Carol:

There were 7 Winterfest events in December. Pictures with the Grinch, Sandy in Santa, Shortest Day Walkway, Vendors In Meinig that was combined with Jolly Trolley. All these events brought over 10,000 people to the park throughout the month.

The 2026 Winter/Spring Recreation came out on December 1st.
Carol is working on a new event that will be on August 22nd & 23rd at Cedar Park. It is called the ”Drop In”. It will be a 2-day event at Basecamp with open bike and skating and competitions for all ages. The plan is to have around 50 vendors selling bike, skate, apparel, food and other homemade goods. Carol received a Title Sponsor of $16,000 from Route 26 Electric & Fiber for this brand new event.
Upcoming events/programs: Mt. Storm games will start on 1/09 and will continue with games through 3/14/2026.

Amy:

1. All 30 Mt Storm teams successfully had 6 practices each throughout the month of December!

2. Helped run Winterfest events (Pet Pictures with the Grinch, Santa in Sandy, and the Winterfest Vendor Market)

3. Helped with a Mt Storm referee clinic to make sure our refs are ready to go for the first Mt Storm games in January. 

4. Completed training for Ride Connection to continue being able to drive Parks and Recreation vehicles.

Caroleana:

Caroleana had over 291 senior related calls this month.   With 8 home visits for both the meals on wheels and energy assistance programs.

Caroleana helped support our team by packing coolers several times throughout the month and delivering several routes for the Meals on Wheels program.  

Our Meals on wheels clients received several extras this month

• Holiday wreaths were sent out the week before Christmas which were donated by Sandy High FFA 
• Christmas cards that were made by local kids and residents 

We continued to hold congregate lunches on Tuesday.  In the month of December we served on 5 Tuesday, with 5 new guests.  

Caroelana helped sign up local seniors for Christmas Food boxes through Sandy Kiwanis; which entailed phone calls to homebound seniors that I serve in many capacities (meals on wheels, and Energy Assistance and those who have been on my client list in the past) 

Sandy Kiwanis served over 250 households this year with food boxes and toys for over 500 children.  Later in the month myself and Carol helped pack presents for the children. 

We hosted a senior Christmas gathering with a fun gift exchange with 16 in attendance. 

Designed and had printed new calendars for the Senior newsletter for the months of January and February. 

For Energy Assistance in December Caroleana had 19 applications approved.

Outside my regular duties, I helped with several WinterFest events and tasks. 

• Helped at the shortest day WinterFest event at Meinig park-Set up and clean up – 
• Designed, updated and printed Stocking Stroll Map for our 3rd annual Stocking Stroll event.  
• Designed and printed the Passports for the Shortest Day Walkway 
• I sent out thank you cards to all our WinterFest sponsors, Stocking Stroll participating businesses, Friends of the Lights sponsors, special event non-profit organizations that participated in our WinterFest festivities.  In total for Winterfest we sent 92 thank you cards. 

As well, Caroleana started the publicity, communication and organization of the Merry Makeover Challenge to the businesses.  

Marc:

Senior Trips:

• Clackamas Town Center – 6 people
• Dine out at Rendezvous in Welches – 13 people
• Winter Wonderland at Portland International Raceway with dinner at Jantzen Beach Bar & Grill afterwards – Full bus. Plus we were treated to an unexpected surprise. It turned out to be a Christmas Ships night as well!
• Hiked The Cazadero trail in Boring with lunch at Red Apple afterwards – 5 people with one meeting us for the hike and two meeting us for lunch.

Meals on Wheels:

• 567 meals delivered

I worked the Shortest Day Parkway and we had an amazing turn out for that event.

This month was also full of vehicle maintenance as well. It was time for the vans oil change, tire rotation, ramp inspection and annual inspection and the bus was due for registration.

Chelsea:

• Processed invoices related to various park projects.
• Attended meetings in regards to various ongoing park projects, including meetings for Deer Pointe Park. 
• Updated the center TV with the most updated flyers and information. 
• I also made some electronic flyers for upcoming holiday events to be displayed on the TV. 
• Attended the December Parks Board meeting including writing the Agenda and minutes, and posting the recording. 
• Continued to monitor the budget for Deer Pointe park. 
• Decorated the center trees for the holidays. 
• Put together centerpieces for the employee holiday party. 
• Created the January & February newsletter. I emailed it out and also helped stuff the mailed newsletters. 
• 
• Worked multiple Winterfest events- the Santa event, shortest day walkway, and 1 night of the vendor market. I also helped with making print outs and laminating for the events. 
• Helped plan the senior gift exchange party. 
• Updated our ORPA membership. 
• Created an invitation to the Deer Pointe Grand Opening. 
• Coordinated getting the giftcard to the winner of the Shortest Day walkway prize. 

John:

Winterfest

Provided support with the management and implementation of December’s Winterfest programming, including Pet Pictures with the Grinch, Santa in Sandy, the Shortest Day Walkway, Holiday Markets, and Jolly Trolley Rides. All programs were well attended and successfully executed. During the holiday experience, Meinig Park recorded approximately 38,000 unique visits, highlighting the continued growth and popularity of Winterfest as a community-wide attraction and tourism driver.

The Drop In

Established key foundations for Basecamp’s first-ever skate and bike competition, The Drop In, scheduled for August 22–23. Finalized event dates and branding, completed a contract with Eclipse Solutions NW to host the competition, and developed a comprehensive sponsorship package aimed at offsetting event costs while creating meaningful partnership opportunities with local and regional businesses.

Mt. Storm

Collaborated with the recreation team to lead referee training sessions for 3rd/4th grade and 5th/6th grade youth basketball leagues. These trainings focused on expectations, rules, and best practices to ensure athlete safety, consistent officiating, and smooth game flow. Establishing this foundation supports a positive experience for players, coaches, and families.

SICC (Sandy Invitational Chainsaw Competition)

Continued discussions with the Sandy Invitational Chainsaw Competition (SICC) to explore a mutually beneficial partnership. The proposed collaboration would allow SICC to utilize select trees along the Tickle Creek Trail to launch an ascension program focused on teaching local youth how to safely harness in and climb trees. In exchange, SICC would recruit and organize a large volunteer group to support fuel mitigation efforts and general trail maintenance along Tickle Creek, strengthening stewardship and long-term trail health.

Parks & Facilities & Maintenance:

• Winterfest has hosted nearly 38,000 visits 
• Winter landscape clean-up taking place

• Telescope maintenance at the viewpoint
• Scheduled tree mitigation pruning as recommended by the arborist 
• Lots of storm clean-up response 

• Started installing new park/bike rules signs throughout the park system 
• Improved facility maintenance response time, decreasing the average work order completion time from 419 hours (December 2024) to 76 hours (December 2025).  
• Investigated the feasibility of installing the proposed ADA shelter in Meinig without impacting critical root systems and discovered favorable conditions.

Upcoming events/Dates to remember:

• January 3rd- Jingle Jog: from 9:00am-11:30am, Tickle Creek Trail

• January 3rd- Holiday Happy Hour: from 4:30pm-6:30pm, Meinig Park Gazebo
• January 5th- The team will begin taking down WinterFest
• January 20th- Bee City USA Action Group Winter Meeting – Sandy Community and Senior Center, from 6-7pm

• January 31st- Seedy Saturday (Seed Swap) – 2-4pm – Hoyt Community Room at the Sandy Library
• Deer Pointe Park is in the final stage of construction, a tentative date of January 31st has been set for a ribbon cutting.  

Carol:

• Received 5 Gold Winterfest sponsorships and 3 from new businesses- Route 26 Electrical Inc., N8 excavation, MEI group, Barlow Trail and Hoodview Disposal.
  11 Silver Winterfest sponsors: Everfresh, CCB, Embold Credit Union, EW environmental works, Washman, Trimble Rentals, MHCC, Rolli’s Auto Body, Bigfoot Plumbing, PGE, KLM
  Construction, and Sandy Décor.
  Friends of the lights : Wippernappers.
  Total for just Winterfest sponsorships $21,800
• Mt. Storm: we have a total of 293 kids. Record number this year!
  We had 2 open gyms for 5/6 grades at Cedar Ridge and had over 100 kids show up for both
  days. Meetings will concluded on Nov 13th with all coaches and rosters will be complete and kids will be on the courts ready to practice on Dec 1st .
• Tree lighting was on Nov 21st and the weather was perfect. Over 800 people attended then
  went over to Meinig park and walked around to enjoy the lights.

Amy:

– Bee City USA hosted an educational Autumn Walk in partnership with the Clackamas River Basin Council.
– I submitted an application with Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District Habitat Kit Program for native Oregon plants for the Sandy Community Gardens.
– On Nov 5th, I helped facilitate a Bee City USA presentation for the Sandy Gardening Club.

