“Tacoma City CouncilStudy SessionNoon, Tuesday April 25, 2000Room 16, Municipal Bldg. N.728 St. Helens AvenueTacomaLink Light RailSound Transit staff will present the construction plan for the Tacoma Link light rail project. The presentation will include the project’s timeline, it’s impact on traffic, the community and businesses.The Link presentation will also include an update from Pierce Transit about the Tacoma Dome Station Park & Ride and streetscape improvements related to the light rail project.Tacoma Link will run 1.6 miles into and through downtown Tacoma. Construction is slated to last about 18 months, through spring 2002.The project will require several intermittent closures and detours, including a detour around the intersection at South 25th Street and Pacific Avenue, northbound traffic only on Commerce Street, and some nighttime closures of the intersection at South Ninth and Commerce streets. Driveway and pedestrian access will remain open.Tacoma City CouncilCouncil Meeting5:00 p.m., Tuesday April 25Room 16, Municipal Bldg. N.728 St. Helens AvenueTacomaNeighborhood GrantsIndividuals, community organizations and neighborhood councils may divide $160,000 for small-scale physical improvement neighborhood projects. The Council will take testimony and vote on funding proposed projects, including purchasing hanging baskets for South Tacoma Way, installing bike racks on the West End, and creating an outdoor gathering space at the Eastside Boys & Girls Club.The small grants, $7,500 or less per project must benefit the community or directly benefit low to moderate-income residents, people with disabilities or senior citizens. Applicants must provide matching funds of 10 percent of the project’s cost.The City received 68 project applications totaling over $310,000.Kids Can’t Pull the PinSelling or giving a deactivated hand grenade to children under 18 would violate a proposed ordinance up for public comment. Violation of the ordinance would be a misdemeanor, punishable with a fine up to $1,000, 90 days in jail, or both.Under current law it is illegal to own a grenade for unlawful purposes or to put a grenade in an improper location. It is also illegal to maliciously place a look-alike or deactivated grenade anywhere that it would give the impression it is real or activated. But there is no law to address the sale of non-functioning grenades to minors.Recently, three teens brought a rebuilt grenade to Mount Tahoma High School. The three boys were charged with unlawful possession of an incendiary device and two with possessing a dangerous weapon on school grounds.The Council will vote on the proposal at a future meeting.Community Services Funding Citizens have the opportunity to testify on how much federal money should go to AIDS support groups, juvenile delinquency prevention, emergency shelters and other community services.The Tacoma City Council will conduct a public hearing on the Urban Policy Committee’s recommendations for dividing approximately $5 million in Department of Housing and Urban Development funds. Nearly 70 Tacoma organizations applied for federal grant money this year.The committee recommends allocating grant money to 38 organizations, including continued support for 27 community programs while adding three new programs to the selection.Each year, HUD provides funding for thousands of community development and housing projects through Community Development Block Grants, HOME Investment Partnership funds and Emergency Shelter grants.The hearing will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. in the Tacoma City Council Chambers, Room 16, Municipal Building North, 728 St. Helens Avenue.”