As usual, things are very busy in District 5 and the city of Phoenix. Every year at this time, we renew our ongoing efforts to address the issue of childhood drownings. This is an issue that not only affects residents in District 5 but it also occurs throughout the city. As we have done in the past, the United Phoenix Firefighters and I are giving away pool fences to needy families. Our goal this year is 100 fences.
Several issues that have been reported to the district office are moving forward to the respective City Council subcommittees for consideration and future action:
Speeding throughout our city -- especially in our neighborhoods, the use of motorized scooters by young children and excessive noise from parties in our neighbor-hoods currently are being reviewed by the Public Safety Subcommittee.
Cut-through traffic mitigation on collector (half-mile) streets is being addressed in the Transportation Subcommittee.
We are all more aware and sensitive to homeland security. Recently, the Maryvale Police Precinct developed a neighborhood program to address how you can help.
This legislative session has been difficult in our efforts to control sex offender clusters. At this writing, we have successfully increased registration fees for sex offenders to assist in monitoring their whereabouts. And, we have passed the notification requirement to include schools, day care centers, churches and locations where children and youth gather.
Unfortunately, the Legislature still has not addressed the dispersion of sex offenders and clusters.
Our efforts to better enforce cruising in the Maryvale community were defeated in the House of Representatives. This was our third try and I want to thank Representative John Nelson for his leadership and hard work protecting our neighborhoods. Other representatives believe they can talk with the cruisers and work it out. We've been there and done that to no avail. I wish them luck and apologize to those of you who will continue to have to live with this destructive activity in your neighborhood.
Have a great summer. Enjoy your family vacations and make sure you take the necessary precautions to protect your property. More specifically, watch kids around water, don't leave the kids unattended and make sure someone is making eye contact with kids in the water at all times.
The city's Office of Emergency Management works to prevent, prepare, detect, respond and recover from a terrorist attack or natural disaster. It is important that our residents become involved in their neighborhoods to look after each other, secure personal belongings, report suspicious activity and simply get to know the neighborhood.
Learn more about the Office of Emergency Management through training for neighborhood and community groups, businesses, churches, schools and more. Contact Officers Scott Gabbert at 602-534-2424 extension 8019 or scott.gabbert@phoenix.gov and Officer Stewart Martz at 602-534-2424 extension 8043 or stewart.martz@phoenix.gov.
Motorized skateboards or Go-Peds have surpassed speeding as the number one complaint received on the Police Department's Traffic Complaint Hotline. You've probably seen a motorized skateboard or Go-Ped in your neighborhood, but did you know these self-propelled, tandem-wheeled vehicles can be a safety hazard? Most motorized skateboards have a maximum speed of 20 to 25 miles per hour. After-market kits and modification can increase the motorized skateboard's speed to more than 35 miles per hour. Last year, the Traffic Complaint Hotline, 9-1-1 and Crime Stop operators received 8,103 calls regarding motorized skateboards. In just the first two months of this year, the number of complaints increased by 46 percent, that's nearly 2,000 calls.
No person under the age of 14 may operate a motorized skateboard within the city of Phoenix.
Minors, 14 years and older may operate a motorized skateboard on their own private property or with written consent (in their possession) by a parent or legal guardian on public property or a right-of-way.
For more information on motorized skateboards and the Phoenix City Code, log onto phoenix.gov/POLICE or call Officer Terry Sills at 602-495-0964. I have requested our Public Safety and Transportation subcommittees to work with city staff to address this issue.
Eliminating blight is a community driven effort. In District 5 we've assembled a committee, consisting of members from the Alhambra Village Planning Committee, neighborhood leaders and city officials including representatives from the Neighborhood Services, Community and Economic Development and Planning departments.
Funded through the 2001 Bond Program/Neighborhood Services Department/Neighborhood Revitalization - Future, the District 5 Blight Elimination Project will concentrate
on the area from Northern Avenue to Bethany Home Road and 19th to 27th avenues; approximately two square miles. Members of the project committee will choose potential blight projects that are highly visible and will provide the most benefit to the community. Over the next few months the committee will review possible projects and by August recommend one or more blight elimination projects to the District 5 office.
