Senior Center (Nancy Ream Enabnit)
The Senior Center was involved in a fall-prevention study, sponsored by OHSU, that offered free Tai Chi classes twice a week for adults 60+. The class proved quite popular and, as a result, Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance is now being offered on Monday mornings. Although there is a charge for the class, it has a loyal following of participants who realize the benefits of this form of exercise.
Guest speakers for the month included Julie Stephens and Andi Howell from Sandy Transit. They held an after-lunch information session on Sept. 19th regarding the October bus system changes. On Monday the 23rd, Becky Galbreth of Priority Footwear spoke on the topic of Diabetes and Your Feet.
Despite an increase in prices, excursions for the month were full to capacity. The “new” center van got some snazzy graphics, thanks to the guidance of Julie Stephens.
Staff time was spent on the RFP process for a new monument sign on the north side (street side) of the Center. Two proposals were received, and the work should be completed before year’s end.
Parks
Clackamas River Basin Watershed Council is currently doing a “Shade Our Streams” project in Sandy Bluff Park. Personnel removed invasive species along a 10-foot wide corridor following the stream as it flows into and out of the pond. Once the area was cleared, native species were planted to encourage natural cooling of the waterway.
Recreation (Sarah Richardson)
The Fall Recreation Guide was distributed solely electronically for the first time. A flip book style program was used to post the guide making it simpler to navigate and search for activities. The new format allows for more pages with no additional cost, and full pages can be used to promote events etc.
New email marketing/social media strategies are being used to help share information about classes, programs and events. Flyers with upcoming activities have been distributed to the schools. As the transition develops, sign-ups are improving but were initially slower than normal. This is to be expected as residents get used to finding information in new ways.
A new monument sign with electronic reader board will be added to the Community Center this fall. It will provide a more dynamic means of sharing program information.
Transit (Julie Stephens)
Total ridership this month was 17,126, a decrease of 14% from the same period last year. SAM-Gresham decreased 16%; SAM-Estacada decreased by 4.5%; STAR use decreased by 3.7% this month; and though ED ridership increased substantially– by 82.8%, due to efficiencies gained through shared rides, the actual costs increased only 20%.
The Transit Advisory Committee convened again on September 18th to provide a venue for public meetings and feedback about the service changes and new fares.
Staff and Contractor continued to prepare for the October 1st start of extended weekend service on SAM-Gresham and Mountain Express to Timberline as well as the introduction of fares. Reduced fare passes were available at several city locations during the end of the month. Early sales and ridership are on target with projections. You’ll see more about that next month.
We continue to experience success with transit tax collection efforts. Of the 12 businesses that received pre-citation letters, 10 became compliant without citations, one paid after the citation was issued and the other failed to appear in court after saying they would be in to pay back taxes to become compliant.