Greetings from City Hall!
By Tyler Deems, For The Sandy Standard
Thank you to everyone who has supported the Sandy Meals on Wheels Program during our March for Meals Campaign! The Program serves homebound seniors in the greater Sandy area, delivering more than 11,000 meals annually. Your participation is essential in providing much-needed services and resources to a vulnerable population and is greatly appreciated!
As you may know, the City has been actively working on reinvestment in the drinking water system. The City has three water sources: Alder Creek, Brownell Springs, and Portland Water Bureau’s (PWB) Bull Run. The reinvestment work focuses primarily on the extensive rehabilitation of the existing Alder Creek water treatment plant, as well as constructing a pipeline and pump station to PWB’s Bull Run Filtration Facility. These improvements are necessary to ensure resilience and provide the City of Sandy with adequate water supply to meet the peak season demand (summer months).
The projected water demand in 2050 is approximately 4.2 million gallons per day. It is important to note that the improvements that are under construction at the Alder Creek water treatment plant will increase the capacity of the plant. That water source alone, however, is not large enough to meet the daily demands of the City in the peak season. The connection to the Bull Run Filtration Facility is vital in ensuring that the City has adequate water available for use in the summer months. In addition, this source provides the redundancy needed in the event of emergencies, such as wildfire.
These projects had an initial cost estimate of $70 million. With sound project management and construction oversight, the City has been able to reduce the overall program budget to $60 million. This reduction in program budget has a direct impact on the future rate increases that will be required. We’re hopeful that additional cost savings will be identified as the projects move toward completion. Additional information related to these water projects and future rates can be found on the City’s website (www.ci.sandy.or.us/publicworks/page/drinking-water).
Clackamas County has been working to update their Transportation System Plan (TSP), an effort undertaken about every ten years. The current TSP update is looking forward to 2045 and highlights improvements and changes that might be possible in unincorporated Clackamas County. The County conducted a virtual open house in early February to receive feedback. The City Council met in early March to discuss Sandy specific priorities for the TSP update. The discussion identified three projects: improvements to the intersection of Highway 26 and Firwood Road (Shorty’s Corner); extending 362nd Avenue north to Kelso Road; and improvements to the intersection of Highway 211 and 362nd Avenue. The improvements would help with better traffic flow and improved safety in and around Sandy. These recommendations will be forwarded to Clackamas County for their consideration.
In the recent community survey, several community members noted that they were not aware of the time and place of the City Council meetings. Sandy City Council meetings are held on the first and third Mondays of each month at Sandy City Hall, 39250 Pioneer Boulevard. These meetings are open to the public, both in person and virtually. The agenda is typically published the Thursday prior to the meeting. Each agenda contains a Zoom link for those who wish to attend virtually. In April, the Council will be discussing a variety of topics, including municipal code modification to Chapter 17 (Development Code) and system development charges for water and wastewater. The Council will also receive a presentation from the Fire District. Come check us out and learn more about what is happening with the City!
Cheers!
Tyler DeemsCity Manager
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