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 – Now that the City Building Official, the Fire Marshal, the applicant and the architect are all on the same page, Keystone Architecture is currently moving forward with a final design for the covered structure.  We expect to see this final design by the end of August and will put the project out to bid immediately upon receiving it.
  • All other projects are now complete, structurally and financially.
    

• 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 July 2022:
  
  • La Bamba Mexican Restaurant – This project was completed and passed both Building and Planning inspection on July 21^st.  Carlo is already seating his customers outside under the structure.
  • Thai Home – Project on hold pending resolution of applicant medical situation.
  • Wippersnappers Kid’s Play Place – Received revised plans from engineer on July 21^st.  Project put out to bid on July 26^th.  Bids due on August 17^th at 3:00 PM.
  • The Smoky Hearth – This project was completed on August 2^nd.  Final inspection pending, but not expected to be problematic.  This project, for all intents and purposes, is complete.

Economic Development items:

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

• Smith Building – discussion with property owner: On July 28^th, staff (Economic Development, Development Services) joined the Mayor at the Smith Building for a “meet and greet” discussion with the new owner of the property, Mr. Chris Gunderson.  The meeting was requested by the Mayor as an opportunity for us as representatives of the City of Sandy to have a friendly “get to know you” chat with Mr. Gunderson, get an update as to his current thoughts about the project and check in to see if there’s anything else we can do to help him out.

It turns out this was a great idea, because although Mr. Gunderson is very busy with other projects right now, he did say he wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed with the next step – making streetscape improvements to the 211/Tupper side of the property.  As a result of       this trepidation, staff happily committed to putting the bid process together for this piece of the project as part of the City’s contribution to keeping this project on the front burner.    Special thanks to Mayor Pulliam not only for requesting this meeting, but for his positive   vision and encouraging words on behalf of the City of Sandy.  The meeting seemed to re-energize Mr. Gunderson about the project, relay to him that this project is vitally important to City leadership, and that our staff really is here to help him succeed.  

• Façade project – Alan Fleischman church entry:  Emergency exit stairs on west side of building now installed.  We are currently waiting for the installation of railings and handrails at the new building entry as the last element of this project that needs to be completed.  Mr. Fleischman has already ordered and paid for these railings through a local contractor – he is simply waiting for them to be delivered and installed.  This should happen by the end of August.
  
• 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 opening has completed the bidding process.  There was only one qualified bid, but it was a reasonable one and the County will place the bidder (Becmen LLC) under contract on 8/3.  The vast majority of this project is being paid for with federal CDBG funds.
  
• Façade project – Clackamas County’s Sandy Health Clinic:  This project is very near to completion.  However, the general contractor (Banlin) has run into some challenges of late, including their paving contractor being currently down with COVID-19.  They are still waiting on one of the panels (HVAC?) to arrive and have a bit of flat work and landscaping to finish but are otherwise complete.  Finish date was supposed to be July 13^th, but it is now looking like mid-August for a certificate of occupancy.
  
• Façade project – Boring Brewing exterior painting:  This project to put a new coat of paint on the Boring Brewing building was completed on July 15^th.   Although the new color combo is different to say the least, staff did confirm that all of the new colors are present in the official City of Sandy color palette.

Econ Devl – Internal Projects:

Downtown maintenance:

• AF Downtown Maintenance:  AntFarm Outdoor Programs Manager Neal Hatley and his downtown maintenance crew have completed the first tranche of summer maintenance work, which was mostly spot weeding and planter strip overhauls at the following locations: Museum, Sandy Family Dentistry, Sandy Bicycle, old La Bamba building, DQ,  Barlow Trail Vet Clinic and 7 Eleven, and the transit stop in front of Timberline Meats.

The crew is now working on the second tranche of downtown maintenance work, which      will include work at the following sites:  the Smith Building, Sandy Smoke Shop/Sandy Auto Body, the Coin-op Car Wash, the old La Bamba site, the Heritage Square public parking lot, the Sandy Public Library, Brady’s Brats & Burgers, the old Sandy Clinic next to the cleaners and the Edward Jones Building.

Econ Devl – Economic Development Advisory Board:

The EDAB meeting on July 27^th was an continuation of the last meeting held on May 18^th, in which Elliot Weiss of CAI continued a discussion about this group’s community vision and feelings about our strengths and weaknesses.  Mr. Weiss also started getting into some of the demographic data that CAI has collected thus far, although this research continues with much of the data being collected by our contractors putting together the EOA and the Comp Plan.  This started with business sectors that are over & under-represented in Sandy, and market area information including where our residents work and shop.

The next EDAB meeting has not been scheduled yet, but will probably be in September.  Stay tuned.

Econ Devl – Conferences/training:

There were no training opportunities for Economic Development in the month of July.

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 June 2022:
  
  • Tollgate Inn – The City’s Building Official and the Sandy Fire Marshall have concluded that a dry horizontal drywall head added to the existing fire sprinkler system would be adequate fire protection for this structure.  Keystone Architecture is now moving forward and integrating this element into its overall design – he is currently working with the manufacturer and their engineer to incorporate the sprinkler head into the design. 
  • All other projects are now complete, structurally and financially.
    

• 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 June 2022:
  
  • La Bamba Mexican Restaurant – Currently under construction; as of July 1, the construction of the structure is complete.  Left to do: metal roof panel installation, stone wrap installation, gutters and downspouts, electrical work.
  • Thai Home – Project on hold pending resolution of medical situation.  We will touch base with them and provide an update on this situation later in the summer of 2022.
  • Wippersnappers Kid’s Play Place – Waiting on design with modifications from the engineer – should be available in early July.
  • The Smoky Hearth – Currently under construction; as of July 1, the construction of the structure is mostly complete.  Left to do: complete tie back to existing building, metal roof panel installation, stone wrap installation, gutters and downspouts, electrical work.
    

Economic Development items:

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

• Façade project – Alan Fleischman church entry:  The flat work for this project is now complete.  Railing installation should take place during the month of July.  As you can see in the picture above, the Urban Renewal Agency replaced three full sidewalk panels per orders from the City Building Official due to settling and accumulated damage over the years.  This repair cost the URA less than $4,000 and corrects several issues with this section of pedestrian right-of-way, including the ADA trip hazard initially identified at the corner of the adjacent driveway apron (also replaced) and significant slope issues.  The installation of railings and handrails will complete this project.
• Façade project – Clackamas County’s Sandy Health Clinic:  This project is very near to completion but is currently experiencing delays due to the availability of some of the electrical infrastructure.  The project manager says that the contractor (Banlin Construction) is still experiencing delays with regard to the delivery of circuit boards for the HVAC & security systems and dental chairs.  Once these items arrive, a certificate of occupancy should follow closely behind.

