Accreditation Assessment Team Invites Public Comment

A team of assessors from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) will arrive November 4th, 2012, to examine all aspects of the North Charleston Police Department’s policies and procedures, management, operations, and support services.

Verification by the team that the North Charleston Police Department meets the Commission’s state-of-the-art standards is part of a voluntary process to gain accreditation. Chief Zumalt describes the Commission as, “a highly-prized recognition of law enforcement professional excellence.” Zumalt adds that in order to gain accredited status, the department had to comply with 480 standards that were recognized as the top police practices in the nation.

Captain Joyce Smith, the Accreditation Manager for the North Charleston Police Department, said the assessment team is comprised of law enforcement practitioners from similarly sized, but out of state agencies. The assessors will review written materials, interview individuals and officers, and visit sites where compliance can be witnessed. The assessors are:

Team Leader: Deputy Chief Michael Webb (Abington Township Police Department) - Pennsylvania
Team Member: Laura Saunders (Burlington Police Department) – North Carolina

Once the Commission’s assessors complete their review of the agency, they report back to the full Commission, which will then decide if the agency is to receive accredited status. Accreditation is for three years, during which time the agency must submit annual reports attesting continued compliance with those standards under which they were initially accredited.

As part of the on-site assessment, the public and agency employees are invited to offer comments on the department’s services and performance at a Public Information Session on Monday, November 5th, 2012, at 6:00 PM. The session will be held in the Montague Room, 2nd Floor at North Charleston City Hall, located at 2500 City Hall Lane, North Charleston, SC.

If for some reason an individual cannot speak at the Public Information Session, but would like to provide comments to the assessment team, he/she may do so by telephone. The public may call (843) 740-2819 on Monday, November 5th, between the hours of 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM.

Telephone comments, as well as those made at the Public Information Session, are limited to ten minutes and must address the department’s ability to comply with the CALEA standards. A copy of the standards is available at the North Charleston Police Department.

Anyone wishing to submit written comments about the North Charleston Police Department’s ability to comply with the standards of accreditation may send them to:

CALEA
13575 Heathcote Blvd., Suite 320
Gainesville, VA 20155

Anyone requesting standards or additional information may contact the Police Department’s Accreditation Manager, Captain Joyce Smith, at 740-2838.

Help shape the future of the Neck Area - public meetings Sept 26-30

Flickr User Saikofish

Do you live or work in the Neck Area?  Help define the future of key locations in the Neck Area of North Charleston and Charleston and capture their stories through pictures, words, and design.

The Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments’ (BCDCOG) Partnership for Prosperity: A Master Plan for the Neck Area of North Charleston and Charleston invites residents, employees, property owners, business owners, and neighborhood friends to participate in a community design charrette during the week of September 26 to September 30th, 2011 at Sterett Hall -1530 7th Street and Hobson Avenue on the former Navy Base.

Public sessions include:

Kick-Off Meeting from 6:00-8:00pm on September 26th

Public Pin-Up Session from 5:00-8:00pm on September 28th

Open House with a Closing Presentation from 5:00-8:00pm on September 30th.
all sessions at Sterett Hall, 1530 7th Street and Hobson Ave, N. Chas, SC 29405
Easily accessible by CARTA Routes 10 and 101

Sponsored by the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG), the Charleston Neck Partnership for Prosperity Plan is a cooperative effort to shape the future of the tri-county region's core area. The plan will include strategies to spur economic vitality, promote environmental stewardship, and enhance quality of life for people and businesses within the historic neighborhoods, new communities, and emerging job centers between the Charleston International Airport and US 17-Crosstown in Charleston. more.

Between now and the fall of 2012, the people of Charleston and North Charleston will create a plan that answers the following questions:

What do we want the core of our entire region to look like in 10 years - 25 years- 50 years?

• Neighborhoods & schools
• Shopping & job centers
• Sidewalks, bike routes & transit services
• Streets, highways & rail lines
• Greenways, blueways, & parks

How can we work together to achieve our vision?

• Public investments
• Private development
• Plans and policies
• Desired Outcomes

The plan will be...

• A shared vision of this region's residents
• A guide for decisions about growth & development
• A resource for updating local plans & policies

The plan will NOT be...

• A replacement of the Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC) Revitalization Plan or local comprehensive plans
• A zoning ordinance
• A rigid "prescription" for regional growth

Find complete information at http://www.neckprosperity.org

SC Department of Transportation wants your traffic reduction ideas

Flickr User windy_sydney

Public input meeting: Thursday, September 20

Open House: 5:30 pm-7:30 pm

Short Project Overview: 6:00 pm
North Charleston City Hall
2500 City Hall Lane, North Charleston, SC 29406

If you have experience congestion along I-526 between Rivers Avenue in North Charleston and US Hwy 17 in Charleston, the South Carolina Department of Transportation wants your traffic reduction ideas.

The Corridor Analysis for I-526 between North Charleston and Charleston examines the roughly eight-mile segment of Interstate between Rivers Avenue in North Charleston and US 17 in West Ashley - including the system-to-system interchange of I-526 and I-26. The study team’s primary tasks are to gather baseline information about the corridor and to solicit ideas for reducing today’s traffic and meeting tomorrow’s needs.

All ideas received will be considered including: travel demand management alternatives to either reduce the overall travel in the corridor or spreading the peak travel demand to off-peak periods; multi-modal strategies to shift vehicle or truck travel to other modes of travel, such as transit or rail; traffic operation improvements to improve the efficiency of traffic flow; and capacity improvements within the road network.

Feasible ideas will then be studied and evaluated with traffic analyses, travel demand modeling, and corridor geometric evaluations. By the conclusion of this eighteen month study, alternatives will be identified and evaluated not only for near term, low-cost strategies, but also for more costly, future-year capacity strategies.