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 4^th. 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.

Community Services staff and meals on wheels volunteers became eligible to get the COVID vaccine. Several staff members are now fully vaccinated. The current staff has continued to be flexible through the reduction of hours imposed in December. The essential services this team provides is at the core of our mission and their passion, resiliency, and hard work is greatly appreciated. Multiple injuries and illness has additionally taken its toll on current staff which has required them balance various job duties.

Community Services continues to search for volunteers to help with the meals on wheels program. Drivers are needed on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday to deliver meals Kitchen assistance is also needed to help with COVID sanitization protocols and loading meals for drivers. Please contact the Director for more information.

Senior Services

Staff received and assisted many seniors who were needing assisting navigating the various websites to schedule a COVID vaccine. Seniors were able to get vaccinated through local pharmacies, at the Oregon Convention center, Sandy Behavioral Health, and the clinic held at the high school. Transportation is available for those seniors needing rides to get vaccinated.

Over 1600 meals were delivered through the meals on wheels program in March. Virtual classes offered throughout the county senior centers are shared and marketed for all seniors. Our Tai Chi class has seen an increase in enrollment and drawing clients from Portland, Welches, and Salem.

The seniors had an opportunity to enjoy beautiful weather with an Egg Hunt at Sandy Bluff Park. This event hosted with the library was a big hit. Seniors went hunting for eggs, and was treated to muffins from Tollgate and coffee donated from Starbucks.

Recreation & Special Events

Planning for outdoor programs this summer are underway. Sandy Community Campus fields are being rented to various organizations for youth sports. Collaboration continues with the school district to get Pickleball courts up and running by the summer. Special Events this spring include Solve – April 17th & Noah’s Quest, June 26th. Planning has began for City of Sandy 110th Anniversary in collaboration with the Library and various local organizations. Stay Tuned!

Parks & Trails

The Parks & Trails Master Plan first draft was sent to Nancy Enabit (project manager), the Technical Advisory Committee, and city staff for review. The 6th TAC meeting was held to discuss revisions of the draft and timeline. ESA and FSC met with city staff to discuss preliminary details of SDC methodology analysis & CIP list. After initial revisions of first draft it was sent out to the Parks & Trails advisory board and ESA will present to the board in April.

The tentative timeline for the PMP is as follows:

*        Parks Board mtg 1 – Scheduled April 14

*        Parks Board mtg 2 – late April or early May

*        Joint planning commission / council work session – June 7th 6:00pm

*        Planning commission adoption – July (Date not yet determined)

*        Council adoption – August (Date not yet determined)

The Parks & Trails Advisory Board did not meet in the March.

Dog park will closed April 13th – 30th for reseeding. All community gardens beds have been rented this year.

Community Services staff continue to strive to provide essential services despite additional reduction of hours. Staff drive meals on wheels routes daily, prepare and pack meals, perform COVID cleaning protocols, and reach out to seniors daily. Phone calls have increase this month due to challenges with scheduling the COVID vaccine. Meals on wheels volunteers and staff were eligible for the vaccine and several are now fully vaccinated.

The Blink EV station is not installed and active at the Sandy Community Center. Staff received a training on tracking of the EV station. This next month Community Services staff will work with SAGE to receive additional training on the app which will be used for the vehicle. We hope to receive the vehicle at the end of March or beginning of April. The application for the vehicle will be run through Envoy.

Senior Services

A significant amount of staff time is being spent on assisting seniors with registering for the COVID vaccine. Information received from the county and local agencies has given staff information which they are using to reach seniors. Most of the challenges the seniors are experiencing include seniors inability to access wifi, limited access to a computer, trouble navigating the website to reserve an appointment, difficulty scheduling an appointment due to lack of transportation and vaccine appointments filling quickly. Staff is reaching seniors daily to assist them with these challenges.

Virtual Tai Chi class kicked off in February. About 10 seniors were able to participate in this Fall Prevention program. The class will increase to twice a week beginning in March. Staff continue to research other virtual programs which we can offer to the seniors.

