Police efforts pay off in neighborhood | Making a stand in North Renton
Published 4:57 pm Friday, March 30, 2012
At least for now, Sally and Dale Johnson can keep the 6-foot fence they say helps keep crime away from their doorstep and hopefully will slow a bullet.
Their home and two others stand behind the fence, on Park Avenue North at North Third Street. Next to the front door is a bullet hole; the wall stopped anyone inside from potentially getting injured.
There’s another bullet in the house next door.
Gunfire has sent Sally diving for cover in her home or has forced the couple to spend more time in the back of their house, away from Park Avenue.
But the Johnsons remain in their house, hoping their fence will keep them safe, in part from the tavern across the street.
Their son recently built a gate for the fence.
“It’s the first time I felt safe on this property,” says Sally Johnson, who walks with the assistance of a cane.
There’s a sense, from residents such as Sally Johnson, from the Police Department and Mayor Denis Law that strides are being made to make residents feel safer in North Renton.
And, beyond public safety, residents are eagerly pitching in to help clean up properties that their neighbors, either elderly or disabled, simply can’t maintain themselves – through no fault of their own.
Law pointed to the pride that many North Renton residents show in their neighborhood.
“There has always been a strong group of North Renton homeowners who take pride in their homes and work hard to maintain their property,” Law said. He’s seeing “extra activity” in recent months to clean up the area.
A special response unit within the Renton Police Department – the same one that has clamped down on illegal activity at the transit center downtown – has walked the streets of North Renton, talking with residents and encouraging them to call 911 when something doesn’t feel right.
“Their eyes and ears are important to us when we can’t be there,” said Deputy Police Chief Tim Troxel.
The additional police presence in what Law calls “several problem spots” has reduced overall complaints and calls for service.
“We plan to continue with these efforts and hopefully the residents will be able to see a measurable improvement in their neighborhoods,” Law said.
Statistics provided by Valley Communications, the regional dispatching center in Kent, show a steady decline in calls during the last year. There were roughly a dozen calls monthly in spring 2011 in North Renton; those numbers declined by roughly half through early this year.
In particular the area around Meadow and Garden avenues and North Third Street was “a big draw” on police resources a year ago, said Troxel.
Park Avenue and North Third Street also drew plenty of attention from the Renton Police Department and the Washington state Liquor Control Board. That’s where Nations Pub:liq bar, formerly Trophies, is located.
Police calls there are down, too.
It remains to be seen whether Nations Pub:liq can, as the managers plan, become a neighborly neighborhood bar. Troxel calls the city’s efforts there “a work in progress.”
Law said the city will “stay the course” in enforcing its regulations at Nations. The property’s owners, he said, have expressed a willingness to work with the city to address criminal activity.
“We are willing to work with the owners but will not tolerate any additional violence or criminal activity that has impacted this neighborhood for the past couple years,” he said.
Until Nations becomes neighborly, the Johnsons can keep their illegal fence, which, along with Park Avenue, separates them and the two other houses next to them from tavern.
But that 6-foot fence violates city code; for months the Johnsons have tried to resolve the matter with the City of Renton.
The Johnsons contacted the mayor’s office recently. They were asked to clean up some of their property, which they did.
“I think we are even,” Sally Johnson said this week. She says they can’t take down the fence as long as they live in the house.
But the fence can’t remain forever.
“I have instructed our staff not to address the code issue with the fence until we are convinced that the ongoing at that business (Nations) have been eliminated,” said Law.
Long-term, however, there may be “acceptable changes” to the fence that will work for the Johnsons and meet city code.
Dale Johnson said one possibility is a shorter fence.
Sally Johnson said the police are keeping a “an eye out for us.” And, she says, she’s on Law’s side in his fight against crime.
“My objective is to make this town a little safer,” she said.
For Law it was a story about a Renton family that reinforced a desire to become proactive in North Renton.
A local mother e-mailed Law, telling him her family loves North Renton. But she wonders whether she’s an irresponsible parent to keep living in her home of 10 years.
One night guns were fired in the alley behind their house; they moved a son to an upstairs bedroom.
“He has his own room back of the house, but we don’t feel comfortable having him sleep there with only one wall between him and any of the stray bullets coming down the alley,” she wrote in her email.
Law said in an interview he wouldn’t live under those conditions. So, he took action.
Law has drawn together multiple departments to deal with the complex issues facing North Renton. One visible result of those efforts will come soon, with the filing of lawsuits against the owners of “nuisance” properties.
“I’m pleased with the effort by our police, code enforcement and city attorney’s office to aggressively deal with these issues, and feel confident that we are taking effective measures to help residents feel safer in the neighborhood,” Law said.
THE OTHER STORIES
The Renton Reporter concludes its special report on efforts by the City of Renton and the residents themselves to improve the quality of life in this venerable neighborhood between downtown and Kennydale. Today, we look at the police response in the neighborhood and one family’s effort to feel safe.
