Join Councilman Stanton and State Rep. Deb Gullett at a Town Hall meeting 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 10, at All Saints Episcopal Church, St. Barbara's Rooms, 6300 N. Central Ave. Come share your ideas about important issues in our community and how to make Phoenix better.

The clustering of convicted sex offenders in neighborhoods is unacceptable -- not only in our neighborhood but also in any of our community's neighborhoods. As your city councilman and a member of the City Council Public Safety Subcommittee, it is my job to ensure the city is doing everything it can to keep our families safe. As readers of North Central News know, a large community meeting was held on Jan. 13 at the Madison School District building to discuss immediate actions that can (and must) be taken as well as some longer term solutions to fight the convicted sex offender cluster at an apartment complex on north Seventh Street and anywhere else in Phoenix. I appreciate the passion of our community to fight to protect our quality of life, and commit that I will not stop until a solution is found.

First, a big thank you goes to community champions Greg Tatham, Katie Stooks and Amy Rezzonico, who volunteered to organize the meeting on very short notice. My thanks also go to State Reps. Deb Gullett and John Nelson, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, Councilman Claude Mattox, City Manager Frank Fairbanks, Police Chief Harold Hurtt, Community Action Police Officer Greg Myracle, Officer John Bell from the Sex Offender Notification Squad, Marty Soto from Maricopa County Adult Probation and several city staff members who attended to provide valuable information and hear ideas from North Central residents.

The city had already taken action steps to solve the issue prior to the meeting. Additionally, we heard several commitments from other levels of government on actions to be taken. A summary of the action steps that will be taken as a result of the meeting are as follows:

• Police will increase their presence in our neighborhood to ensure the safety of adults and children.
• Police will increase neighborhood notification efforts when a convicted sex offender moves into the area. Megan's Law set up the minimal requirements of flyering an area with information about a sex offender. Phoenix Police will now go beyond the state requirements by making specific efforts within a one-mile radius to contact all schools, churches, child care facilities, senior centers and all other locations where potential victims may be at risk.
• Rep. Deb Gullett has introduced a bill requiring the landlord of sex offender clusters to post a large bond. Rep. John Nelson has introduced a bill mandating lifetime probation for any convicted felony sex offenders who violate the state's notification statute. Maintaining probation status allows the probation department to maintain greater control over the residency of convicted sex offenders. We will keep you posted on the status of these bills and other legislative attempts to help resolve the issue.
• Federal law must be examined to ensure that sex offenders are not given special protections under housing law. Community safety should be our priority.