Senior Center (Nancy Ream Enabnit)
As always, the Mountain Festival Pie Booth occupied a great deal of time and effort in early July. The annual fundraiser for Meals-on-Wheels grossed over $4,000 with anticipated net profits of around $3,000. A big thank you shout-out goes to our community partners at EverFresh Fruit who donated nearly all the fruit used in the pies.
Local pioneers Howard Vaeretti and JoAnn McDermed Bernhardt organized a van tour of the area and offered historic highlights of Sandy. Mr. Vaeretti’s grandfather migrated from Italy and established a homestead on TenEyck. Howard still lives on the property along the Barlow Trail. Another Sandy Pioneer, Grace Wewer Reich, added her historic perspective as well. Her father owned the land now known as the Nicholas-Glenn neighborhood. The trip was so popular, it will be repeated in September.
Additional staff time was spent authoring an Oregon State Department of Human Services Innovations Grant. The application was for money to fund Medical Teams International Dental Van visits for each of the 10 Senior Centers in Clackamas County. A July 30th email confirmed funding of the project.
Parks
Park facilities have seen an increase in use this summer. The splash pad at Bornstedt Park has kept many families cool as temperatures rise. Sandy Bluff Park is getting lots of action with the new off-leash dog area and special events including the Family Fun Festival. Activities in Meinig got rolling in early July with another successful Shakespeare in the Park, Mountain Festival, and the launch of the 2014 Sandy Summer Sounds & Starlight Cinema. Thanks to park maintenance staff Joe Preston and Steve Gillis who keep things looking spiffy.
Recreation (Sarah Richardson)
July was busy as usual with Mountain Festival events, Adult Softball and a variety of camps and classes. Mountain Festival events were very well attended this year with the Pet Show growing dramatically. The Bike Derby and Parade continue to be favorite family events.
New summer camps and field trips were offered with mixed results. A survey this fall will help in planning for next summer. New field trips focused on local parks, and new, successful activities were introduced.
There were 7 softball teams playing on the High School fields this summer. The season will end with a tournament on August 9th.
Transit (Julie Stephens)
Total ridership this month was 12,133, continuing the same decrease of 40% from the same period last year. SAM-Gresham decreased 42%; again this month, SAM-Estacada had the greatest drop in use, 54%; STAR had a modest increase for the first time in a year, 3.5% this month; and ED ridership continued to decrease by 23%.
The expanded Mt. Hood Express ridership was 2885 in July. A new bus is now in service, truly making it an express run. It has a bike trailer that can accommodate up to 12 bicycles at a time.
The relocation of the bus transfer center during Sandy Mountain Festival was challenging for the first couple of days, though improved signage (thank you to Public Works!) helped this year.
Congratulations to Andi Howell who recently received word she has passed the test to become a Certified Community Transportation Manager (CCTM). Andi attended the CTAA conference in St. Paul in June and (successfully) completed the management training course. Her training and certification will be helpful as she assists the Transit Department in additional areas throughout the coming months.
Andi again took the lead with Janice and families to decorate a SAM bus for the Sandy Mountain Festival Parade in July. Congrats again, as SAM took third place in the community organization division.