Community Services – June 2020

Don’t Forget to Order you pies!!! Last day to order is Friday, June 24th!
Order online at cityofsandy.com
(choose Quick Links and Online Registration or see the “ticket” link above) or call 503-668-5569.Choose from Apple Crumb, Cherry, Marionberry, Mixed Berry and Peach. 

Our partnership with local restaurants and provide an additional hot delivered meal to local meals on wheels clients. This partnership included a meals from Tollgate, Scooters, and Sandy Family Restaurant through the month of June. The participants were extremely thankful for these meals. Library, Transit, and Community Service Staff continued to deliver these meals throughout the month of June. Thank you to Ria and the staff at Sandy Family Restaurant.

Ron and his staff at Tollgate provided a box lunch to the participant on two days in the month of June. Thanks Ron!

Thank you to Jim and the staff at Scooters!

Several projects are continuing at the community center. The Front desk area is prepped and ready for installation of germ barriers and set up to provide excellent customer service. Painting is complete in the conference room, storage area, kitchen and dining room.

Seniors

Virtual programming continues with Coffee Chats and Exercise Class.
We have about 4-10 seniors regularly participating in these classes. We kicked off virtual Bingo this month which was a great success. They seem happy to have some socialization with the staff and others. Carol Cohen has been meeting up with some seniors at various local trails for a social distancing walk through nature. They are excited to be outdoors and with others. In June they met at Oxbow one day and Wildwood on another day.

A limited capacity shopping shuttle began in June for the Seniors. We are limiting capacity to 4 people each day to maintain social distancing and all participants and staff are required to wear masks. We had several seniors take advantage of the ability to get out of their home and shop.

In collaboration with Clackamas County, Oregon Food Bank, Community Services Dept and volunteers from Sandy Helping hands, another food box distribution event was held on Thursday, June 25th. This event had a lower attendance then the event held in May. We have seen a decline in the need for food boxes at the event as well as the weekly distribution for the Community Care Initiative.

Recreation

Staff has been working to provide summer options while adhering to guidelines from the Governor’s Office. Some providers have been able to make the adjustments to meet the Phase I guidelines, but most are waiting until we are able to enter Phases II and III. 
Camp Namanu is unable to provide their day camp this summer because of challenges with staffing they experienced when the overnight programs had to be cancelled. We are in talks to bring their school year programs to Sandy. The hope is to provide support to working parents, while they navigate the potential changes in school schedules. 
Skyhawks will be providing two in person camps in late July and August that are allowed under Phase I.  They have been running day camps in other communities and successfully following the Governor’s guidelines for keeping participants and staff safe.  Skyhawks also has great virtual programs that include both a STEM component and an active component.

By establishing relationships with a variety of providers like Skyhawks we hope to have the option of both in person and virtual programs to offer, and the flexibility to respond to the different guidelines within each phase of reopening.  The online Safe Sitter class proved popular, and we will be adding another session in August. There are a variety of other virtual classes that are being offering through providers,  and will continue to expand that format.
Planning for fall is challenging with all the unknowns but planning is in progress for different scenarios. The Community and Recreation Guide will likely include plans for Phase II and III, as well as a Virtual Program resource section.

Special Events

The virtual Noah’s Quest event was held June 27th.  Over 75 people participated in the event including former police officer Dave Lundervold with his family.  The fundraiser raised $2200 for Brief Encounters.

Parks & Trails

The Parks and Trails Advisory Board held its first meeting under new Chairperson Don Robertson. The board is working with the Parks Maintenance Department to develop a formal policy around spraying in the parks, and hopes to have a recommendation to forward to council soon. The board has had quite a few opportunities to review new development proposals with regard to parkland dedication, and is looking forward to the completion of the new Parks and Trails Master Plan. 
Although the pandemic has presented many challenges it has also pushed us to look at programs with new eyes, to be very creative, and to find new ways of supporting the community. Time outdoors on the trails and in the local parks have played an essential role in helping community members maintain overall health and wellness, to remain active, and to find ways to enrich their lives close to home. 

The Parks & Trails Master Plan Update continues to move forward. The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) met in June (virtually, of course) and reviewed concept plans for the park areas in the Champion Way and Deer Point neighborhoods.

Tracy Johnson of ESA presented spreadsheets showing existing Park & Trail Levels of Service (LOS), Sandy’s LOS compared to communities of similar size, and a Parks & Trails Needs Analysis for future growth. Sandy has done a good job of expanding the Park System along with population/neighborhood growth. The one gap, geographically, is in the northeast section of the City. As the Community Campus develops, it will fill in that missing link.

Consultants have completed a thorough analysis of existing facilities as well as a compilation of public input to date. Going forward, the information will be presented via Virtual Open House to allow for additional public comment. Funding strategies for future growth are being analyzed as well. It’s exciting to see The Plan come together.

Thank you to Jim Slagle and other volunteers who did maintenance on several bridges along the Tickle Creek Trail. Here are some before and after photos.