Hello Council and Community,
It has been a little over a month that I have been the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Sandy, and what a wonderful first month. I have learned how hard the department staff work and how deeply they care about their work and serving the community. I truly look forward to what the future brings working with such a dedicated team.
I hope you enjoy this overview of some of the Department highlights for the month of November
Aging Adult Services Highlights
The Sandy Senior Center energy assistance program served and processed 53 applications.
The team has been updating and sending pending status NAPIS forms to Clackamas County list. This was a lot of work, and the team was successful at updating 70 NAPIS so far.
We partnered with Clackamas County to provide mental health counselors at the Community / Senior Center. During these particularly trying times, we have found clients desire mental health counseling and we are glad that we can help those who are in need.
The Center is also hosting COVID vaccination clinics every Friday in partnership with Clackamas County Public Health.
The Community Center / Senior Center also hosted a Meet and Mingle so I could meet the wonderful patrons of the Sandy Community Center.
The team is also working on adding programs and services. Keep an eye out for new classes starting in January.
Recreation and Special Event Highlights
The department held a “Seasons of Giving” drive through event on December 4th. Attendance was 215 people and we received $2,015 in donations that will directly benefit our Meals on Wheels program.
This is a new event, and it was highly successful with new additional things like the Sandy High School band & choir, the petting zoo, and of course the Grinch. The rain did not stop the community from coming out and supporting meals on wheels. Great work and a job well-done to the team that helped make it happen; Carol Cohen, Sarah Richardson, and Olga Gerberg!
Parks and Maintenance Highlights:
The Park’s team is continually working to make safety and aesthetic improvements to Sandy’s park system. Thank you to Joe Preston, Tiana Rundell, and Casey Perkins for their dedication to the City of Sandy’s beautiful parks!
The park’s team added playground bark to Meinig, Tot lot, Salmon Creek, Timberline, and Barlow Parks.
The team added Christmas lights on city buildings and new bark at the plaza for the tree lighting. They also replaced damaged playground equipment at Salmon Creek.
Important to note, the Gazebo and bathrooms are closed for the season. The team is also addressing some hurdles at Cascadia Park. The park is severely over planted and overgrown. The crew is teaming up with AntFarm to prune and thin – Thank you to AntFarm for your help.
Also, we are addressing drainage issues at Meinig Park parking area. Anytime there is heavy rain the parking lot floods. Our hope is to pressure wash and vacuum away the vegetation that has caused the pervious concrete to become clogged. Stay tuned for updates on our efforts!
Upcoming meetings:
Interested in Sandy’s Parks and Trails. Please feel free to watch the Parks and Trails Advisory Board (PTAB) meetings or share a public comment.
PTAB meeting date/time: January 12, 2022 @ 7:00 PM. Meeting is currently held virtually. For more information or to watch the meeting live click here.
Happy Holidays! I look forward to continually meeting the members of the community and building on the fantastic things the Sandy Parks and Recreation Department currently offers.