The Blight Elimination Project Committee meets the third Tuesday of each month at the Washington Adult Center. I encourage you to attend the public meetings to learn more about the project and offer your ideas and comments. If you have questions about the next meeting or about the project, please call my office at 602-262-7446.
A new program from the Phoenix Police Department will provide timely and consistent notification of police incidents to rental property owners. The Rental Electronic Notification Team or R.E.N.T. will notify an owner/manager by e-mail of police incidents within
24 hours of the incident. Oftentimes, repeat calls are due to the ownerÕs lack of knowledge that a problem exists.
The program will enhance the partnership between the police and the rental property industry to effectively reduce criminal activity.
To take part in the program, involved properties attend an eight-hour training class. For more information or to sign up, contact Officer Connie Stine at 602-495-6897 or send an e-mail to connie.stine@phoenix.gov.
A frequent complaint we receive is about noisy neighbors and loud parties in the neighborhood. The City Council is reviewing our current ordinance for updating. Each city's "Party House" ordinance allows its Police Department to recover from a responsible party the costs incurred when the police have to return to the scene of a party, gathering or event that continues to cause a disturbance or involves other criminal activity.
The city of Phoenix's current Party Ordinance was adopted in 1994, but hasn't been updated since then. The Phoenix Police Department has found that police officers have, on many occasions, been required to return to a location of a party, gathering or event in response to complaints. This return is a drain on a limited pool of resources and leaves other areas of the city without adequate levels of police protection and imposes a threat or significant hazard to the safety of other police officers.
An amendment to Phoenix's Party Ordinance is currently working its way through the City Council. The amendment would increase the city's current cap on recovering costs from $250 to $1,000 per occurrence. It also would increase the second response time cap from 24 hours to a longer period, allowing officers to assess recovery costs on a private property with
repeated complaints.
If you need to report traffic situations regarding speeding, aggressive driving, motorized skateboards or if you just have a general question about traffic, contact the Phoenix Police Traffic Bureau speed hotline at 602-534-SPEED.
As the temperature heats up, a swimming pool becomes a great haven for cooling off, but don't let it be a hazard. Here are a few simple reminders:
Make sure pools are secured, never prop open gates.
Keep items that can be used for climbing (tables, chairs, ladders or firewood) away from fences.
Don't allow children to play in pool areas and keep toys out of that area.
Mount flotation devices designed for lifesaving near the pool. Many float-type toys are thought to be lifesaving devices, but they aren't. They are only toys and should be only used as toys.
Post the 9-1-1 emergency phone number on your phones. Have a phone near the pool area. Do not leave children unattended to talk on or answer the phone.
NEVER ALLOW CHILDREN TO BE ALONE NEAR A POOL.Always make sure a responsible adult is present.
Leslie's Pool Supply and the United Phoenix Firefighters Association have once again partnered to give away pool fences for deserving families that qualify. A goal of 100 fences will be given away through Labor Day.
To sign up for the United Phoenix Firefighters Association pool fence giveaway, you or someone you know who owns their home with an unfenced pool can write a one page note on why you need a pool fence. Then e-mail it to information@saverkids.org or mail it to UPFF Pool Fence Giveaway, 61 E. Columbus, Phoenix, Arizona, 85012. For more information, log onto www.saverkids.org or call 602-277-1500.
If you have a pool with no fence or a broken fence that is not in proper working order, YOU ARE AT HIGH RISK FOR A DROWNING. Remember:
Enclose pool fencing with a permanent nonclimbable fence that is five feet in height.
All gates must be self-closing, self-latching and open outward from the pool.
All latches must be four and one half feet above the ground or inaccessible from the outside by small children.
Any opening in a fence or wall must be less than four inches wide. Small children are able to maneuver through small openings.
With the help of neighborhood groups, the Cactus Park Police Precinct has stepped up patrols in the area around 27th Avenue, between Indian School and Camelback roads. This has been an active spot for robberies and aggravated assaults, with auto theft statistics rising and "circuit girls" (prostitutes from outside the area) and narcotics becoming problematic. Thanks to the Cactus Park Business Alliance, there are off-duty police officers working the area. Commander Emmett Quill has dedicated two officers to work the prostitution problem in the area. This unit is referred to as the "27 avenue car." Though this increased patrol is temporary, Quill hopes to make it permanent.
