SENIOR CENTER (Nancy Ream Enabnit & Dena Isbell)
Each year the Center serves as a site for the AARP Tax Aide program. This year is no exception as trusty volunteers Joanne Anderson and Virginia Frasier returned to help those who need assistance in completing state and federal tax forms. Joann and Virginia began this year’s weekly appointments on Wednesday, February 1st and have added extra days to accommodate the overflow number of requests. 150 individuals received help through the Sandy site.
PARKS
At the March 26th Planning Commission meeting, staff gave an overview of the process to develop master plans for Sandy River Park, Meinig Park and Bornstedt Village Park. The plans were before the Commission for approval. After some public comment and discussion among the Commissioners, there was a unanimous decision to forward the master plans to the City Council for adoption as part of the Parks Master Plan. Thanks to Tracy Brown, Planning Director, for bringing the process along.
Trail people from Metro and the Milwaukie Trolley Trail project ventured out to Sandy for a tour of the Tickle Creek Trail led by Kathleen Walker and staff. Everyone was duly impressed, and Mel Huie, Metro’s Regional Trails Coordinator, asked if Sandy would host the quarterly trails forum in July and show off the trail to a larger audience. They enjoyed the setting, the surfacing, bridge construction and were astounded by the relatively low price tag.
RECREATION (Sarah Richardson)
Preparations and planning for the Summer Recreation Guide took place in March. There will be some new offerings and an extended day camp schedule.
Mountain Storm wrapped up the 2011-12 season with the 5th and 6th Grade Jamboree at Sandy High School. Mountain Storm appreciates the leadership of Chairperson Scott Maltman and thanks him for his support and enthusiasm.
TRANSIT (Julie Stephens)
Total ridership this month was 21,453, representing a 1.3% increase over the same period last year. Most routes experienced modest increases with the exception ofSAM-Estacada which had a decline of just over 16%. Weather was unusually cold, including three days that required route adjustments for snow. The average ridership loss during such weather is 20%. Use of ED has increased this year with the month of March showing a sharp increase of almost 60%.
Progress continues on the Transit Center; it is projected to go out for bids in late April.
Marketing efforts continued to dispose of the OPUS bus. Many agencies were contacted and it was listed on Craigslist.
The new passenger shelter at Ruben Lane & Hwy. 26 was completed with several glass panels etched by Moon Shadow Glass of Sandy.
Staff continued work with TriMet and the other regional transit providers toward an update of the regional Elderly and Disabled Transportation Plan.
ODOT Public Transit Division conducted a discretionary process to distribute surplus funds for eligible transit projects across the state. Sandy Transit secured $62,000 to compensate for higher fuel costs.
The Transit Adventure included several new participants with a total of 21 going to the Culinary Arts Institute in Portland for lunch.