Econ Devl – Internal Projects:

Downtown maintenance:

• AF Downtown Maintenance:  AntFarm Outdoor Programs Manager Neal Hatley and his downtown maintenance crew are almost complete with the first tranche of summer maintenance work, which has been mostly spot weeding (Museum, Sandy Family Dentistry, Sandy Bicycle, old La Bamba building, DQ, etc.), but has also included a few small planter strip overhauls at Barlow Trail Vet Clinic and 7 Eleven, and some detailed cleaning of the transit stop in front of Timberline Meats.
  
  We will send over our second tranche of work as soon as they complete the first, which will include some slightly more visible work including substantial weeding at the Smith Building (to support the planned development at that site), the Sandy Smoke Shop and the Sandy Public Library.  It will also include a complete overhaul of the landscaping at the Coin-op Car Wash and out in front of Brady’s Brats & Burgers, and the removal of some very old decorative railings that no longer connect to anything at the Edward Jones Building.

Econ Devl – Economic Development Advisory Board:

There was no Economic Development Advisory Board meeting in the month of June.  The next board meeting is currently scheduled for Wednesday, July 27^th at 6:30 PM.  The board will continue our “community conversation” with Elliot Weiss of CAI at that meeting and hopefully be presented with some of CAI’s initial work gathering current demographic information.  Stay tuned…

Econ Devl – Conferences/training:

There were no training opportunities for Economic Development in the month of June.

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 May 2022:
  
  
  • Tollgate Inn – Keystone Architecture continues to refine the design with input from the building owner.  The holdup lately has been due to the opaque roof the owner has requested – the Sandy Fire Marshal and Building Official agree that if the roof is made from acrylic plastic, a dry sprinkler system would be required for this project.  Unfortunately, the only other option available for the roof is tempered glass, and the building owner is not interested in this option.  Our architect is currently attempting to estimate the cost of a dry sprinkler system for this structure, with some help from the applicant – timeline unknown.
  • All other projects are now complete, structurally and financially.

• 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 May 2022:
  
  
  • La Bamba Mexican Restaurant – Currently under construction.
  • Thai Home – One of the owners of the restaurant stopped by the Economic Development office during the final week of May.  He is suffering with quite a bit of physical pain from an ailment and is having difficulty walking right now.  The other owner of the restaurant (his spouse) is currently undergoing a fairly serious treatment regimen for cancer and cannot work at all for several months as she recovers.  He asked if we could put this project on hold indefinitely as it is all they can do to keep the doors open right now, and staff agreed to do so.  We will touch base with him and provide an update on this situation later in the summer of 2022.
  • Mt Hood Athletic Club – After careful consideration, Mr. Reed has decided not to pursue this covered structures project due to business considerations – he has several large maintenance projects to complete in the next year or two that are more important to his bottom line than this project.
  • Wippersnappers Kid’s Play Place – Plan set received from the engineer’s office in late May.  However, there are some adjustments needed to the design for ADA compliance and support post placement.  Reviewing design with applicant and design/engineering liaison on 6/7 to discuss next steps.
  • Smoky Hearth — Currently under construction.

Economic Development items:

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

• Façade project – Alan Fleischman church entry:  This project to replace the entry to the little church on Pioneer with an ADA compliant entry is finally being completed after almost a year of inaction.  The pouring of the initial concrete retaining walls is now complete, with the installation of the rest of the concrete and railings to take place during the month of June.  Note:  The Urban Renewal Agency will also now be replacing the entire pedestrian right-of-way in front of the church per orders from the City Building Official.  This sidewalk was not only damaged with multiple ADA barriers present, but due to settling over the years, the slope of the ROW was actually going towards the property instead of away from it.  The cost for this sidewalk replacement is minimal due as the applicant will be pouring a large amount of concrete for the church entry anyway – the agency will spend less than $5K on this badly needed repair.
• Façade project – Clackamas County’s Sandy Health Clinic:  This project is very near to completion – the project manager says that the contractor (Banlin Construction) is experiencing delays on the delivery of circuit boards for the HVAC and security systems due to the worldwide chip shortage, and this is the major delay right now.  Project completion currently estimated for July 2022 if no additional delays are realized.
• Façade project – Mt. Hood Cigar:  Construction on this project appears to have halted for unknown reasons.  Standing by for response from applicant as to why, but an educated guess would be that his primary business is extraordinarily busy (construction contractor)
• Façade project – Fun Time RV fencing:  This project was completed in the final week of May.  Applicant has been reimbursed and the project file is now closed.

Econ Devl – Internal Projects:

Downtown maintenance:

• AF Downtown Maintenance:  The first tranche of downtown maintenance work for 2022 was sent to their Outdoor Programs Manager on June 2^nd.  All of the work requested for this round will be performed on Proctor and Pioneer within the pedestrian rights-of-way – mostly weeding, but they will be digging out a couple of the worst planter strip segments and making more permanent improvements.  As always, if you see something around the couplet that you would like to see addressed, send an email (and a picture!) to the Economic Development Manager about the issue and we will make sure we get to it one way or another.
  
  In addition, we have asked the AntFarm crew to provide some basic trimming for our street trees in the couplet.   The trees need it really badly, and the contractor that installs and removes the holiday lighting for these trees recently told staff that they would not be able to provide this service for us any longer unless we trimmed these trees (too overgrown).  We are also looking into the possibility of leaving the street tree lights in the trees all year long instead of paying to put them up and take them down every year.  Watch this space…

Econ Devl – Economic Development Advisory Board:

At the Economic Development Advisory Board meeting on May 18^th, the board completed two important milestones – one for the Comprehensive Plan, and one for the Economic Development Strategic Plan.   