– Mt Storm basketball hit a record number of registrations (almost 300 children). In November we held the Open Gyms, Skills Assessments, Coaches Meetings and Coaches Clinic. Practices start the first week of December! 

– Our first Winterfest event – the Tree Lighting Ceremony happened on November 21st! 

– I helped with both Senior Thanksgiving Lunches. 

– Our Winter Recreation Guide was released! 

Caroleana:

Caroleana had over 277 senior related calls this month.   

Caroleana helped support our team by packing coolers several times throughout the month and delivered several routes for the Meals on Wheels program.  

We continued to hold congregate lunches on Tuesday.  In the month of November  we served on 3 Tuesday, with 13 new guests.  One of which was a special thanksgiving meal on Wednesday, Nov 26th with 21 people present. 

We also hosted a special meal the week of Thanksgiving that was catered and we had 38 seniors in attendance. 

Coordinated and organized an AARP safe driving class; with 16 attendants and a waitlist.  

We held the 3rd annual Veterans pinning ceremony, We Honor our Veterans on November 14th, 2025.  We had the privilege of pinning 29 veterans and had 58 people in attendance.  Thank you to Maeco of Oregon and Cascadia Village of Cogir sponsoring this meaningful event.  A special thank you to Mt Moka who gave a small gift to each veteran.  Thank you to the highschool Choir who sang to open the pinning ceremony, Thanks to photography student Samuel Smallwood, who took many pictures of the whole event.  

For Energy Assistance in November, 22 applications were approved and several others are pending.  

Attended and help set up at the Sandy Tree Lighting 

As well, Caroleana started the publicity, communication and organization of the Merry Makeover Challenge to the businesses.  

Marc:

Senior Trips

• Hike & Lunch – Salish Ponds in Fairview and lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings in Wood Village. Only a small group of 6 of us for this one. 

• Dine out at Gustav’s in Vancouver. We did have a full bus but someone didn’t make it in time to ride the bus so they drove and met us there.
• Portland Holiday Market at Portland Expo Center. This is a popular one each year. Everyone seems to find great gifts to give for Christmas, myself included. I found a pair of earrings for my wife that are made with Larimar which is a stone found in only one place in the world! There were 14 of us for this trip also. 

• Hike & Lunch – We went to Powell Butte for this one and we had lunch afterwards at Chang’s Mongolian Grill. There were 12 of us for this one.

• Northwest Senior Theatre in Tigard. This Fall’s show was “Happy Holidays, Weather Permitting” . They put on a great show as always and we all had a wonderful time. We did have a full bus but unfortunately we did have 3 people that ended up not being able to join us.

• Dine out at Ristorante Di Pompello in Troutdale. Excellent food as always. 11 of us with 2 people meeting us there.

Meals on Wheels

• 521 (no delivery week of Thanksgiving)

Events

• Tree Lighting. We all worked this event and had an amazing turn out for it as always!

Chelsea:

• Processed invoices related to various park projects.
• Attended meetings in regards to various ongoing park projects, including weekly meetings for Deer Pointe Park. 
• Updated the center TV with the most updated flyers and information. 
• I also made some electronic flyers for upcoming holiday events to be displayed on the TV. 
• Attended the November Parks Board meeting including writing the Agenda and minutes, and managing the recording. 
• Continued to monitor the budget for Deer Pointe park. 
• Helped with the Senior Thanksgiving Catered lunch. We had a smaller group this year but people really enjoyed themselves. I planned some thanksgiving trivia for the event. 
• Also helped with the Congregate Thanksgiving lunch by checking people in for the event. 
• Redecorated our Gingerbread house for Meinig Park- It has really weathered from last year, so we repainted the roof, added new ornaments and lights plus we made some additions this year Thanks to Ryan with Facilities. Make sure to take a look at it when you’re at Meinig park this holiday season. 

• Worked the tree lighting event- such a good turn out!

• Created the Decoration sponsorship signs for Meinig Park and submitted 2 batches to the printer for printing. John and I worked together to place all the signs in the park next to the decorations. We ended with a total of 18 decorations sponsored this year.

John:

Future Skate Park Competition

• Met with Jon Legarza, Sandy’s Economic Development Consultant, to discuss how a large-scale, regionally focused skate competition could positively impact the local economy. His guidance will be valuable as we plan events that support and enhance Sandy’s commercial activity.
  
• Held a preliminary meeting with Eclipse Solutions, a local event consulting firm, to explore partnering on a two-day skate and bike competition at Basecamp. We discussed event logistics, volunteer needs, sponsorship opportunities, and potential revenue streams.
  

Mt. Storm Youth Basketball

• Assisted Carol and Amy in leading a coaches’ meeting for the 3rd/4th and 5th/6th grade basketball teams. We introduced staff, reviewed our mission, rules, schedules, and code of conduct, and provided time for coaches to ask questions.
  
• Led a coaches’ clinic where we supported new and returning coaches with practice planning, drills, behavior management strategies, and team-building techniques.
  

Tree Lighting Event

• On November 5th, assisted with the delivery and installation of the 45-foot Christmas tree in the Plaza.
  
• On November 21st, supported the Tree Lighting Event, which served as the kickoff to Winterfest. We had an excellent turnout, with nearly 1,000 attendees for the first night of lights.
  

SICC Invitational Chainsaw Competition

• Met with leadership from SICC to discuss the potential use of the Tickle Creek Trail and surrounding areas to host a tree ascension program during next summer’s SICC event. These discussions are preliminary as we explore what a formal partnership might look like.
  

Recreation Guide

• Assisted with entering all Recreation Guide classes and activities into the registration system. Winter and Spring offerings are now available online.

Parks & Facilities Team:

Highlights:

• • 221 staff hours dedicated to WinterFest installation
  • Successful opening night of WinterFest
  • Extensive leaf clean-up completed
  • Brandon received the Certified Playground Safety Inspector certification
  • Inspected city property for hazardous trees with the arborist
  • New pervious asphalt and sidewalk cleaning equipment has been delivered
  • Prepared Tickle Creek Trail for the Tickle Trot
  • Responsive to city facility maintenance requests 
  • Submitted Meinig Park renovation documents for Land Use review

Upcoming important dates to remember:

• Garden Bed registration opens in December

• Winterfest events!

Lunches at Center continue every Tuesday in December.

• Deer Pointe Park is in the final stage of construction

• The team will begin taking down WinterFest on January 5th

Carol:

The Winter Recreation Guide is being worked on and will have new classes for teens and youth like science and martial arts . The goal is to pass out the 2026 Winter Guide the day of the tree lighting which is Nov 21st.
This year with combined gold, silver and friends of the lighting sponsors Carol went out and received $21,750. That is just sponsorships. That is just about double the sponsorships from last year. More donations are coming in for Holiday décor sponsors and vendor sponsors during the Jolly Trolley events. We have brand new businesses that are involved for the first time.

Sandy Library and the Recreation Dept partnered together for the Halloween Hunt in Meinig. It was a little cold but over 50 kids still showed up.
Carol also helped out the library get some monetary donations, and raffle baskets for their fundraiser towards the mobile library van. It was a successful event even though we had to move the event inside the Mt. Hood Pizza and Brew restaurant.
Working on talking to businesses to be part of the merry makeover and getting vendors to sell their goods. The businesses are very excited about doing it again for Winterfest. More details to come next month.

Amy:

– Mt Storm Instructional League Finished with a candy filled Halloween class!
– Registration for the Mt Storm basketball league was completed with about 250 children registered!

– We threw a fabulous volunteer appreciation party with the Sandy Library!

– Held the final 2026 Bee City USA Action Group Meeting

– Hosted the Teen Halloween Flashlight Egg Hunt with the Sandy Library

– Hosted a very successful Creepy Crawly Bug Show and Tell Event!

-Reminder- Leave the leaves is still ongoing!

Chelsea:

• Processed invoices related to various park projects.
• Attended meetings in regards to various ongoing park projects, including weekly meetings for Deer Pointe Park. We also had a few meetings at Meinig for the renovation project. 
• Finalized and printed the November/December Senior Newsletter. We mailed out about 50 copies and emailed out to our email subscribers. 

• Updated the center TV with the most updated flyers and information.
• Continued to monitor the budget for Deer Pointe park. 
• Printed closure and upcoming holiday signs for the upcoming holidays. 
• Assisted with Elevator repair scheduling. 
• Designed our Senior Holiday Gift Exchange flyer.
• Input all of our block reservations for the Winter Recreation Guide classes and events. 
• Submitted a few maintain-x repairs on behalf of the center. 