The Cactus Park Precinct recently partnered with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department and Adult Probation Department for the Cactus Park Arrest Warrant Program, a three-part response to identify and apprehend the increasing number of subjects in the community with outstanding criminal warrants.
With command posts in place and officers divided into teams, in roughly a two-week period, police officers arrested 210 suspects and cleared 294 outstanding warrants, including 84 felonies and 210 misdemeanors. The background for the arrested subjects ranged from people that had prior arrests for homicide, DUI, burglary, auto theft, forgery and drug-related crimes.
The system isn't going to work and arrests won't be effective if people don't show up for court. This warrant program and the increased patrols in the area are a great step towards increasing the sense of security for our neighbors in the area. I look forward to more success.
Legislation dealing with the clustering of sex offenders has had a tough going at the Capitol. Senate Bill 1307 (Sex Offenders; Residency Restrictions) would have prohibited three or more sex offenders on probation to live within the same property and within one-quarter mile of another sex offender on probation. Although this bill passed the Senate by a vote of 29-0, it failed in the House Judiciary Committee on a vote of 5-7. We are looking for ways to revive
it, but it doesn't look good for this session.
Another piece of legislation, House Bill 2418 (Rental Properties; Sex Offenders) would deem any rental property a slum if 10 percent or more of the units harbored Level 2 and 3 sex offenders. This bill is being held in the Senate Rules Committee. Call your Senator and ask him or her to move it to the full Senate for a vote and ask them to support the bill. If you'd like to track these bills as they move through the State Legislature, please log onto azleg.state.az.us.
"West Side Story" is posted on the city's Web site at www.phoenix.gov. For alternative format/reasonable accommodations, call 602-262-7176 or TTY/TDD 602-534-5500.
Your comments, suggestions and story ideas are welcome by calling Councilman Mattox at 602-262-7446, e-mail council.district.5@phoenix.gov or mail to City of Phoenix, 200 W. Washington St., 11th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85003.
Message from Councilman Claude Mattox 
The city's Office of Emergency Management works to prevent, prepare, detect, respond and recover from a terrorist attack or natural disaster. It is important that our residents become involved in their neighborhoods to look after each other, secure personal belongings, report suspicious activity and simply get to know the neighborhood.
Motorized skateboards or Go-Peds have surpassed speeding as the number one complaint received on the Police Department's Traffic Complaint Hotline. You've probably seen a motorized skateboard or Go-Ped in your neighborhood, but did you know these self-propelled, tandem-wheeled vehicles can be a safety hazard? Most motorized skateboards have a maximum speed of 20 to 25 miles per hour. After-market kits and modification can increase the motorized skateboard's speed to more than 35 miles per hour. Last year, the Traffic Complaint Hotline, 9-1-1 and Crime Stop operators received 8,103 calls regarding motorized skateboards. In just the first two months of this year, the number of complaints increased by 46 percent, that's nearly 2,000 calls.
Eliminating blight is a community driven effort. In District 5 we've assembled a committee, consisting of members from the Alhambra Village Planning Committee, neighborhood leaders and city officials including representatives from the Neighborhood Services, Community and Economic Development and Planning departments.
A frequent complaint we receive is about noisy neighbors and loud parties in the neighborhood. The City Council is reviewing our current ordinance for updating. Each city's "Party House" ordinance allows its Police Department to recover from a responsible party the costs incurred when the police have to return to the scene of a party, gathering or event that continues to cause a disturbance or involves other criminal activity.
With the help of neighborhood groups, the Cactus Park Police Precinct has stepped up patrols in the area around 27th Avenue, between Indian School and Camelback roads. This has been an active spot for robberies and aggravated assaults, with auto theft statistics rising and "circuit girls" (prostitutes from outside the area) and narcotics becoming problematic. Thanks to the Cactus Park Business Alliance, there are off-duty police officers working the area. Commander Emmett Quill has dedicated two officers to work the prostitution problem in the area. This unit is referred to as the "27 avenue car." Though this increased patrol is temporary, Quill hopes to make it permanent. 
