Community Questions Answered from the Parkland Meeting
When we held this meeting on a warm Wednesday night in Parkland, we were inviting the community to gather and truly ask us any question. We had staff from the Sheriff’s Office, professionals from Planning and Public Works, Aging and Disability, Veterans and Behavioral Health, Department of Emergency Management and so many more. These departments and offices are YOUR local government.
The goal was to answer questions live from the audience on any topic that came up. It was a wild ride, from stray cat’s to helping fix roads, or what to do to report an encampment, we fielded them all. When local government works well, people feel like they are heard.
But we didn’t want that information to just stay in that room, so I thought what better way to share that information than to actually publish it. Since it was A LOT, this Blog seemed like the best way to go.
They are grouped by category: Planning and Public Works, Public Safety, Human Services, and Other. I hope you find this helpful and to wrap it all up, there are links to every single group that tabled during this event.
Planning & Public Works
Can we get the word out on Pierce County websites and phone numbers for illegal dumping, illegal encampments, graffiti, etc.?
Our Public Works side of the county work very hard to be responsive, but they are always in “RESPONSE” mode. This means someone needs to tell them there is a problem. You can Report lots of issues here: Pierce County Works Portal | Pierce County, WA – Official Website or you can download the App SeeClickFix and then locate Pierce County. You can also work with our team to Adopt-A-Road if there is an area near your home or business that you would like to support and follow-up around community clean-ups.
When will the planning department reach out to Parkland residents regarding the community plan and what events are you planning to attend?
We are in the initial phase of working on our Parkland Community Plan. You can learn more, provide input and get it touch with the team here: Parkland Community Plan Update | Pierce County, WA – Official Website. I will be working on a specific Parkland meeting related to this topic in partnership with Planning and Public Works.
What are you doing to preserve historic buildings?
First, the county is currently looking for community members from Districts 5 & 6 to join the Landmark & Historic Preservation Commission. Every year the county will invest some funding through grants for historic building and document preservation. It is not enough, but we do not have a large pot of money to work with. There are rules around getting a property or building on the registry, but it is possible. Once done, it comes with some protections, but it takes the community to keep eyes on it to makes sure something doesn’t slip through the cracks. Historic Preservation | Pierce County, WA – Official Website
Who is on the planning committee for annexation? Who chose them? What are their qualifications?
There is not a formal committee doing this work right now. Right now, the county’s Long-Range planning team is working on soliciting feedback and doing studies on land-use, markets and the impacts of changes in zoning and state law that will impact property use and values in the Parkland area. We encourage everyone to engage and provide feedback. Parkland Community Plan Update | Pierce County, WA – Official Website There is a community group that has started talking about the future of Parkland outside of annexation, but they are waiting for this process to wrap up.
When you report, do you have to provide your name?
The short answer is no. If you use the See Click Fix APP you are creating an account and therefore it is attached to an email address. If you report online through the web-based format, again it asks for your name and contact info. All of this is so the department can follow-up with questions OR if it does get to legal actions, there is a need to have someone “on the record”. However, you can always call the 24-hour service line at 253-798-6000.
Are there any plans to change the built environment on “C” Street South between 112th and Garfield Street South?
There has been quite a bit of work done along C Street, including the refuge island C Street South and Wheeler Street South – Blue Zones Demonstration Project | Pierce County, WA – Official Website and the county is continuing further down C street and you can learn more here: C Street South – 120th Street South to Tule Lake Road South (CRP 5974) | Pierce County, WA – Official Website
Public Safety
Are there currently any behavioral health reentry navigators that stay with released inmates for 90 days?
For reentry services from prison and hoping that it could last up to 90 days after release. If that is the case, that is all determined by the WA state Department of Corrections: Reentry Navigation Services | Washington State Department of Corrections.
For access to services in Pierce County, there are a handful of different ways, again dependent on need and which services the individual requires.
- DOC Reentry Division: doc.wa.gov/corrections/community-reentry/reentry
- WorkSource Pierce: worksource-pierce.org
- Northwest Justice Project: nwjustice.org
- Pioneer Human Services: pioneerhumanservices.org
What is the policy and/or law about homeless/drug activity in Parkland? People doing drugs, panhandling and sleeping on the storefronts or anywhere and everywhere.
