After two years to the day since Oregon recorded its first confirmed case of COVID-19. The mask requirement for schools and indoor public spaces will be lifted on March 12. That means that staff and visitors will no longer be required to wear a mask when in city facilities after March 11 regardless of vaccination status. Mask requirements for public transit (SAM), healthcare settings, and other special circumstances will still remain in place for now.
Though we will no longer require all employees to wear masks while working in most work locations, employees who prefer to continue to wear a mask are encouraged to do so. The City will continue to provide masks to employees and visitors who need or request one.

The city and its staff continue to exceptionally busy and 2022 started with a similar theme – doing our best to manage through periods of coronavirus disruptions and absences. But with the plummeting case numbers as Omicron wanes and the lifting mask mandates, we are hopeful for a return to normalcy! But hold on to those masks, just in case.

We are thrilled to be ramping up our programming and events to help bring the community back together in celebration and entertainment. In addition to the reopening and return of indoor programing at the Community/Senior Center and Library, the Parks & Recreation team is busy planning a host of events for this spring and summer. Egg hunt, Longest Day Parkway, Fireworks, Concerts, Movies in the Park, camps, and programs. We’re also excited to see the return of the Mt. Festival this year.

Project Updates

This year promises to be another stretch of incredible progress on important infrastructure projects and long term plans to help us manage our growth and strategically invest in our community.

• Sandy Clean Waters. We are in the middle of our first phase of our wastewater systems improvements project Sandy Clean Waters. By the end of the year, we will have invested nearly $20 million in fixing our old sewer pipes and expanding the capacity of our wastewater treatment plant.
• Envision Sandy 2050. This month we kicked off the start of Comprehensive Plan Update, Envision Sandy 2050. Check out the upcoming activities and public involvement opportunities for the vision process on the city’s new public engagement platform, Sandy Speaks.
• 362nd and Bell Street Extension. After years of planning and preparation, our highest priority transportation project will be going out to bid this month for construction to start this summer. The new road will extend 362nd across Highway 26 and connect to Bell Street near Sandy High School. The project will create a new key connection between the City’s northern neighborhoods and schools and help facilitate the development of those commercial properties.
• Sandy Community Campus Planning. Since July 2021, a citizen committee, the Pool Exploratory Task Force, worked to assess the City’s current and future aquatic program needs and envision the most cost effective and functional facility to meet those needs. Options were explored to address the physical and program deficiencies of the outdated Olin Y. Bignall Aquatic Center by either repairing and reopening the facility, or by pursuing one of the following options: 1) renovating the existing natatorium, 2) renovating the natatorium and constructing an addition, or 3) constructing a new aquatic facility. 
  • The PETF determined that repairing and reopening the aquatic center as currently configured is not feasible.  Substantial funds would be required to address critical needs related to pool infrastructure and building systems before the public could be served.  The current facility also does not provide a dedicated recreation pool.  Certain aspects of the building’s architecture make a comprehensive renovation of the structure difficult and expensive.
  • The PETF instead recommends constructing a new aquatic center elsewhere on the Campus property.  The report includes details on desired facility features, as well as rough estimates of capital and operations costs.
  • The City Council is now working to move forward with designing a concept and preliminary design for a new aquatic and recreation facility and park improvements at the community campus. This will include further working with the public through focus groups, Advisory Boards, and a technical advisory committee to help determine the facility, space, and amenity needs.

Congratulations to Mike Walker

This month we wished Public Works Director Mike Walker a happy retirement. Mike has retired after 36+ years with the City! 

It’s hard to overstate the impact a Public Works Director has on a city, especially after almost four decades of service during a time of rapid growth (Sandy was about 3,000 people when he started!). During his tenure Mike managed an incredible portfolio of responsibilities and infrastructure projects that are so critical and important, but are often buried, hidden, or taken for granted. For example, expanding our water treatment plant, building a pipeline to connect to the Bull Run Water Source, constructing Dubarko Road and the PW Operations Center, reviewing countless private development projects, and managing utility studies and master plans. In the last few years Mike has been managing the two largest infrastructure projects in the city’s history – the wastewater system improvements and the 362nd and Bell Street extension project. Mike leaves an impressive legacy that will be felt by the Sandy community for generations. 

Mike is also a long term resident of the city and his passion for the community runs deep as evidenced by his volunteerism and his approach to his work that always had the city’s best interests in mind. Within the corridors of City Hall, his dry wit and sense of humor will be as equally missed as his vast institutional knowledge.

and Welcome Jenny Coker!

We are thrilled to have our new Public Works Director, Jenny Coker, on board and ready to take the helm of the department which has so many important projects and activities in the works. Jenny is a highly qualified civil engineer with both public and private sector experience.  Most recently, she served as a senior engineer and program manager at the City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services (BES).  In that role she managed BES’ Rehabilitation, Repair, and Modifications program, managing large and complex wastewater infrastructure projects. She also has high level management experience at Kennedy Jenks and Carollo Engineers.

We are thrilled to have Jenny join our team and lead our Public Works Department during this critical time. Her background, experience, and enthusiasm are just what Sandy needs to advance our important infrastructure projects and keep the department moving forward.