On February 10th, the weather cooperated for the seniors as they came out for a Valentine Drive Thru at the Community Center. Close to thirty seniors enjoyed treats from Tollgate and received a care package donated by Avamere. The package included a painted rock, pen, a pad of paper and a handmade “Thinking of you” card. These care packages were also sent out to every Meals on Wheels client.

At the end of February, the seniors met at the Japanese Garden (Tsuru Island) at the Gresham Main City Park. They were treated to a private tour from the Garden Director Jim Card.  After the tour, the seniors walked along the Springwater Corridor. It was great to have dry weather.

Recreation

Staff is working on summer programming and looking forward to providing the community with new opportunities and some past favorites. The focus will be placed on outdoor classes and camps. Some phasing the return of some past programs is being planned for late Spring. The possibility of Adult Softball being able to return to play this summer will dependent on the availability of the school district fields. As a plan B, it may be possible to schedule stand alone tournaments at the Hoodview Complex if there is interest.

Several Community Recreation organizations are interested in using the fields at the Sandy Community Campus. Staff is working on developing contracts with the organizations to assist in having youth sports return to play.

Special Events

Staff is researching options for the return of past annual events this Spring and Summer. Solve will be offered this April with some changes due to State Risk Level Guidance. Plans are also being developed to offer Noah’s Quest, Longest Day Parkway, 110th Birthday Celebration, Movies in the Park, and Concerts in the Park. These events may look differently in the past as staff develop protocols to stay within State guidelines. Due to a significant decrease in revenue this past biennium, the department may have to make appropriate adjustments to these events.

Parks & Trails Advisory Board
The new board members are in place and we are looking forward to their fresh perspective and ideas. A resource guide was provided to members to help them hit the ground running.
It is an exciting time with the updated Master Plan nearing completion.

Parks & Trails Master Plan

The first draft of the Parks Master Plan had been sent by ESA to Nancy Enabnit, project manager for her to review and send back edits. At the end of February, the draft was also send to city staff and the Technical Advisory Committee. In March, there is a meeting scheduled with the TAC to review the draft.

In August of 2019, Community Service applied for the Portland General Electric’s (PGE) Drive Change Fund in partnership with SAGE (Senior Advocates for Generational Equity) and Prisma Point. The intent was to develop a pilot electric vehicle project focused on seniors and facilities that serve seniors (e.g., senior residences, senior centers, nonprofits serving seniors). The goal of the pilot is to increase awareness among seniors about electric vehicles and to boost use of these vehicles. As a participant in the pilot, participating seniors and facilities will learn how use of electric vehicles and electric charging stations can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve other social benefits. This grant supports projects that help electrify Oregon’s transportation sector, from transit buses to passenger vehicles to micro mobility solutions such as electric bikes and scooters. Grants are funded by the sale of Oregon Clean Fuels Program credits, which PGE aggregates on behalf of residential customers who charge their electric vehicles at home.

In February of 2020, SAGE was awarded the grant with Sandy being one of two sites which will participate in this project. This project will include the installation of an EV station at the Community Center and an electric vehicle which will be available for Community Services to provide transportation and use to deliver Meals on wheels. Due to COVID, the installation of the EV station and progress of the implementation of this program have been slowed. Additionally, the program will be operated in different phases to account for the unknowns of the COVID pandemic.

We are excited to announce that the installation of the electric for the installation of the EV Station took place in January. The EV station is set to be completed in February with the arrival of the Electric vehicle to be in March.

The Community Center had a new awning installed on the west entrance of the building. This awning created a larger area of coverage for seniors as they await transportation. The project also included updated lighting and a new door will be installed as well.

Senior Services

Over 1,700 meals were provided to our service area through the meals on wheels program in the month of January. Community Service staff including, Tanya Richardson, Bernice Jordan, Sarah Richardson, and Carol Cohen continue to drive meals on wheels along with limited volunteers. We want to recognize Larry & Mary Stidham, Kate Lane, Jennifer Gohr, Kip Frey, Jan Funk, Kimberli Maltman for continuous dedication to volunteering for this essential service.

