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 forwarded the full plan set to us in January.  We will be going out to bid for this project in February 2023.
  • 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 again in November; still undergoing treatment, will check back with applicant later in Q1 of 2023.
  • Wippersnappers Kid’s Play Place – Basic structure completed; contractor is now working on the semi-circle concrete pad.  Remaining to complete: install concrete pad and railing, gutters & downspouts, install stone wrap at base of support pillars, electrical work (central light).  Estimated project completion date: 2/30/2023.

Economic Development items:

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

• New business – Nya’s Cakes:  This business is now operating.  Speaking with Nya on 2/2, she tells me that business has ramped up sharply since her grand opening on January 7^th, and she is doing great!  Nya is open every day from 8am to 6pm except for Mondays, so if you happen to find yourself over by the cinema anytime soon,  stop by, grab a Valentine’s Day treat and welcome Ms. Dahrens to town!
  

• New business – Shop Girl Consignment:  This business has signed a lease for the space formerly occupied by Sandy Bicycle.  If you are not familiar with Thea Enos’ shop in downtown Gresham, it is a high-end women’s retail clothing boutique that also sells local jewelry, candles, soap and upcycled purses.  Women’s clothing has been one of the most desired business types by Sandy residents according to our last two retail market surveys, so Thea has high hopes for her second store.  Coming in March…

• New business – Sandbar BBQ (coming in March 2023):  This new business is currently working with the building owners to make alterations to the interior of the restaurant and is currently planning to open in March.  The owner has a wildly popular food cart in Portland called Rip Cit Grill and comes with a reputation for excellent barbecue.  Stay tuned…

Econ Devl – Internal Projects:

Downtown maintenance:

• AF Downtown Maintenance:  The Downtown Maintenance program is shut 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.  They also removed one highly visible homeless encampment at the Smith Building for us in January and did so very quickly – they had completed the cleanup less than 24 hours after we called them.
• Street tree lighting:  The holiday lighting for our street trees are going to remain up just a little bit longer this year.  We received very positive feedback about the street tree lighting from multiple citizens during the Comp Plan process.  We would normally take down this lighting at the end of January but due to the positive comments we received, we have decided to leave the lighting up for another month – the strands will be removed at the end of February

Econ Devl – Economic Development Advisory Board:

The EDAB is currently awaiting City Council approval for some bylaw amendments and the reappointment of Board Members Jones, Pietzold, Schwartz and Wipper – this is scheduled for the regular Council meeting to be held on February 6^th.  Once new members and a chair are officially appointed, we will schedule the next EDAB meeting. 

The primary agenda item for the next meeting will be for the board to review and mark up a final draft of the Economic Development Strategic Plan prior to the plan receiving a final review by the Urban Renewal Board.

Econ Devl – Conferences/training:

• Mt. Hood Territory FAM Tour (February 1^st):  I attended another rural Clackamas County Familiarization Tour with Mt. Hood Territory covering the Happy Valley/North Clackamas/Milwaukie area.  FAM Tours are to familiarize people involved in the tourism industry with the different tourism draws around the county and how they are being marketed.  Stops included Elka Bee’s tea house, MindTrix Escape Rooms,. Happy Valley Station, the RECS pickleball facility in North Clackamas, Broken Arrow Archery and 12 Bridges Cidery. 

[The pickleball facility pictured below would make for a great recreation business opportunity for the Sandy area if someone were interested in investing the time and money in creating something similar – this facility was absolutely packed and booked out for days!]

• Highway 26 Steering Committee (January 10^th):  This committee was arranged by Clackamas County Tourism & Cultural Affairs (Mt. Hood Territory) to discuss tourism related topics on the south side of the mountain and how to increase visitors in the area.  The committee is comprised of several area business owners including the owners of the Skyway Bar and Grill, the Dragonfly Café, the Zigzag Mountain Store and the Chicali Cantina, as well as tourism promotion related organizations like Travel Oregon, the Sandy Ec Dev Office and the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce.  The committee met at the new Chicali Cantina in Welches.  Topics of discussion included a SWOT analysis of the Villages, an identification of small projects we could conceivably get started on soon vs. large projects that will require planning and organization of funding and how to get more pass through traffic to stop.