Senior Center (Nancy Ream Enabnit)
December began with the annual family tradition, Breakfast with Santa. Not only does the event provide a time for people to come together and celebrate the season, but money is raised to help support the Sandy/Boring meals-on-wheels program. Hundreds of hours of volunteer time go into decorating the center, soliciting prizes, preparing and serving the meal, greeting attendees, taking/developing photos and cleaning up. Local businesses exhibit their generosity by donating merchandise to the very successful raffle or money to directly support the fundraiser. Breakfast with Santa is a wonderful reminder of the special community in which we live.
Parks
The Parks Board, led by Chairwoman Kathleen Walker, presented the concept of purchasing trail corridors along the west and south sides of the Sandy High School property. The goal is to provide an unrestricted off-road connection between the north Sandy Bluff neighborhood and the commercial core of Sandy as well as Sandy River Park. With City Council support, staff is working with Oregon Trail School District personnel to further this shared goal.
Recreation (Sarah Richardson)
December was a busy month with the final stages of the Winter/Spring Recreation Guide in development and the organization of Mountain Storm.
Mountain Storm Youth Basketball is experiencing record numbers with 28 teams between grades 3-6. Gyms are very tight and scheduling practices and games are proving to be challenging, but it is great to see so many kids doing something active and positive.
New courses in the Recreation & Leisure Guide include some great cooking classes, a new fitness option for adults, and English Country Dancing.
Transit (Andi Howell)
Total ridership this month was 9564. This is a decrease in ridership of 12.4% from December 2014. The SAM-Gresham ridership decreased by 12.1% with a total of 7601 rides; SAM-Estacada ridership decreased by 4.2%; STAR decreased this month by 18.5%; and ED ridership remained virtually the same. While ridership continues to be lower than it was in 2014, the ridership trend of 2015 is holding steady. Overall, Sandy Transit saw a decrease in ridership of 7% between 2014 and 2015. This is much lower than the 35% drop between 2013 and 2014.
Sandy Transit began a new, innovative program to increase awareness of the services available to residents recently relocated to the City. Based on water bill accounts, approximately 15 welcome packets are sent to new residents each month. In the past, the Transit brochure/schedule was included. Currently, along with the schedule, a free monthly bus pass is included. The drivers have reported the passes are being used, and a new tracking system to capture usage data is in the works.
January passes and Sandy Anniversary bags were adorned with an ornament and given out to families who attended the December “story time and read along” at the Sandy Library. Additionally, Sandy Transit partnered with the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce to include a January pass to local families in need. The families were selected by the Chamber.
Sandy staff are currently working on the STIP proposal that was submitted in November and an STF Discretionary grant that will be due in January. Additionally, staff are busy with exciting website updates that should be in place by next month.
Our partner, Mount Hood Express, has altered their equipment for the ski season. With the return of snow on the Mountain, Mount Hood Express has seen their ridership swell and were forced to add 3 routes for a 2-week period. The Operations Center became a very busy place during the month of December both for the purchase of Mount Hood Express tickets, Day “fusion” Passes, and as a park and ride.