Client services provided 23 hours of case management and reassurance for seniors as well as fielded over 56 calls for information and assistance to resources. Much time is spent by Client Services Coordinator, Olga Gerberg, talking with clients, family members, and connecting them with organizations and resources to continue to assist the seniors in staying independent in their homes.

Carol Cohen has been providing a door to door shopping shuttle for seniors. These seniors are picked up at their homes and brought to Safeway or Fred Meyer. This essential service allows seniors to shop for food and other items and then are brought back to their homes. This essential service provided 10 trips to seniors for the month of January.

Staff continue to make check in phone calls to seniors. Mental health and continued isolation, due to the pandemic, has been very concerning when speaking to the seniors. Staff continue to direct them to resources including virtual programs, 211, Senior Loneliness Line, Clackamas County Crisis and Support line, and Mt. Hood Hospice support groups.

Recreation

Virtual classes continue such as Bingo, Coffee Chat, Functional Fitness. Staff are looking at expanding virtually program offerings for the spring and summer. Virtual Tai Chi classes are planned to begin in February.

Parks & Trails

On January 13th, The Parks & Trails Advisory Board had an informal thank you presentation to several board members who will no longer be serving. These members include Kathleen Walker who has been instrumental in development of parks & trails for the last 20+ years is now serving as a City Councilor. It will be wonderful to have her continued participation and input in the parks & trails master plan and the future of Parks and Trails. Susan Drew has also been very active over the years with much input and support for parks and trails. Michael Weinberg and Sam Schroyer are also members of the board who have resigned. These board members were presented with a framed photo of Mt Hood from Jonsrud viewpoint.

Parks & Trails Master Plan

ESA had several meeting in January including meeting with city staff to discuss parks maintenance, preliminary capital improvement list, and SDC’s methodology. The CIP will be reviewed by City staff, Technical Advisory Board, and the Parks & Trails Advisory Committee. Additionally, FCS Group is being subcontracted to look at options for Parks SDC’s.  A follow up meeting is scheduled with ESA and FCS to provide some preliminary guidance on the complex SDC options. The Parks SDC methodology update will follow the adoption of the Parks Master Plan.

On December 1st, the Community Services Department implemented staffing changes and reduction of hours. Two staff members were effected by layoffs, while four other staff have a reduction in hours beginning December 1st. All staff are currently providing our essential services including meals on wheels, shopping shuttle, and client services for seniors. Additionally, staff are providing virtual classes, information and assistance, making check in phone calls while planning for reopening procedures, activities, and programs. We continue to recruit volunteers for the meals on wheels program but the DHS background checks are currently taking 2-3 months for approval.

Senior Services

Over 1,700 meals were delivered to meals on wheels clients. We have seen a slight decrease in the need for home delivered meals in December as compared with November. This could be due to the freeze and then changes to risk levels from the Governor’s. orders. We also had few clients who passed away this last month as well. Over the holidays, we continued to provide all clients with frozen meals and shelf stable meals. On Christmas Eve, meals on wheels drivers delivered home made cards which were created by the community and dropped off at the library. In addition, Community Center staff sent over 150 homemade cards to local seniors. This really brightened their holiday season. The meals on wheels program also received over $675 in donations from community members. We are overwhelmed with gratitude of the kindness of our community.

The seniors enjoyed another drive thru on December 23rd. Thanks to Starbucks, we served up some piping hot cocoa. Grocery Outlet donated some cookies and whipped cream for the hot cocoa. Over 30 seniors came through with many smiles and some participated in the ugly sweater contest.

Recreation

While recreation programs are currently suspended, we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Planning for summer programs, especially those that can be outdoors, and indoor programs where appropriate and safe. Over the next month staff will be reconnecting with recreation providers, and exploring new programs with providers who have COVID protocols in place. The goal is to have a full menu of programs for summer 2021. We are optimistic that we will be able to safely offer programs for the community as summer approaches.

