Economic Development items:

Internal projects: 

Permanent Outdoor Covered Structures grant program:  The status of the first round of this program is reviewed semi-monthly at the City of Sandy Ec Dev Advisory Board meeting – here is the status of the program as of July 2022:

• Tollgate Inn – Keystone Architecture provided the final design and engineering calculations for the covered structure at the Tollgate Inn on November 29th.  Staff is now reviewing the design with the Planning and Building departments prior to putting the project out to bid sometime in late December.

• All other projects are now structurally complete and under contract.

• Three applicants from the first round of this program have already satisfied their financial responsibilities for the applicant portion of the covered structure project.

Covered Structures Round 2:  Designs for the second round of the City of Sandy Covered Structures grant program were reviewed at the SURA and City Council meetings on January 3^rd, 2022.  Here is the status for this round of the program as of September 2022:

• La Bamba Mexican Restaurant – Completed July 21^st, 2022.

• The Smoky Hearth – Completed August 2^nd , 2022.

• Thai Home – Project on hold due to applicant medical situation.We checked in on the applicant at the end of November; still undergoing treatment, check back again after the start of 2023.

• Wippersnappers Kid’s Play Place – Building owner has completed the removal of siding in preparation for this project.  Contractor started digging out footings on 11/30.  Estimated project completion date: 12/31/2022.

Econ Devl – Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.):

• New business – Nya’s Cakes:  The new specialty bakery business featuring wedding cakes and other specialty baked goods mentioned earlier in the year in this report is now on site and preparing for her grand opening sometime in December.  Nya Dahrens has been planning this bakery for years now and already has a following on social media and in the community.  Staff is duly impressed by how well she has researched this business concept and looks forward to seeing this business grow.  The Ec Dev and Building Departments have been assisting Nya as needed for several months now.
  

• Public Infrastructure project – City Hall ADA door electrification:  This project to make all entrances and public restroom entrances at Sandy City Hall ADA compliant by adding electric push-button openers is now complete.  Total project cost was $39,000.  The City of Sandy’s portion was $10,200; the rest was paid for by federal CDBG funds available through Clackamas County.
  
  
• Public Infrastructure project – Mountain Moka deck refresh:  This project to replace the old, rotting wooden deck in front of Mountain Moka is now tentatively complete.  This new concrete deck has been constructed so that stormwater runoff is routed underneath the sidewalk to a weephole in the curb, and the area around the deck has also been cleaned up significantly.  Staff is waiting on the applicant to provide necessary paperwork prior to providing reimbursement, but the SURA will ultimately provide $14,613 in reimbursement on a $26,225 project.
  

Econ Devl – Internal Projects:

Downtown maintenance:

• AF Downtown Maintenance:  The Downtown Maintenance program is once again shutting down for the season and will focus on specific individual maintenance items as they arise until we start the program back up again in the spring of 2023.

AntFarm Youth Services has completed the installation of our holiday street tree lighting and we have given them approval to go ahead and light them for the holiday season.  This is a transition year for street tree lighting as our regular contractor (Cedarglen Floral, our flower basket provider) is attempting to get out of this business altogether. 

Staff has requested a quote from Commercial Holiday Decorators (our Xmas Tree decorator, who also does this type of work) to see what it would cost the City to engage in a more robust street tree lighting effort (i.e. bucket trucks and professional installers) going forward – we will provide this information to the budget committee upon receipt.

Econ Devl – Economic Development Advisory Board:

The final EDAB meeting of 2022 took place on Wednesday, November 30^th in Council Chambers.  The agenda started with an update by Elliot Weiss of CAI on the current status of our strategic plan – we received information about the SWOT analysis for our community looks and how some of the recommendations about targeted businesses will start to take shape.  We also agreed that there should be one more meeting between Elliot and the board to review and discuss the final draft of the report, including incorporating board feedback into the final draft that will be provided for the City Council workshop reviewing this report – this final meeting will take place at the EDAB’s regular meeting for January.  Chair Pietzold convened the final 2022 meeting a bit early so we could meet socially at Board Member Schwartz’s business to end the year on a festive note. 

Also, a final “thank you” from the board to our esteemed Chair, Councilor Jeremy Pietzold for his service, both to this body and to the City Council.  Fare thee well, Jeremy, and enjoy all the free time you will now have on your hands.  And who knows….maybe if we’re lucky, we will see you again sometime soon.  😊  (Also, a special thanks to former Mayor Bill King who came out to send Jeremy off and celebrate with us at Boring Brewing on the 30^th.) 

Econ Devl – Conferences/training:

There were no economic development or tourism based conferences or training offered during the month of November.  While economic development staff was scheduled to attend the 2022 Oregon Outdoor Recreation Summit in Welches at the end of October, this was unfortunately cancelled due to staff coming down with COVID at that time.