• After some technical difficulties, staff first met with Ms. Shelley Denison from the Planning Department for about 45 minutes and provided their input for a community conversation as a stakeholder’s group taking part in the Comp Plan process.  Questions included high-level issues such as “Why did you choose to live/own a business in Sandy?”, “What do you think we ought to preserve/enhance in Sandy?” and “What about Sandy do you think should change our view?”
• Following this exercise, the board met with Elliot Weiss from Community Attributes Inc. for their inaugural meeting about our economic development strategic plan.  Elliot used this meeting to introduce himself and his company, a quick look at how the project is planned from the 30,000 foot level, and to get started with collecting a little bit of data from the group.  Questions to the EDAB included:
  • What is your number one objective for this project?
  • What is the economic question you would like us to answer?
  • If this Plan were magic, what one challenge or problem for Sandy would it solve?

Econ Devl – Conferences/training:

There were no training opportunities for Economic Development in the month of May.

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 the beginning of April 2022:
  
  • Tollgate Inn – Keystone Architecture continues to refine the design with input from the building owner.  The holdup lately has been due to the opaque roof the owner has requested – the Sandy Fire Marshal and Building Official agree that if the roof is made from acrylic plastic, a dry sprinkler system would be required for this project.  Unfortunately, the only other option available for the roof is tempered glass, and the building owner will not consider this option.  Our architect is currently attempting to estimate the cost of a dry sprinkler system for this structure – timeline unknown.
  • All other projects are now complete, structurally and financially.
    
• 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.  Designs for the following businesses were approved outright:
  
  • La Bamba Mexican Restaurant – Contracts are signed.  Work to begin in May. 
  • Thai Home – Currently at the engineer’s office – due in May.
  • Mt Hood Athletic Club – Cost estimates for wooden decking vs. concrete pad for this project completed by contractor and forwarded to applicant.  He is currently crunching numbers to determine if he wants to proceed with this project.
  • Wippersnappers Kid’s Play Place – Currently at the engineer’s office; due in May.
  • The Smoky Hearth – Contracts are signed.  Work to begin in May.

The two projects currently at the engineer’s office will be returned to city staff sometime in May.  Although both of these projects will require some additional work (Thai Home = deck reinforcement prior to construction; Wippersnappers = Type I design review (review parking & landscaping minimums)) to complete, staff does not anticipate that this will delay either project more than a couple of weeks.

Economic Development items:

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

• Sandy Community Action Center covered structure:  We received an application from the executive director of the Action Center for a façade grant for a covered structure at her building on Pioneer Blvd. on March 30^th.  Applicant is currently acquiring plans for this structure.
• Façade project – Fun Time RV fencing:  Contractor is currently completing the stone wrapping on the concrete fence posts.  Pedestrian right-of-way and street work is complete – bulb-out improved, new sidewalk and curb added.  This project has run into some delays due to availability of the stone wrap product at this time – contractor standing by until product arrives.  April update: There are now six (6) posts remaining – the remainder are complete.  A 2nd reminder was sent to the applicant on 5/3 stating that the project must be completed by July 20^th or no reimbursement will be forthcoming.
• Façade project – Clackamas County’s Sandy Health Clinic:  Construction continues on this new County health care clinic next to the Sandy PD.  Roofing and siding now completed.  Project completion date now estimated to be in June of this year, per Clackamas County Project Manager Steve Kelly.
• Façade project – Mt. Hood Cigar:  Construction at the entry has started as of the final week in April.  Applicant still needs to check in with the accordion door contractors – no quotes have been forwarded to him as of this date.  Anticipating project completion in June or July.

Econ Devl – Internal Projects:

Downtown maintenance:

• AF Downtown Maintenance:  We had nothing of substance for the DT Maintenance crew in April.  Staff executed a new flower basket watering contract for 2022 with the AFYS Executive Director – this contract included a small price increase above and beyond inflation to keep the current watering staffer, who has been an exceptionally reliable employee and a great staff trainer.

Econ Devl – Economic Development Advisory Board:

The recommendation made by the EDAB was presented to the Sandy Urban Renewal Board at their regular meeting on May 2^nd.   The advisory board’s recommendation to sign a contract with Community Attributes, Inc. at $50,600 was accepted unanimously by the SURA Board. 

Next steps:  Staff has informed all RFP respondents of the final decision by the SURA Board and is currently scheduling a project kickoff meeting with Elliot Weiss of CAI for some time later in May.  Mr. Weiss is already on the EDAB agenda for May 18^th to introduce himself and his company and to set expectations with the advisory board membership, as this will be the primary stakeholders group working with CAI to develop the economic development strategic plan.

Econ Devl – Conferences/training:

There were no training opportunities for Economic Development in the month of April.

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 the beginning of April 2022:
  
  • Tollgate Inn – Keystone Architecture continues to refine the design with input from the building owner.  We are expecting a design sometime before the end of April.
  • All other projects are now complete, structurally and financially.

Staff provided follow-up information to the Sandy Urban Renewal Board at their meeting on April 4^th, 2022 as requested for the following projects:

• 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.  Designs for the following businesses were approved outright:
  
  • La Bamba Mexican Restaurant – Bids due March 25^th; winning bid was $110,245; scope of work was reduced after the bid was awarded per applicant request to eliminate some non-essential electrical work for cost savings – the current contract price is now $105,695.  Contracts are signed and work to begin mid-April. 
  • Thai Home – Currently at the engineer’s office
  • Mt Hood Athletic Club – Cost estimates for wooden decking vs. concrete pad for this project completed by contractor and forwarded to applicant.  He is currently crunching numbers to determine if he wants to proceed with this project.
  • Wippersnappers Kid’s Play Place – Currently at the engineer’s office; due by mid-April
  • Smoky Hearth – Bids due March 25^th; winning bid was $100,786; contracts are signed and work to begin mid-April.

Staff provided follow-up information to the Sandy Urban Renewal Board at their meeting on April 4^th, 2022 as requested for the following projects:

• Sandlandia II – Vinyl tent has been removed.  Owner would prefer not to pursue a second covered structure at this time (cost).  This project has officially been withdrawn by the applicant.
• Bigfoot Growlers – The restaurant has re-opened and seems to once again be steadily growing business.  However, after communicating with the applicant (property owners Angelo and Vicki Turra) about rapidly rising construction costs, the applicant decided to withdraw their application and focus more of their energies on their currently vacant properties at Proctor Blvd and Bruns Ave, perhaps revisiting this as a facade project down the road.  This project has officially been withdrawn by the applicant.
• Sandy Inn Best Western – After reviewing the concept design and site plan for this proposed project, the SURA Board ultimately decided not to pursue this project.