John:

Winterfest:
Staff continued planning and coordination efforts for the upcoming Winterfest celebration. Specific areas of focus this month included organizing the Jingle Jog, Merry Makeover, and Stocking Stroll events. Staff also reached out to local businesses to encourage participation and partnership in Winterfest activities. Additionally, work continued on securing the necessary permits for Storybook Lane and temporary storage areas to support event logistics.

Mountain Storm Youth Basketball:
Registration for the Mountain Storm Youth Basketball League closed on October 31. Staff provided administrative and logistical support to ensure smooth registration processing, team organization, and coordination with coaches, volunteers, and families. Continued oversight and general program management are ongoing as the season begins.

Senior Services:
The department continues to provide strong support for our Client Services Coordinator and Transportation Coordinator, ensuring the delivery of essential senior services across multiple federally and state-supported programs. These include:

• Nutrition Program: Providing nutritious meals and social connection through our Congregate Meal setting and Meals on Wheels.
  
• Transportation Services: Offering transportation for recreational and social outings as well as access to nutritional programs, including Congregate Meals, the Shopping Shuttle, and Meals on Wheels.
  
• Research-Based Fitness Programs: Tai Chi
  
• Energy Assistance: Assisting seniors with access to seasonal utility support.
  
• Case Management: Offering individualized guidance and coordination of resources to meet client needs.
  
• Reassurance Program: Providing regular wellness checks and social connections for isolated seniors.
  
• Information and Assistance: Serving as a trusted resource to connect seniors and caregivers to available community and state programs.

Oregon Recreation and Park Association (ORPA) Annual Conference
The 2025 Oregon Recreation and Park Association (ORPA) Annual Conference was held in Eugene, Oregon. The event brought together recreation and park professionals from across the state to share best practices, attend educational sessions, and celebrate achievements within the field.

The City of Sandy Parks and Recreation Department participated in several educational sessions covering topics such as special event management, inclusion and accessibility initiatives, and innovative funding and grant opportunities.We are also proud to share that the City of Sandy was formally recognized at the conference, receiving the Design and Construction Award for Cedar Park, featuring the Basecamp skatepark, pump track, and jumpline. This award highlights the City’s commitment to creating inclusive, high-quality recreational spaces that serve both residents and visitors while supporting Sandy’s broader community and tourism goals.

Meals on Wheels Program Update

Due to a reduction in funding that supports Sandy’s Meals on Wheels program, the department has implemented adjustments to help balance fiscal responsibility while maintaining essential nutritional services for homebound seniors.

Effective this month, Meals on Wheels participants will receive five meals per week instead of seven. This change allows the department to continue providing meal delivery services within current budget limitations.

At this time, new clients wanting to join the Sandy Meals on Wheels program will be added to a wait list and communicated with regularly to provide updates to service.

These program changes were made thoughtfully to ensure that Sandy’s Meals on Wheels program remains financially sustainable while continuing to meet the nutritional and social needs of local seniors.

Caroleana:

Caroleana had over 277 senior related calls this month. She conducted 5 home visits this month, with 2 being for current meals on wheels clients and conducting their yearly reassessments.

Caroleana helped support our team by packing coolers several times throughout the month and delivered several routes for the Meals on Wheels program.  

We continued to hold congregate lunches on Tuesday.  In the month of October we served 85 meals and had 4 new guests on the 4 Tuesdays.   Twice we had one volunteer who played the piano while participants ate their lunch; which was very enjoyable. 

Enjoyed the volunteer appreciation event at Meinig Park at the beginning of the month.

My responsibilities included greeting attendees and handing out raffle tickets.  I enjoyed assembling the prize baskets with Carol Cohen and having the opportunity to present the winning one to each volunteer who won.    

Continued the planning process for our annual Veterans pinning ceremony.    

I attended the ORPA conference in Eugene.  It was a great networking event and a great conference.  This event highlighted the commitment of Oregon’s Parks and Recreation professionals. 

For Energy Assistance in October 18 applications were approved and several others are pending.  

Marc:

First and foremost, I forgot to include the picture of John on his very first outing in last month’s report so here it is!

Senior Trips:

• Hike & Lunch. We did the Rilee Loop trail at Bob and Crystal Rille Park in Newberg with lunch at Red Robin afterwards in Wilsonville. That is a hidden gem of a trail system that I highly recommend. It was our first time going there and I will definitely be going back and taking my wife and dog there. Unfortunately we ended up as a small group of 6 as we did not get many sign ups and there were a couple last minute cancellations.
• Hood River Harvest Festival. Great time as always on this outing and luckily it had stopped raining right after we got there! We had a full bus with a waiting list and made a stop at Packer Orchards & Bakery on the way back to Sandy.
• Dine out at Eagle Creek Saloon. 13 people with 3 meeting us there.
• Centralia Train Trip. It was so popular back in June we decided to do it again! It was another fun train trip with an absolutely beautiful day in Centralia! We had a full bus with a waitlist.
  
  
• Hike & Lunch. We went and did the Willamette Greenway trail since we had to cancel it back in July due to the excessive heat and we had lunch at The Old Spaghetti Factory. Carol joined us for that hike and there were a total of 13 of us. We even had a Guide Dogs for the Blind puppy join us!

• Spirit Mountain Casino. Only 10 people this time but everybody had lots of fun. One person even asked after we loaded up and were getting ready to head back if we were going again next month!
• Dine out at Barlow Trail Roadhouse. 12 people with 2 meeting us there.

Meals on Wheels:

• 763 meals delivered

Parks & Facilities Team:

• 152 staff hours dedicated to Winterfest installation
• Storm cleanup completed across multiple sites
• Our new Facilities Maintenance team member is making great progress in caring for City facilities
• Playgrounds inspected; hazards identified and corrected on the spot or parts ordered as needed
• Trash and fishing line cleanup completed at Sandy River Park
• Deer Pointe Park is in the final stage of construction

• A challenge we encountered this month was one of the Winterfest bridge arches was stolen from our storage location.

Upcoming dates to remember:

– Nov 2nd, 2-4pm- Educational Fall Walk with Clackamas River Basin Council

– November 3rd & 5th- Mt. Storm Open Gyms for grades 5 & 6

– November 11th- Center closed for Veteran’s Day
– November 12th & 13th Skills assessments for grades 5/6.

-Storybrook Lane installation begins November 12 — the lower parking lot behind Joe’s Donuts will be inaccessible through early January

-November 14th- Veteran’s Pinning Ceremony at the Community/Senior center.

– November 17th- Coaches meeting for grades 3 & 4
– November 19th- Coach Meeting for teams for grades 5/6 boys and girls.

– November 21st- Sandy Tree Lighting at Centennial Plaza/Winterfest kick off

– November 27th & 28th- Center Closed for Thanksgiving

Carol:

Corn Cross for the kids was a huge success. We had over 74 kids signed up but due
to the rain in the morning we had 56 who raced. and 85% of these kids ages 2-16 that came from Sandy. The kids course was longer this year with more time in the corn maze. Liepold’s was very happy with the turnout and realized how much fun these kids have on their bike and the other activities the farm offers. Thanks to Coach Robbie with his skills and bringing his obstacles and air bag. The kids were challenging themselves on these fun obstacles. This was the second year Northwest Trails Alliance came to be part of Corn Cross. They gave out medals to all the kids. Parents were so excited to have the kids go through the maze and have it more challenging. Everfresh & CCB were our sponsors for this event.

Finishing up on sponsorships for Winterfest events so far, we hope to have $17,000 raised. I have some new sponsors that I am working with like 26 Electric and Bigfoot Plumbing.

I also went out and helped out Sarah McIntyre pick up some sponsors for her fundraising campaign for the mobile library unit. I made some introductions for her while we went to their businesses.

Amy:

-Continued working in the community gardens with the Sandy Rotary Club and other volunteers. We collected food from the gardeners to donate to the Sandy Action Center Food Bank – so far donating 82 pounds of food throughout the Summer!

-Got fully CPR/AED Trained.

– Helped run Kids Cross!

– Hosted a guest speaker to discuss the impacts wasps have on our local ecosystem. 

– Advertised the Leave the Leaves and Lights Out Oregon social media campaigns.

– The Mt Storm Instructional League K-2 classes began in September and are going well! 

-Plans and advertising for Winterfest is underway! 

Caroleana:

Caroleana had over 271 senior related calls this month.   The center had 7 new meals on wheels clients and 3 Reassessments for current clients; which involved a home visit with each client and a completed NAPIS form for Clackamas County.   

Caroleana helped support our team by packing coolers several times throughout the month and delivered several routes for the Meals on Wheels program.  

We continued to hold congregate lunches on Tuesday.  In the month of Sept we served 113 meals over the 5 weeks.  17 of those being new folks to the lunch program.  We had one volunteer who played the piano while participants ate their lunch; which was very enjoyable. 

