By Paul Loveless, Steilacoom Town Administrator
Upcoming Meetings:
- Council Meeting – October 1, 2013 at 6:30 PM at Town Hall.
- Preservation and Review Board – October 23, 2013 at 6:30 PM at Town Hall.
- Civil Service – October 3, 2013 at 3:00 PM at the Community Center
- Planning Commission – October 28, 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
Night Work at the Sunnyside Pump Station:
On the morning of Wednesday October 2, 2013 starting at 1:00AM, contractors are going to be working on the Town’s sewer force main pipe at the Pierce County Sewer Treatment Plant. This work will require the Town to shut down our pump station across from Sunnyside Beach Park. The Contractor will be providing tanker trucks to haul to sewage from the pump station to the County treatment plant while they are working on the force main pipe.
The contractor will be closing off the northbound lane at the pump station and will have traffic control set up with flaggers. The trucks will be coming back from the treatment plant by way of Chambers Creek Road, up Lafayette St. to downtown, where they will go around the block to turn around and head back to the pump station to reload.
The contractor says it will only take 4 hours to complete the work, but it could be longer if they encounter difficulties. The Town’s sewer crew will be onsite to assist as needed.
This work will be dependant upon the weather. If we get rain, the work may be canceled due to increased sewage flows that the trucks may not be able to handle.
Scarecrow Fest Coming Soon:
The recent rains are a reminder that Fall is just around the corner That means the STEILACOOM GARDEN CLUB’S Scarecrow contest is just a few weeks away. Scarecrows may no longer keep pesky crows out of cornfields, but they can be a fun and colorful way to welcome fall. To enter, just sign up at the bulletin board between Key bank and Bair Bistro, at the Steilacoom Community Center or by e-mail to hopkinstei@aol.com Then, create a scarecrow depicting this year’s theme, CELEBRATING THE APPLE (the annual Apple Squeeze is Oct. 6th). Scare crows need to be displayed at your home or business by Oct.1st and winners will be notified by the 15th. Be on the lookout too for a return of some other spirited scarecrows hanging around the downtown area – tis the season for fun.
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. BNSF is pursuing design of a replacement structure at this time.
Comprehensive Plan Update:
Your input is needed to update to the Town’s Comprehensive Plan. Over the next several months, the Planning Commission will review the Comprehensive Plan by topic, and public input is vital to the success of this exercise. Remaining topics to be covered are Development Patterns on October 28; Housing on November 25; Economic Development on December 9 and Transportation on December 23. All meetings will be at 6:30 PM in the Town Hall, 1717 Lafayette Street. More information is available from Town Planner Doug Fortner at 581-1912 or doug.fortner@ci.steilacoom.wa.us.
Want to receive advance notice of Planning Commission meetings and hearings by email? You can sign up at any Planning Commission meeting or send an email request to doug.fortner@ci.steilacoom.wa.us.
AWC Regional Meetings:
AWC has several Regional Meetings coming to our area. AWC’s Regional Meetings provide an outstanding chance to come together as a region and have an interactive discussion. You will have the opportunity to hear from Mike McCarty, AWC CEO and AWC legislative staff about legislative priorities, and start a conversation about how we can better connect and engage our citizens. This is a great opportunity to connect with other leaders in our area and talk about local issues, challenges, and opportunities that we face.
November 6 – Olympia
AWC Offices
1076 Franklin St SE
(360) 753-4137
The meeting runs from 6-8 pm and includes dinner. Please notify me if you would like to attend.
Public Safety:
Staffing:
We will be contacting the top 15-18 candidates on the entry level list. We expect to conduct entry level oral boards in early October with a target CJTC Academy date of February 2014.
Greg Feleppa started on Monday, September 23rd.. He will attend EMT school at Pierce College starting on October 15th and ending on December 17th. The CJTC Equivalency Academy starts on October 22nd and is completed on December 19th. We anticipate Greg to have completed all schools and his field training time by January 1st.
Training:
Emergency Vehicle Operation Course (EVOC) training is scheduled for the entire department in November.
Defensive Tactics (DT) training is scheduled for the entire department in October & November.
Anita Booker-Hay, City of Lakewood – Assistant City Attorney, is coming over on October 30th to meet with the entire staff. Representatives of Lakewood Municipal Court will also be present. This meeting is part of the coordination effort due to at staff’s recommendation the Council authorizing the contracting of the municipal court operations with the City of Lakewood.
Officer Derig and Sergeant Rodriguez participated in SWAT Breaching training this week.
Public Works:
Streets and Storm:
Sequalish Street Project;
PSE’s contractor began work on moving their gas mains along the project. The contractor continues to provide material submittals in preparation for starting on-site work. The contractor will use a portion of the old shop site for their staging area. Please find alternate commuting routes
Crew Emphasis:
The crew focused on street sweeping, storm preparation and response, site visits at Joey Hollow (the development near Saltar’s Point School), and other right-of-way maintenance.