The two projects currently at the engineer’s office will be returned to city staff sometime in mid-April.  Although both of these projects will require some additional work (Thai Home = deck reinforcement prior to construction; Wippersnappers = Type I design review (review parking & landscaping minimums)) to complete, staff does not anticipate that this will delay either project very much.

Economic Development items:

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

• Façade project – Fun Time RV fencing:  Contractor is currently installing the stone wrapping on the concrete fence posts.  Pedestrian right-of-way and street work is complete – bulb-out improved, new sidewalk and curb added.  This project has run into some delays due to availability of the stone wrap product at this time – contractor standing by until product arrives.  Update: Applicant informed by staff that there is a 1 year expiration date on these projects, and that this project is set to expire in July.  Staff urged the applicant to put pressure on his contractor to get this project finished as quickly as possible, and informed that our other grant funded projects don’t seem to be experiencing this kind of delay with stone wrap materials.
• Façade project – Clackamas County’s Sandy Health Clinic:  Construction continues on this new County health care clinic next to the Sandy PD, which is tentatively scheduled to be completed in October 2022.
• Façade project – Mt. Hood Cigar:  After conferring with the City’s building official, the applicant will be adding an interior accordion style door to the project as a change order.  Pinnacle Metal Works of Tualatin won the construction bid and is currently getting their paperwork in order while waiting for the building permit to be processed.  We anticipate construction starting in May/June and shouldn’t take more than a week to complete.

Econ Devl – Internal Projects:

Downtown maintenance:

• AF Downtown Maintenance:  We had nothing for the DT Maintenance crew in March other than firewood retrieval from a couple of hazard trees that were taken down in several spots around the City.  Downtown maintenance contract for 2022 renewed.  Staff will be sitting down with AntFarm in April to finalize a new flower basket watering contract, including a price increase to keep their current watering staffer as he has been ultra-reliable and can serve the organization in other capacities.  We will also discuss potential project work for the 2022 maintenance season.

Internal projects: 

• 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 the beginning of March 2022:
  • Tollgate Inn – Keystone Architecture continues to refine the design with input from the building owner.  We are expecting a design sometime before the end of April.
  • All other projects are now complete, structurally and financially.
    

• Covered Structures Round II:  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.  Designs for the following businesses were approved outright:
  
  • La Bamba Mexican Restaurant – Out to bid; bid due date March 25^th.
  • Thai Home – Currently at the engineer’s office.
  • Mt Hood Athletic Club – Cost estimates for wooden decking vs. concrete pad for this project completed by contractor and forwarded to applicant.  He is currently crunching numbers to determine if he wants to proceed with this project.
  • Wippersnappers Kid’s Play Place – Currently at the engineer’s office.
  • The Smoky Hearth – Out to bid; bid due date March 25^th.
    
• More information has been requested by the Sandy Urban Renewal Board before a final decision can be made for the following projects:
  
  • Sandlandia II – Vinyl tent has been removed.  Owner would prefer not to pursue a second covered structure at this time (cost).  Project officially cancelled.
  • Bigfoot Growlers – Restaurant has now re-opened, but too early to determine business health at this time.
  • Sandy Inn Best Western – Design complete; ready for SURA Board evaluation.

The first two projects out of the gate (Smoky Hearth, La Bamba) are now officially out to bid – the bid due date is March 25^th.   The turning template completed for La Bamba showed that the covered structure will not impact traffic significantly in their parking lot, and the Type I design review requested for the Smoky Hearth showed that even with the parking reduction caused by the construction of the structure, the off-street parking for this development is still more than adequate.

Staff has forwarded the next two projects (Thai Home, Wippersnappers) to the engineer’s office for final drawing and analysis.  Each of these projects also has a small additional land use action needed before construction can begin.  The Thai Home project requires a surveyor to verify the north and west property lines to make sure the structure will not encroach on them – the surveying work is complete, but we have not received the final product yet.  The Wippersnappers project requires a parking analysis similar to that completed for the Smoky Hearth project, again to ensure that the loss of parking spaces from structure construction will not drop them below the minimum parking requirements for the zone.

Economic Development items:

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

• Façade project – Clackamas County’s Sandy Health Clinic:  Construction continues on this new County health care clinic next to the Sandy PD, which is tentatively scheduled to be completed in October 2022.
• Façade project – Mt. Hood Cigar:  Sandy’s cigar retailer is pursuing the addition of a smoking deck on the west side of the store with the property owner’s blessing.  Applicant is currently determining if he would like to add a rollup side door to the project.
• Façade project – Fun Time RV fencing:  Contractor is currently installing the stone wrapping on the concrete fence posts.  Pedestrian right-of-way and street work is complete – bulb-out improved, new sidewalk and curb added.  This project has run into some delays due to availability of the stone wrap product at this time – contractor standing by until product arrives. 
  

Econ Devl – Internal Projects:

• Economic Development Strategic Plan: An RFP for Sandy’s first official economic development strategic plan was completed in February. The RFP was sent to two firms that had expressed interest in sending a response prior to it’s completion: Community Attributes, Inc provided our Ec Dev Advisory Board with a very informative presentation as to the importance of this economic tool and has completed many of these plans for cities in the Pacific NW, and ECONorthwest is the firm currently working on our Economic Opportunities Analysis has good experience with these plans as well. The RFP was also posted on the Daily Journal of Commerce, and we have been contacted by another firm (Barney & Worth) that may be submitting a response as well.
  
  If you’re interested in reviewing it, the RFP for this report is posted on the City’s website at the following location: https://www.ci.sandy.or.us/economic-development/page/request-proposals-economic-development-strategic-plan-city-sandy
  
• AF Downtown Maintenance:  We had nothing for the DT Maintenance crew in February.  However, staff will be sitting down with AntFarm in the coming weeks to finalize new contracts for the flower basket watering & downtown maintenance and to discuss potential project work for the 2022 maintenance season.

Econ Devl – Economic Development Advisory Board:

The next meeting of the EDAB will be held on March 30^th. At that meeting, the advisory board will be discussing their evaluation of the responses to the RFP for the Economic Development Strategic Plan (due March 10th) and which plan they will be recommending to the Sandy City Council.

