Senior Center (Nancy Ream Enabnit)
Once again, members of the Center looked forward to a world-premiere Halloween skit written and performed by center staff, with special guest Seth Atkinson joining in this year’s fun. Folks were thoroughly entertained with the theme, “Dancing with the Stars–All Girl Version.” Performances of the Charleston, the Hustle and the Twist wowed the audience as did snappy dialogue from the emcee and judges.
Parks
The Park Board continues to meet with a main goal of updating the original Master Plan, adopted in 1997. There was a trail component included in the initial plan, but the new plan will feature a more extensive vision of trails in and around the city as well as potential connections to regional trails. Another goal is to pursue rezoning of all Park land as parks, rather than residential zoning with a conditional use.
Recreation (Sarah Richardson)
Fall recreation classes and programs were in full swing in October. Mountain Storm registrations came rolling in and it looks like we will have a record season for 3rd and 4th grade teams.
The new after-school Bricks 4 Kidz program concluded a successful first session and we look forward to more programs for Winter/Spring. Long-time fall staples of Kinderdance and Pee Wee Soccer continue to be popular. Sandy and Troutdale Recreation Departments are looking for ways to collaborate on more teen programs and look forward to trying out some new ideas this winter.
Transit (Julie Stephens)
Total ridership this month was 12,802. Fares were implemented in October 2013, therefore this is the first month that provides comparative annual data. Though the ridership isn’t flat, the reduction has slowed to an overall total of 21%. SAM-Gresham decreased 25%; again this month, SAM-Estacada had a drop in use of 22%; STAR had an increase of 26% this month; and ED ridership had a decrease of 20%.
The expanded Mt. Hood Express ridership was 2439 in October. The bike trailers are off and ski equipment boxes are being constructed for the winter season. The City was honored with an award for partnership at the Summit-to-Summit event at Timberline.
Julie, Andi, Joyce, Janice, along with Transit Advisory Committee members Joseph Lowe and Roxy Tolva, attended the Oregon Public Transportation Conference in Seaside. It was multi-generational themed with excellent keynote speakers and very well attended. We focused on updated federal regulations for ADA, procurement, grant and asset management. Julie and a colleague from eastern Oregon co-led a rural provider round-table.
In response to the top two requested improvements in the recent survey, additional runs will be added on Sundays to the SAM-Gresham route beginning December 1, 2014. Sunday service was introduced lightly last year with fewer runs than the funding allowed. The addition will result in 8 runs on Sunday, more evenly spaced between 7 AM and 9 PM. New schedules and route maps are at the printer and will soon be reflected at bus stops and on the website.