EVERETT — The lights are on. The shrubs are cut. The windows and doors are locked.
It is almost graduation day for residents and the manager at Hidden Greens Apartments.
The property will be one of the first to complete a new Everett Police Department program and be designated as crime-free rental housing.
About 40 landlords and property owners attended more than a dozen hours of training in the fall. They learned how to screen applicants and look for signs of illegal activity.
Hidden Greens just wrapped up phase two of the program.
The property was inspected for safety concerns, including sufficient lighting and locks on doors and windows. The owner added more lighting and put PVC pipes in the runners of all windows and sliding glass doors to keep them from being jiggled open.
Residents will soon gather for a pizza party to learn about crime prevention, personal safety and looking out for each other.
"Sometimes there isn’t a sense of community in apartments," crime prevention officer Steve Paxton said. "This gives people a chance to meet and learn how to be each other’s eyes and ears."
Property manager Jason Hauck has nothing but good things to say about the program.
"It opened up the communication between the property and police that wouldn’t have been there without the class," Hauck said
Marci Olsen, who manages Shoreside Village Apartments, says her involvement in the program has been a huge selling point for prospective tenants.
"In this day and age, I think it’s a breath of fresh air to know you live in a safe place," Olsen said.
Hauck also said it has been a selling point for the apartments, located near the Everett Golf and County Club.
"The residents really appreciate it. I think they are impressed that we’re taking their safety so seriously," he said.
The apartments are fairly new and there wasn’t a history of problems, Hauck said.
He just wanted to get a better idea of how to attract good renters and keep them.
"They covered everything from gangs to the tenant-landlord act to car prowls," Hauck said. "It would be a mistake not to go through the program."
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
The next crime-free rental housing workshop will be March 16-18. The cost is $15 for those who register before Feb. 15. After that date, the cost is $20. For more information about the program, call 425-257-7521.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