Econ Devl – Conferences/training:

There were no training opportunities for Economic Development in the month of February.

Planning items:

Ambrose Glass:  This Gresham glass manufacturer proposes to build a 12,000 SF Web Steel warehouse with offices on the Northwind site (NE corner of Industrial and Champion).  This is a union glazing shop affiliated with Local 740 employing 7 people at a living wage.  This facility hopes to add capacity and employees in the future.  Pre-application meeting on February 11.

Mt. Hood Cigar Co: Cigar store has proposed an outdoor smoking shed to be constructed in two parking spaces outside their store.  Pre-application meeting held on 1/30/19.

Sandy Community Campus: Staff has received the updated plans completed by the contracted land surveyor for the proposed final plat of the Sandy Community Campus and Sandy Grade School campus. Staff will complete an internal review of the plans to determine if they depict the intended outcome and proceed accordingly. 

Stowaway Mini Storage: Staff has not received any additional submittals from Stowaway after issuing an incompleteness letter on 10/25/18, although there is a dialogue going between Development Services staff and an attorney for the applicant. 

Sign code: A future work session with Council and staff shall take place, potentially in the spring, regarding proposed updates to existing sign code regulations.

Knollwood Estates: A request (19-003 TREE) to remove four trees from the Knollwood Estates property.  Application received; waiting for completeness check.

Bloom Annexation: Case No. 18-026 ANN, Bloom Annexation, has been granted an extension not to extend beyond May 27, 2019 (245 days). The applicant’s representative submitted the required TPR analysis and ODOT has provided their response. Currently the applicant’s representative is working with outside agencies with regards to the existing historic designation(s) associated with the property to determine how they would like to approach that element of the project before proceeding to Planning Commission for consideration.

Bird Property (19124 Jacoby): Annexation application for this property has been deemed incomplete.

Design Review:

• McDonald’s: Final Order for the McDonald’s exterior remodel (18-050 DR) should be submitted to the applicant the week of February 11.
• Robert Mottice: At the January 28, 2019 Planning Commission Hearing, the Commission denied the setback requests of Case No. 18-051 VAR.  Jerry Crosby has been contacted to sign the Final Order.  
• Fun Time RV: Fun Time RV (18-030 DR) submitted additional information on February 7, 2019 for consideration. Completeness check shall occur.
• Double Creek Condos modification:  This 69-unit condominium modification has been deemed complete and notifications have been sent.  This project is currently under review by Planning staff.
• Snowboarding school/camp: This project has been deemed complete and is on the agenda for the March 19^th Planning Commission meeting.
• Jacoby Heights subdivision:  Completeness review is finished for this 32-lot subdivision on Jacoby and is on the agenda for the February 25 Planning Commission agenda.
• Center City Townhouses: At the January 28^th Planning Commission meeting (19-001 TREE) a tree variance to remove a required retention tree at Center City Townhouses (Wolf and McCormick) was approved; final order dated Feb 5

Other large reviews being conducted:

• TSC, Inc.: Grading on hold until Spring 2019 (weather) but otherwise complete.
• Sandy Vault Storage: This project has been deemed complete, and is on the agenda for the March 19^th Planning Commission meeting.

Parks & Trails Advisory Board:

• The February Parks Board Meeting scheduled for February 9 was cancelled due to snowpocalypse.  A new meeting will be scheduled by Kelly O’Neill and Jordan Wheeler.
• City staff (James Cramer) has received two quotes for restroom facilities to strategize on incorporating these facilities within City parks.  Mr. O’Neill will present to the Board at the next board meeting.  Additionally, Mr. Cramer is coordinating with Tanya Richardson to determine the cost associated with renting portable restrooms for the park as a cost comparison.
• Mr.  Cramer has received a quote for a seasonal shade structure for Bornstedt Park.  Mr. O’Neill will present to the Board at the next board meeting.

Internal projects: 

More internal changes on the Planning side of the building…. 

• City Hall – Minor Electrical:  Work is being slightly expanded from last month. 
  • We are adding one more outlet at the utility desk outside of Kelly’s office
  • The Building Official asked for an additional circuit to be added and to have his office on this new circuit – that side of the building seems to trip breakers occasionally, so we are hoping that this will correct the problem (this is difficult (read: more expensive) because of the way the exterior walls to City Hall are constructed – metal beams and concrete to drill/saw cut through)
    

• Best Western facade project redux: At the direction of the Façade Board, we have engaged Mr. Patel for the second round of bids to replace the siding on his hotel.  We sent the bid request to all of the former bidders and posted in the Daily Journal of Commerce as we would do for all projects required to use the ITB process (large projects).  We got 5 qualified bids in this round and have sent that information to Mr. Patel to see if he has any objections to the selection of the lowest bidder.  We are awaiting his response.
  
• Paola’s Pizza Barn:  We did a quick TI grant for the purchase and installation of the grease interceptor at this location.  Three bids received, took the lowest bid, and installation is already complete.  Reimbursement check for 50% of cost ($5,250) is pending with regard to our next check run.

Economic Development items:

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

• Brady’s Brats & Burgers:  Our first Tenant Improvement grant project couldn’t have turned out better!  Brady’s Brats & Burgers had their grand opening on January 25^th, and a good time was had by all.  Since then, the place has been packed at all hours, and owner Chris Corbin is absolutely delighted with the results so far.  The space has had a total overhaul on the inside, with a new kitchen, a new layout, proper ADA bathrooms and new concrete floors.  Special thanks to Mayor Pulliam for emceeing the ribbon cutting, and there were a few other Councilors at the event as well.  Mr. Corbin and the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce really appreciate the support.

For those that know more of the back story here, this was an extremely difficult project for Chris right from the very beginning.  The City of Sandy really owes Mr. Corbin a debt of gratitude for the work he has undertaken to rehabilitate this restaurant into a clean, new space that we can all be proud of.  And this project — which may not have happened without assistance from the Tenant Improvement Program – is proof that incentive programs are an important tool in helping to reshape our city.  More work will go into the building in the summer, as Ec Dev plans to partner with Mr. Corbin again in a larger façade project for the exterior of this building. 