Publication of the Community and Recreation Guide is on hold until we are back to normal operations. Other means of communicating with residents are in place and allow us to be more nimble, to reach out in a timely manner, and in a variety of ways.

Parks & Trails

The Parks & Trails Advisory Board held interviews for the replacement of 3 outgoing board members. We will be welcoming 4 new members upon council approval to their first meeting scheduled for February 10th. A manual for park board members is in development and its goal is to provide members with resources to help them in their role. With the updated Parks Master Plan on the horizon, the board will be very busy, and it will be exciting to begin to implement the vision of the plan. 

Parks & Trails Master Plan

On December 1st, ESA met with city staff to discuss the following agenda items included Capital funding, TSP Coordination, Sandy Style, Acquisition status, Community Engagement review, and undeveloped park conditions and concepts. It was a very productive meeting and appreciate the input from staff. Additionally, TAC held it 5th meeting virtually on December 1st. Discussion included review of the online open house, revisions made to Deer Pointe and Champion way concepts as well as a new concept developed for Ponder Lane, review of Sandy Community Campus concepts, and the overall system of maps. Doug Gabbard with FCS joined the meeting and presented an overall explanations of SDC;s. It was very informative and helpful to the committee. A follow up meeting is scheduled with ESA and FCS to provide some preliminary guidance on the complex SDC options.

Essential Services are continuing with limited volunteers and staff delivering meals on wheels, providing client services, shopping shuttles, and food box delivery. Background checks for new volunteers are taking 10-12 weeks. Over 1,700 hot meals and 1,120 frozen meals were provided this month. In addition, 32 food boxes were delivered and 31 shopping rides were provided.

Over the last months, the City of Sandy has experienced several changes due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. The City of Sandy is following Governor Brown’s direction and Oregon Health Authority guidance during this public health emergency. For instance: The City has closed the Community Center since March 23, 2020 and has cancelled the majority of all programs associated with the Center in response to recommendations and guidance from state and local officials. 

These actions have resulted in decreased workload due to the closures and are continuing to have a financial impact to the City. The City has explored a number of options. Unfortunately, it is necessary to reduce the workforce by implementing a layoff and a reduction of hours of staff within the Community Center. These changes began on Dec. 1st.

Senior Services

During the week of Thanksgiving, each of the Meals on Wheels clients were treated with a lovely gift back from Avamere. All the clients were so appreciative of the very thoughtful gift.

The seniors have appreciated the drive thru events Community Services has provided over the last month. This month’s drive thru included a homemade bowl of soup and corn muffin.  Safeway donated most of the soup for about 30 seniors came thru. They were excited to see staff and gave rave reviews on the soup and muffins.

Parks & Trails Advisory Board

The Parks and Trails Advisory Board met on November 12th and discussed the “Bull Run” and “The Views” Developments with regard to parks and open spaces. Recommendations were forwarded to the Planning Commission and to Council. The Technical Advisory Representatives provided an update on the Parks and Trails Master Plan. It is getting close to being completed and the board is very excited to see it approved.

Come December 31st, 2020 the board will have 4 open seats. Preparations for the interview process took shape in November. Staff and the Parks and Trails Advisory Board Chair are working on orientation materials for new board members.

Parks Master Plan Update

Two meetings were held on December 1^st to present results of public input gathered to date and get direction going forward on next steps of the Parks & Trails Master Plan (PTMP). The first was with relevant City Staff members, and the second was with the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).

Tracy Johnson from ESA provided a project status update to City employees in virtual attendance. One topic of discussion focused on the amount of staffing needed to maintain current and future park facilities. Funding for proposed capital projects was discussed, as was acquisition of future park properties. The need for coordination with staff on other planning efforts, including the updated Transportation System Plan (TSP), and requirements such as Sandy Style in parks were explored. Proposed park concepts were reviewed as well as next steps going forward.

