Partners in policing by Seth Truscott

VALLEY RECORD SNOQUALMIE

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012  DAILY UPDATES AT WWW.VALLEYRECORD.COM  75 CENTS

Partners in policing

North Bend sees savings, stands to lose county advocates in switch to Snoqualmie BY CAROL LADWIG

SPORTS

Staff Reporter

Telepathy on the court? Tennis team making history Page 12

Thirty-nine years ago, the North Bend City Council voted to dissolve the city’s own police force, and form a contract partnership for police services with the King County Sheriff ’s Office instead. According to a Nov. 29, 1973, Valley Record account of the meeting, police chief Fred Pingrey and other supporters touted the city’s ability to ‘Partners in policing’ keep their local is the first of a three-part officers (as long series exploring North as they applied Bend’s police contract, to be county which may soon change deputies), along from King County Sheriff with better pay to Snoqualmie Police. and opportunities for the officers. Opponents feared a loss of local control, and a less responsive police force—North Bend’s Police Department boasted a response time of under five minutes anywhere in the city. Both sides knew the city couldn’t afford full-time county coverage, at $112,000, and would probably settle for 16 hours, plus eight hours on-call, for $83,000. They also were pretty sure the city couldn’t afford the police department’s requested $106,000 budget, which included a new car and full-time coverage. Following the unanimous vote in favor of the contract, several citizens gathered outside the meeting, so incensed, they began discussing a recall of the full council. That recall never came to fruition, however, and on Jan. 1, 1974, North Bend became the first city in King County to contract with the Sheriff ’s Department.

Force change

Seth Truscott/Staff Photo

SCHOOLS

A rare birth defect can’t slow down Hunter Stembler, playing with his mom Christina, of Snoqualmie, at the Northwest Railway Museum. Hunter, 4, is a survivor of congenital diaphragmatic hernia, which brings challenges in breathing and eating. Christina is holding an awareness walk for the condition Thursday, April 19, in Seattle.

32-year ride coming to an end for North Bend’s PE teacher Tepper Page 7

INDEX OPINION LETTERS GO GREEN HEALTH ON THE SCANNER CALENDAR

To brighter days

For Snoqualmie family, birth defect leads to hopeful road for others BY SETH TRUSCOTT

4 5 10 11 15 19

Vol. 98, No. 47

Editor

He’s just getting into Star Wars, but for the moment, Hunter still loves trains. The 4-year-old boy smiles as he explores the Northwest Railway depot with his mother, Snoqualmie resident Christina Stembler, looking around at the

big machines and the other children at play. Firmly in his grasp is a new toy, a metal Thomas the Tank Engine for his collection. “He’s the number-one blue engine,” Hunter says. SEE CHERUBS, 14

The new face of city hall Ex-Mercer official, attorney Lindell picked for Administrator BY CAROL LADWIG Staff Reporter

City government seems to be in Londi Lindell’s blood. An attorney who grew

up in the Seattle area, enjoying the same name recognition as her well-respected attorney father, Lindell has practiced law, developed real estate and managed cities (Federal Way and Mercer Island) in her career, but she will soon return to city government. SEE LINDELL, 6

