Study Session Roundup: Councilman Neary Honored, Abandoned Vehicles Code Under Review

It was a special evening for Lakewood's Walter Neary.

Neary will have served two terms on the City Council before stepping down at the end of the year. City Manager Andrew Neiditz and other councilmembers honored him for his hard work and commitment at Monday’s special session meeting at City Hall.

Lakewood Mayor Douglas Richardson delivered a proclamation for his dedicated service to the Lakewood City Council and citizens of Lakewood. The city even put together a short video summarizing his contributions throughout his back-to-back terms of office.

Neary summarized his efforts to restore integrity and trust within local government. Each member of the City Council formally lauded Neary.

This all came on his wife Cindy's birthday, respectively.

Neary, 49, stepped in during a period of allegations of city fraud and suspicion of dirty politics. He originally defeated Todd R. Smith for position No. 7 during the 2003 primary election.

, Neary mentioned that he considers his defining moments as maintaining the city's history and economic development. He is interested in playing a less significant role within the city by joining a public advisory board.

The eight-year councilmember will vacate his seat and be replaced by

Proposed Review of Abandoned Vehicle Code

Lakewood Police Lt. Steve Mauer proposed a revision to the abandoned vehicles code because "in 2008 the law changed and elements were added to complicate the process and make it harder," he explained to the City Council.

The proposed amendment will shorten the timeframe a law enforcement officer can take action to 48 hours. Currently, a vehicle can remain in public right-of-way for a week or longer before action can be taken.

Standard procedure is for police, code enforcement or community resource officers to run the vehicle's license plate to find the registered owner and find out why it's been parked there for so long.

Currently, law enforcement has found it confusing to enforce the abandoned vehicle code after a person has requested assistance with an abandoned vehicle. The amendment to the Lakewood Municipal Code will remove the requirement that any complainant must own property adjacent to or abutting the area where the vehicle in the right-of-way is parked.

"If they don't move within 48 hours, it's impounded," Mauer said, adding it was difficult for them to know if the car had been there for a week or longer sometimes.

Shoreline Master Program Update

The City Council received an update on the city's progress with regard to its shoreline master program update. With an approved grant with the Department of Ecology, it is anticipated that the City Council will consider the proposed update in the spring of 2012.