 Boys & Girls Club
We are losing some really great people in our community in the Sorenson Family (Matt and Olivia). They announced this week that they are taking advantage of a career opportunity and moving on, but they are really great examples of the difference people can make in a community. We aren’t just losing an executive director for the Boys and Girls Club, but a marketing and foundation manager for the hospital, soccer coaches, a College Board member, and much more. They have truly made a difference in this community. I’m happy for them and a little sad for us, but they have left our community better than they found it. Disc Golf Tournament The disc golf course design tournament took place on Saturday at Beck Park. Housing We received another Housing Incentive Program application this week from someone wanting to take advantage of the incentive. Trail Grant I spent a lot of my first half of the week working on grant writing. The second part of the week got a little busier with managing the splash park project. I’ve received a lot of community letters of support. Splash Park We put together a budget for the Splash Park. I met with two recreation district board members on Friday at the park and went over the plan with them. The operation cost for the month of June will be no more than $7,000. I’m asking that the council pick up that cost on Tuesday to make a smooth transition with the Recreation district. We had estimated $9,000 but JACOBS dialed in on the chemical numbers to bring it down to $7,000. Our grand opening is on May 30, 2019. Airport The runway closure scheduled for last Wednesday was postponed. The closure will allow the State to complete their crack seal program at the airport. A local Ontario Cub Scout group, through the Just Serve organization, volunteered time cleaning the dirt runway and painting barriers. All parts of the wheel lines are now at the airport awaiting assembly. The mover engines have both been started and run. Public Works The tree project on East Idaho continues. Tree wells for the iron gates and planting sites were formed and are ready for concrete. Staff is also focused on landscaping activities, which are nearly complete, at the Ontario Splash Park. Staff worked on excavating a trench at the police gun range to provide power to the trailer on location. Water We are meeting next week to go over the SRCI water contract. Wastewater Odor issues at the wastewater plant are diminishing, we have increased pond aeration and expect treatment to improve and smells to abate soon. Parks and Cemetery The City Engineer is overseeing work on the East Idaho Tree Project, Ontario Splash Park, South Oregon Project, SRCI water/wastewater contracts, Transportation Growth Management Plan, Water Master Plan, and Treasure Valley Connector Project. There is a lot going on! Fire & Rescue The Snake River Fire Chiefs met in Fruitland this week and finalized the agreements for this summer with the BLM and Nation Forests. The firefighters annual pancake breakfast was well attended and no one left hungry. This Saturday, our staff joined firefighters from all over the nation filling boots for MDA. Police Officer Cutler and Brockett and Chief Cooper worked together with the manager of Starbucks and participated in the 2nd annual Coffee with a Cop program on Monday. Patrol has been very busy with City operations. From Monday to Thursday evening, 139 cases have been generated. Chief Cooper met with representatives from a company that provides an investigative tool in a variety of ways which include: tracking capabilities, incarceration notifications, vehicle plate identification, etc. The Chief is working with the representatives on a cost differential from our current tool. This is a great example of employees constantly living out our value of efficiency. Community & Economic Development We have reviewed building permit applications over the past two weeks. We issued 17 permits. We have also been processing six land use actions over the past few weeks. We held public hearings in front of the planning commission on two that will be in front of the City Council for public hearings on Tuesday. We are keeping very busy with all of the building/development applications and construction occurring. The City took in over $60,000 in permit fees last month alone.  Budget Staff has a little left on the budget to polish up prior to approval consideration on May 21. Splash Park Finalizing Splash Park details has been the story of the week. We are planning the grand opening for May 30. This will include a DJ, grilled hot dogs from the Fire Department, and dry ice root beer from me. A lot of progress was made on landscaping and the Argus interviewed Andrea Bonadiman about the donor wall she is painting at the splash park. RTP Grant I spent a lot of hours working on the RTP grant for the Treasure Valley Connector Trail. I got out the State Agency Reviews, which have to go out in time for them to review and send a response back. I have been working on the narrative portions of the grant and acquiring more letters of support. Recreation A great season of youth soccer is complete. We had 740 kids, 70 teams, and 313 games played in the last week. As one season ends, another begins as 10 teams with 113 girls are gearing up for softball. Information for NFL flag football, youth track meet, Gridiron Dreams, Challenger Soccer Camp, and tennis lessons has gone out to all the local schools. Airport There will be a runway closure at the airport next Wednesday from 7:30 AM until 7:30 PM to crack seal. This will be communicated to pilots. A second planning meeting for the Ontario Airport Appreciation Day took place on Wednesday. The purchase price for the second wheel line needed to complete the irrigation of the grass runway was agreed upon and will be picked up soon. Public Works The tree project on East Idaho continues. We will plant the trees this fall after grates have arrived. We ordered enough grates on this order to get us through next year's project. Staff is also focused on landscaping activities at the Ontario Splash Park. Water- Snake River flows are gradually increasing. This will increase as snow melt continues in the mountains. Wastewater- Odor issues at the wastewater plant are diminishing. We have increased pond aeration and expect treatment to improve and smells to abate soon. Parks and Cemetery- Staff is focused on getting the cemeteries ready for Memorial Day. This is the biggest day of the year for our cemeteries and we want them to be immaculate. Fire & Rescue This week, staff responded to a couple small grass fires and a fire at Beck-Kiwanis park pond started by fireworks. The rural tender and a crew responded to a mutual aid call for a fully involved structure fire north of Payette. The exhaust system installation is nearly complete. They got a lot done this week.  |
aboutEach week, City Manager Adam Brown brings you up to date on the comings and goings of the City of Ontario in The Weekend Update. Archive
June 2020
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