11-12-1997 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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2. Developing a strong and stable resident profile. Professional oversight of the construction and renovation will satisfy the first goal. It is our intention to substantially complete the renovation within one year of the closing of the purchase. Meeting the second goal will require a careful analysis of the property. This cannot be fully conducted until the management transition takes place. However Goldmark and HADC have discussed the historical crime prevention aspects with Deputy Gary Wilzbacher of the Ramsey County Sheriffs department and discovered the following: Though we do not know why, current management has decreased involvement in crime prevention activities. Police calls appear to be quite high and may be increasing. Our focus would be on "proactive" instead of "reactive" measures. Deputy Wilzbacher encouraged, and we would agree to enact the following: 1. Neighborhood watch. 2. Crime prevention inspections. 3. Crime free multihotising. 4. National night out. We currently utilize these services and take these steps at other local properties that we manage and would continue this policy of active involvement in crime prevention activities. Our goal is to enforce strict rules that benefit our residents and aggressively remove the element of residents who cannot adhere to proper and safe community conduct. There are fundamental property management practices that will benefit Montreal Courts. As in most business, the success is not in determining the practices, but in the successful and consistent implementation of the practices. With the experience and strength of GPM's organization, we have found success in consistently applying our procedures to our portfolio of properties. In the case of Montreal Courts, we would consider the following: 1. Significant renovation is always a positive for a property. Creating pride of ownership and attracting residents to an "as new" apartment. Among competing properties, we want to be the property with the best product. 2. We will examine upgraded lighting and resident security services. In West St. Paul we have experienced success by implementing walking patrols. In all cases crime has decreased, resident security has increased and quality of resident profile has increased. This has translated into fewer police calls, less vandalism and greater resident retention. Clearly, creating a safe environment is a number one consideration by apartment residents today. Page 18