Wow, it has been a super busy week.  Three night meetings this week and a lot of stuff during the day, but we have gotten some really good feedback and participation.

Citizens Coalition of Ontario, - Eddie Thiel has asked the Mayor and I to do a Facebook Live session on Wednesday to talk about the good things the city is doing and trying to keep moving forward in spite of COVID-19.

Open Gov – Our intern has been catching us up on OpenGov, our citizen information portal. It’s been super helpful.

Planning Commission - The planning commission took action on a rezoning on SW 4th and 12th Street on Monday night.

Revitalize Ontario – The metal box wrap art is really incredible. It was very exciting to see the results. They are moving towards production. They also really liked the wayfinding system. They were very excited about all of the things happening downtown.  

Downtown – Striping was finished downtown this week. There are still some furniture pieces to be installed downtown such as more trash receptacles, benches, and bike racks, but it’s really looking sharp.

Parks Committee – The inaugural Parks Committee was kicked off last Thursday. Tori, our City Recorder, was super helpful preparing for the meeting. There are some really engaged people on that committee that are really excited to be ambassadors for the city. I was personally thrilled with the group and their excitement to serve. They were really impressed with all of the projects the city is working on, and they said they would help us get the word out.

Wayfinding – Trademark is working back and forth with iterations of the mosaics. It’s positive communication between them and Black Lives Matter Ontario.

COVID19 - Cases are spiraling to a dangerous level. As of a conversation we had on Wednesday with the County Health Department, there have been 5 deaths  from COVID-19 patients in Malheur County.

Testing over the last week returned about 25% positive results. You can see the most recent County Data at this website. There was a batch of testing that took two weeks to get results and so the County is not using them anymore. The state lab allowed them to submit testing through their facility and said they could turn them around in 3 days.

The City Incident Command System met on Tuesday. We have staff back but felt it was important to keep the front desk closed to protect our first responders and the public. Residents are making payments online and through the drop box.

Baker County is now on the state watchlist too.

Marijuana Revenue – We met with Representative Mark Owens on Monday about the two marijuana issues. First being the distribution formula and second the additional tax. After talking with the speaker of the house, he does not believe either issue can be addressed before the next general session. The Republicans are at the mercy of the Democrats and nothing will be done without their blessing. We are sending so much money over to the Willamette Valley, so why would they want to change things?

Bureau of Land Management SEAT-base Location – I had a conversation that Kathleen Cathy from Senator Wyden’s office organized with the Bureau of Land Management. She is helping us coordinate with them and the FAA about the location of the airbase. She is getting help from her FAA liaison.

Ameresco – We are a little bit behind schedule with the ESCO study, but this is understandable with all of the COVID-19 delays we have experienced. We had an update with Ameresco and Public Works and we have a plan to wrap up the energy audit.

Tater Tots Trail (Snake River Trail) – We had a very promising meeting coordinated by the governor’s regional solutions coordinator with the State Department of Lands (SDL) and Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) about the trail. They will be doing some research to see what permission they need from the State and what steps we need to take to have full access.

Airport
Kochia weeds around the airport were sprayed. It’s a continual process to keep them out of the cracks of the hard surfaces as they do so much damage.

The Airport Manager met with the Bureau of Land Management and Idaho Power to see what needs to be done at the Ontario tanker base in order for the COVID-19 requirements to be met with regard to pilots who may be quarantined.

Time was also spent this week collaborating with the Federal Aviation Administration while making procedures in keeping our airport safe.

We received word this week that our CARES Act paperwork is complete, and the money will soon be on its way to Ontario Municipal Airport.

The huge task of compiling accurate lease information is almost complete. The big push to complete a workable list before the next billing cycle for the upcoming year has been accomplished!

Fire & Rescue
Meetings
7/13 Chief had a meeting for fire protection at SRCI.  7/14 Veronica and Chief participated in the city COVID-19 ICS meeting.  7/15 Staff met with a contractor and development staff for a PDAC for a project on North Oregon Street.  7/16 Busy day of meetings, Chief participated in the Malheur County COVID-19 Task force update, Rural Fire protection district, and Snake River Fire Chiefs meetings. 

Training
Our training is taking place in circuit stations to practice safe distancing guidelines. We did wildland fire shelter deployment and water rescue drills.