LONDI LINDELL New North Bend City Administrator

SEE PARTNERS, 3

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PARTNERS FROM 1 Now, the North Bend council is reviewing that decision, and considering reversing it. At its Tuesday, April 17, meeting, the council invited public testimony on a possible change from King County to the Snoqualmie Police Department, for police services. Cost and local control are again at the center of the discussion, which began three or four years ago, says North Bend Mayor Ken Hearing in a meeting of the mayors and city administrators of both cities. North Bend officials are seeking lower costs, greater local control, and a third component, community-oriented policing, from their law enforcement service, and are hoping to find it all, just down the road in Snoqualmie. Hearing, who can’t actually vote on the contract, said, “We’re going to have to negotiate a contract with Snoqualmie that gives us a level of control in our policing.” He sees that as a position or two on a Snoqualmie public safety committee, or even better, forming a joint commission for organizing the police in both cities. “Community-oriented policing is the type of policing that Snoqualmie does now, where the intent is to get to know the constituency and to get the constituency to know them,” Hearing added. King County Sheriff Steve Strachan knows about community-oriented policing. So do Sgt. Mark Toner, North Bend’s chief of police, and Kym Smith, office supervisor at the North Bend Sheriff’s substation. And they are all a little confused on why that’s an issue. “We have that. It’s already here,” said Smith, who’s been with the department for 14 years. As one of the department’s two civilian employees and a lifelong North Bend resident, Smith sees her deputies meeting with citizens every day, handing out stickers to children, and listening to people’s concerns. “The officers work with the community extremely well,” she said. “Everybody knows that they can call in here, whether they want to be anonymous, or give us their name, and tell us what’s going on in their communities. The citizens are our eyes and ears. They do such a good job letting us know what’s going on, (so) we can go out and make that difference.” Toner, Smith, and Strachan all stressed that they had no complaints about and no intention of criticizing the Snoqualmie Police Department, which Strachan said was “a good partner for us.” However, they also felt that the Snoqualmie officers weren’t the only ones who knew their community well. The nine deputies serving the North Bend substation have all spe-

Snoqualmie Valley Record • April 18, 2012 • 3

Fall City’s new place to play

Eastside Baby Corner donations sought at local markets Saturday Local service clubs are collecting donations for Eastside Baby Corner, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at the North Bend QFC and Safeway, and at Ridge Supermarket IGA on Snoqualmie Ridge. Members of Kiwanis, Snoqualmie Valley School District’s Key Club, Rotary and Lions are taking donations of slightly used clothing and toys for youth from infancy to age 14, along with other baby supplies. Eastside Baby Corner will accept clothing, toys, diapers, formula, baby food, baby wipes, baby bottles and other needs. To arrange a drop-off, send e-mail to debby.peterman@yahoo.com.

Courtesy photo

Students lined up at Fall City Elementary School’s new playground Monday to try out the equipment, officially open to the public after an April 9 ribbon cutting. The new playground, the only one in the community of Fall City, is located in the school’s primary grade play area, designed for FCES students in Kindergarten through second grade. It was officially opened to the school and community after Superintendant Joel Aune, along with Principal Dan Schlotfeldt, playground supervisor Diane Johnson, PTSA President Cynthia Thomsen and PTSA Playground Project Chair Sophie Harris cut the ribbon. Jeff McMorris, Chief of Staff to King County Councilwoman Kathy Lambert, also attended. cifically requested assignment here, Toner said, and several, like Paul Eng, have been in the community for more than 20 years. Toner himself came to North Bend in August 2009, and remembers some challenges at first in coordinating deputies and shifts. “In North Bend, we have a flex model, which means we’ll always have a guy here, but we don’t always know who that is,” Toner said. “We can have a different guy every day, but we try not to.” Toner pushed for a regularly-scheduled roster of deputies, as much for the city’s benefit as for the deputies’. “We want somebody consistent, and the guys want that too… Once you get assigned to a district, you kind of feel ownership of it.” After a challenging start, Toner was happy to see a core group of deputies form at the substation. Of the entire department’s 700 deputies, Toner typically only sees these nine come to work at his department each day. “The only time we get changes up here right now is, one, if somebody gets transferred or promoted, or two, if somebody is on vacation,” Toner said. “This year has been the most stable I’ve seen.” Unlike the dedicated model used by most cities contracting with the sheriff’s department, the flex model covers such scheduling gaps by assigning another deputy to empty posts in the short term. It also allows