Once the PTMP has been adopted, City staff will want to maximize use of the Parks & Trails SDC’s as well as the Parks Fee-in-Lieu of Land. Both funds have healthy balances that will greatly benefit implementation of future system improvements. Towards that end, the City has amended a current contract with FCS, the firm hired to advise on all matters SDC.

The main focus of the TAC meeting was to hear from Doug Gabbard of FCS regarding the potential for use of SDC’s in seeing adopted PTMP goals through to completion. He presented information on the best way to structure the Plan for optimal use of existing and future funds. Going forward he will work directly with ESA staff to shore up the necessary wording and formulas.

A draft PTMP should be ready for review in early 2021. There will be ample opportunity for input prior to presentation of the final copy to the Parks & Trails Advisory Board, Planning Commission and ultimately the City Council for adoption.

Senior Services

Typically in the month of October, staff kick off Energy Assistance appointments with the seniors. Over 200 phone calls were made to previous year’s applicants to set up appointments. Due to COVID19 we put into place safety precautions and implemented drive up appointments at the center. Community members stayed in their vehicle at their appointment time, staff assisted them with their applications, and copied necessary documentation. 39 applications were successfully submitted to Clackamas County for energy assistance for the month of October. Appointments will continue thru the month of November.

Meals on wheels continues to be delivered 4 days per week using staff and few volunteers. 80 meals per day are delivered on 4 different routes throughout Sandy, Boring, and just past Cherryville. 25 food boxes were also delivered. A weekly shopping shuttle continues with the ability to serve 4-6 clients each week.

We continue to see many seniors who are struggling with depression with the continued isolation brought about with COVID19. Staff are interacting with seniors via virtual coffee chats, exercise program, and BINGO. Additionally, staff has taken up to 4 seniors out on mystery drives around the local area. This has helped to get them out of their homes with social distancing and mask protocols in place.

We continued our successful drive thru events by having a box lunch that was donated by Tollgate.  Over 40 seniors came thru in their vehicles to pick up their lunch and visit with staff. On October 30, staff dressed up for Halloween and handed out a treat bag and newsletter as seniors drive thru the parking lot. The seniors even dressed up and participated in a costume contest.

The seniors met up for a socially distanced hike along the Tickle Creek trail. The following week they met at Liepold Farms.  Seniors drove themselves there and enjoyed a walk through the corn maze, a distant hayride, and picked up some goodies for themselves.

Recreation

The first Pop-Up Recreation event was held on October 7th at Bluff Park. The kids enjoyed various activities and stations. All equipment was sanitized between the stations. Although these activities are on hold for now, it was a great opportunity to offer a safe and distanced outdoor activity, and to have a good template going forward. Helping to support both the physical and mental well being of community members is the cornerstone of Community Recreation. The program received lots of wonderful feedback and the department looks forward to offering more opportunities like the Pop-Up event in the future.

Parks & Trails

The Parks and Trails Advisory Board met in October and discussed among other items The Views development proposal, Code of Conduct for Boards and Commissions, and a possible location for the next Dog Park.

Susan Drew, Kathleen Walker and Michael Weinberg will be stepping down from the board when their terms expire December 31st. Residents of Sandy and the surrounding area have been the beneficiaries of the hard work of these three members. We thank them for their many, many volunteer hours in support of parks and trails development. 
There are currently 6 active applications for the 4 open board seats. It is great to see the interest in serving on the board.

The Parks & Trails Master Plan held a virtual open house until Oct 25th.
There were 1,573 unique visitors with 72 people who completed the online questionnaire.  There was one survey returned in Spanish. A summary report will be presented to the Technical Advisory Committee in November.

