City of Tacoma

City of Tacoma Safe and Clean Initiatives

Learn from Other Communities about Reducing Crime This team will research other communities of similar size and population densities that have successfully reduced the incidence of crimes, as defined by the Uniform Crime Reporting Handbook, to identify the best practices that contributed to these reductions. The team will then assess these best practices to see if they can be used successfully in Tacoma to achieve similar results. Contact John O’Loughlin at (253) 502-2175 or [email protected]

Full Community Participation This team will strive to foster community participation in the Safe and Clean initiatives. By June 2009, the team hopes that citizens will outnumber staff on the Safe and Clean teams and that some teams may actually be led by citizens. Contact Rob McNair-Huff at 591-5054 or [email protected]

Increase Solid Waste Convenience and Solutions The team is investigating possible improvements or enhancements to City services that would increase community participation in removal of neighborhood debris and discourage illegal dumping. Contact Carol Wolfe at (253) 591-5384 or [email protected]

DREAM - Designing Roads for Everyone’s Access and Mobility This team is identifying opportunities to better use the community’s street infrastructure, including: change street design policy to include minimum requirements for curb and gutter and allow for landscaping; change policy on maintenance of streets to eliminate wedge curbs, temporary fixes, and conflicts with utility work; and increase visibility and funding. Contact Jennifer Kammerzell at 591-5511 or [email protected]

ACCT- Attacking Code Conflicts Together This team is implementing a survey to identify conflicting policies, procedures, ordinances, and other barriers that inhibit City staff and other stakeholders from creating a safe and clean Tacoma. Contact Leigh Starr at (253) 591-5031 or [email protected]

Community Education about Blight Reduction This team will work on educating the community about their role in blight elimination and connecting them with resources that address problems. The team is considering a multi-faceted, multi-month campaign around specific topics. Contact Roxanne Murphy at 591-2054 or [email protected]

1 Clean Up Tacoma Properties This team is working to eliminate illegal dumpsites and transient camps from designated open spaces and rights-of-way while simultaneously addressing the need for ongoing maintenance of other City-owned real properties. Contact Chris Ott at (253) 591-5929 or [email protected]

ROAR! Reward Outstanding Achievement through Recognition This team wants to provide incentives to neighborhood groups and/or individual citizens to recognize their commitment to safe and clean neighborhoods. Contact Sandy Davis at (253) 591- 5452 or [email protected]

Recycling Latex Paint The objective of this group is to assess the feasibility of implementing a municipal latex paint recycling program that would provide a low/no cost source of high quality paint to property owners for graffiti abatement. Contact Reuben McKnight at 591-5220 or [email protected]

Improving Livability through Homeownership The objective of this team is to increase homeownership in the five Community Based Service (CBS) areas of Tacoma. They are doing this in the following ways:  By distributing information to current homeowners about what to do if they are having trouble making their mortgage payments or their home is facing foreclosure.  By distributing information to potential home buyers about financing programs such as the guaranteed loan programs offered by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).  By providing information to low-income, first-time home buyers about the City of Tacoma’s Down Payment Assistance (DPA) program. Contact Ric Teasley at (253) 591-5238 or [email protected]

Building Partnerships to Reduce Crime and Blight The team is creating a model that is intended to foster partnerships to address community concerns involving crime and blight. The model can be applied to problems that have defied simple solutions and require a collaborative approach. All community members and local government resources are potential partners. Implementation of this model will engage community participation by leveraging available resources to more effectively reduce crime and blight. Contact Captain Mike Miller at (253) 591-5942 or [email protected]

Code of Conduct This team would like to help facilitate a baseline set of principles and core values created by the citizens of Tacoma that defines the behavior sought by all community members. Contact Daniel Still at (253) 594-7804 or [email protected]

2 Extreme Neighborhood Makeover: Tacoma Edition This team is creating a way to transform communities through extreme neighborhood makeovers. The idea is to create a dramatic visible improvement when cleaning up neighborhoods by coordinating the delivery of as many City services as possible to a specific area in a short timeframe. This visible improvement will show the City’s commitment and inspire neighborhood pride. The physical improvements will culminate in a neighborhood clean up and community event. Neighborhood residents help organize the clean up and event and also partner with other social organizations in the area to create a sense of community that will sustain the neighborhood makeover into the future. Contact Christian Clegg at (253) 591-5925 or [email protected]

It’s About Face – Making Tacoma’s Business Districts Safe and Clean This team is focused on building partnerships with Tacoma’s business community that furthers the Safe and Clean effort. For example, the team is first examining ways to improve the existing Façade Improvement Program to raise its profile in the community and increase the program’s overall ease of use. In addition, the team is organizing a simpler, grassroots version to make the program available to lower-income businesses. Other possible partnerships for the team and the business community include bringing a BIA-like program to business districts outside of downtown and organizing clean-ups and other programs in business districts throughout the City. Contact Matt Peelen at (253) 591-5590 or [email protected]

Providing Resource Opportunities Advocating City of Tacoma’s Ideal Visionary Environment (PROACTIVE) Business Licenses The team will be assessing the effectiveness of current City Codes and business license requirements related to the following four areas: 1. Rental Housing 2. Night Clubs 3. Convenience Stores 4. Hotels Contact Jodie Trueblood at (253) 591-5251 or [email protected]

CitySAFE The focus of this team is primarily on the education and training of City staff and crews to identify and report suspicious activity. However, there is an educational/informational component for citizens that will involve dissemination of crime prevention information through brochures, neighborhood meetings and possible programming on TV Tacoma. Contact Angela Hardy at (253) 591-5231 or [email protected]

Crime Tactical Research Analysis Center (Crime-TRAC) This team is working to create a consolidated tactical research and analysis approach to help the City address focused public safety targets and goals. Contact Kathy McAlpine at (253) 830-6593 or [email protected]

3 IMPACT – I’m Making Plans about Cleaning Tacoma The team is facilitating the development, delivery and expansion of existing youth-oriented programs to reduce crime and blight in the City of Tacoma. Contact Andy Torres at (253) 593-7728 or [email protected]

Change Jail Release Policies The team is partnering with the Pierce County Jail Task Force to modify jail release procedures that impact surrounding neighborhoods. Contact Greg Hopkins at (253) 591-5883 or [email protected]

Target Career Criminals This team intends to reduce crime by arresting the most dangerous and most active criminals in the community by aggressively targeting outstanding warrants. Contact Lt. Bart Hayes at (253) 830-6543 or [email protected]

Infrastructure Impact Fees This team is researching opportunities to increase infrastructure revenue. Contact Kurtis Kingsolver at (253) 591-5269 or [email protected]

Improve Knowledge of Available City Resources The team is working on creating a targeted reference document on city services that support the clean and safe goals. Contact Justin Davis at (253) 591-5449 or [email protected]