Contributed by the Kent Police Department

Are you interested in starting a neighborhood blockwatch?

The Kent Police Department is hosting a city wide informational meeting on the benefits of starting and maintaining a neighborhood block watch.

Neighborhood Block Watch 101
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Kent City Hall Council Chambers

Why Attend?

• interested in starting a neighborhood block watch
• interested in re-starting an already formed block watch
• needing a refresher on maintaining a neighborhood block watch
• interested in hearing from other block watch captains and what has worked and what hasn’t
• interested in hearing about Kent crime trends and what residents can do to help prevent crime in their neighborhoods

What You Can Do Ahead of Time:

• find a neighbor or two to attend with you
• notify neighbors that you will be attending and bringing back information
• start mapping the neighborhood and forming a phone tree for each block watch (a block watch is 10-20 homes)

Please RSVP by April 8th to your Neighborhood Sector contact:

East Hill/Panther Lake Area: Stacy Judd at (253) 856-5883

Valley Area/West Hill: Sara Wood at (253) 856-5851

*This format is replacing individual neighborhood meetings. However, public education specialists will continue to visit block watches when crime trend concerns occur.

Contributed by the City of Kent by Michelle Witham

KENT, Wash. – June 2, 2010 – The July 1 effective date for Panther Lake area residents to become part of the City of Kent is soon approaching, and as part of the annexation process, the City is required to conduct a special census of all homes in the area.

A census worker wearing a City of Kent identification badge will visit households between June 17 and July 17. The only information required in this census is the names of all individuals residing in a household.

According to Fred Satterstrom, Kent’s Planning Director, cooperating with this special annexation census ensures that Kent receives a full share of state funds allotted for essential public services.

“This special annexation census is in addition to the U.S. Census recently conducted by the federal Census Bureau earlier this spring; they are separate counts.  I hope residents won’t be confused by it,” Satterstrom said.

Annexation area residents may also provide this census information directly, at any time by calling the Kent Census Hotline at 1-800-635-6594. The Census Hotline is available 24 hours a day. Any information provided will be held confidential.

Residents should be aware the census will NOT require them to provide their social security numbers, credit card numbers, bank account information or pay any fees.  Residents should not provide such details to anyone who claims to be a census worker and asks for this kind of information.

Legitimate census workers will have identification badges with a phone number that residents can call if they would like to verify their identities. Residents may contact the annexation message line at 253-856-5799 with questions or concerns.

The City of Kent is the fourth largest city in King County, Washington with a population over 88,000. As a culturally rich destination, Kent’s dynamic quality of life features captivating neighborhoods, award-winning parks and nationally accredited police and fire departments. In recent years, Kent has experienced impressive economic growth, and is nationally known as a prime location for manufacturing. For more information, visit www.choosekent.com.

On Tuesday, May 11 (6 to 8 p.m.), the City of Kent will host an open house at the Kentridge High School Library, 12430 SE 208th St., Kent. This will be the city’s final open house before annexation takes place July 1, 2010. The annexation will add approximately five square miles and 24,000 residents to the City of Kent, making it the sixth largest city in the state of Washington.

For more information, visit the City’s Annexation Web page, email the city, or call the annexation message line at 253-856-5777.

Kent TV21 has created and is now showing “Welcome to Kent:  The Panther Lake Annexation” to discuss the city’s plans to annex the neighborhood on July 1, 2010. Featuring Mayor Suzette Cooke, planning director Fred Satterstrom and members of Citizens for Annexation to Kent, the program will discuss the annexation and how it will impact the community. To view the program, visit KentTV21 online.

Once the Panther Lake annexation of 24,000 residents is complete, the City of Kent will become the sixth largest city in the State of Washington. For more information about the annexation, visit the city’s online annexation resource.

The City of Kent is hosting an open house to discuss the Panther Lake annexation on Sat., Jan. 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Sunrise Elementary School (multi-purpose room, 22300 132nd Ave. SE, Kent, WA).

