Community Government

City council approves purchase of new police cars

The Gig Harbor City Council on Monday authorized the purchase of two new Ford hybrid SUV police cars from an out-of-state dealer.

City Administrator Katrina Knutson noted that purchasing police patrol vehicles has become difficult due to supply-chain issues.

Wait times for new patrol cars are routinely longer than eight months. Meanwhile, the standard method of purchasing cars via the state contract method is currently closed.

The two new vehicles became available suddenly, and city staff used a formal bid process to acquire them. The cars will be delivered to Gig Harbor before year’s end, Knutson said.

The council approved an expenditure of $84,730 to purchase of the two hybrid vehicles.

The council also approved a change to city code regarding the oath of office for police officers.

The new oath of office no longer makes reference to the “laws of Pierce County.” Gig Harbor police officers are not authorized to enforce county laws.

Council honors championship canoe and kayak team

The Gig Harbor Canoe & Kayak Racing Team was lauded at the meeting for winning the 2022 ACA Sprint National championship in August.

The winner is determined by how team members perform in singles, doubles and fours races. The team with the most combined points in those races is the champion.

Members of the Gig Harbor Canoe & Kayak Racing Team were honored at Monday’s Gig Harbor City Council meeting.

The Gig Harbor team took first place in the Bantam (under 14), Juvenile (under 16) and Junior (under 18) age groups and outperformed 47 other teams from across the country, with a total of 995.25 points.

Mayor Tracie Markley read a proclamation recognizing the team’s accomplishment and thanked them “for the honor they have brought to the City of Gig Harbor.”

Other business

• City Administrator Katrina Knutson announced that a new Parks Manager will be coming aboard on Nov. 7, pending completion of background checks.
• Public Works Director Jeff Langhelm explained that the “greenish-brownish foam” that appeared in the water near Skansie Park is decaying organic material from an algae bloom. It was not, as some had feared, raw sewage.
• The council recognized the members of the “honoring committee” that led the effort to commission “Our Fisherman, Our Guardian,” the carved redwood statue in Austin Park at txʷaalqəł Estuary that acknowledges the sx̌wǝbabš band of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians as the original inhabitants of Gig Harbor.
• The council unanimously approved an ordinance formally adopting a process for declaring items as surplus and selling or otherwise disposing surplus items. The new ordinance allows the city administrator and city staff to declare items of less than $10,000 as surplus, without going to the council for authorization. The council must approve all surplus items over $10,000, including surplus real property.

The next council meeting will take place Monday, Oct. 24.