Electrical:
Crew Emphasis:
The crew coordinated with the Sequalish Street contractor, coordinated with School District officials on relocating electrical lines at the old Pioneer Middle School, and worked on the SCADA system.
Water/Sewer:
Crew Emphasis:
The Crew met with the contractor in preparation for the Pierce County rehabilitation project on the force main line and performed other system maintenance.
Parks and Grounds:
The crew painted the bandstand at Pioneer Park, delivered materials for the Bair garden rehabilitation, and performed other maintenance.
Other:
Kiwanis Club of Steilacoom:
The Kiwanis Club of Steilacoom will meet on Thursday, October 3, at 7 AM at the old Pioneer Middle School in Steilacoom.
DUI Task Force’s Ttaxi Program Kicks-off September 28:
Fun-seekers heading for 6th Avenue’s nightclubs this Saturday night in Tacoma will have help scoring a taxi ride home if they’ve had too much to drink.
The rides – the first 25 of which will be free for groups sharing a ride within Tacoma – are sponsored by the Tacoma Pierce County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Force and four participating companies: Fair Fares and JR Cab along with Aloha and Alien car service companies.
Taxis will be available in the heart of the popular nightclub area on Pine Street and 6th Avenue where bar-hoppers will be able to get free taxi vouchers or help dispatching a $10 flat-rate taxi from street volunteers wearing white baseball caps marked “Choose Your Ride.”
“This is a community effort in which everyone does their part – bar owners, bartenders, resident volunteers, cab companies and our valued patrons – to keep 6th Avenue’s nightlife on the top of everyone’s go-to list,” says Jeff Paradise, co-owner of Masa along with John and Luke Xitco in the trendy bar and restaurant area. Along with Jazzbones and other members of the 6th Avenue District Business Association, Paradise has worked to keep the area’s nighttime streets crime-free and accessible to customers wanting to grab a quick cab home after a night on the town.
“It thrills me to think that a community has come together to promote safety along with the good times involving alcohol. My daughter might be still alive had a safe way home like this been available the night she had been drinking and let an impaired friend drive her home in her car,” said Sharon Reynon, a volunteer who will be among the street volunteers uniting club-goers with cabs..
Saturday night’s Choose Your Ride taxi program, which sports a logo depicting a hybrid car that is a police cruiser in the front and a cab in the back, “offers the chance to get a ride home within the city for nothing,” said John Cheesman, Chief of the Fircrest Police Department and chairman the Tacoma Pierce County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Force. “It seems like a real bargain considering that riding in a car like mine, of which there will be many in the area on September 28, could cost as much as $10,000.”
Along with the Tacoma Pierce County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Force, Daniel Sibbett, owner of Tacoma’s popular fleet of Aloha karaoke cabs, hopes people will begin to order taxis in advance of stepping out and will take a taxi both to and from their drinking destinations. Sibbett is testing the feasibility of getting drinker’s cars home since it can be a tough sell to talk some owners into leaving their parked cars behind.
Media who would like to interview Choose Your Ride volunteers, including Sharon Reynon, or ride along with a participating taxi driver should contact Gloria Mansfield Averill, Tacoma Pierce County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Force, (253) 222-9088.
Non-peak Season Pierce County Ferry Rates, Schedule Starts October 1:
Non-peak season on the Pierce County ferry will bring changes to the fare rates and the schedule. Non-peak season runs from Oct. 1 to April 30.
Fare rates
Non-peak season rates apply starting Oct. 1 for Pierce County ferry passengers who drive a vehicle or motorcycle onto the ferry. Walk-on passenger rates are the same year-round, and bicycles can be walked on at no extra cost.
Passengers driving vehicles 21 feet in length or less will see their rates decrease from the peak season rate of $21, to the non-peak season rate of $16.80, while motorcyclists will see a decrease from $11.30 to $9.05. The five-trip commuter pass for vehicles 21 feet in length or less remains at $67.15, while the five-trip pass for motorcycle commuters remains at $36.10.
Visit www.piercecountywa.org/ferry for a full list of fares during the non-peak season.
Schedule change
A Thursday night run, departing Steilacoom at 8:40 p.m., will be available during the non-peak season to support weeknight school and other off-island activities. The Sunday run departing Steilacoom at 10 p.m. will be canceled during non-peak season to offset the cost of adding the 8:40 p.m. Thursday run. The last Sunday run at 10 p.m. will be on Sept. 29. The first Thursday night run at 8:40 p.m. will be on Oct. 3.
The Pierce County Ferry System provides service between the town of Steilacoom and Anderson Island and Ketron Island.