Shopped with Carol for the volunteer appreciation thank you baskets.   

Met with Jolie from Mt Hood Hospice and continued the planning process for our annual Veterans pinning ceremony.

  

Carol and I attended the AARP Age-Friendly summit at PSU.  We networked with other agencies that were in attendance and learned a great deal about older Americans issues in Oregon.  

Caroleana had an Energy Assistance meeting with Marcos; the Program Coordinator and Anfisa, support staff.  She learned about funding available and where grant funds are coming from.  Also learned about new requirements for the Clackamas County EA program.  

She scored very well on the program feedback for the last fiscal year.  Submitted approximately 142 applications with only 5 corrections and 2 denials.  That is a 96.4% score; which was notated as Superior.  

It was noted “ Sandy Community/ Senior Center had provided the necessary information to assure the intake process is effective, efficient and reduce the burden to low-income seniors in your community”  

Marc:

Senior Trips:

• Alpine Events pop-up dinner in Rhododendron – 9 people
• Hike at Molalla River State Park with Lunch at Backstop Bar & Grill in Canby – Full bus with John joining us for the very first time on an outing!
• Mt. Angel Oktoberfest – Full bus
• Dine out at Nicholas in Gresham – 13 people with 3 meeting us there
• Swan Island Dahlia Festival in Canby – full bus
  
• Hike at the new Mitchell Point Tunnel that opened earlier this year and lunch at Big Jim’s Drive in Hood River with a stop at Packer Orchards on the way back. Full bus with Amy joining us.
  
   
• Mini golf at the Aerie at Eagles Landing and lunch at the Happy Valley Station Food Carts – 9 people with 3 meeting us there

Meals on Wheels:

• 819
• Drove one of the routes when a driver needed the day off

Miscellaneous:

• Took the new bus in for its first lift inspection
• We all had our CPR class to get recertified

Chelsea:

Processed invoices related to various park projects.

Attended meetings in regards to various ongoing park projects, including weekly meetings for Deer Pointe Park. We also had a few meetings at Meinig for the renovation project. 

Set up the September Parks & Trails Advisory Board meeting, posted the video recording, and wrote up the meeting minutes. 

Prepped the November & December senior newsletter. We have a lot of special senior events that happen around the holidays so it’s quite the newsletter build. 

Updated the center TV with the most updated flyers and information

Continued to monitor the budget for Deer Pointe park. 

Redesigned the new park and Bike rule signs. We are working to get these printed and put up in our parks soon. 

Applied for a T-Mobile grant for the Meinig Park renovations. This entailed a grant proposal, budget, pictures of the existing park, design plans, 5 letters of support, and answering questions on the grant application. 

Created a sign for the Jolly Trolley stop. 

Completed an online CPR training as well as attending the in person training. 

Drafted a contract for the playground installer for Deer Pointe as well as BOLI paperwork.

John:

Winterfest Planning and Community Engagement
The Parks and Recreation Department continues preparations for Winterfest, Sandy’s signature community-wide holiday event. This month, staff presented to the Parks & Trails Advisory Board (PTAB) to provide updates on event planning. Topics included the history of Winterfest, improvements made in recent years, and exciting additions planned for 2025:

• A new showstopper holiday decoration to enhance the festive atmosphere.
  
• The launch of a Holiday Fun Run, encouraging families and individuals to end the season in an active and spirited way.
  
• The creation of a Winter Bazaar, where vendors can rent table space to sell locally made goods, crafts, and products.

In addition to these highlights, staff have been updating the Winterfest website, applications, and event documentation to ensure smooth participation for community members, vendors, and volunteers.

Staff Training and Safety
This month, the department also coordinated First Aid and CPR certification training for Parks and Recreation staff. This training ensures staff are well-prepared to respond to emergencies and continue to prioritize the safety of participants across programs, facilities, and events.

Program Development at Cedar Park
Staff met with a possible community partner to begin exploring a skate and bike competition at Cedar Park. The vision for this program includes a multi-day event featuring competitions on the skatepark, pump track, and jumpline, complemented by:

• Local vendors and sponsor booths.
  
• Family-friendly activities and entertainment.
  
• Opportunities to highlight Cedar Park as a regional recreation destination.

Parks & Facilities:

• Asset maintenance projects underway, including bridge repainting

• Landscape beautification completed with weeding and new bark installation

• Installed a new smart irrigation clock at Sandy Bluff Park, improving staff safety and making the park a more responsible water user
• WinterFest lights have been installed on city facilities
• Deer Pointe Park construction is progressing nicely

• Welcomed Ryan Schneider to the team as our new Facilities Maintenance staff member

• Sandy Parks and Recreation awarded $649,790 from the 2025 Local Government Grant Program – Large Grant for Meinig Park renovations

Upcoming dates to remember:

October 1st- Mt. Storm registration for grades 3-6 opens

October 2nd- Volunteer Appreciation Party

October 6-8- Several staff members will be out of the office for the ORPA Conference

October 20th- Parks staff begin Meinig Winterfest installation

Oct 21st- Grief during the holidays class at the center.

October 23rd- 4th Bee City USA Meeting from 6-7pm at the Sandy Community & Senior Center

October 24th- Teen Flashlight Egg Hunt

October 25th- Creepy crawly encounters at the Sandy Community Center from 12:30-1:45pm

November- Open Gyms and skill assessments for Mt. Storm start.

November 2nd- Discover the secrets of the season and explore our Autumn forests with Sandy’s Bee City USA Action Group & Clackamas River Basin Council (@clackamasriver) on a guided hike along Tickle Creek Trail, from 2–4 PM

November 4th- AARP Safe Driving class at the center.

November 14th- Veteran’s Ceremony at the Center

November 21st Tree lighting at Centennial Plaza to kick off Winterfest!

Carol:

August finished up with the last concert of the Revival Brothers Band. The concert
brought in over 300 people. Total donations from the 50/50 raffle for all 3 concerts was over $600. The last concert was a fundraiser for shop with a cop and Sandy PD was able to walk away with over $400 because the winner donated all of the money back.

Carol is working on Winterfest sponsorships and helping Sarah M with sponsorships for the mobile book van.

Amy:

-Wrapped up August with another great month of Summer Sounds & Starlight Cinema concerts and movies.

-Celebrated the end of the summer Adult Softball League with a fun and competitive two-day tournament.

-Hosted our 3rd Bee City USA meeting, continuing to grow our community’s pollinator-friendly efforts.

-Shared the importance of pollinators with Todos Juntos children during a hands-on class at Bornstedt Park.

-Expanded volunteer days at the Sandy Community Gardens, donating over 70 pounds of fresh food to the Sandy Action Center so far this season!

-Distributed the Fall Recreation Guide around town and on Social Media

-Began the Leave the Leaves and the Lights Out Oregon campaigns for the Sandy Bee City USA Action Group.

Caroleana:

Caroleana had over 292 senior related calls this month.   The center had 2 new meals on wheels clients and 1 Reassessment for current clients; which involved a home visit with each client and a completed NAPIS form for Clackamas County.   

Caroleana helped support our team by packing coolers several times throughout the month and delivered several routes for the Meals on Wheels program.  

We continued to hold congregate lunches on Tuesday . We continue to recruit volunteers and have fun learning and having fun.  In the month of August we served 84 people on the 4 Tuesdays.  17 of those being new folks to the lunch program.  We had one volunteer who played the piano while participants ate their lunch; which was very enjoyable. 

The Clackamas County Energy Assistance summer program ended mid August, and we submitted 4 applications that were approved. 

Started the planning for the volunteer appreciation event with John and Amy and the Library staff. 

Met with Jolie from Mt Hood Hospice and started the planning process for our annual Veterans pinning ceremony.  

Carol and I attended the Agent Orange event that Mt Hood Hospice hosted at the Veterans’ memorial statue.   

I also attended the Mt Hood Hospice Remembrance event-  

Marc:

Senior Trips:

– Dine out at Eagle Creek Saloon – Was full but we had to cancel it due to the check engine light being on and we didn’t get it back in time from Ford to go on the outing

– North Plains Garlic Festival – 8 people. Only one person was brave enough to try the garlic ice cream! The few that tried the garlic beer said it was good!

– Hike at Butler Creek Greenway Trail and lunch at Panera Bread in Gresham – 7 people

– Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City – Full bus with a waitlist – My seniors love those gambling trips!

– Oregon State Fair – 9 people signed up but unfortunately it was our second cancelled trip for this month. This time due to the extreme heat warning. 

– Hike at Wildwood Recreation Site and lunch at Zig Zag Cafe – 15 people (was 17 but 2 cancelled morning of) We had 3 people on the waitlist so Amy Drove our other vehicle so we could make room for them.