The annexation was approved by voters on Nov. 3, 2009. Panther Lake will become a part of the City of Kent effective July 1, 2010, making Kent the sixth largest city in the state. Panther Lake is located east of Kent’s current city limits and includes Benson Hill and Panther Lake. The area is approximately five square miles and contains about 24,000 residents.

For more information about the annexation, visit the city’s website,  call the annexation info. line at 253-856-5777 or send an email to the city.

The city has also created a document with Annexation General FAQs. You can download it here: annexation_faq.

The City of Kent is considering annexing the Panther Lake area of Kent to the city. A citizens group has been formed that favors the annexation. To read why this group is in favor of the annexation, visit their website.

According to the “why” page of Annex2Kent.com, the top issues include Safety, Convenience and Savings.

The following documents were provided for iLoveKent.net by Annex2Kent co-chair Marvin Eckfeldt. Inclusion of these documents is for informational purposes only and does not indicate an endorsement of the annexation by iLoveKent.net. If anyone from the Kent community would like to present an opposing viewpoint, iLoveKent.net will post that information also.

Citizen Annexation Fact Sheet

Annexation Flyer

Merchant Letter

Voter Pamphlet Explanatory & Pro Statement

Hello, readers and I Love Kent followers. I attended Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke’s “State of the City” address yesterday at the ShoWare Center. I did not attend as a reporter, but I can’t help but take notes. For those of you who weren’t able to attend or watch the online version, here is a brief synopsis of her presentation.

About the ShoWare Center

- Mayor’s speech was the first major speaking event at the new ShoWare Center.
- ShoWare Center opened on January 2 with 10,000 in attendance. The Seattle Thunderbirds accommodated with a win!
- ShoWare Center is the FIRST green arena in the United States!
- It is anticipated that the ShoWare Center will bring in 400,000 people and $16 million in revenue to Kent each year.
- It is the city’s most significant economic project since Kent Station.
- City has signed a five-year lease to use the Park and Ride on James Street for ShoWare Center parking.
- The building was completed in 17 months with more than 100 city staff involved in the project.
- It won’t cost taxpayers any extra money to have the ShoWare Center in Kent.

Other City Topics
- City is reducing operating expenses, delaying hires and vehicle replacements and eliminating contracts to offset a drop in revenue.
- As of 12/31/08, city revenue dropped 14%.
- City workers who are unionized are working with the city to cut costs to avoid layoffs.
- 28 employees have not be replaced, so current city staff is trying to meet resident needs despite the manpower shortfall.
- “Our employees have been wonderful.”
- Alaska Copper and Brass Company is moving to Kent, bringing at least 100 new jobs to the area.
- The city has $50 million in pending projects in the permitting process.
- Other developments: Hampton Inn is building a 100-room facility on 64th; a new office building and banquet hall is being built near Top Foods (at the site of the old skate center); and GRCC is expanding, creating space for 700 additional students to attend the two-year college.
- City needs to focus on bringing high quality downtown residents to the area to access our stores and businesses.
- City will encourage mixed use urban buildings.
- City is looking at changes in the permitting process to make it easier to do business in Kent.
- Neighborhood program has established 15 new neighborhood councils. The West Hill neighborhood council has reduced crime in its area by 40%!
- City wants to create more affordable entertainment including offering free outdoor movies at Town Plaza this summer.
- City of Kent sent more than 3,000 criminals to jail last year.
- More than 1,000 city staff and residents have been trained for emergency response.
- Kent was third last year (among cities its size) in participating in the National Night Out.
- New bus route to connect West Hill, The Lakes and other critical areas to each other.
- Panther Lake Annexation is still under consideration. It would add 23,000 more residents to Kent, but it would cost more to serve that area than the City would bring in additional revenue. City is working with King County Council to see how those residents can still be adequately served.
- The City is actively seeking a solution to the parking garage problem.
- New Kent School District superintendent is a big proponent of partnering, so the City is looking forward to working with him.

Lastly, the mayor wrapped up with this message:

“I absolultely love serving you because you show you love this community…it’s because of you that I am your mayor…”