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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002 05-28 City Council Manager Workshop Packett i t f Alit t I 'tt t tt 1-t RK S F, CT. E .......... t itit . ...... ...... it t ittitf.. G: N A ....... .. t ifA H.1, ': p R W., RKS 'c IT 0 .......... ....... .. ... . ..... t 0 20 ........ . n .. t e r, , 6 P i , ttt ... . .... i itit I 1 4 I t it OL c L A it t L tt t AL* - 'A G7 E N A: c PRO 0 i F t it E W N, E I it -ev 01 K iew:b� o ar. . �D - i g'n' t t 7 3 .. . ....... N T OPIC U u E� F E it if i t it c onne b i f -,,e gu: a in --om R' 1 t B k h -,,Yram:anc,e t 'EN. T 'O M U it J t it t fiIttttititIt-I' tt u 7 AGENDA rrfiK NO.....O.P... OfI J Action by Council i Date End.©t S Moie,d COMMUNITY DESIGN REVIEW BOARD INTERVIEWS: • Rejected Please see AGENDA ITEM Fi in the City Council Packet. Agenda MEMORANDUM TO: Richard Fursman, City Manager Action by Council Bate - FROM: Bruce K. Anderson, Director of Parks and Recreation End®i6.1 Meeting }codified DATE. May 13, 2002 for the May 28 2002 City Council SUBJECT: National Night Out INTRODUCTION The city of Maplewood has sponsored a National Night Out program for the past 20 years. National Night Out has traditionally been a public safety function to promote the police and fire departments. Five years ago, the program shifted significantly from a public safety orientation to a community -wide event. This event was coordinated by Colleen Dirkswager, who is no longer employed by the city. At your request our department is coordinating this event for 2002. BACKGROUND National Night Out has been in existence for the past 18 years. The city of Maplewood has actively participated for the past ten years. The purpose of National Night Out is four -fold: 1. To heighten crime and drug prevention awareness. 2. Generate support for and participation in local anti -crime efforts. 3. Strengthen neighborhood spirit and police community partnerships. 4. Send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. Maplewood initiated the National Night Out program in the late 1980s with the police department hosting an ice cream social and related police activities at Wakefield Park. During the past five years, the event has become a community -wide event hosted at Maplewood city hall. Although there is a strong police and public safety presence, the other city departments are involved including food vendors, bands and an annual budget of $7 not including staff time. It is my strong recommendation that the National Night Out program as it has been offered in the past no longer be the norm. I believe that an argument can be made that the more successful our community event is, the less successful National Night Out in effect becomes. I believe the four objectives of National Night Out are to increase neighborhood awareness and promotion of community policing and the neighborhood crime watch program. Our current program defeats that objective by encouraging people to leave their neighborhood and not support neighborhood block parties. I have enclosed a copy of a National Night Out round table program, which was held on February 5, 2002. As can be noted from the communities ° responses, the majority of communities host neighborhood block parties to promote public awareness. We currently have an active neighborhood block watch program and have adopted community policing as our management norm. National Ni Out Pa 2 Ma 13, 2002 it is m recommendation that the cit use National Ni Out as an opportunit to encoura and host local nei block parties. Our department could activel be involved in providin communit support for events such as the puppet wa face paintin and recreation staff to develop nei g ames as well as providin recreation e for nei to utilize. The basic format of the evenin would be to promote nei to host nei block parties. We could develop a marketin pro includin invitations, fl and su g ames and activities for the nei This would be implemented with support from the police and fire departments, includin vehicles and fire trucks scheduled to attend the nei parties in addition to the parks and recreation services. I also believe it would be appropriate to offer ice cream and cake and a dozen helium balloons to promote the event for each nei I further believe that if it is the desire of the cit council to pursue National Ni Out as it has been done in the past, we look at alternative dates and promote it as a communit open house pro to promote the cit and communit center. It would then be lo for o ur department to be more Involved. Should the Cit council a that the idea of local block parties should be pursued, I believe the police department should become more intimatel involved in plannin and coordination. RECOMMENDATION It is m recommendation that the cit council reconsider the status of National Ni Out to determine what the objectives and g oals are in this national pro kd\nno.mem