Meals On Wheels:

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Chelsea:

• Processed invoices for ongoing park projects.
• Participated in multiple project-related meetings, including weekly check-ins for Deer Pointe Park.
• Coordinated the August Parks & Trails Advisory Board meeting — handled logistics, posted the video recording, and wrote the meeting minutes.
• Attended a Zoom office hour with Tiana to discuss a potential grant opportunity.
• Completed the September and October edition of the senior newsletter.
• Distributed the newsletter via email and mailed to subscribers.
• Entered and scheduled the September and October senior classes and activities.
• Updated the center’s TV display with the latest flyers and program info.
• Continued budget tracking for the Deer Pointe Park project.
• Started planning for Meinig Park rentals during next year’s construction period.
• Designed new signage for general park rules and bike-specific guidelines.

John:

Continued planning for Winterfest, with a focus on developing strategies to make the event more financially sustainable in future years.

WinterFest Jingle Jog & Walk: This year, we are excited to introduce a new community event where participants can register to celebrate the season with a festive jog or walk. Runners and walkers will be encouraged to dress in their most spirited holiday attire, adding a fun and lively atmosphere to the event.

Jolly Trolley Planning: Met with the Transit Department to discuss dates, times, and possible improvements to the Jolly Trolley service. One idea being considered is adjusting the route so it begins and ends at Meinig Park, allowing riders additional time to enjoy the holiday lights and activities in the park.

Holiday Tree: Collaborated with Tiana Rundell to select the 40-foot holiday tree that will be installed and decorated in the Plaza as one of Winterfest’s key attractions.

In addition to Winterfest planning:

Assisted with the second round of interviews for the Parks and Facilities position.

Continued onboarding and training new Building Monitors, which included CPR and First Aid certification. This training was extended not only to new hires but also to all permanent staff to ensure everyone is prepared for emergencies.

Parks & Facilities:

Repurposed dog station components to add another bag dispenser at Sandy Bluff Park and add a receptacle at Champion Way green space.

Trimming up the landscape in many of our parks

Some of the downed timber that was harvested from the 2024 storm and milled into lumber was used to rebuild the pedestrian bridge at Sandy Bluff Park

Upcoming events:

Sept 8th- Fall classes start at the Center.

Sept 14th- Kids Corn Cross at Liepold Farms

September 14th- Silent Hunters & Hidden Helpers: The Untold Story of Oregon Wasps

September 16th- Mt Storm Instructional League Classes begin

Carol:

July started off with another successful 4th of July firework display.
Thanks to Clackamas County Bank for sponsoring another exciting
event.

Mt. Festival started on July 9th with the Pet Show.

The 10th was the Bike Challenge at the new Cedar Park. Carol had to think outside the box
since we could not shut down the whole park but ended up using
wooden rollers and small jumps that were donated from Northwest
Trails Alliance. The bike challenge was a huge success because we had
different stations for the kids to participate in while they had to bike
around the park.

July 11th was the Kids Parade and that brought in over 150 people and
we had some of our local vendors. Wippersnappers had a bouncy
house that was long lines to get into. The Mt. Hood Athletic Club had 2
mini horses for kids to pet and take photos along with Spiderman and
Ariel. The Tae Kwon Do business had blocks for kids to split while
kicking. Thanks to CCB and Scoop n Swirl for the free hotdogs and ice
cream.

July 16th was the first music in the park- this was Johnny Limbo and the
Lugnuts. The Parks and Rec team did another 50/50 raffle and it was a
huge success. The winner ended up with $195 in their pocket. It was a
great crowd but sad to hear that this will be the last time to have the
band play in Sandy since they are retiring.

The middle of July we offered science classes, one of which ended up with 8 students, who loved the class. Minds in Motion will be coming back in the fall for
more science classes.

Next up is starting to work on Winterfest and Mt. Storm partnerships.

Amy:

-We had a fantastic time helping host our annual Summer Senior BBQ—great food, laughter, and a full house of happy guests!

-Carol and Amy brought the fun to Mount Festival with a trio of awesome Kids Events: the always adorable Pet Show, a fast-paced Bike Derby, and a colorful Kids Carnival that lit up the afternoon.

-We welcomed two new team members! Cassandra and Hayden joined us as Building Monitors—fully trained and already making a difference.

-Our Summer Concert Series is rocking along! Two out of three shows are in the books, and while our movie night screening of The Wild Robot hit a technical snag, it’s officially rescheduled for September 5th!

-Amy continued to keep things running smoothly with the Sandy Softball League and Community Gardens—a huge task that she handles with skill and care.

Caroleana:

Caroleana had over 271 senior related calls this month.   The center had 3 new meals on wheels clients and 2 Reassessments for current clients; which involved a home visit with each client and a completed NAPIS form for Clackamas County.   

Caroleana helped support our team by packing coolers four times throughout the month and delivered several routes for the Meals on Wheels program.  

We continued to hold congregate lunches on Tuesday . We have started to recruit volunteers and have 3 consistent helpers.    We are learning a lot and having fun.  In the month of July we served 63 people on the 4 Tuesdays and sent out 31 extra meals as seconds. 

Caroleana received over 42 calls for energy assistance this month.  She was able to schedule and help 28 households with the Clackamas County Energy Assistance summer program application.  

 The Song Care on Tuesday July 29th went very well, with 8 in attendance.   We welcomed the new Sandy River Threshold Singers as they offer gentle, soothing music.

Started the planning for the volunteer appreciation event with John and Amy and the Library staff. 

Future planning includes brainstorming for a possible fundraiser in the fall for Meals on Wheels.

Marc:

Senior Trips

– Dine out at Applebee’s in Gresham – 13 people with 2 meeting us there

– Hike & Lunch at Willamette Greenway and Old Spaghetti Factory in Portland – Hike cancelled due to heat index but some of us decided to still go to lunch. – 7 people

– Dine out Casa Colima in Happy Valley – Full Bus

– Tillamook Air Museum and Tillamook Creamery – Was full with a waitlist but had a cancellation the day before and unfortunately those on the waitlist couldn’t make it.

– Hike and picnic at Trillium lake – Was full with a waitlist but there was a cancellation the day before and the person on the waitlist couldn’t make it. Also one senior met us there who was up there camping.  

MOW

– 878

– Covered a route for one of the volunteers

Miscellaneous

– Took our van in for its 6 month ramp inspection

– Worked the kids pet show, bike derby and kids parade for Sandy Mountain Festival

Chelsea:

• Helped with the summer BBQ on July 8th. 
• Attended a meeting for the Travel Oregon grant we received for Meinig park. I learned how the updates and reimbursement work this specific grant. It was a very informative webinar! 

• Processed invoices related to various park projects. I also recorded final payments for the fiscal year end and made sure invoices were done prior to the deadline. 
• Attended meetings in regards to various ongoing park projects. Weekly Construction update meetings at Deer Pointe Park have begun. 
• Summer park shelter rentals continue to be busy. 
• Created a flyer for the upcoming Piano class. 
• Filed various documentation for Deer Pointe Park.  
• Prepped the September/October Senior newsletter. 
• Helped coordinate the delivery of the basketball shelter for Deer Pointe park. 
• Proofed the fall recreation guide and updated shelter rental information within the guide. I also built in all the block reservations into our software system for fall classes and activities. 
• Continued to monitor the budget for Deer Pointe park. 

John:

• Clackamas County Senior Center Collaborative Meeting:
  Attended the quarterly Clackamas County Senior Center Directors’ meeting. The focus of this session was to review and discuss changes to the upcoming fiscal year’s budget and how those changes may impact local senior services. Together, representatives from each center participated in collaborative problem-solving discussions to address shared challenges. The meeting also served as a platform to identify emerging trends in senior services and exchange program successes and best practices.
• National Night Out (NNO) Coordination:
  Coordinated logistics for the City of Sandy’s National Night Out block parties. Responsibilities included updating event rules and application processes, reviewing and approving submitted applications, and serving as the liaison between event organizers and internal departments. Communicated route plans and street closure needs with Public Works, Transit Services, and the Sandy Police Department to ensure safe and successful events.
• Staffing and Training:
  Hired two new building monitors to support operations at the Community & Senior Center. Conducted onboarding and initial training to ensure staff are well-equipped to support daily facility operations and provide excellent customer service to program participants and visitors.
• Winterfest 2025 Planning:
  Initiated planning efforts for Winterfest 2025. Early tasks completed include confirming installation timelines for decorative lighting across key city assets such as municipal facilities, the downtown street trees, and the large plaza tree. Developed a draft budget and scope of work for the event’s lighting elements, including coordination with contractors. Additionally, began researching new program ideas and enhancements to expand the event’s offerings and increase community engagement.