overtime, which is paid by the said. “To keep the city happy, I county. sometimes upset the county.” What the flex model doesn’t Under the model proposed do, however, is guarantee that by Snoqualmie, Toner does one deputy will be patrolling not see North Bend having North Bend at all times. its own advocate, as they have “The contract says we don’t with him at the sheriff’s office. have to,” explained Toner, “but “I hear this discussion we always have.” about how they want local“What we guarantee to ized control. I am their local North Bend is response to control,” he said. calls for serToner has vice,” said been with the Robin Rask, sheriff’s office 27 a contracts years and notes administhat he will not trator with Kym Smith, lose his job if the sheriff’s city ends its Office Supervisor, North Bend the office. “What contract, just his Sheriff’s substation title of chief. they purchase from us is a dedicated Newly appointed Sheriff police chief, and guaranteed Strachan, however, plans to response to all calls in the city.” make improved inter-departA dedicated model could ment cooperation a hallmark offer the guarantee of a specific of his career, and sees huge number of officers on duty at potential losses if North Bend any time. It would actually cre- leaves the group of partners. ate a city-centric police force “It’s going to further fragof sheriff’s deputies, and allow ment us,” he said, noting that them to wear city-identified local police in the area already police uniforms and drive city- have created “silos” with their identified police cars, if city own radio frequencies and leaders chose that, and could their own dispatch agencies. afford it. The dedicated model Losing North Bend would is also much more expensive. mean “we have a larger area North Bend’s model is the that we don’t communicate less expensive of the two, but with… fewer officers backwith many of the benefits of ing up our officers on highthe dedicated model. It also risk calls… and we can’t back has the distinct advantages them up either.” that Toner brings to the city. “If there’s a shooting across “I have jurisdiction any- the street (in Snoqualmie), we where in the county,” Toner wouldn’t know about it, and said, but he feels that the chief we’re five minutes away.” benefit he can offer the city is At the same time, Strachan his role as the city’s advocate. supports the city’s decision to “I am paid by the county look at other options in an to keep the city happy,” he effort to save costs. In fact, he

“The citizens are our eyes and ears.”

wants to work with them on ways to save. Each city’s contract “is totally driven by what the community wants to do,” he said, and contracts can be changed at any time. He can’t change his labor costs, however. They are set by a fiveyear deputies’ union contract, which is up for renegotiation now and renewal in 2013. Strachan rattles off a list of changes that he would make for North Bend, from closing the substation and renting a smaller space – Toner would like a location within the city’s downtown, but Strachan would be open to subletting from Snoqualmie’s police station – to finding other ways to partner without jeopardizing the local control. “This is not an open market... Strachan said. “These are all tax dollars funding our departments.” North Bend’s contract can be updated at any time, Rask said, with a written request from the city administrator. Her office can also help advise cities on possible changes to their contract, she said, but “We don’t ever tell a customer how they should staff their police department. That’s completely up to them. All we do is figure out...a model of what that would look like.” Strachan hopes to negotiate contract changes that save the city money, while better utilizing the resources at his, and possibly Snoqualmie’s forces. “I would be amazed if we couldn’t work that out,” he said.

Dy-No-Mite bake sale at shopping center Local Relay for Life Team Dy-No-Mite holds a bake sake, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 22, at the Mount Si/Safeway shopping center, off Mount Si Boulevard, in North Bend. All proceeds go to Relay for Life.

Mount Si grad, airman awarded medal for duty John Train, a 2008 Mount Si High School graduate, has been awarded the Air Force Air Medal for superb airmanship and courage during combat while participating in Operations Enduring Freedom and New Dawn. John was a MC-130P Combat JOHN TRAIN Shadow Loadmaster with the 67th Special Operations Squadron deployed from RAF Mildenhall in England. While deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, the senior airman flew a total of 40 combat missions while faced with the constant threat of surface-to-air missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. His expert skills allowed his crew to deliver critical cargo including food, ammunition, weapons and special operations personnel to troops on the ground in direct contact with enemy forces. Train joined the Air Force after graduating from Mount Si High School in 2008. He worked at the North Bend QFC store prior to joining the military. He is now stationed at Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico where he is training to be a Loadmaster on the AC-130W gunship.