Being homeless is not illegal. However, criminal behavior, including trespassing, violent crimes, and other criminal activities can be reported through 9-1-1. If the behavior makes you scared for your life or puts others in harm’s way, you can call. If our deputies have capacity they may drive by or escalate it to a priority call. In addition, depending on what is being reported, they may dispatch emergency medical services or our Co-Responders which support behavioral health concerns.
If you see someone you believe is experiencing homelessness or needs help here are couple of ways you can respond:
- If someone is having a behavioral health crisis: Call 988
- If someone needs shelter: They can call the Shelter Access Hub (Family Promise of Puget Sound), a 24/7 call line, at 253-444-4563
- If someone needs housing or another resource: They can call Access Pierce (United Way) at 1-800-572-HELP (4357) or 253-572-4357. There are also some organizations that will take walk-in appointments, such as St. Vincent de Paul: Get Help — SVDP Tacoma-Pierce
When you call 9-1-1, do you have to provide your name? Some people don’t report out of fear.
Technically no, but every time you call 9-1-1 from any phone it will pull information on location so that responders know where the call came from. If that is a concern, you could try the non-emergency line at 253-287-4455 or 800-562-9800 but 9-1-1 is for life/safety emergency services. You can learn more here: Home – South Sound 911. If you truly want to attempt to remain anonymous, you will need to call from a blocked number and then not disclose any information to the call-taker AND request anonymity. If things lead to a court case, there could be some information shared, but this would be your best chance of staying anonymous if that truly was a concern.
My neighbor doesn’t deal with their yard, park cars everywhere and people in and out at all hours. I don’t feel safe. What can I do?
This really is neighbor by neighbor. Sometimes neighbors are in a situation where they can no longer physically care for their home. Potentially it is senior that lost a partner, or is no longer able to afford to care for their yard or home. If this is the case, you can ask for a welfare check from the Sheriff’s office, or calling our Aging and Disability team to see if they have anyone on their radar from that address.
Also, sometimes people just abandon their homes, or they are owned by people that do not live in them, and they are either not aware or care what is happening.
If you want to report a property because you believe illegal activity is happening, you can do so through South Sound 9-1-1 (emergency or non-emergency number).
If it is a senior or someone with disabilities, you can reach out to our Aging and Disabilities Resource Center and see if they have any contact with the individual. They can be a great resource: Aging & Disability Resources | Pierce County, WA – Official Website
Lastly, if it is abandoned or the owner simply is not responding and it has become a nuisance, that is when we call in Code Enforcement. When a code enforcement case is brought against a property it is a legal action. It means that the owner of the property has created a public nuisance, or a life/safety issue by not caring for their property. This does require someone reporting the issue. They cannot accept anonymous complaints because it is a legal action. Not sure, you can call them at 253-798-4636.
With all the fires and other emergencies – How can I stay informed?
Pierce County Department of Emergency Management (DEM/PC alert) is a great place to start. Using PC Alert to create a profile which will allow you to identify up to 5 different addresses, will allow you to be notified via text or email if there is any kind of emergency activation in the area.
The Fire Marshall’s team is also willing to meet with community groups or even come to your home to do an assessment of your property for fire risk. Lastly, the Parkland Safe Streets group that meets at Trinity Lutheran Church on the 1st Tuesday of each month has been training to start our own PC-NET (Pierce County Neighborhood Emergency Team) and are happy to add more voices and skills to the team.
Community & Human Services
What are you doing to help the homeless?
The county has done quite a bit, and continues to work on addressing this for the benefit of the community and those experiencing homelessness. Here is our website that we use to educate and share resources on this topic: Homeless Programs | Pierce County, WA – Official Website.
You may have heard about the Unified Regional Approach in the news and I have been spearheading this project for the region for over 2 years. You can learn more about our plans and the work that has been done to get us to this point at Unified Regional Approach – Pierce County.