Parks & Facilities team:

• Broke ground on Deer Pointe Park construction

• Presented to the LGGP grant committee and are very hopeful for a positive outcome

• Playground equipment for Deer Pointe Park was delivered

• Facilities Maintenance truck purchased

• A challenge has been continued vandalism of our Parks. This has kept the Parks crew busy.

Upcoming Events:

• August 8th- The Goonies will be shown at Meinig Park

• August 13th- The Revival Brothers will be playing at Meinig Park

• August 19th- Our third Bee City USA meeting

• August 22nd- Wicked will be shown at Meinig Park
• September 5th- Rescheduled showing of the Wild Robot movie at Meinig Park!

Carol:

June was the Longest Day Parkway, Fitness in the park at Cascadia and Noah’s
Quest.

This year was the 20th year for Noah’s Quest. It was a perfect day for everyone to be together. We had over 15 volunteers helping out on the course and at registration tables. We released bubbles at the beginning before the kiddie run. This year one of our local PD who participated won the weekend getaway in Astoria. The weekend getaway is a house in Astoria and it is something that gets raffled off every year.

We have more vendors for the Mt. Festival Kids Parade. The kids will have lots of hands-on activities from Wippersnappers, Todos Juntos, US World Class Taekwondo, Mt. Hood Athletic Club, Sandy Library & Sandy Parks & Recreation.
The Bike Challenge will have Northwest Trails Alliance helping out and promoting the new bike class that will be offered the end of July.

In June, I participated in a bike clinic to learn to be an instructor. Now we can offer bike clinics at Cedar Park. See below for our bike camp offering! We still have plenty of spots open.

Amy:

– Now that a few of our building monitors are graduating and heading off to college, we interviewed new building monitors and will be training them in July. Thank you to Charlie and Ansel for all of their hard work over the years.
– Hosted the 2nd Bee City USA Action Group Meeting in the beginning of June. We created seed bombs to hand out for the Longest Day Parkway event.
– Games started in the Sandy Adult Softball League. I’ve been helping out the teams and umpires to have a fun start to the season!

– I’ve been managing the Sandy Community Gardens. In June I began to collect donations of food to give to the Sandy Action Center. So far the community gardens have donated 13 pounds of food.

– Assisted with the Noah’s Quest fundraising event at the end of June.

– I have also been trained as a back-up employee for our congregate dining that occurs on Tuesday afternoons. I’ve begun to train volunteers for the program. 

– Supported Carol for her first Fitness in the Park class! 

Caroleana:

Caroleana had over 339 senior related calls this month.   The center had 9 new meals on wheels clients and 2 Reassessments for current clients; which involved a home visit with each client and a completed NAPIS form for Clackamas County.   

Caroleana helped support our team by packing coolers four times throughout the month and delivered several routes for the Meals on Wheels program.  

We continued to hold congregate lunches. We have started to recruit volunteers and have 3 consistent helpers. We are learning a lot and having fun.

Caroleana received over 30 calls for energy assistance this month.  She was able to schedule and help 11 households with the Clackamas County Energy Assistance summer program applications.  

The attendance for the grief writing workshop was small but very meaningful.  Started advertisement for the July workshop with Mt Hood Hospice and the Sandy Senior and Community Center.  Together we are excited to welcome the new Sandy River Threshold Singers as they offer gentle, soothing music on Tuesday July 29th. 

Started the planning for the volunteer appreciation event with John and Amy and the Library staff. 

Help with special event support.  Assisted with the setup for a city-sponsored event and post-event breakdown and cleanup. 

Marc:

Senior Trips:

– Hike and lunch – Fish Eddy Loop at Eco Park and Backstop Bar and Grill in Canby – 8 people.

– “Putt Putt” at Tualatin Island Greens – 9 people.

– Dine out at the Original Roadhouse Grill in Gresham -11 people with 2 people meeting us there.

– Hike and lunch at Park Loop Trail at Mt. Talbert Nature Park and Happy Valley Station Food Carts – 10 people (was full with a waiting list but 3 last minute cancellations and not enough notice to fill empty spots) with Amy joining us.

– Train Trip from Oregon City to Centralia, Washington – 13 people – Our first time doing a trip like this and it was great and everybody loved it and wants to do it again! It is a two and a half hour train ride and it leaves you about three and a half hours to get lunch and wander around the charming downtown area and shop at the antique stores.

– Dine out at Olive Garden in Gresham – 14 people and 2 people meeting us there.

Meals on Wheels:

– 912

Misc:

– Worked Longest Day Parkway (in the rain!!!!)

Chelsea:

• Processed invoices related to various park projects. 
• Attended meetings in regards to various ongoing park projects
• Center rentals continue to be busy, as well as spring/summer park shelter rentals. 
• Drafted the contract for Deer Pointe Park
• Continued working on the 1200c permit for Deer Pointe Park. The 1200c was approved towards the end of the month! 
• Helped with mailing the Longest Day Parkway post cards for the park neighbors. Submitted the Temporary Restaurant License Application. 
• Created a flyer for the senior BBQ.

• Updated Fun with Flowers flyers for the TV and center.

• Helped with Longest day prep- purchased goodies to hand out and made a flyer for our giveaway. Plus worked the event. Even with the rain, the turn out was decent. 
• Did the contract for erosion and sediment control inspections for Deer Pointe park. 
• Completed BOLI documentation for starting Deer Pointe Park construction and for closing out Cedar Park. 
• Completed the Responsible Bidder Determination Form for CCB for Deer Pointe Park. 
• Created July & August Seniors newsletter, printed, and mailed out. 
• Updated our rental prices in Sportsman and the website to go in effect July 1st.
• Created a flyer about the new Cedar Park Shelter rental opportunity. 

John:

1. Senior Services Coordination
Staff participated in the quarterly meeting with Clackamas County Senior Centers to review the closeout of the current fiscal year and discuss funding allocations for the upcoming year. The meeting focused on State and Federal funding for key Senior Services programs, including:

• Nutrition Services
• Transportation
• Case Management
• Energy Assistance
• Research-Based Exercise Classes

2. Community Event Support – Longest Day Parkway
Assisted in the coordination and communication for the Longest Day Parkway event. Key responsibilities included:

• Notifying neighborhood community members of the event
• Sharing departmental schedules, times, and locations
• Verifying all permits and approvals were secured in advance

3. ORPA Award Submission – Cedar Park
Submitted Cedar Park for consideration in the Oregon Recreation and Parks Association (ORPA) Design and Construction Award. This submission highlights the park’s innovative features and its impact on the local community.

4. Staffing – Facility Maintenance Lead Interviews
Participated in the interview process for the new Parks and Recreation Facility and Maintenance Lead position. This role will be instrumental in supporting and enhancing preventative maintenance across all City facilities.

5. Aquatics and Fitness Programming Partnership
Oversaw the continuation of the City’s partnership with Mt. Hood Athletic Club and Aquatics. Key offerings for the community this season include:

• Youth Swim Lessons
• Community Swim Passes
• Senior Water Aerobics

All program logistics and agreements have been finalized, and services are now fully in place for Sandy residents.

Parks & Facilities:

• Prepared Meinig park for Mt festival, cleaned gutters, roofs, and rebuilt several amphitheater benches.
• 
• 
• Awarded N8 Excavation the construction contract for Deer Pointe Park and work has begun
• The updated rules of conduct and exclusion from public property are completed
• Tiana attended an Emerald Ash Borer response seminar 
• Received the Travel Oregon Grant in the amount of $141,356 to help fund the Meinig Park ADA upgrades.

Upcoming Events and dates to remember:

July 4th- Fireworks at Dusk at Sandy High School Field!

Mountain Festival Kids Event by Sandy Parks & Recreation:

July 31st- LGGP grant presentation

Carol:

The 2nd Annual Yappy Hour was a huge success even though it rained the whole
time. We had close to 200 people with their dogs and everyone had a blast. The vendors were excited and were impressed with how many people came out in the rain.

The Summer Guide came out the first week in May. Posters for music and movies have been distributed.

Adult Coed Softball starts June 1st with 12 teams this year.

Amy:

-The Bee City USA Action Group hosted a free film screening of “The Pollinators” in honor of World Bee Day at the Sandy Cinema. 30 residents enjoyed the film and learned about the challenges facing our pollinators and our agricultural industry.

-Finalized details for the beginning of Sandy’s Adult Softball League. We have about 200 participants across 12 teams and games start Sunday, June 1st! 

Caroleana:

Caroleana had over 280 senior related calls this month.   The center had 2 new meals on wheels clients and 4 Reassessments for current clients; which involved a home visit with each client and a completed NAPIS form for Clackamas County.   

