With the school year ended and the warm weather here, summer is off to a great start for our city. There have already been some great events happening and I am excited to share what I have been up to, along with more fun events to come in the month ahead!

As you celebrate the start of summer and the Fourth of July, I would like to encourage you refrain from using fireworks in your neighborhood. We are seeing increasing numbers of people harmed and property damaged by the use of fireworks. I would also encourage you to think about others in our community that are harmed by fireworks, especially our veterans and animal owners. Keep in mind that fireworks are illegal in Tacoma, and violations of the fireworks ban can result in a $513 fine. 

Violations of the fireworks ban can be reported by calling South Sound 911’s non-emergency number at (253) 287-4455, or starting June 28 at 6 AM through 6 AM on July 7, you can use the online reporting tool at www.fireworksreport.com. For emergencies like life-threatening injury or fire, call 911.

With all that in mind, I would encourage you to enjoy your Fourth of July without your own fireworks this year! Instead of setting off your own fireworks, you can check out the Tacoma Summer Blast and get your fireworks fix with the rest of our community on our beautiful waterfront!

Alternative Response Update

At the June 18 Study Session, the City Council received our quarterly update on alternative response. Alternative response is a critical component of how the City Council is working to address safety in Tacoma. Our goal is to ensure that when you call for help, the right person shows up at the right time. I would encourage you to check out the presentation for more information on all the work we are doing to advance alternative response.

As part of our work, the City’s first two fully trained Community Service Officers (CSO) began operations on June 27. The CSO program is the third alternative response programs to become operational, joining the Homeless Engagement Alternatives Liaison (HEAL) Team and Holistic Outreach Promoting Engagement (HOPE) Team. CSOs perform various duties, including responding to specific non-priority calls for service, staffing sub-stations, taking reports, providing transportation, assisting stranded persons, and perimeter security and traffic control. They handle routine calls vetted by a sergeant that do not involve immediate danger or ongoing criminal activity, incidents where the situation has stabilized, and cases where suspects have left the scene, posing no immediate threat to public safety. Routine daily activities include answering calls, writing reports, securing emergency scenes, and interacting with the community at large public events.

I am very excited about the expansion of our alternative response programs. This has been an ongoing effort since I joined the City Council, and I am proud of what our City has accomplished. The addition of CSOs marks a step forward in our efforts to ensure a safer Tacoma. Our alternative response programs enhance our ability to connect residents with the right resources at the right time, improving overall community well-being and trust in our public safety systems.

City of Destiny Awards

One of my favorite events each year is the City of Destiny Awards. This year, I had the honor of standing in for Mayor Victoria Woodards to give the opening remarks and present an award. During my speech, I emphasized that in Tacoma, we express our love for our city not just through words but through actions. We are a city of volunteers, always ready to roll up our sleeves, get to work, and demonstrate our commitment to the community.

I was especially delighted to present the Youth Service Award to Selayna Rudolph from Silas High School. Her incredible efforts in serving our unhoused population and various parts of our community are truly inspirational.

I was deeply impressed by all our winners. The future of the City of Destiny is bright with people like this in our community!

Landfill Visit 

As many of you know, cleaning up litter and trash is my passion. This is why I was so excited to visit the LRI landfill in Pierce County this past month. All of our Tacoma trash ends up in this landfill, so it was great to see how our waste is handled. I was happy to be joined by City Council Member Kristina Walker and to learn all about the process, from the moment our trash leaves our homes to its final resting place in the landfill.

I was deeply impressed by all of the environmental protections and processes involved in ensuring that our trash doesn't harm the environment. It was also exciting to check out the waste-to-energy facility on the property. While it was great to visit the LRI landfill and learn about its operations, it's also a good reminder to do all we can to reduce, reuse, and recycle, keeping as much as possible out of our local landfill in the first place.

Cushman Adams Substation

This past month, I was happy to join many of you at the Wheelock Library for the first in-person Cushman Adams Substation reuse visioning meeting. It was inspiring to hear the numerous ideas people have for the future of these two sites. The event aimed to inform attendees about the Future Use Study, discuss ideas for the future, and explain how community feedback and other information will be used to create future scenarios and I thought it was a great start to that conversation. This opportunity to reimagine a significant part of our city is truly once-in-a-lifetime.

My children and I especially enjoyed the different activities that helped us think about the future of the site. They walked away very excited about the future of the place and their questions made me think more about what we can expect out of the future of the property.

If you were unable to join, I would encourage you to share your feedback through the visioning survey (which you can find here). This survey builds on past feedback we have heard from the community and will help inform the scenarios that we study in the next phase of the project.

Also, be sure to join the mailing list to stay informed throughout the process. Again, this is an important community conversation, and we need everyone to share their thoughts about the future of the Cushman and Adams Substations!

Potholes are a persistent problem that many of you have voiced concerns about. They affect our daily commutes and can cause significant damage to vehicles. Pothole Palooza served as a platform to address these issues directly and engage with the community about the challenges and solutions associated with maintaining our streets. By bringing attention to the problem, we aimed to foster a greater understanding of the work involved in pothole repair and the resources required to tackle it effectively.

While this event did not mark the end of the pothole plague, it did highlight the continuous and ongoing efforts of our amazing Public Works Department to address the condition of our streets. Street Operations staff planned this work prior to beginning the Tacoma Streets Initiative programs, which will continue through the summer. 

The dedication and hard work of the team were on full display, and their commitment to improving our infrastructure is truly commendable. Pothole Palooza was just the beginning, and we look forward to many more opportunities to work together and make our streets safer and smoother for everyone.

Be sure to always report potholes by contacting the TacomaFIRST 311 Customer Support Center by dialing 311 within Tacoma city limits or (253) 591-5000 from anywhere else, or by visiting cityoftacoma.org/TacomaFIRST311.

Association of Washington Cities Annual Conference

I had the pleasure of joining many elected officials from across Washington state for the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Annual Conference in June. I look forward to this conference every year as it provides an invaluable opportunity to discuss the issues we face in Tacoma and learn from the experiences of other cities.

I have always received new and creative ideas from other cities during this trip – from approaches to housing and homelessness to ideas about litter and trash – that I am happy to bring back to the City of Destiny.

This year was particularly special for me for two reasons. First, I was proud to be the flag bearer for Tacoma and participate in the parade of flags this year.

Second, I was also honored to be elected by the AWC Board, which is composed of elected city leaders from across the state, to the Executive Board of the Association of Washington Cities. I have been actively involved in AWC for a few years, lobbying on issues like statewide housing policy and earning my Advanced Certificate in Municipal Leadership, and was recently highlighted in their magazine Cityvision. This new role will allow me to have greater input on the direction of the organization in the years ahead and share more of our efforts in Tacoma with the rest of the state.