Two members of the Conservation Futures Advisory Board were recognized at Monday night’s Mountlake Terrace City Council meeting for the board’s work in acquiring three acres of land to add to Terrace Creek Park. The park is now made up of almost 60 acres of habitat and walking paths.

Lynnwood resident Ann Boyce and County Councilman Terry Ryan were in attendance to receive a new sign that will be placed at the entrance to the newly acquired land, which contains trees that are nearly a century old.

The parcel is near where 228th Street Southwest crosses Lyon Creek West.

The Mountlake Terrace Police Department gave their annual report on Monday night. Chief Gregory Wilson, Deputy Chief Pete Caw and Commander Doug Hansen presented the report.

Many of the numbers they gave were estimates because the department switched over to the New World system at the end of 2015 and they hadn’t gotten final numbers by the time they created the report. You can see the report in its entirety here.

Based on the estimation, the Mountlake Terrace Police Department responded to about 230 fewer calls in 2015 compared to 2014. The total number of calls was 12,706 in 2015. Officers also made approximately 1,000 fewer traffic stops in 2015, with a total of 7,141 compared to 8,192 in 2014.

That also reflects on the fewer number of traffic infractions, at 3,429 in 2015.

Compared to other departments in the area, the Mountlake Terrace Police Department stays relatively busy. There are 28 officers employed in Mountlake Terrace, the same as in Mukilteo, for example. But the Mountlake Terrace Police Department responded to 2,000 more calls and made 5,000 more traffic stops than Mukilteo.

Overall, there were fewer traffic collisions in 2015 compared to 2014, but still more than the previous three years.

Crime is also on the decline. There were 123 fewer crimes in 2015 than in 2014. The vast majority of the 618 crimes reported last year were property crimes.

Of those property crimes, theft is the most common, with 381 thefts reported.

Code enforcement shows just one person received a citation. It shows a downward trend from 15 in 2013 and 4 in 2014.

“It shows people are complying with the fines,” Chief Wilson said. “It also shows we’re taking care of business and not just sweeping this stuff under the rug.”

This year, the department says you can look for officers to do more outreach in 2016.

Chief Wilson also discussed steps the department has taken to save the city money.

“Personnel have been cut. We’ve not filled vacancies. We’ve consolidated positions through the absorption of duties. We’ve increased revenue to offset expenditures. We’ve looked at alternatives to arrest. Instead of booking everybody we contact, we’re citing and releasing or just getting their information to avoid jail costs. We’ve eliminated some programs such as crime watch and electronic home monitoring, putting money back into the general fund,” Chief Wilson said. “I can’t be more proud of the department’s effort to maintain the level of service we’ve had with these financial challenges.”

Now, he says the department needs some new equipment, specifically a new tactical shield. Those are about $9,000 each.

Chief Wilson also expressed an interest in hiring a traffic unit again. Getting new investigative equipment is also high on Wilson’s priority list.

He said the Mountlake Terrace Police Department didn’t have the right equipment to investigate a car and pedestrian crash last week at 236th Street Southwest and 56th Avenue West.

“I would hate to rely on other agencies to do our job,” Chief Wilson said.

Also at Monday’s meeting:

• Council approved a measure putting the city in a fuel tax distribution agreement, so it is eligible for a $840,060 grant from the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board for the reconstruction of Lakeview Drive to 64th Avenue West.
• Council approved a measure entering the city into an interlocal agreement with Snohomish County, so it is eligible for the grant mentioned in the previous measure.
• Council gave Interim City Manager Scott Hugill authority to execute a water quality storm water capacity agreement so the city can receive up to $25,000 this year and $25,000 next year from the state for cleanup and response kits related to storm water.
• Council approved an interlocal agreement with the city of Redmond so Redmond will provide SWAT resources to Mountlake Terrace.
• Police Chief Wilson explained that the Mountlake Terrace Police Department will not be getting body cams anytime soon, primarily because of the vague rules around how they are used and the resources and time that it would take to properly redact body cam video.

–By Natalie Covate