Incidents
7/11 The crew responded to a dumpster fire on SE 3rd Street. 7/12 Multiple agencies spent many hours on a grass fire that started on I-84 MP 370 and spread to the west burning close to 100 acres. This was an incident where our new side by side UTV came in very handy. 7/13 We responded to Mutual Aid Vale BLM for a grass/tree fire that was on Bureau of Reclamation land by the Butte and Siphon.  7/16 The crew responded to a tree limb fire along the railroad spur between Alameda and SW 18th Avenue and a smoke scare by Wingers Restaurant on SE 1st Avenue. 

Police
Administration
July 13- Chief Romero completed state mandated FEMA certification. Chief Romero intends to provide ICS training to OPD staff and extend the training to community members as well in the future.

July 14th- Chief Romero participated in two safety meetings (City’s ICS & Area law enforcement) to prepare for the July 15th state COVID mandates.

July 16th- Chief Romero issued a press release regarding an animal abuse case (PR 20-07-001). The press release was followed with a public service announcement (video) that was produced by OPD and published on OPD’s Facebook platform. The video received very positive reviews from the community-at-large.

July 16th- Chief Romero completed the initial phase (written program guidelines and application development) for the development of OPD’s Chief’s Advisory Council Initiative. Chief Romero anticipates having an advisory council seated by October 2020. The advisory council will provide the Chief with information and feedback and will work directly with the Chief to further the goals and initiatives of the Ontario Police Department and to build unconditional trust between the Police Department and community-at-large.

Field Services
July 13th-OPD responded to the old mall on SW 4th Avenue to a call of a subject that had fallen off the roof. It was determined that a minor had trespassed on the roof and accidentally fell off the building and suffered significant injuries. The minor was transported to a Boise area hospital to be treated. Property owners have been informed of the incident and requested to evaluate the property for safety precautions.

July 17th- Chief Romero patrolled and evaluated downtown and commercial areas throughout the city in anticipation of creating and launching Ontario’s first Business Watch Program. Chief Romero hopes to have the initial planning meeting by mid to late August 2020.

Code Enforcement
July 13th-17th- This week, code enforcement officers focused heavily on property abatement. CEO’s conducted a civil penalties compliance audit of their 278 open cases. Just this week alone, CEO’s issued 68 civil penalties to non-compliant property owners.

July 13th-17th- CEO’s responded to several animal abuse incidents and to a vicious badger. 

Public Works
COVID-19 Update
The Public Works office is closed to public and non-essential employee access.

Field Services
The South Oregon project is in the final stage of completion. The planter bulb-outs are the only large item left to complete. As work crews have time, they will be placing weed barrier and gravel chips in the bulb-outs. The planting of vegetation will occur later in the summer.

Crews have been working to control ground cover growth along East Idaho Ave.

Water
With Well #6 now online, all production wells are in service. East Side Booster Pump #3 may have a failed bearing in the motor. The unit is offline for removal and rehab.

Snake River flow is dropping, and the amount of debris is dropping as well. Operators are jar testing to ensure proper chemical use in the water treatment process.

Wastewater
Crews have been servicing aerators, mowing weeds, and managing water levels at Skyline reservoir. ODEQ has given approval to the bio-solids management plan. 

Parks and Cemeteries
Due to COVID-19, tasks are being re-prioritized. Work crews are dedicated to performing the highest-level tasks, while lower level tasks are being worked on as time permits.

Facilities
Due to the impact of COVID-19, facilities are still limiting public access.

Engineering
Skate Park restroom work has resumed.

The pH adjustment project at Waste Treatment is moving forward. The contractor has ordered materials and anticipates beginning work in the next 10 days of so.

The Beck Park Bridge repair will begin as soon as Jacobs has labor available.

I participated in my first virtual conference with my city manager colleagues. It was better than I expected.  I participated from my computer Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.

COVID 19 –
I told you a few weeks ago that the city would receive at least $50k from the state from the CARES act. We received notification this week that we will have access of up to $330,000 in expenses. That will be in an account that we can draw down from. We will be looking at ways to use that to mitigate the impacts of COVID19 on our community within the prescribed uses of the funds.

I’m going to try a different format for digital meetings for the meeting on the 21st. We have done a lot and our staff is doing their best to work with what we have, but it’s not working. With the explosion of cases we must provide an open platform for council and public members to participate electronically.