Econ Devl – Internal Projects:

• Downtown maintenance:
  
  • Bignall Pool, north wall:  100% Complete.  Wall is now weather-tight and looks much, much better.  Laverne’s Rock Works did great work and was extremely easy to work with.  We will request bids from them again if the opportunity arises.
  • Derelict buildings – residential:  There has been a slight delay on this project as one of the property owners would like to explore the possibility of rehabbing one of the structures they have scheduled for demolition to see if it makes financial sense to do so.  A request for bid is essentially complete and waiting for this property owner to decide what they will do. 
  • Derelict buildings – Smith Building:  There has been some miscommunication on this project that needs to be resolved.  There are essentially three ownership principals here, and the internal communications between them don’t seem to be functioning very efficiently.  We need to get a design professional to assist the owners by suggesting the best way to go about the surface prep and painting as we are not familiar with this type of surface.  This is less than a full rehab report, which is what we would normally request of commercial building owners going through this process, and much less expensive.  The responses we have received from the different owners have been disjointed, but they don’t seem to be reading the lengthy email messages I am sending explaining the situation to them.  I am going to reach out to two of the principals by phone this week to see if we can get this issue resolved.

• Clackamas County Tourism’s & Cultural Affairs Community Partnership Program (CPP) grant projects:
  
  • Jonsrud Viewpoint:  With the installation of new signage for ClackCo Tourism Heritage Trail audio tour scheduled for the 12^th of February, this project is 100% complete.  The Sandy Parks Board is currently exploring the possibility of submitting for another CPP grant to replace the interpretive signage at Jonsrud (the current signage is old and faded and needs to be updated) and the viewing telescope, and maybe some repairs to the rock wall and the fence at the viewpoint as well.  This would be a logical next step to improving the site.  I strongly support the Parks Board’s efforts here.
  • Meinig Park Entry Arch: With the installation of the plaque on the back side of the arch thanking ClackCo Tourism for sharing the cost of construction, this project is now 100% complete.  Total cost to City of Sandy: $9,433.

Econ Devl – Conferences/training:

• Enterprise Zones and Other Oregon Tax Incentives Workshop (1/7/19 – ClackCo Red Soils Campus, Oregon City): Annual refresher from my man Art Fish about Enterprise Zones.
  • Mt. Hood Territory visitor profile and transportation study (1/7/19 – Business OR offices, Portland):  This was the final report from the tourism studio that I generated about how to bring visitors without cars to Sandy, Estacada and the mountain communities.  The final report is posted on the Ec Dev page – just click on the button entitled “Local Government Publications”….it’s the first link.  There are also links to two other interesting reports right beneath that one; both ClackCo Tourism and the Sandy River Basin Watershed Council did reports on water-based tourism last year that are worth

Quarterly Building Department Report – Summer 2018: 

Summer 2018 finally arrived in Sandy after back-and-forth spring weather between wet and cold to sunshine and heat.  So far, this year’s building season has been very good for excavation and building.  At the end of July, Sandy’s Building Department has 73 Active Residential Dwelling Permits.  And 13 permits were issued for commercial work in July that valued at total $2.7M.  At the end of July, the total construction value of permitted work for the first half of 2018 is nearly $16M.

Multi-family projects include the following:

• Sandy Heights Apartments has poured foundations for the first 4 apartment buildings. Framing has begun on Apartment Buildings 1 and 2.
• Ron Hughes completed framing and siding of the garages for his new 9 unit complex on Tupper Hill.
• Vista Loop Apartments has been laying underground utilities and excavating in preparation for foundation work.

Other projects include:

• Palladian’s CHAMPION VILLAGE Townhomes are moving forward again with newly revised building plans and engineering to match. Palladian currently has 33 active townhouse permits.
• The SANDY HEIGHTS APARTMENTS project started off at a quick pace with site work and underground utilities. The plans submitted by the contractor for the first 5 of 13 building plans were in need of revisions to which has slowed the permitting and building a bit.  But IE Construction is working to provide plans must match the actual buildings they are constructing.
• NEXT ADVENTURE has submitted plans to building a 2-story storage building behind their store.
• And finally, the handsome, newly remodeled, SANDY FIRE STATION has been approved for occupancy! Occupancy is conditional that final reports and other non-safety items be completed by the end of August.

Now for a topic that is rarely mentioned, but is a common problem that all Building Departments deal with every year – HOME OWNERS DOING CONSTRUCTION WORK WITHOUT PERMITS.   As our City continues to grow, we are seeing a proportional number of these problems.   Planning and Building department staff have been looking at solutions.   We welcome input from our community and stakeholders.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Building Department,

Terrence Gift, Building Official

Planning items: 

Jacoby Heights Subdivision:  Review for this 31 lot subdivision at 19124 Jacoby is finished and was deemed incomplete.

Bloom Annexation:  A Type A Annexation for a parcel totaling approximately 12.84 acres has been applied for. The proposal is set to go to the August 27 Planning Commission and the September 17 City Council hearings for consideration.  The applicant proposes to zone the property to Single Family Residential (SFR) and Low Density Residential (LDR) within the Sandy Comprehensive Plan Map.

Sandlandia Food Cart Pod:  We are processing the application for a new cart called Teresa’s Home Cooking – currently waiting for information from Clackamas County Health Department.

Pioneer Meadows:  The first six townhouses are almost complete. This subdivision will include a total of 27 townhouses when complete. No more houses can be constructed until the second lift of asphalt is installed on the streets inside the subdivision (University Avenue and College Street).

Thomsen property (Hwy 211 btwn Bornstedt Village and Snowberry):  The owners of this property met with Planning in a pre-application meeting to change the zoning of the C-3 Village Commercial section of their property to R-2.  Pre-application meeting is complete.

Sandy Community Campus Street Vacation: The city of sandy has petitioned to vacate portions of Alt Avenue, Smith Avenue, Hood Street and Park Street.  The total area proposed to be vacated is 72,085 square feet.  Should the proposal be approved, OTSD and Sandy will both be re-plated to make clear the different parcels.  The case is scheduled for the August 27 Planning Commission and the September 17 City Council hearings for consideration.

Sandyplace Apartments:  The second retaining wall for this project was deemed incomplete.  Waiting on mailing labels to do required notification.

Mountain View Ridge (formerly Birdsong Subdivision):  Grading in process.  See below.