Caroleana started to prepare her files for the end of the fiscal year, cleaning up client files and tracking annual reports needed.  

Held 2 congregate lunches on May 13 & May 27th .   Both dry-runs went smooth and we will start to recruit for volunteer help. This also entailed shopping for new kitchen supplies, cleaning and setting up the kitchen and dining room for lunch service.  As well, this entails a lot of paperwork so that we can receive proper Clackamas county reimbursements.  

Caroleana received over 30 calls for energy assistance this month.  She was able to schedule and help 14 households with the Clackamas County Energy Assistance summer program applications.  

Worked at the Yappy Hour event on May 15th.  Sent out thank you letters to the 19 businesses vendors that sponsored and supported the Yappy Hour Dog Carnival Event.  

Had a great Resource Fair on May 20th.  With over 75 older adults in attendance and 19 vendors representing local businesses and senior related organizations  participated, giving their time and providing resources to our community.  Marc provided transportation for 4 seniors to attend. 

Went on a hike to Brown’s Ferry Park in Tualatin and had an enjoyably beautiful day with a full bus of seniors. 

There was no attendance for the grief workshop in partnership with Mt. Hood Hospice; though we used the time to schedule the rest of summer and fall workshops.

Marc:

Senior Trips

-Dine out at Oswego Grill in Clackamas – 7 seniors

-NW Senior Theatre – Battle of the Bandstands Dick Clark vs. Lawrence Welk – 8 people

-Hike and lunch at Sandy River Greenway and Troutdale Station Food Carts – 9 people with Amy joining us

-Dine out at Dragon Palace in Gresham – 12 people

-Schreiner’s Iris Garden in Salem (100th Anniversary) – 12 people

-River Loop hike at Brown’s Ferry Park in Tualatin and lunch at California Pizza Kitchen at Bridgeport Village- 11 people with Caroleana joining us

-Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde – 14 people

Meals on Wheels

-954 delivered

-2 dry runs for starting congregate dining back up 12 for the first one and 18 for the second one

Miscellaneous

-Completed the second class, Best Ride With Wheelchair Securement, that Ride Connection requires every three years

-Completed class to obtain Food Handlers Card since we are starting up congregate meals again

-Got a phone call from Ride Connection out of the blue letting us know that they had a brand new bus for us! It was delivered to us two days later and it made its maiden voyage to Tigard to take the seniors on the Battle of the Bandstands trip on the very same day!

Chelsea:

• Built in May activities so their seniors could sign up May 1st. 

• Processed invoices related to various park projects. 
• Attended meetings in regards to various ongoing park projects
• Center rentals continue to be busy, as well as spring/summer park shelter rentals. 
• Attended the May Parks Board meeting and posted the video recording and drafted the minutes. 
• Attended Park Planner Palooza where I learned about data tracking, inclusive playgrounds and the history and implementation of Villebois village in Wilsonville. 
• Kept the Planholders list current for the Deer Pointe Invitation to Bid. I also compiled questions as they came in and uploaded the addendum once it was complete. Prepped for the actual bid opening, recorded bids, scanned bid packets, and drafted and issued the intent to award. 
• Continued working on the 1200c permit for Deer Pointe Park. 
• Created the Longest Day Parkway postcards for the park neighbors. 

• Created signs for a piano class, the dog park and a rental cleaning checklist. 

• Assisted with throwing a surprise going away party for Rochelle. 

• Helped out as we did a few Congregate dining test runs. 
• Worked the Yappy Hour- even with the rain, it was a blast!

John:

Budget Committee Meeting
Participated in the Budget Committee meeting(s) to provide guidance and respond to inquiries related to the Recreation and Senior Services budget for the upcoming biennium. My contributions focused on ensuring that the budget accurately reflects our strategic priorities, program needs, and community expectations.

Congregate Dining Program Relaunch
Following several months of extensive renovations and upgrades to the Senior Center kitchen, I am pleased to announce the successful relaunch of the Congregate Dining program. This program offers local seniors the opportunity to gather in a welcoming environment, enjoy nutritious meals, and engage in social and recreational activities that support their overall well-being.

ORPA Leadership Workshop
Collaborated in the planning and coordination of a statewide professional development workshop for Recreation Leaders, hosted by the Oregon Recreation and Park Association (ORPA). The theme of the workshop was “Building Positive Culture Through Dynamic Leadership.” I served as the event moderator and facilitator, guiding discussions, answering participant questions, and sharing strategies for fostering leadership and active engagement in the Parks and Recreation profession.

Parks & Facilities:

Future events/Dates to remember:

– Bee City USA Action Group Meeting on June 2nd from 6:00-7:00pm at the Sandy Community Center. All ages are welcome to attend this meeting to talk about what the city of Sandy can do to celebrate and educate our neighbors about pollinators!

Congregate lunch services officially start in june.

June 11th- Hospice class/workshop

Summer camps with i9 start the middle of June. The i9 camps will be held throughout all the city parks like Bornstedt and Sandy Bluff Park.

– Longest Day Parkway – Friday, June 20th from 6-8pm at Cedar Park

-Noah’s Quest – Saturday, June 28th

Carol:

Amy:

– I coordinated details for the Sandy Summer Adult Softball League. I created the season’s game schedule for all 12 teams, helped with recruitment of new players, and lead a coach/umpire meeting. We will be ready to get started in June!
– I coordinated all of the details for Arbor Day and SOLVE It In Sandy
– I got soil and wood chips delivered to the Sandy Community Gardens, and coordinated various volunteer work days to get the space cleaned up and ready for the community to use.

Caroleana:

Caroleana had over 275 senior related calls this month.   The center had 7 new meals on wheels clients and 9 Reassessments for current clients; which involved a home visit with each client and a completed NAPIS form for Clackamas County.   

Caroleana started to prepare her files for the end of the fiscal year, cleaning up client files and tracking annual reports needed.  

Joined in on the Sandy Connect zoom meeting and made several great community resource connections that will help our clients.  Went to a Sandy Chambers event at Avamere at Cascadia Village.  

Attended a workshop hosted by ORPA, SOAR chapter.  Heard from Geriatrician Dr. Alia Alhumaid on the Aging Brain, Librarians on the Modern Day Libraries and then Behavioral Health Specialist Kera Magarill.  

Received multiple calls for energy assistance even though the Clackamas County Energy Assistance summer program doesn’t start until summer.  

Sent out thank you letters to all the businesses that sponsored and supported the March for Meals campaign.  

Went on a hike to Mt. Tabor park had enjoyed a beautiful day with a full bus of residents. 

Marc:

Senior Trips:

– Hike at Graham Oaks Nature Park and lunch at McMenamins Wilsonville Old Church & Pub – 12 people and Amy joining us.

– Dine out at La Carreta’s in Gresham – 12 people with 4 people meeting us there.

– Historic Carousel & Museum and lunch at Pop’s Branding Iron in Albany – 11 people.

– Hike at Mt. Tabor and lunch at Chang’s Mongolian Grill – 13 people with Caroleana joining us.

– Oregon AG Fest – 11 people.

– Dine out at Hops n Drops in Happy Valley – 10 people with 3 meeting us there

Meals on wheels:

– 967 meals delivered.

Chelsea:

• Processed invoices related to various park projects. 
• Attended meetings in regards to various ongoing park projects
• Helped with 6 letters of support for the LGGP grant for Meinig Park Improvements
• Center rentals continue to be busy, as well as spring/summer park shelter rentals. 
• Created the May/June senior newsletter and printed/emailed it out. 

• Attended budget meetings with the Parks & Rec manager team. 
• Worked on the Deer Pointe Park Invitation to Bid, created the ITB page for our website, arranged advertisements for the ITB, and prepped documents for when the bid opens. 
• Coordinated with the Engineer to get the 1200c permit submitted for Deer Pointe Park. 
• Helped plan a flower class for the seniors and created a flyer advertisement. 

• Assisted with Contracts and Amendments. 

John:

Professional Development & Training

• Supervisor Training:
  Attended a professional development training focused on recruitment, onboarding, and training practices designed with long-term success in mind.
  
• ORPA Senior Services Workshop:
  Participated in an ORPA workshop focused on enhancing Senior Services. The session, “Modern Care for Your Golden Years,” offered insights into dementia care and strategies for supporting aging populations.

Community Events & Programs

• Arbor Day Celebration – April 24:
  Helped program, plan, and oversee our Arbor Day event at Bluff Park. With the support of volunteers, we planted four Forest Pansy Redbud trees in honor of the occasion.
  
• SOLVE Cleanup Event – April 26:
  Assisted in programming and overseeing our annual SOLVE event. Approximately 60 volunteers participated in removing trash and debris from City parks, streets, and public properties.
  
