Avalon OKs Pact With Sheriff
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will continue to provide law enforcement services to Avalon in accord with a five-year contract approved unanimously Tuesday by the City Council.
The council vote followed three months of discussion between city officials and sheriff’s representatives over ways to improve the department’s image on Santa Catalina Island and enhance the relationship between deputies and the community, said City Manager Chuck Prince. Under the agreement, the sheriff’s station on the island will increase narcotics enforcement, replace car patrols on Crescent Avenue, Avalon’s main street, with a foot patrol, and have the station commander in uniform more often, Prince said.
The contract also slightly increases the number of deputies patrolling the city, said Lawrence Dykhouse, sheriff’s commander for the part of the county that includes the island.
The final cost of the contract will be decided in June, but Prince estimated it at $300,000 to $350,000 a year.
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