Sandy Bluff Annex 6 (a.k.a. Sandy Woods):  The approved subdivision renamed Sandy Woods from Sandy Bluff 6 has broken ground by clearing the approved right-of-ways and easement land. Staff completed a site visit with developers to discuss additional tree retention and expect to hear back from them soon to determine additional trees to be retained.

O’Reilly Auto Parts:  Working on final order for design review.  Should be complete sometime within the next couple of weeks.

Jiffy Lube:  Final order was issued with regard to their new trash/recycling enclosure was issued on August 9th.

Other large reviews being conducted:    

• Jewelberry Ridge: Planning Commission approved this 9 unit subdivision at their June 25^th  Final order was issued on July 12.
• US Metal Works: This project is approved.  Staff is working with owners on getting SDCs paid and completing paperwork.
• TSC, Inc.: This project on the Benson property was brought before Planning Commission at meeting on July 30.  Final order is in progress.

Other large reviews being submitted soon:

• Regional coffee retailer: We had another pre-application meeting with a potential franchisee that seemed to go well, but we have not heard back from them since the pre-app on May 31.  This property has a challenging footprint for development, especially considering that their business model calls for locating a drive-thru on this irregular shaped lot.

Internal projects:

• Pleasant Street Master Plan: Staff has reentered into our contract with AECOM to work on a new design for Alt Avenue that does not include the concept to realign the road.  Staff will engage important stakeholders during the design process. We will be working within the existing Alt Avenue right-of-way to accomplish the original goals of the realignment – to recap:
  • Improve the safety of Alt Ave./Proctor Blvd. intersection
  • Improve pedestrian accessibility along Alt Ave
  • Create a visually appealing entryway to Pleasant Street.

Emily will be the new point of contact for the Pleasant Street Master Plan.  Since Planning Staff is already very busy, the completion date for the master plan is unknown at this time.

• Downtown Walkability Assessment: The Downtown Walkability Assessment is in its final stages – staff is currently drafting the final report.  Kelly will be the new project lead for the Downtown Walkability Assessment.   Since Development Services staff are extremely busy right now, the completion date for this assessment is unknown at this time.
• PetSafe Dog Park Grant: Announcements of grant recipients are scheduled for August 2018 so we should hear soon whether we received the $5,000 grant Planning applied for.
• Sadly, Ms. Porricolo is leaving the City of Sandy to pursue a job as an Assistant Planner at Angelo Planning Group, a small planning firm in downtown Portland. She will be working on current planning, entitlements, housing needs assessments, and more.  She tells us she has loved working at the City of Sandy, and that it has been a great community to work for and be member of.  We will miss her dearly, and hope she considers pursuing a career on the public side of the planning world in the future.

Economic Development items:

Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.):

• Promotional City images, Round 2: A couple of years ago, I hired a professional photographer out of Sandy (UT) to do some photography around downtown Sandy and some of our more photogenic sites (SHS, Tickle Creek Trail, Meinig Park) for use with the City’s website and other promotional forums (social media, brochures, public reports, etc.)  This photographer is coming back in August for another round of promo shots.  This time we will focus more on public facilities and tourist attractions like Sandy Ridge, but we can take shots of anything we need images of.  Send me an email if you have suggestions.  [PS: this photo shoot provided all of the background images currently showing on cityofsandy.com]
• Joe’s Donuts: We have a reimbursement check ready to go and the Vargos have been contacted.  By the time you read this, we will have completed a small ceremony here at City Hall to allow Mayor King present them with the check and to have some photos taken (and hopefully a story written) for the Post.  Stage two of this project will begin shortly…
• Next Adventure: Construction has begun on the two-story Sandy Style storage building behind the current retailer.  When complete, this will be their rental equipment facility and will expand store capabilities by orders of magnitude.
• Regional coffee chain: We have a regional coffee chain that has been interested in Sandy for years that has taken concrete steps toward developing one of our downtown infill lots.  The plan is still evolving, but the prospects for development look pretty good right now.  Watch this space.

Econ Devl – Internal Projects:

• Downtown maintenance:
  • Defunct paper boxes: Found another one at the Sandy Post Office. Casey from the Parks Department is going to remove it in the next few weeks and send it to recycling with all of the others.  If you know of any others within city limits, please send an email to me with the location and I will make it disappear.

• The new AntFarm downtown maintenance contract is in effect. You should begin to see a noticeable difference in the condition of the public rights-of-way in the couplet.  If there are particular areas of downtown that you would like to see them focus on, shoot me an email and let me know.
• By the time most of you read this, the small pool annex building and that horrid play structure behind Bignall Pool will be torn down and removed by our friends at Konell Construction and Demolition. We are also planning to take the back building of Cedar Ridge (where SandyNet is currently located) off of the boiler system altogether and look at other options for heating and cooling that building.  The sidewalks around the pool parking lot will be touched up by our new maintenance crew shortly as well.

• Clackamas County Tourism’s Community Partnership Program grant:
  • Jonsrud Viewpoint: Auto-turn report is currently being worked on.  “Curb-shaving” will be the final step in the project, but N8 Excavation cannot start on that phase until the auto-turn report is complete and shows the pinch points.  We will also be adding some signage from ClackCo Tourism and our own signage (right out only for busses – we used to have some “R out only for buses) signs up at the exit that got removed at some point that we will need to recreate)
  • Meinig Park Entry Arch: This project has stalled out a little bit due to that fact that we are really busy right now.  Will probably schedule this for autumn when Meinig Park is being used a little bit less than it is now.

Econ Devl – Conferences/training:

• Nothing this month.

ATTENTION CITY COUNCIL: THIS WILL BE THE LAST ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MONTHLY DEPARTMENT REPORT AVAILABLE HERE.  PLEASE LOOK FOR FUTURE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INFO AS A SECTION  OF THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES MONTHLY REPORT. 

Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.):

Mount Hood Cigar Co.:  The Mount Hood Cigar Company had their Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting ceremony over the weekend and is officially open to the public.  Chris Bailey, store owner and patriarch, brought his family here all the way from South Carolina with a brief stop in Lake Oswego.  They did a fantastic job of building out the store (they did the work themselves – Mr. Bailey is also a licensed contractor) and are very happy with the end result.  They had a wide variety of quality cigars from around the world on display, and really seem to know their stuff.  Curious to see if this store brings in enough weekend mountain traffic to really take off…

Sandlandia:  Both new carts (Swine Dining, Mountain View Café) are now operational.  It also appears that the Captain’s Galley is no longer located at the site, so we are net +2 for carts at Sandlandia in 2018.