Many of the seniors were affected by the recent wild fires at the beginning of September. Staff made over 300 phone calls throughout the week to check on community members. Priorities included being sure all Level 3 seniors were evacuated and in a safe location with family, friends or shelter. Staff also confirmed all Level 2 seniors had evacuation plans and were ready to go if their residence moved to Level 3. In some instances, seniors were encourage to begin the evacuation process if they had mobility issues or livestock. Calls were made to Level 1 seniors to be sure they had evacuation plans in place. Staff was able to deliver over 200 frozen meals to clients in advance prior to the weekend to assist with stocking up their freezers.

As the evacuation zones lowered, staff then worked with the seniors to be sure they had hot meals and received food boxes to assist with loss of food during the power outages and evacuation. Many community services staff had also evacuated their families and livestock during this event but worked throughout the event to help with whatever was needed.

The community center suffered some smoke issues due to the fires. Air filters were set up throughout the center for four days, air filters were changed, deep cleaning including washing all interior windows, window sills, and door frames. There was a tremendous improvement to the air quality to the center after.

Senior Services

During the month of September, over 1500 meals were delivered to meals on wheels clients. On Friday, Sept 11th Meals on wheels clients were surprised with a box lunch from Bumpers Grill & Bar. After a week of smoke it was a wonderful welcome to them all.

In September, the seniors continue to participate in virtual exercise classes, Bingo, and coffee chats. Several seniors met up for socially distanced hikes including one on Tickle Creek Trail. For more than half of the participants, it was their first time on the local trail. and staff was able to take several on a mystery drive. They were so excited to know where the trail is and will now venture on their own to walk locally.  The other hike was the Bridle Trail just east of Rhododendron. They so appreciate any opportunities to socialize.

Since the ice cream drive thru was a success we decided to reach out to some of the restaurants to see if they were willing to donate some boxed lunches.  Tollgate was willing to donate over 40 boxed lunches so the plan was to have another drive thru in October. 

Recreation

The Recreation Manager and Event Coordinator continue to help support the essential services provided by the Community Services Department, and to help with coverage at the center. Staff continue to research ideas and assist with planning for ways in which we can safely modify fall events and meet COVID19 guidelines. As well as an opportunity to collaborate with The Ant Farm and other community organizations to address drug and alcohol use among teens. The first Pop-Up Recreation event was planned to provide a safe opportunity for children to play together outside, and to give parents and other caregivers a little time off.

Parks & Trails Advisory

The Parks and Trails Advisory Board met in September and discussed among other items The Views development proposal, a draft Pesticide in Parks policy, and the updated Outdoor Recreation guidance from the state. The next meeting is scheduled for October 14th. 
Michael Weinberg, current board member, reported that he will not be reapplying when his seat expires in December. The board thanked him for his service and noted his participation will be greatly missed. 
There are currently 5 active applications for board seats and all of those interested applicants have been invited to audit the October 14th meeting to learn more about the board. The next step will be interviews. 

Parks & Trails Master Plan

The virtual open house went live in September!. Staff went door to door to hand deliver flyers in the neighborhoods of Deer Pointe, Champion Way, and Nicholas Glen. A Spanish mail in version of the survey was hand delivered to every home in Vista Point. The online open house will be open until Oct. 25th. Spread the word.

Several key projects were successfully completed at the Community Center this month. The city has implemented a program to help prevent fats, oils and greases (FOG) from entering the sewer system. The community center was able to successfully install a grease intercept. Once the project started, the contractor uncovered several deteriorated pipes and additional work was needed. The grease interceptor is now installed with the addition of a new commercial grade tile floor.

Painting in the community center continued to include the Lobby, stairwell, and auditorium with a cheerful color.

Senior Services

Weekly phone calls to community seniors continue. We have seen the needs for MOW and food boxes stabilize providing approximately 75 meals M,T,W, & F. For the month of August, 16 food boxes were distributed. Requests for Energy Assistance program have begun. Applications for this program typically open Oct. 1st. Staff are waiting on the county to determine the process this year given the COVID pandemic. Shopping shuttles were offered on Thursdays this month with the max ridership of 4 clients due to COVID. Seniors enjoyed a hike meetup at Cazadero Trail with 19 seniors maintaining social distancing. They were very happy to be outside and enjoy each others company.
Senior Fitness classes on Zoom is still going strong and people from Gresham are hearing about the classes and hikes and are signing up and joining.  Great to have new people and a great way to promote what Sandy Senior Services is doing and what is offered now and in the future.

