HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/01/2014 04 Council Report: County Gang Commission Distributed at the
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To: Yakima City Council
From: Communications & Public Affairs Director Randy Beehler
Subject: County Gang Commission Letter of Support Request
Date: Monday, June 30th, 2014
Council members,
Last week the City received a request from the Yakima County Gang Commission to provide a
letter of support (draft attached) to the commission regarding its application for a grant from the
U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention ( "OJJDP ").
The commission intends to apply for an OJJDP 2014 Anti -gang Strategies and Programs grant in
order to fund the Yakima County Gang Commission Implementation Project, which includes
hiring a gang coordinator to enhance the coordination of existing community -based anti -gang
programs and strategies into a comprehensive regional model.
The Council's Letter of Support Request Policy dictates that after a letter of support request is
received and reviewed by the city manager or staff assigned by the city manager, it is to be
forwarded to the Council Partnerships Committee to be further evaluated. However, the deadline
for the commission to apply for the OJJDP grant is July 14th. Given that deadline, scheduling a
meeting of the Council Partnerships Committee and, if needed, forwarding the letter of support
request to the full Council in time to meet the grant application deadline was not feasible. To
accommodate the timeline of the commission's request, and because the subject matter of the
request is germane to the Council Public Safety Committee, the letter of support request from the
commission was instead presented to the Council Public Safety Committee at its June 27th
meeting for further evaluation.
After completing its evaluation, the Council Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to
forward the letter of support request from the Yakima County Gang Commission with a
recommendation to approve the letter of support request to the full Council for consideration
at its July 1st business meeting. The Council may consider the request either under Agenda Item
#4 Council Reports or under Agenda Item #11 Other Business.
While the Yakima County Gang Commission model differs from the Yakima Gang Free Initiative
( "GFI ") model, in that the County model focuses on intervention and GFI model focuses on
prevention and suppression, City GFI Consultant Steve Magallan believes no conflict would exist
were the City to support the commission's OJJDP grant application. The draft letter of support
from the commission notes that the City would be willing, "...to participate and collaborate with
the proposed Yakima County Gang Commission Implementation Project." Magallan believes that
coordination between the Yakima County Gang Commission efforts and those of the GFI, despite
the different approaches of the two models, is important to the success of both.
The City's new Emergency Preparedness /Gang Free Initiative Manager, Perry Tarrant, concurs
with Magallan's assessment.
In accordance with the Council's Letter of Support Request Policy, at its July 1st business
meeting, the Council may:
a. By majority vote, accept the recommendation of the Council Public Safety
Committee regarding the requested letter of support
b. By majority vote, reject the recommendation of the Council Public Safety
Committee regarding the requested letter of support
c. Take no action
Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this matter prior to the Council's
July 1st business meeting.
• ..... '' !-''a OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
-4,, 129 North Second Street
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June 30, 2014
Commissioner Kevin Bouchey
Yakima County Gang Commission Chair
Yakima County = =-
128 North 2nd Street -`__'
Yakima, WA 98901 =_-
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RE: Letter of Support for OJJDP FY 2014 Comprehensive Anti- gangyStrategies and Programs
Dear Commissioner Bouchey: i ii_
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Mr" .R,
On behalf of the entire Yakima City Council, I am ple =submit this letter of support to the
Yakima County Gang Commission for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
2014 Comprehensive Anti -gang StrategieSrand,Prograni4ant for the Yakima County Gang
Commission Implementation Project which aims to reduce gang activity by hiring a Gang
Coordinator who will enhance the coordination of exist ng_ -based anti -gang programs
and strategies into a comprehensive , regional modeh ,.__-
The City of Yakima has been , . „ .4 „ active of the Yakima County Gang Commission since its
inception and is willing toparticipate and collaborate with the proposed Yakima County Gang
Commission Implementatio ProjectThis4participation in the implementation project will
include being actively involved-inItf a "plariiiing: process and ensuring that data delivery occurs in
a timely manner to il
15- ssist=i.n measuring outcomes.
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The Yakima County Gang Cornmis Yakima County as the lead entity, has a proven
track record of.providing innovative aid outreach to the communities it serves. We
believe that the'Gang Commission is committed to implementing the Comprehensive Gang
Model through enhancement of existing community- based, anti -gang programs and strategies
which will result in a cimpreFensive regional model to address gang crime in our community.
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Best wishes for a successful application.
Sincerely,
Mayor Micah Cawley Date
Yakima
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