Marijuana Money – We have a meeting set up with Representative Owens on Monday to talk about the taxation issues Ontario faces.

Security – Staff worked together with the vendor and internally to talk about the extension of our public security system.  

Grant Meetings -Merchant McIntyre met with Dr. Young to talk about grant possibilities for several programs.

CDBG – We have had some really helpful sessions with Business Oregon on our CDBG. They have been super helpful.

Fire & Rescue
7/9 Chief attended a couple of Malheur County virtual meetings, Traffic Safety committee and COVID-19 Task force.

Inspections: 
7/7 As a team, the Building Department and Chief witnessed the fire suppression and alarm test for two new hood systems at Ontario Middle school.  7/9 Final inspection on a project on Reiter Drive.
Training: 

7/7 The staff trained on the flight simulator for the drone on the virtual network.  7/8 The crew trained with TVP on environmental emergencies.

Incidents: 
The staff has responded on many COVID-19 positive patients with symptoms and numerous possible positives.  July 4 was pretty calm even though you would think fireworks that leave the ground were legal here.  We had one oven fire that day.  This week we had 5 false alarms.  7/6 We had a gas line get damaged at a construction site.  7/5 The crew responded to a fence fire and a separate car fire. 7/7 There was an illegal burn and then some grass fires south of the airport. 

Police
Administration  
Staff worked together to develop a return-to-work (RTW) policy for city employees that have tested positive for COVID-19 or had direct exposure.  

July 10- OPD IT manager Sheri Smith worked with Day 1 Wireless to identify and correct significant radio failures that OPD staff experienced throughout the week, including during some high-risk activities. The problem is believed to be in the comparator area of the communications network, here at OPD.

Field Services
Despite significant staffing shortages this week, OPD responded to a variety of calls for service this week with some great outcomes and arrests.

OPD assisted Malheur County Sheriffs with a homicide investigation and served various warrants throughout the area. The warrant activities resulted in the seizing of critical evidence that helped in the identification of the suspects. OPD has a great working reciprocal relationship with the County Sheriff.

OPD responded to a suspicious person call where a male suspect had entered the parked vehicle at a residence. When OPD made contact the suspect fled on foot and began to discard stolen property and a handgun he was armed with. The suspect was captured and arrested without incident.

OPD assisted the Sheriff’s office and OSP in a pursuit of two murder suspects. The pursuit began and ended in Ontario safely with both suspects being taken into custody. Great teamwork by all the involved agencies.   

Code Enforcement
Code Enforcement was contacted at 620 NE 2nd Avenue, regarding large amount of Graffiti/Vandalism along the city street in spray paint. Code Enforcement took report of this and will contact Jacobs to have the street cleaned.

Code Enforcement was contacted about two pit bull type dogs attacking an elderly male. The two dogs attacked the elderly male in his yard while he was doing yard work. The dogs headed towards May Roberts Elementary School. Code Enforcement did a thorough search and was unable to locate the two dogs. The elderly male did not suffer any injuries.

Code enforcement officers contacted several transients near The Bottle Drop, that were stealing power from a pump station owned by the City and living inside a motorhome. These subjects were aggressive towards an officer and backup from patrol was requested. The subjects were given multiple chances previously to have the motorhome moved. The motorhome, due to it not being license, and a safety hazard with human waste being dumped onto the city street and sidewalk, was towed that afternoon, without incident, off the street.

Code Enforcement Officers assisted patrol with helping a victim of a vehicle that was broken into. Transients had thrown personal property in the victim’s vehicle and attempted to steal it. After officers searched the area for the suspect, Code Enforcement Officers spent a lot of time collecting the personal property that was left and abandoned in the vehicle. Code Enforcement loaded all the personal property and logged it into evidence as found property. Great teamwork was shown between all divisions of the police department team, between Admin, Patrol, Code Enforcement and Evidence in helping the citizen in our community that was a victim of this crime.

Officers responded to a parking complaint/people living inside trailers and motorhomes. Two people were contacted in motorhomes and cited for location outside camps 4-8-2. These people were previously on a county property just outside the city. The citation has a presumptive fine of $265.

Public Works
COVID-19 Update
The Public Works office is closed to public and non-essential employee access.

