Monthly Report ~ August 2015

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Senior Center (Nancy Ream Enabnit)
The Annual Volunteer Recognition Picnic took place on August 26th. The Senior Center has, by far, the largest number of dedication volunteers. After 31 years of coordinating drivers for Meals-on-Wheels, one such volunteer, Grace Reich, has decided to retire from her position. Grace is a Sandy native and a 1937 graduate of Sandy High School. She has lent her assistance to the Sandy Historical Society, Immanuel Lutheran Church and many other organizations around town. To honor her service to the Senior Center, a reception is planned for her on Thursday, October 15th at 12:30pm. Everyone is welcome to stop by and thank Grace for all she has done to ensure over 32,000 meals have been delivered over her stellar years of service.

Parks
Another successful year of Sandy Summer Sounds & Starlight Cinema took place in Meinig Park. Rain fell on one concert and one movie necessitating a move to the Community/Senior Center. It is obvious the outside venue is a big draw since the audience significantly dwindles with the move indoors. Thanks to Katie Murphy for rounding up some old favorites and special new bands to celebrate the 20th year of Sandy Summer Sounds.

Recreation (Sarah Richardson)
Summer Adult Softball finished the season with a tournament August 15th. Mt. Hood Athletic Club continues their winning streak.

The Fall Recreation & Leisure Guide was developed with a few new programs and many favorite classes. Producing the Guide in-house and electronically continues to provide new opportunities to support programs developed by other departments and organizations including the Sandy and Hoodland Libraries and the Sandy Community Action Center.
The collaboration between the Recreation Department and the Library also resulted in two successful summer day camps; one in June and one in August. Participants started their day at the Library and were met at noon by the Recreation Department staff. Activities at the library included Legos, Minecraft, art projects and more. The recreation staff supervised lunch and outdoor play time in a local park and swimming at the Olin Bignall Pool.

Future programs in development include after school programs with Camp Namanu, and computer labs and cooking classes at the Ant Farm.

Transit (Andi Howell)
Total ridership this month was 11,040. This is a decrease in ridership by 5% from August 2014. SAM-Gresham ridership decreased by 6%; SAM-Estacada ridership decreased by 8%; STAR decreased this month by nearly 2%; and ED ridership increased by nearly 4%.

Sandy Transit conducted on-board surveys this month to better understand ridership during the Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) extended hours. Sandy added early Saturday morning and Sunday service using FLAP funding to provide connectivity between the Metro area and Mt Hood. Ridership during these hours continues to increase. Similar to other surveys conducted by Sandy Transit, riders during the FLAP hours are highly dependent on public transportation (77% ride at least 3-4 times and week; 78% do not have a vehicle they could have used for their trip). They are very pleased with Sandy services and the most requested improvements were more Sunday service and later service.

Sandy continues to reach out to riders and non-riders alike to provide the best service possible. Recent survey and marketing efforts give Sandy Transit a good base for understanding the needs of the community and reaching out to those who to riders and non-riders alike.

Sandy staff conducted interviews for the Transit Assistant this month. There were many qualified candidates; it was difficult to narrow the field to eight interviewees. One interviewee stood out among the rest however and Sandy Transit welcomed her on board August 25th. Muna Rustam is the new Transit Assistant. Muna has spent the last 12 years working for Sunrise Valley Water Authority and is currently finishing a Bachelor’s degree in Business and Psychology. Sandy City staff are very excited to have her on our team.

Many friends and colleagues attended a retirement celebration on August 19th in honor of Julie Stephens. Julie was an effective manager with a great passion for public transit. She often gave her time, knowledge and effort to support rural transit in Oregon and will be missed both in Sandy and across the State.