NEWS

ORTING COUNCIL CONTINUES STRUGGLE WITH FACILITIES ORDINANCE

By: Barbara Hansen June 12, 2009

Orting City Council again tabled the vote on an ordinance that would establish a priority use table for city facilities.
The delay came at the request of City Attorney Chris Baccus, who voiced concerns regarding the constitutionality of how the city determines which groups will receive discounts or use of facilities at no charge.
“The purpose was not so groups would move out, but to establish a time-line for groups,” explained city administrator Mark Bethune. “We need to acknowledge that when groups use city facilities, that there will be an end-time. We are working on getting better at communicating.”
The ordinance comes as a response to the March termination of a Friday exercise class for Orting senior citizens. With just four day's notice, Parks and Recreation Director Beckie Meek notified the Orting Valley Senior Center that they had been bumped from the Multipurpose Center so that another group could use the facility. Seniors objected to the short notice, calling it disrespectful. The seniors have now moved to Orting School District facilities.
Baccus cautioned the council to take care with the language that determines who can be granted free use of facilities to avoid liability for discrimination.

No surprises here: Crime is up in Orting. Calls for police assistance have increased 19 percent in the first five months of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008. The number of cases filed in Orting Municipal Court have increased 35 percent in the first five months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. Overall, police calls have increased 83 percent in the last five years.
In the previous three years, statistics show a 60 percent increase in drug-related offenses, a 100 percent increase in alcohol-related offenses, and a 46 percent increase in domestic violence offenses. In the last two weeks, two marijuana grow operations have been uncovered in the city, Orting Chief of Police William Drake said.
Statistics for police-initiated traffic stops were separated from other data, Drake said, showing that traffic stops themselves were not increasing at the same rate but were lower.
“I am a big believer in traffic stops,” Drake said. “Most are simple infractions of the rules that most people are guilty of at one time or another. But then we come across the small percentage of people with warrants and drugs who are picked up as a result of traffic stops. We want that signal strong: If you come here (to break the law), there's a high probability that you will be apprehended.”

In other city council news, Orting's sewage treatment plant staff were awarded an “Outstanding Performance Award” by the Washington State Department of Ecology.
The award acknowledges the skill and dedication to excellence required to be in 100 percent compliance with the state's statutes for water quality, said DOE representative Pat Bailey.
“This was made possible by the support of the city in providing the tools so we can do our job,” said waste water treatment plant supervisor Denis Rundle.
Two reserve police officers were sworn in June 10, both of which are former Orting Explorer members. Joining the ranks of Orting's finest are Steven VanZanten and Nicole Lay.