Special thanks to Amy Seabrooke, Olga Gerberg, and Tanya for spending the day making jars of mixed berry jam. Fruit was left over from the pie bake and staff decided to make jam. You can still get your jars for $5.00

Seniors also enjoyed a Ice Cream Social Drive By at the Community Center. Staff were able to say a quick hello, hand out ice cream and giveaways as well as sell some jars of jam. It was a success with 41 seniors showing up with smiles on their faces.

Special Events

In collaboration with Sandy Helping Hands, Community Services put together four evenings of Movies in the Park. In order to adhere to current guidelines reservations were required. Additional safety measures, including staggered arrival times, were implemented, and the events were very smooth. There was a total of 10 pods which could accommodate 50 people each evening. Community members preregistered in advance to reserve a pod. Sandy Helping Hands handed out free ice cream each evening. One evening was cancelled due to rain but the other evening were mostly sold out. Unfortunately, the highest attended evening had 19 people. Although the turnout was low, community members seemed happy to follow the guidelines and enjoyed being outside for a community event. 

In the meantime, staff have plans for alternate events and activities to help support the community during these challenging times. They include a family friendly Halloween experience and a modified Breakfast with Santa.

Recreation

We look forward to returning to some level of indoor operations when we are in Phase II. We continue to communicate with recreation providers and will be ready to bring back those programs that can follow the public health guidelines as soon as possible. Program planning has started to include bringing some “Pop Up” crafts and games to a variety of neighborhood parks as soon as the air quality improves. The goal is a safely distanced and supervised opportunity for kids to get outside and for parents and other caregivers to take a break. We realize that with the amount of screen time required at this time, a break to get outside would be welcome.

A successful virtual SafeSitter class was held and another had been planned to start on September 12th. However, with the fire and air quality situation we plan to reschedule for a later date. Virtual art classes are also available and now that summer classes have ended more fall classes are being scheduled to begin in late September and October. 

Parks & Trails

The Parks and Trails Advisory Board continues to meet monthly via Zoom.  A meeting was held on August 19th and included a review of the city municipal code as it relates to Parks and Open Space. 

Jim Slagle and volunteers have completed maintenance on all 5 bridges on the Tickle Creek Trail. We greatly appreciate all their hard work and dedication to the preservation of these bridges.

Parks Master Plan

A contract amendment with ESA was signed to allow for the work necessary to develop a Virtual Open House (VOH) and two additional park concept plans.

Extensive materials for the VOH were developed and reviewed. The VOH will allow citizens to review and comment on a draft version of the final Parks & Trails Master Plan as well as park concept drawings. The VOH will go live in late September and remain open for public comment for 2-3 weeks.

Draft park concept plans were presented for staff review. They target the Deer Point, Champion Way, Ponder Lane and Community Campus areas.

Virtual Open House set to begin on Wednesday, Sept 23rd. Announcements will be posted on social media, website, and city newsletter. Community Services staff will also be delivering informational flyers to Deer Pointe, Champion Way, and Nicholas Glen community members.

Community Services Staff decided to proceed with our annual Pie making fundraiser. Staff made 140 pies on Tuesday, July 28th and all were SOLD! Thanks to Ever Fresh Fruit Co. for the generous donation of fresh fruit for the pies. $1700.00 was profited for the meals on wheels program. We had some berries left over and are getting ready to make some Mixed Berry jam in August. Orders will be taken in September, each 8 oz jar is $5.00.

The seniors enjoyed several hike meet ups this month including on to Zig Zag Falls and McIver Park. Staff met the the seniors at the trail head for a socially distanced walk. They also explored (not very far) the old highway that goes up to Timberline.  Some seniors from the hiking club in Gresham that heard about the hikes and joined the group.