Field Services
The asphalt milling on South Oregon occurred July 6th & 7th. Jacobs provided the dump trucks and labor to haul all the millings to a stockpile by the old Public Works shop.

The new layer of asphalt was laid on South Oregon July 9th & 10th. Center line striping, parking stall marking, and hot taping South Oregon is scheduled for next week. Topsoil has been placed in the planter bulb-outs.

Water
Well #15 has received a clean bill of health. We will contact Bill Goss, OHA, and notifying him that Well #15 is being put online.

Well #6 is still showing low levels of total coliform group bacteria. Jacobs staff is working with Bill Goss as well as internal resources to develop a path forward.

East Side Booster Pump #3 may have a failed bearing in the motor. The unit is off-line for removal and rehab.

Wastewater
Quarterly mercury sampling was performed this week on source water and effluent water. Quarterly Monitoring Well sampling was performed. Monthly FOG sampling was performed.

Parks and Cemeteries
Due to COVID-19, tasks are being re-prioritized. Work crews are dedicated to performing the highest-level tasks, while lower level tasks are being worked on as time permits.

Facilities
City Hall and the Cemetery office were sanitized the evening of July 6th as per CDC guidelines concerning COVID-19

 Engineering
Skate Park restrooms schedule has slipped a week due to a delay in receiving the door jams.

The bio-solids management plan final draft has been submitted to Justin Sterger, ODEQ. Once Justin has completed his final review, the plan will move to the public comment period.

The SE 2nd project, phase 1, is about a week behind schedule due mainly to “weather, field conditions and some curb grade issues”. Below is the schedule that was sent out April 1, 2020.
​
SE 2nd Schedule - According to latest Base Line Schedule. Subject to change based on how the project proceeds. 

• Phase 1:  12 Ave to 9th Ave
  • April 13th thru July 22nd.   (As noted above – this will likely be July 29th or 30th; which means this could trickle over a week for each of the succeeding phases.)
• Phase 2:  9th Ave to 7th Ave
  • July 22nd to September 17th
• Phase 3:  7th Ave to 5th Ave
  • September 17th thru October 26th

​CDBG Award – The highlight of the week was getting notified that we were awarded the $2.5 million grant for the inflow and infiltration remediation!

COVID-19
We surpassed 200 cases on Friday. If there is a bright light about it, it is that the cases are spread evenly around the county, and not just concentrated in Ontario or any other city.  

Snake River Trail – This is a project that is enormous in scope and very much long-term, but we are continuing to plug away at it. This week I asked the regional solutions coordinator to facilitate a meeting between the State Department of Lands, Oregon Parks and Recreation Association, and the Army Corp of Engineers. She was able to establish the right contacts and is scheduling a meeting for us to begin the conversations of cooperation we will need with them.

Wayfinding – The survey for the wayfinding system is out on the digital highway. Feel free to share the link with everybody you know. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSet6dadZLG3IvEWTd-9m9ccMRv_8jNNtDShN7ShVrjfJXuebg/viewform?usp=sf_link I liked that the council asked us to put it out to the citizens. It’s a fun way to engage the public. I was really impressed with the proposals and very excited about what it could do for our community.

Downtown Revitalization - Hanging Baskets went up downtown last week. They need a little while to fill out, but they look nice. Paving should start downtown this week. I’m excited to see how much of a difference this will make.

Housing
The Malheur United Housing Taskforce met last week. We covered a range of topics among which was a shelter location. I made sure to mention that we need to engage the public as we consider different options and that the City will need to approve a zoning for whatever permanent location is chosen.

Airport
Good weather seems to have brought an uptick in the number of activities at the airport. Vector control, spray planes, general aviation, glider program, flight school, and Bureau of Land Management have all had a busy week.
The grass runway has been mowed and cleared, ready for use for the Fourth of July weekend.

In a call from the FAA we were notified that funding for our projects is more secure now than it was a few weeks ago. This is definitely a move in the right direction.

Another move in the right direction for Ontario‘s airport happened this week with the Oregon Department Of Aviation by putting Ontario‘s Airport on the list as a “readiness” Airport. This means that the building of a large facility to help out with a major emergency or crisis is now a possibility.

We made progress in getting the permissions to move the irrigation line off the airport. Larry Sullivan was able to make contact with the Wada’s and they agreed we could move it as long we did not disrupt flow during the current season.

