at the Steilacoom monument tower just slightly west of the corner of Wilkes and Lafayette in recognition of its becoming a National Historical Site by the United Methodist Church.

The main speaker will be Robert Williams, General Secretary of the National UMC Archives and History from Madison, New Jersey.  In addition to his address, there will be a brief history and music.  While some chairs will be available, we encourage you to bring along one as well.

The monument tower was erected by the Washington Historical Society and Puget Sound Methodist Episcopal Church in 1908 on the site of the first Protestant church to be built north of the Columbia River.  It was to honor the work of Rev. John F. DeVore and his members who built the church in 1853 when Washington had just become a US Territory.

AmeriCorps Vista Volunteer Position Opening

The DuPont Fire Department has received notification that is has been awarded an AmeriCorps grant for another year.  This grant will provide a person to work in the area of disaster preparedness in DuPont, coordinate with our regional partners, and act as the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Coordinator for the City.  The position starts September 1, 2013 and runs through July 15, 2014.  The CERT Coordinator will work 40 hours per week and receive a monthly stipend, in addition to basic AmeriCorps health benefits and an Education Award for a successfully completed term of service.  We are very excited to be awarded a grant for this position as it will allow the Fire Department to better prepare the citizens of DuPont, our schools, and our businesses to be ready for disaster situations that may arise.  The current AmeriCorps member working at the Fire Department, Claire Keller-Scholz, will finish her term on July 31, 2013.

The City is now recruiting and accepting applications for this full-time position.  The position duties, benefits, terms, service areas, and required skills can be found at DuPont Vista Volunteer.  For more information please contact Human Resources Manager Bernadette Moreland at (253) 912-5212 or bmoreland@dupontwa.gov.

City of DuPont Seeking EMS Volunteers

DuPont is currently accepting applications for motivated and career-minded EMS volunteers.  The City of DuPont Fire Department is looking for volunteer EMS Reserves to help staff the Aid Car, assisting with patient care and transport.  The reserves will be EMT’s who will supplement our career staff and help enable the fire engine to stay in DuPont and staffed during transport situations.  Currently there are fewer private ambulance transport units available to the citizens in DuPont due to growing demand in other areas of the county which absorbs the use of Rural Metro and AMR.