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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02City of Port Townsend (360) 379-5047 (email: citycouncil@ci.port-townsend.wa.us) www.ci.port-townsend.wa.us February 2005 Council News From Mayor Catharine Robinson The City Council donned hard hats and wielded “gold” shovels on January 12, 2005, at the long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony for the City Hall Annex and Resto- ration project. They were joined by representatives from ARC Architects, Dawson Construction and city staff. The project is the culmination of many years of discussion and planning by citizens, elected officials, city staff, and members of the Jefferson County Historical Soci- ety. A special thank you to those who served on the most recent City Hall Annex Task Force. Con- struction is anticipated to be completed by the be- ginning of 2006. Stop by and take a look at the site! From Police Chief Kristen Anderson There has been a recent surge in re- ported residential and business burglar- ies within Port Townsend. Of note are a number of outdoor storage facilities and sheds that have been targeted. The prying of locks, doors, and windows to gain entrance has also been commonplace with the burglaries. Many of the burglaries have oc- curred during the late night and early morning hours; however, it is not uncommon for residential burglaries to occur in the daytime hours when resi- dents are away from home. A few of the more re- cent home burglaries occurred while the residents were out of town for the weekend or holidays. Information obtained by the Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office Indicates many of the burglaries and thefts in the city and County are associated with illegal drug activity, most notable metham- phetamine. Unfortunately, an all too common theme with methamphetamine and “hard” drug abuse is the resorting to property crimes, and at times violent crimes, to support addictions. We are asking everyone to be vigilant and to re- port suspicious activity to the police. Notify trusted friends, family, and neighbors when you will be away from home and when possible have them keep watch on your home. Police officers are also available to visit with you at you home or business (or to speak with you by phone) to dis- cuss with you crime prevention techniques. From Fire Chief Mike Mingee Providing Public Safety Services (Fire and Police) should be a top priority of any munici- pal government. In my 28 years as a Firefighter I have found that sometimes that priority becomes diluted with other public needs. Each of us ex- pects that if the need arises they will be removed from a vehicle crash, their house fire will be extin- guished and, if needed, the occupants will be res- cued. Each of us expects that an ambulance will arrive with trained attendants if we suddenly feel pressure in our chest. Fire Department manag- ers must be creative in finding methods of meet- ing that public need. For many cities in the State of Washington, consolidation has provided an an- swer. Not intended to reduce budgets, consolida- tion will give you more for the same amount of money. Reducing redundancies, pooling re- sources such as fire trucks and staff, and operat- ing as one agency instead of multiple agencies will make funds available for the staff needed to provide this level of service. In January the con- solidated Fire Department was able to hire two firefighters without a significant budget increase to help meet our current needs. During 2005 a Joint Oversight Board with repre- sentation from both the City and Fire District 6 will be meeting to determine how to make this con- solidated agreement a long term commitment. I invite you as members of the public to get in- volved as this process continues. Pre-disaster Mitigation Competitive Grant— Police Station Relocation Request for Comment The City of Port Townsend is seeking public input for a “Pre-disaster Mitigation Competitive Grant” to move the Port Townsend Police Department out of the combined liquefaction/tsunami/coastal flooding zone. The Pre-disaster Mitigation Competitive Grant is sponsored by FEMA, and is designed to provide grant money to assist public entities in tak- ing preventive measures that will reduce the costs of future catastrophes. The “Hazard Mitigation “ grant that is paying for the majority of the new Port Townsend Fire Station is such a grant. The goal is to get grant money to acquire a building that is outside the hazard zones and meets the code standards for public safety buildings. The newly acquired building would be refitted to meet the needs of the police and the public. This type of grant is highly competitive, and there is no assurance that Port Townsend will be awarded a grant to relocate the Police Facilities. If awarded, the City would be liable to provide 12½% of the to- tal grant amount, and State and Federal sources would provide the other 87½%. For the purposes of the grant application, public comment will be accepted through February 14, 2005 in order to have time to complete the grant application by its due date. Public comments, including names and home ad- dresses of respondents, are considered public in- formation and may be made available for public re- view. Comments may be sent to: Ken Horvath Public Safety Analyst City of Port Townsend 1256 Lawrence Street, #A Port Townsend, WA 98368 Voice: (360) 344-4613 Fax: (360) 344-4604 Email: kenh@police.ci.port-townsend.wa.us Please include your contact information in case we need more information about your mitigation ideas. 2005 Citizens Police Academy to Start February 22, 2005 The Port Townsend Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office would like to invite citizens interested in their local law enforce- ment agencies to attend the 7th Annual Citizens Police Academy. The Citizens Academy is designed to give members of the public a glimpse into the realities of police work, to include patrol procedures, traffic enforce- ment, interview/interrogation, K-9, firearms, criminal investigative work, the DARE/School Resource Offi- cer program and much, much more. The Academy also brings in representatives from other agencies such as Child Protective Services, Department of Corrections, Prosecutors and Public Defenders as well as local judges. Classes will be held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings with an occasional Saturday morning. Start date is February 22, 2005 with the last class on April 19, 2005. Registration is free, but space is limited. For more information, call Lyn at 379-3694 or 385-2322. Applicants are subject to a limited criminal background check. Parking Downtown The Downtown Parking Advisory Board (DPAB) meets monthly to address park- ing issues and implement the adopted Parking Plan. In January, parking in front of Memorial Stadium on Washington Street was changed back to a 24-hour time zone. Based on DPAB’s recommendation, this area will be 24-hour in the winter and 4-hour during the peak tourist season (April 15 to October 15.) Other changes that were implemented late last summer remain in effect. Currently, the parking zones provide 2-hour parking in front of businesses in the commercial areas; 4- hour parking in the "transition zone"; and, 24-hour at the edges of downtown. The prime 2-hour spaces are intended for customers and clients of the businesses with the goal of promoting parking turnover. The new 4-hour parking spaces are in- tended to accommodate those who have extended business needs. The 24-hour parking is designed for employees and those coming downtown for longer periods. Parking time zones are in effect and enforced from 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m., except Sundays and holi- days. DPAB is working on other parking initiatives addressing longer term solutions to the parking needs for downtown and seeks feedback on ideas.