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his commitment to furthering this conversation at another time, and suggested the City might be able to save money by paying straight time for school employees to fill these spots versus overtime for city employees. In response to a question, Lt. Deucher explained that the 29 permanent traffic guards are required to work both morning and afternoon shifts. It is preferred that substitute guards work both, but it is not required. Mayor George added that they are evaluating options to make the schedules more appealing to attract candidates and considering things like making a hybrid position for a traffic guard / park security guard. Councilmember Kepple said she brought it up because the legislation before the committee tonight sets a limit to the number of crossing guards that can be hired which would limit some of the scheduling options discussed. Chairman Baker opened the discussion up to public comment. Daniel Zielinski - 2197 Northland Ave – Mr. Zielinski said he is a data scientist and that Councilman Baker's communication about the traffic guards prompted him to investigate how many kids have been struck by a vehicle during school commute hours. He reviewed the past seven weeks of police reports and found five children between the ages of 13 and 17 that had a collision during those hours. He suggested improvements in information collection and data sharing could be part of the solution. He suggested another solution would be to look at the operations side and remove the hiring cap on traffic guards. He also recommended looking into a program based in Portland that administers a Bike Bus – where an adult escorts the students to school on their bikes. Emily Lindberg – 1651 Lauderdale – Ms. Lindberg questioned whether the crossing guards are intended to assist with crossing for middle and high school students. She suggested the crossing guard shifts should start earlier, especially when it is dark outside, and especially considering the ages of the kids involved in collisions (shared by Zalenski). She said maybe a two-hour shift would be more appealing to potential candidates. Gail Davis – 1566 St. Charles Ave – Ms. Davis spoke in favor of flexible shifts for crossing guards. She said her neighborhood has a walking group of 13 – 15 kids that is led by 2 -3 adults and they cross the Warren and Franklin intersection. She said in the afternoon there is a very high volume of car traffic as well as more kids, since you have the elementary students coming east from Grant and the High school students heading west. She said the sidewalks are very tight and there are a lot of children in all directions and that flexible shifts would help since a second guard would only be necessary on the afternoon. ORDINANCE 17-2023 - AN ORDINANCE amending Section 135.05, Traffic Guards of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Lakewood to for the purpose of allowing the Mayor, as Director of Public Safety, to hire more traffic guards. (1st read & referred to Public Safety 7/17/23 Councilmember Shachner made a motion to amend Section a to strike “not more than 38.” Chairman Baker seconded the motion and asked the administration if they had any thoughts on removing the cap on the number of traffic guards that can be hired. Mayor George stated there is no greater priority than the safety of our kids. She thanked the council for looking at this so the administration can adjust operations to fit the current needs. She said she is in favor of striking the limit because this map is going to be something that will constantly be reviewed and adjusted as needs and conditions change. 3