The street medicine mobile unit; I am aware there is one stationed at Parkland-Spanaway Library. Has there been a good response to its use?
The Tacoma Pierce County Health Department is operating our Street Medicine teams. You can learn more here: Street Medicine – Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department but in a nutshell, they have a mobile clinic that serves those that cannot access services. They bring the services to the people, and you can request they show up if you notice unhoused neighbors that are potentially in need.
How to and Other Questions
Any plans to make or expand the shuttle services in Parkland/Spanaway – Pierce Transit?
Since I was not sure if you meant the para-transit shuttle or the Runner, I have answers for both services.
–SHUTTLE is Pierce Transit’s paratransit service for riders who live within ¾ of a mile of a bus route and are unable to take the bus due to a disability. SHUTTLE operates at the same time as bus routes.
Any time Pierce Transit make changes to routes and bus schedules, those changes impact paratransit service schedules. For eligible SHUTTLE customers in Parkland and Spanaway, if Prop 1 is approved, they would see SHUTTLE service expanded later into the evening and fare-free trips for seniors aged 65 and older.
–RUNNER is Pierce Transit’s on-demand microtransit service, a smaller, shared-ride vehicle you request when you need it, rather than a bus that follows a fixed route and schedule. It is designed to fill gaps for areas that are difficult to serve by bus by providing connections to buses, transit centers and other destinations.
Pierce Transit currently offers Runner service in Parkland, Spanaway, Midland, Summit, and several other designated zones, and we continually monitor demand to identify opportunities for improvement. For now, our focus is on improving efficiency and reliability within existing zones through additional internal funding and grant opportunities. At this time, we do not have funding to expand Runner service beyond the current zones.
Do some of the communities get left out for decisions and input when there are changes? For example, does the county gather feedback when road or park changes are being made?
Really great question and something that I have been working on trying to improve. Part of it is, we struggle to reach people. Many tools we use require the recipient to respond, click the button or open the email. So working with community partners like our school districts, churches and community partners is a great way to connect. This is something that has been improving slowly over time. In addition, in reviewing things like representation on Boards and Commissions, often we do not have anyone from the Parkland/Spanaway area. The Council, Executive and Departments utilize the collective voices from these groups to provide voice. You can learn more about opportunities here: Boards & Commissions | Pierce County, WA – Official Website
For changes coming to the Parkland area, please makes sure you are on my e-blast newsletter and maybe follow her on social media. As a Parkland resident I continue to push for investments and making sure that promises are kept for this area. There is a lot of change and has been a lot of investment in the community. Looking to the future, we must gather to determine what is next.
Why is Blue Zones going away before they originally said?
Blue Zones will be with us until the end of this year. There was a change in the funding from the sponsors but the team with Blue Zones believes that they will be able to complete their goals before they wrap up. In addition, they are currently working with the community and many partners to see what parts of this work can live on upon wrapping up. Things like Purpose work-shops, community gardens, fitness and cooking classes, and other activities could live on with partnerships. They are not finished yet and if you haven’t engaged with them, please do!
What is being done about all the stray cats?
The Tacoma County Humane Society is the main actor in the space of stray cats. They have a program called community cats, which is when they trap, fix, dock an ear to help quickly identify the cat as a community cat and then return it to where it was caught. There are lots of mixed feelings about this program, but the goal is to keep a level of stray cats under control, without killing them. You can contact them about how you might catch and turn in a cat if you are able, or you can let them know if there is a significant population in your neighborhood.
Thank you all for attending our Parkland focused meeting. We have been asked when we are doing this again, and Councilmember Yambe and I will do some thinking on when might serve the community well. Please reach out to our offices if you have any questions and thank you for your time.
Community Partners
Links to the many organizations that provided resources at the meeting on August 12th, 2026.
Thank you for spending some time reviewing all the resources I had available and the opportunity to share answers to specific questions shared by community members. The teacher in me really appreciates the opportunity to share resources and information in response to direct questions. If you have a question that wasn’t answered here, I am just a phone call at 253-798-3308 or email jani.hitchen@piercecountywa.gov away.
Take care!