Trout Pub space:  I am currently working with Chris Corbin (building owner) to put together the first City of Sandy Tenant Improvement grant to help create a new restaurant here.  At the time of this writing, Mr. Corbin intends to open his own restaurant at the site featuring quality burgers and sausages made on site.

Joy Teriyaki:   After a very long wait, Joy Teriyaki will be opening their new restaurant with a soft open on May 21.  Their grand opening/ribbon cutting will take place on Saturday, May 26 and will feature several prominent local politicians including our current state senator, Chuck Thomsen.  (Justin Hwang, owner of the franchise, is running for office in a neighboring district.)

Project work:  

• Downtown maintenance: We are beginning to focus our efforts on the downtown a bit more as spring kicks into gear.  Flower baskets are up, and AntFarm’s watering contract is in effect.  We are going to be collecting the remaining East County Gazette paper boxes lingering in our downtown (the paper is no longer being published) shortly, and beginning a number of façade projects that are currently in the works.  We are also in the beginning stages of a push to clean up some of the derelict buildings downtown.  Stay tuned…
• Community Partnership Program grant: Since we didn’t use all of the money allocated for our community due to the fact that we only had two valid applications, we requested that the AntFarm request for funding a farmer’s market study be fully funded (they had other funding from other grants listed in their original request) so the other sources of funding could be used elsewhere.  Clackamas County Tourism was happy to grant that request, so AntFarm will be receiving $6,000 for this study instead of the $2,500 they originally requested.Also, I should receive plans this week for the new Meinig Park Gateway Arch.  We hope to get this constructed as quickly as possible to have ready for the summer concert series and Mountain Festival if possible.
• CGI: I am currently beginning the process of updating our Welcome videos on the main page of our website with CGI Communications, the company that created them for us.  More to come soon (Mr. Mayor – We will also be updating the short video introduction that you did for us.  I will get in touch with you sometime in the coming month to schedule this.)

Conferences/training: 

• Travel Oregon Listening Session (April 4): This is an ongoing discussion started by Travel Oregon last year as they witnessed record numbers of tourists in the Columbia River Gorge.  The takeaway from this event was that, with gawkers out to look at the fire damage from last year, plus rapidly increasing tourism from places like China, the Gorge is now at capacity.  This should result in a lot more local tourism on our side of the mountain as locals look to get away from the congestion and hike and mountain bike in peace.
• SACC Candidates Forum (April 9):  This event represents the first efforts from the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce to provide infrastructure for local elections. We invited all of the primary candidates for local public office to state their case and take questions from Chamber members and the public.  It went exceptionally well, and we were inundated with thanks from the locals that came for putting on this event.  The SACC Public Affairs Committee is looking forward to doing this again for the general election.

Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.):

Old Blockbuster space:  This space has been leased — according to the property owners, the auto parts store next door is going to expand into the space.

Mount Hood Cigar Co.:  The old Golden Dawn Clinic space (next to the Blockbuster space) has already been leased and is currently being built out.  The Mount Hood Cigar Company is owned and operated by Chris Bailey and appears to be a family affair — multiple members of the family were working on the interior remodel when I delivered their business license last week.  The store is intended to be a quality cigar store with many humidors, a knowledgeable staff and quality product, not one of those tacky “nicotine shops” you see sprinkled about the landscape of some of our larger cities. They are interested in serving pass through weekend outdoor recreation enthusiasts and vacationers heading to Central Oregon as well as the local community.

Sandlandia:  We have two more new tenants at the food cart pod.  One is a BBQ cart (with a smoker!) operated by Swine Dining out of Gresham — basically a cart version of their store on East Burnside.  The other is the Mountain View Cafe, which will serve soups, salads and sandwiches. Neither cart is operating at the writing of this report, but we expect them to open any day.

Trout Pub space:  Now that the owner of this property has completely terminated his relationship with his previous tenant, he is quite eager to get a restaurant going in this space.  As luck would have it, a restaurateur that I have worked with previously called me out of the blue a couple of weeks ago stating that he was interested in Sandy again, and there is now a robust conversation going between my restaurant owning friend and this building owner.  It’s very early in the process, but this gentleman has a proven track record and is really, really, really good at what he does. This could be a game changer for downtown.

Free Land for Brewpub site:  An agreement has been signed between the property owner and a national retailer to build a brand new retail store on this site in 2018.  The developer has asked to keep the identity of this retailer confidential for now, so if you already know who it is please don’t share. However, I expect that an announcement will be made by our new friends in the coming months.   This is going to be the company’s first store in Oregon, and will be the biggest retail store to come to our community in quite a while. Get ready…

Project work:   

• Facade project – City Hall Stairs:  We have a new, non-disintegrating set of stairs on the west side of City Hall, complete with new handrails and refurbished street furniture.  We are currently tying up loose ends and finalizing the project.

• NorthStar – branding project:  We looked into getting a RARE in 2018 to help with the rollout of the rebranding project.  Unfortunately, this would have been one of two projects we would have assigned to this RARE, and the other project required another local government partner that ultimately decided that they were not interested in participating.
• City Hall – Admin: We now have a new office setup on the administrative side of City Hall — the City Manager’s office received lap-band surgery, and we have a new office outside of it for our HR rep.  Also, the Lazenby-era homemade “kitchenette” has been removed and replaced with proper furniture.
• Community Partnership Program grant:  The Meinig Park Gateway Arch project is a go.  The Sandy Tourism Board met on April 3, and both projects on the table were approved.  The other project is a request from AntFarm to partially fund a marketing plan for the Mount Hood Farmer’s Market.

Conferences/training:  

• SACC Strategic Planning Session (March 3): The Chamber’s annual strategy meeting went very well.  We completed a bunch of planning for the coming year, solidified our fundraising strategy and set a number of new goals.  One element that has been missing from the Chamber in recent years is the Chamber providing a forum for candidates running for local office.
• Thrive at 25 @ SHS (March 8):  Another successful morning of scaring the wits out of high school freshman with the simple realities of household budgeting.  Tyler Deems accompanied me to this event and worked the “Taxes” table with me for the morning in the absence of our city manager (double-booked), so special thanks to the Finance Department for the assist.