An auxiliary police force staffed by volunteers would be patterned after the city of Anderson’s and would require an estimated $181,000 to launch, outgoing Redding City Councilman Patrick Jones said Tuesday while updating the council on his plan to augment the Police Department.
Jones, who proposed the idea of a volunteer force in August, said he has had six meetings with Police Chief Rob Paoletti that have produced “a lot of positives.”
“We have a pretty good idea what the volunteer program would look like,” Jones said. He envisions a program staffed by 20 volunteers, who would be outfitted in uniforms and provided with two Crown Victoria patrol cars that have been rotated out of the department’s fleet.
The first-year startup costs, including training, background investigations, equipment and a supervising Community Service Officer, would be approximately $181,000. Annual operating costs would be $116,000, Jones said.
The volunteers would provide a police presence in selected neighborhoods, take reports, control traffic at special events, assist with data entry, graffiti cleanup and other tasks. Jones said he had a few more details to cover before his plan returns to the council for discussion and a potential vote.
In other action Tuesday, the council:
–Voted 5-0 to spend $110,000 to double the number of code enforcement officers from two to four as part of a six-month campaign to clean up homeless camps on public and private property, focus on older motels whose code enforcement issues bog down police officers, and vacant homes and commercial buildings that are illegally occupied by transients and others.
The plan is to hire a retired police officer and a retired building inspector on a temporary basis and then reevaluate the program on June 30 when the current fiscal year ends, City Manager Kurt Starman said.
Mayor Rick Bosetti said in the last six months, he’s received more emails and phone calls about squatters and homeless camps than he has about any other issue during his eight years on the council.
Councilwoman Francie Sullivan, who made the motion to OK the expense, said beefing up the code enforcement effort was “desperately needed.”
–Voted unanimously to approve spending $740,000 in traffic impact fees on a project to widen a section of Old Alturas Road between Shasta View and Edgewood Drive. Public Works Director Brian Crane said the project will widen Old Alturas to three lanes and include defined bike lanes in both directions.
Crane said the project will allow that section of Old Alturas to more safely accommodate motorists, cyclists and pedestrians for the next 10 to 15 years until traffic flows justify a larger $6 million project to widen that stretch to five lanes.
Jon Lewis is a freelance writer living in Redding. He has more than 30 years experience writing for newspapers and magazines. Contact him at jonpaullewis@gmail.com.