• Teen Egg Hunt – April 18:
  In collaboration with the Sandy Library, coordinated the annual Teen Egg Hunt at Meining Park. Around 150 teens participated in the fun and engaging event.

Administration & Planning

Budget Preparation and Presentation:
Throughout April, I worked alongside our team to prepare the FY25 budget for the Recreation and Senior Services Department. On April 28, I presented the proposed budget to the City’s Budget Committee for review and feedback.

Parks & Facilities:

Upcoming events:

May 15th- Yappy Hour at Bluff Park

May 21st at 6:30pm- World Bee Day Celebration! Come see The Pollinators at the Sandy Cinema for free

June 28th- Noah’s Quest at Bluff Park

Carol’s Accomplishments:
The recreation department hosted their 3rd Silent Disco for the teens. We had a total of 47 teens. Mostly high schoolers and a few middle schoolers. The event was sponsored by Dick Hannah, Maeco of Oregon and Dominoes pizza. With the monetary & food donations everything was paid for plus with ticket sales money was put into the special events budget. P & R likes to partner with the library on some of the teen events. Sandy Key Club members also volunteered to help with set up and break down for the event.

This year for Yappy Hour in May we have had such a big response as far as vendors/businesses wanting to be part of the event. All of the businesses from last year are back except VCA which closed down last year. The new businesses that are joining are Green Acres, Fern Hill Vet, Best Friend Bioscience, Pampered Pet Lodge, Elusive Canine Strength and Conditioning, and Chasin Tail. This event is so popular that businesses reached out to me so they can be a part of it. This year we also charged a vendor fee to all the businesses. $1250 so far in vendor fees.

Amy’s Accomplishments:
– Facilitated March for Meals Campaign’s Daily Marketing for the fundraising events and raffle baskets.
– Helped to set up for the Silent Disco. Create a photo strip and managed the photo booth. 
– Hosted the Mt Storm End of the Season Jamboree. Created a survey for all participants.

– Hosted the Bee City USA Action Group’s Pollinator Panel. 5 local experts shared their knowledge on all things related to supporting pollinators. 

-Organized a Tickle Creek Volunteer Clean Up with a local 4H Group.

-Hosted the Community Garden’s first Volunteer Day of the season. 

Caroleana:

Accomplishments: 

Caroleana had over 387 senior related calls this month.   The center had 2 new meals on wheels clients and 2 Reassessments for current clients; which involved a home visit with each client and a completed NAPIS form for Clackamas County.   

Caroleana helped support our team by writing and sending thank you cards to sponsoring businesses for Silent Disco.

Joined in a webinar training from American Society on Aging: From Clutter to Comfort.  This workshop gave insight on the characteristics and risks of hoarding at each level (1-5).  The workshop also discussed applying basic strategies, using empathetic communication to build trust and respect the client’s perspective

Started advertising for new Grief series workshops with Mt. Hood hospice, which highlights the process of grief through art expression.  This workshop was well attended with meaningful artwork made. 

Clackamas County Energy Assistance funding was depleted in the early part of March, which is early.  This shows the high need that our community at large has in this area.   Caroleana completed and submitted 9 applications for local senior households.   Over the winter program months of Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb and March Caroleana had 30 new clients.  The community has a need and 30 new households were served and helped with energy assistance credit from the Clackamas County utility support program.  

John and Caroleana toured the Pioneer Community Center in Oregon City to observe and learn about congregate dining.  We learned a lot, while trying not to have kitchen envy.  Our goal is to open our dining room for lunch service one day a week.  

March for Meals Campaign; 

Throughout the month of March the center promoted the March for Meals Campaign, which fundraised and brought awareness to the Meals on Wheels program.   Caroleana advertised, promoted and attended the different events.  

The Campaign was multi faceted; restaurant participation, raffle baskets and a senior dinner to conclude.  

A huge thank you to the restaurants who participated in the campaign were Smoky Hearth, Scoop n Swirl, Sandy DQ, Mt. Moka, and Sandy Panda Express. We raised $708 and counting.

The Senior Dinner had to be postponed to April 5th, which extended the display of the raffle baskets.  This year we had 13 awesome raffle baskets donated for the March for Meals Campaign.  

A BIG thank you to the local businesses: Blue Door Rustic, Embold bank, Mt. Hood Senior Solutions, Mt. Hood Adult Day Center, Prestige Cinema, That Salon, Sandbar, Gresham Golf, Thrive Fitness, Red Apple Restaurant, Boring Bark, and Avamere in Sandy. A heartfelt thank you to the businesses outside our local community that have supported our efforts; Gresham Golf Course, Kah Ne Tah, Bruce’s Candy Kitchen, Cannon Beach Smokehouse, The Warren House, and Bill’s Tavern.  

The baskets were in the lounge area of the Senior Center throughout the month of March, which brought attention to the campaign.  Many visitors purchased tickets while at the center for events or classes and some even just simply donated to the program.   

The campaign raised has raised over $3000, with more coming in, as the Senior Dinner will be April 5th.  Raffle tickets: $1425, Restaurants:  $708 + more to come,  Senior Dinner: $1375. 

Marc:

Senior Trips

– Hike at Springwater Corridor in Boring and lunch at Smoky Hearth (It was the day a portion of their sales went to our March for Meals fundraiser) – 12 people with Amy joining us and 5 people meeting us for the hike and 3 of those meeting for lunch as well. 

– Dine out at Red Lobster in Gresham – 9 people with 4 meeting us there

– Portland Roadster Show – 6 people 

– Hike at Fanno Creek and Greenway Loop and Lunch at Big Red’s Bar & Grill both in Beaverton – 12 people with Carol joining us

– Dine out at The Cazadero Steakhouse in Estacada – 12 people with 5 meeting us there

– Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks & Minerals and lunch at P.F. Changs both in Hillsboro – 4 people, was 7 but one cancelled the day before and 2 cancelled the morning of the trip.

Meals On Wheels

– 893

Miscellaneous

– Completed my Safe At Any Age – Basic Defensive Driving class that I am required to take every three years through Ride Connection 

– Blacked out the skylights in The Auditorium for the Silent Disco 

Chelsea:

• Processed invoices related to various park projects. 
• Attended meetings in regards to various ongoing park projects
• Helped with 6 letters of support for the LGGP grant for Meinig Park Improvements
• Center rentals continue to be busy, as well as spring/summer park shelter rentals. 
• Created the March and April senior newsletter and printed/emailed it out. 
• Built in April activities so their seniors could sign up April 1st. 
• Made and laminated multiple signs for Cedar Park’s construction work. 
• Attended budget meetings with the Parks & Rec managers team. 
• Assisted with reviewing the Code of conduct draft ordinance and provided feedback. 
• Helped proof the summer recreation guide. 
• Attended preliminary meetings about the Deer Pointe Park Invitation to Bid. 
• Attended The Parks & recreation team’s belated holiday party. 
• Helped sell tickets for the March for Meals raffle. Raffle tickets were popular!  
• Continued entering responses for the most recent Deer Pointe Park Survey.

John:

Monthly Report – March

1. Policy and Administrative Updates

• Continued development of our in-house Policy Handbook to ensure alignment with current department practices and compliance standards.
  
• Focused efforts on updating the Special Event Application and associated processes to streamline permitting, clarify requirements for applicants, and enhance internal review procedures.
  

2. Budget Planning and Financial Management

• Conducted an in-depth analysis of the current fiscal year budget to identify remaining resources and prepare for year-end financial wrap-up.
  
• Initiated the development of the proposed biennial budget for the Recreation and Senior Services Department, including forecasting operational needs, program growth, and strategic priorities.
  

3. Fee Structure Review

• Collaborated with the Parks and Recreation Management Team to review and update the Master Fee Schedule. Revisions included adjustments for inflation, improved consistency across departments, and alignment with current usage patterns and service demand.
  

4. Program Management

• Provided oversight and support for the successful conclusion of two major programs:
  
  • Mt. Storm Youth Basketball League
    
  • March for Meals Campaign
    

5. Capital Project Preparation

Requested formal bids for the installation of a live-stream camera at Jonsrud Viewpoint. This is part of our strategic tourism enhancement project aimed at showcasing Sandy’s natural beauty and drawing more visitors to the area.

Parks & Facilities:

Upcoming Events/Dates to remember:

– April Full Moon Hike – April 12th

– Community Gardens Work Day – April 13th
– Softball Umpire + Coaches Meeting – April 14th

– Rotary Club Gardens Work Day – April 16th

-Teen Flashlight Egg hunt at Meinig Park April 18th 8pm
– Arbor Day – April 24th

– SOLVE It In Sandy – April 26th

-2nd Annual Yappy Hour Sandy Bluff Park- May 15th