Lakewood City Manager report to council, July 9

Highlights from the weekly report (July 9) from City of Lakewood Manager, Andrew Neiditz to the Mayor and Council Members:

• Freedom’s Crossing Presentation: Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) Garrison Commander Colonel Thomas Brittain and Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) representative Joe Guiffreda gave an update on the JBLM Freedom’s Crossing (Lifestyle Center) at the July 9th “Coffee with the Mayor”. There were about 35 people in attendance, including business people who were able to get questions clarified about the JBLM proposal.
• Senior Center Mystery Trip: Over 45 older adults from the Lakewood Senior Activity Center boarded a motor coach Wednesday, July 7th for a Mystery Trip. The group was surprised by our educational trip to the State Patrol Training Academy. It was very enlightening and the group has an even greater respect for our law enforcement. Staff and volunteers wore Lakewood Police Department Junior badges to show our support for our Police Department, but our tour guide promptly handed out Junior State Patrol Badges for everyone. The group enjoyed a lunch out on the town after our tour.
• United Way develops program to serve families of soldiers: The city manager met with United Way CEO Rick Allen and Helen Myrick from the United Way of Tacoma-Pierce County to discuss a program proposal to focus about $5 million in federal funds to provide service to families of deployed soldiers. Our area’s project would be one of two pilot projects in the nation, the other one in New Jersey.
• Public records process review: The city manager and legal staff met with the president of the Washington Coalition for Open Government and the State Attorney General’s ombudsman this week, to further improve the City staff’s efforts to meet requests for public documents. The city manager also met with the publisher of The News Tribune last week to reiterate the City’s commitment not only to comply with State law but to foster open government. The City continues its discussions with the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) to propose improvements to State requirements for handling public documents.Your browser may not support display of this image.