A few seniors also enjoyed a mystery drive to Lewis & Clark State park and Oxbow. The bus is limited to four riders to maintain social distancing and all riders wear masks. They were happy to get out and see the sites. We will continue to offer a few of these drives each month.

Projects continue throughout the center including painting, installation of germ barriers, and reorganization of storage areas. Next month, several projects are scheduled including the installation of a grease intercept, repairs on the dishwasher, and installation of new tile floor for the kitchen.

Recreation

During the month of July staff worked to determine a revised plan for fall. The Fall Community and Recreation Guide will be replaced with a monthly newsletter so that we can remain flexible and stay within the guidelines as they develop. We currently have a substantial database of newsletter subscribers that we have been building over the last 7-8 years. Staff will continue to utilize the electronic reader board and social media outlets to keep the community informed as programs return and new opportunities are available.

A number of our regular providers are prepared to return when we can welcome them back to the Community Center, and these include Kinderdance, Skyhawks and Maestro Music. Some of our other providers are not ready to return this fall,  but will be waiting in the wings when the time is right. Some providers have had to layoff staff and reduce operations, or in some cases completely suspend their programs. They plan to be back, but it will take some additional time to get back to full speed. We remain in communication with the school district about their plans for reopening facilities for reservations. We depend on the partnership to provide many of our programs including Pee Wee Soccer and Mountain Storm Basketball. 

As the next 3 months have many unknowns we are developing new ideas for bringing flexible programs to the community. We recognize that this is a very challenging time for families and we want to help provide support as they navigate the new school year.
We will continue to provide some virtual programming but know that what is needed most is time away from screens. As school resumes with distance learning we hope to provide some safe programming that supports both the physical and mental well being of the community. 

Discussions with OTSD about working on the pickleball courts have started and was approved.  Volunteers came out and spread gravel and put the metal container in place for the nets and other stuff that will be stored.  Next steps are to paint lines and possibly repair cracks.

Special Events

Several options were discussed about the possibility of having a Drive in Movie. After looking at technical needs and logistics, we are moving forward with having Movies in the Park at the end of August. Toy Story 4 will show on Aug. 21 & 22nd and The Secret Life of Pets will show on Aug. 28 & 29. In order to stay in compliance with the governor’s orders community members will register for a pod in advance. We are excited to be able to offer this to our community. Thank you to Sandy Helping Hands for co-sponsoring this event.

In addition, several other event ideas are in the works for this fall. Staff is also looking at modifications to events such as Breakfast with Santa, Christmas Tree lighting, and Halloween and other events we can offer the community this fall and winter. Stay Tuned.

Parks

We want to thank Jim Slagle and volunteers for another successful clean up on Bridge #2 on the Tickle Creek trail.

The Parks and Trails Advisory Board has been meeting virtually on a monthly basis and has been reviewing new developments, the cities Herbicide use in parks, and the municipal code that pertains to parks and open space.

Most recently they met with the developers of the Bull Run Terrace Development. The discussions were productive and the board looks forward to seeing a more detailed and final plan for the property so they can consider a recommendation for the potential park space that is adjacent to the Deer Pointe neighborhood. 

Staff met with Parks & Trails Master Plan consultant ESA in early July. Discussion centered on progress to date and the potential for modification of the initial contract.

Since ESA is already under contract, it was decided to tack on some additional park-related tasks. Included is a concept plan for the new park off Ponder Lane, additional staff time to solicit public outreach (virtual open house, targeted neighborhood meetings to review specific park concept plans), and a phase-one plan to inform development of a section of the Community Campus to include a playground, trails and fields.

Look for the virtual open house to go online sometime in September. Consultants have amassed a great deal of information from staff, site visits and the initial round of open houses and surveys. It is exciting to anticipate the display of existing inventory, individual park plan concepts and a draft of the Parks & Trails Master Plan.