Finance
Happy New Fiscal Year! We have begun our new budget as of yesterday.

The micro-loan/grant program and utility forgiveness programs are both up and running. Currently we have received 11 applications for the micro-loan/grant program and 10 applicants for the utility forgiveness program. We will have a handful of micro-loans/grants for Council approval at the work session on Thursday.

Fire & Rescue
This week flew by. It was mostly filled with Covid-19 meetings and activities. The Chief and building officials did finals on the next phase of DHS remodel on Monday.  Our training this week was cancelled due to the spike in COVID-19 cases and trying to social distance for the crews.

We had a couple of false fire alarms this week, and numerous medical calls.  Many of the medicals were for possible COVID-19 cases.

Police
Administration
June 29- Chief Romero submitted a state mandated report to the Criminal Justice Commission regarding any suspected activities of racial profiling. The Chief is glad to report that not a single complaint was submitted to OPD during the 2019 calendar year. OPD takes pride in being known as a professional and fair organization to all community members.

June 29- OPD admin staff responded to another recent radio failure of the police communications system. The issue was found to be in the “comparator” area of the system and was corrected by the communications contractor (Day Wireless) for now. Replacement will likely be needed in the future.

June 30- Chief Romero and Lt. Cooper met with CM Brown and Assistant to CM Hall to begin planning and developing a camera deployment strategy for our public area cameras. OPD will be looking at various Data sets and statistics to assist in determining where the most beneficial locations will be for camera deployment.

July 2-OPD has begun production on a public service announcement that will be shared through the OPD Facebook platform regarding animal safety during the summer months. The Chief intends to create an internally produced video series of public service announcements, as a way to further educate the general public regarding a variety of ordinance type violations and to provide education for public safety concerns such as 1) driving under the influence, 2) crime reduction methods, and 3) how to build community partnerships with law enforcement.

Field Services
OPD responded to a variety of calls for service this week with no significant events taking place. However, OPD will be proactive with its Independence Day policing response to any type of criminal activity.

Code Enforcement
This week’s emphasis was focused on parking violations and abandoned vehicles. Code enforcement removed a trailer belonging to a chronic parking violator, in the northwest section of the city.

June 30-CEO Reyna investigated an animal abuse case which resulted in the removal of 8 dogs that were being kept in a vehicle without adequate water, food, and shelter. The responsible persons were cited and referred to the courts.

This week, several fine notices were sent out to previously noticed violators regarding weed control, property violations, and parking violations. OPD continues to make progress with gaining compliance from violators and received notice of payment and correction from several violators.

Public Works
COVID-19 Update
Staff are working on installing air cleaning systems on the City Hall Building HVAC system. The Public Works office is closed to public and all non-essential employee access.

Field Services
The Oregon Street project to realign the center line and re-slope the crown of the roadway on sections of 1st, 2nd and 3rd Avenues is complete. The initial layer of asphalt has been placed. A second layer will be laid down when South Oregon is paved. The asphalt milling and repaving phase of Oregon Street is scheduled to begin next week.
TVCC trail markings are being painted as weather permits. Speed bumps for the TVCC trail have been installed.

Water
Wells #6 and #15 are showing minor bacterial contamination following the maintenance work last month. The wells are currently undergoing a sanitation soak. This soak will be followed by another round of lab tests. Staff will wait for the results of the testing before putting the wells back into production. (Neither well has been in production since the they were taken off-line for maintenance.)

Parks and Cemeteries
Grass trimming around headstones is falling behind schedule as the labor needed to perform the work is less available than in years past. (Due to Covid-19.)

The splash park is operational. All operational duties are the responsibility of the Recreation District. (Jacobs staff are making daily checks on the system as the Rec District staff are working under Jacobs Staff licenses.)

Facilities
The upgrade for the Golf Club House HVAC has been installed. The swamp cooler for the old shop is back on-line.

Engineering
Work on the Skate Park restrooms is on schedule. The plan is to start laying block next week once the door jams have been received. Crews are prepping materials for the Beck Park Bridge Repair.

Crews are planning for striping and hot taping the South Oregon Street project.
​
The mixing zone final report has been submitted. The pH adjustment project is moving forward. The contractor has begun ordering materials.