To increase police presence in Pacific Palisades, resident Kurt Toppel has spent the past couple of years facilitating an effort to create an office for the Los Angeles Police Department at the Palisades Recreation Center.

Throughout the day, patrol officers working in the Palisades have to write and file reports, meaning they must drive to the West Los Angeles Community Police Station at 1663 Butler Ave., about six miles away (20 minutes or more in traffic) near the 405 Freeway. In certain cases, they have to file a report immediately, so a suspect's description or vehicle information can be distributed to other agencies.

'What we have talked about is having our officers in Pacific Palisades go to the Recreation Center instead,' West LAPD Area Commanding Officer Evangelyn Nathan explained. 'That way, they can sit down and complete their reports and not have to be out of the Palisades for long periods of time.'

In addition, 'the officers could provide visibility at the park to prevent vandalism and other crimes,' Nathan told the Palisadian-Post. 'We have something similar at Stoner Park, and we have a great relationship there.' Until LAPD established a presence at Stoner Park (near Barrington Avenue), there was a lot of gang activity and drug dealing, she said.

Kurt's wife, Haldis, told the Post that when the gym was built in 1996, the backroom was designed as a secure area for an LAPD office. 'At the time, we had a much larger police force and the captain [prior to Nathan] never did make use of the facility,' Haldis said.''The L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks made the room into a storage facility.'

In February 2009, the issue of an LAPD office was reborn when there was a reduction in the police force and increased vandalism at the new gym, Haldis explained. On March 12, 2009, the Council passed a motion asking that 'LAPD make use of the office in the Palisades Park new gym designed to minimize LAPD absence.'

However, Recreation and Parks officials did not want to give up the storage space, so after much discussion, they agreed to the idea of remodeling the front entryway of the gym to include offices for themselves and LAPD, Haldis noted. While Recreation and Parks and LAPD both favored the idea, the departments could not pay for the construction because of the city's budget crisis.

Knowing this, Kurt Toppel asked the American Legion Post 283, of which he is a member, to make a donation. In August 2009, Post 283 donated $6,500 for the remodel. Glenn Ricard Construction, based in Pacific Palisades, agreed to complete the project for that amount.

Money is needed to cover the installation of the telephone lines and the monthly fees associated with those telephone lines, according to Andrea Epstein, spokeswoman for Recreation and Parks. LAPD and Recreation and Parks also still need to reach an official agreement.

Although the Community Council and the Park Advisory Board have already expressed support for these projects, Haldis recently asked them to reaffirm their position.

'We want to send a strong message that everyone wants this, so the project can move forward,' said Haldis, a member of both groups.

The Park Advisory Board approved a motion to support the project at its January 26 meeting. Haldis attempted to make a similar motion at the Council's January 27 meeting. However, Council Chair Janet Turner said the discussion was not on the agenda and could be addressed at the March 10 meeting.

Community Council member Stuart Muller argued that he attended all the community meetings regarding the construction of the new gym, and he couldn't recall a police office as being a part of those original plans. He asked if LAPD could use the Chamber of Commerce office, located at 15330 Antioch St.

Nathan, who attended the January 27 Council meeting, responded that the officers need a secure place to store supplies, while LAPD Senior Lead Officer Michael Moore said that too many other groups use the Chamber office.

'If an officer is trying to get a report done to get back into the field, it's going to take that much longer when he keeps being interrupted,' Moore said.