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Crime & Safety

Half Moon Bay Enters Era of Shared Services with Outsourced Police, Recreation, Public Access TV

Crowd comes out to honor officers; emotional yet firm decision by councilmembers to take on outsourced contracts.

Half Moon Bay became what City Manager Laura Snideman called an "contract city" last night after the City Council awarded three contracts to outside providers for its police, recreation, and public access television services.

"We are now looking into going into a new phase of government," said Half Moon Bay City Councilmember Marina Fraser. "We are in the first group of many cities going down this road contracting for our community," she said.

As expected, the City Council awarded contracts to the , the city of , and , which replaced longstanding provider Mid-Coast Community Television.

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Yesterday morning, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved the police contract between the county sheriff and the city of Half Moon Bay, as well as the public access TV contract between the county and Pacifica Community Television.

"We didn’t want to do this but I’m thankful that we’re doing it," said Half Moon Bay Councilmember John Muller. "We’ve set the example of making tough choices and I think we’re setting the tone out there," he said.

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"There is a fundamental shift," Snideman said. "I think that’s an exciting change because that gives us a great deal of flexibility in regards to changing needs and adjusting service levels depending of our budget. Everyone should feel proud to be part of that," she said.

Snideman said that over fifty percent of the city's services were coming from an external provider.

Half Moon Bay Interim Police Chief Lee Violett gave a sincere commendation to the City Council for their actions.

"In 39 years I’ve not personally worked with a city council that had to make such a difficult decision outsourcing all the different resources they’ve been forced to outsource," he said.

Lt. Lisa Williams of the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office also addressed the council.

"There’s a tremendous amount of respect for police officers in Half Moon Bay," Williams said. "We look forward to draw upon their experiences to provide outstanding law enforcement services from here on out," she said.

Williams will assume command from Violett at the Sheriff's Half Moon Bay substation at 12:01 a.m. June 12 as the transition between the city and county takes place. According to Violett, Williams will have office space at the Half Moon Bay substation, but it will not serve as her main office.

Earlier in the evening, the city council honored Half Moon Bay police officers, police sergeants, police records staff, reserves, volunteers and the community service officer with a framed message of recognition (see photo gallery in media box to right). Approximately 75 people attended the recognition and stayed for a reception afterwards with refreshments and cake.

Half Moon Bay resident Heidi Kuiper stopped by to extend a special thank you to Sgt. Dennis Loubal, who attended with his wife and two children.

"I've been in the community fo 19 years and he's been here for the kids, for the community," Kuiper said of Loubal. "When we have events, it's always comforting if Sgt. Loubal or Officer John Sanchez is in the crowd," she said.

"He'll still be part of the community," Kuiper said of Sgt. Loubal's continued assignment in Half Moon Bay alongside Officer Sanchez and Sgt. Reed, after giving Loubal's daughter a hug.

Half Moon Bay resident George Muteff shared some of his reflections with the city council about the closure of the police department.

"For the past six or seven years they have been a tremendous help for my family, kids, and  property -- they've always been there," he said. "They just come, they are there. They always have had a professional approach and good attitude. I’m going to miss them a lot."

"I want to tip my hat to all the police officers and chiefs both past and present, and thank them. It won’t be the same without them," he said.

Shahrzad Pantera, former Half Moon Bay Police Activities League (PAL) president, also praised the department and its staff in her comments delivered to the city council. "I want to thank the officers and tell them how important it was when officers came on board and gave up their own time," she said. A few children from the PAL also attended the meeting. 

Violett said that after the  Half Moon Bay Police Department becomes the County Sheriff's Substation, he will be working alongside Lt. Williams to "ensure a smooth transition."

While the operational transition should take place with no problem, merging some of the technological aspects between the city and the county will need to be attended to, he said, especially the computer-aided dispatch between the city and the county, which are not completely compatible, Violett said.

Half Moon Bay Police staff, sergeants, officers, reserve officers, and volunteers honored last night by the city council:

Officers

Mark R. Reed

Michael O'Malley

David G. Bolster

Dennis G. Loubal

John Sanchez

Jan Smith

Richard Cheechov

J.P. Martinez

John R. Carroll

Hernan Villalobos

Colin Smith

Jordan Boyd

 

Records Staff

Cheryl Martin

Elizabeth Yano

 

Reserves

William Dillingham

George Doolin

Robert Vogt

Val Salet

 

Community Service Officer

Craig Reimche

 

Volunteers

Dianne Baker

James Bursick

Charles Netherby

Guy Reimche

The Half Moon Bay Police Activities League will be holding an event to introduce new officers to the community on June 29 at Cunha Intermediate School.

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