Senior Center (Nancy Ream Enabnit)
A beautiful new Sandy-style sign now welcomes visitors to the Community/Senior Center. Workers from TubeArt Designs installed the sign in late January, and Scott Brown from IT got the reader board up and running. Staff attended a webinar to learn a few tricks on programming, keeping in mind the municipal code parameters, of course. In conjunction with sign installation was a relocation of the mailbox. Personnel from Sandy Post Office, Sandy Fire Department and Public Works weighed in on the optimal location for the mailbox, and the contractor moved it at no additional cost.
Save the date! The Senior Center will celebrate its 40th Anniversary on April 24th.
Parks
Footings were poured for the Bornstedt playground and the first load of bark chips was spread. Joe Preston coordinated this portion of the project and got a little help from Ant Farm personnel. Dan from Valley View Landscape donated the use of a dingo (motorized wheelbarrow) and one of his employees to operate it. Special thanks to Steve Gillis and Joe Preston for braving wind, sleet and snow to facilitate delivery of the second load of bark chips. A work party to get the rest of the chips distributed will take place soon.
Recreation (Sarah Richardson)
The Recreation Department continues to utilize creative ways of marketing classes and programs. The database of newsletter subscribers grows weekly. The new electronic sign is boosting the effort to communicate with residents about the diverse recreational and leisure opportunities available in the community.
Mountain Storm Youth Basketball for 3rd-6th graders kicked off the game season in January. A total of 188 kids are currently playing in the league.
Transit (Julie Stephens)
Total ridership this month was 12,696, a decrease of 34% from the same period last year. SAM-Gresham decreased 35.6%; SAM-Estacada had the greatest drop in use, 44.5%; STAR had a modest decrease, 6.5% this month; and ED ridership increased by 60%.
After reviewing the stats for October & November, we discovered uncounted ridership, and the corrections reflect slightly improved numbers for those months. However, for just the second time in the fourteen-year history of services, annual ridership fell from the previous year, largely due to the implementation of fares in October. The total ridership, 217,210, was a decrease of 16% from the previous year. The greatest loss, 16.6%, was seen on the SAM-Gresham route; SAM-Estacada fell by 14%; STAR lost 8.7%; yet ED increased almost 17%.
Once again the expanded Mt. Hood Express ridership hit a new high in January at 3606, almost doubling previous averages. Ridership on the new weekend SAM-Gresham Saturday & Sunday service continues to experience slight increases.
The Clackamas County C4 committee added a rural transit staff representative, and Julie Stephens, Sandy Transit Manager, was appointed to the position.