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Transportation System Plan – The technical advisory committee met to discuss the most recent update to the transportation system plan. We have many volunteer committee members that have gave their time very freely for this effort, and I really appreciate their time. You can add your input here.
COVID 19 – There will be testing events next week with no symptoms required. Monday, October 12th COVID Testing Event in Nyssa
Wednesday, October 14th COVID Testing Event in Ontario
Planning – We held a PDAC for the property the multi-unit development is being built on that went very well. This is the same property which the council held the public comment for at the council meeting. We also had a follow up meeting with Jacobs to talk about the water and wastewater capacity at that location. Grants – We met with our grant writing team in Washington DC. They feel they have enough information to begin discussions with the Economic Development Administration for funding to complete the SE 2nd Construction project from East Idaho to 16th. I spoke with several people about getting more letters of support. PERS – The contribution levels came out today for the PERS. It’s not a great surprise because we had the estimates earlier this year. Tier 1 & 2 went from 32.82% to 35.65%. The OPSORP employees went from 22.60% to 26.32% and the Police and Fire Tier 1 & 2 went from 27.23% to 30.68%. This will be for the 21-22 fiscal year and the 22-23 fiscal year. That includes contributions to our side account. Coronavirus Relief Funds – We have a lot of projects to get going on with the Coronavirus Relief Funds. We got underway with them today. I’ll be in contact with the senior center next week to see what we can do for them. Airport Monday began with a preconstruction meeting of all the partners regarding the continuous improvement project at the airport. A NOTAM was called for the construction as taxiway lights will be off during the time of construction. The military jet that is on display at the airport was moved from the static display location to make room for construction. It was quite an ordeal moving an F-4 Phantom fighter jet. Follow up sessions are being set with the fire marshal to review compliance reports made on each chemical applicator’s site on the field regarding safety and hazmat concerns. Fire Staff conducted the annual inspection of the Boys and Girls Club in Ontario. Chief virtually attended a PDAC on Wednesday for a 70-unit apartment, the Rural Board meeting on Thursday, and the OVFA Business meeting on Tuesday. The Malheur County Burn ban will be lifted October 12. This month staff will participate in the Ontario Smoke Detector Program. Citizens can call (541) 881-3216 to schedule appointments. Incidents 10/5 - Rescue-1 was paged to a fire alarm but was cancelled enroute. 10/6 - Rescue 1 responded to a “gas smell” on the 100 block SW 4th Avenue. After checking the area, a leaking propane tank was identified, the leak was stopped, and the scene was cleared. Human Resources Recruitments started for the positions of Police Officer (Entry/Lateral) and Airport Manager. These recruitments will run until 11/30/20 and 11/15/20 respectively. Police Administration Oct 5th- Chief Romero participated in the Malheur County local public safety coordinating council meeting. The council discussed a variety of regional crime concerns and methods for a collaborative response to the issues discussed. One key topic was a recent change in gun registration protocol. Local agencies will now assist with this process versus the Oregon State Police. Oct 6th- Chief Romero authored staff reports and contracts for three contractors that will be assisting the City of Ontario with the nuisance abatement process. Two will serve as hearing officers and one will provide abatement services. Oct 8th-Chief Romero attended an online demonstration for the I-Worq’s System being considered by the city for automation services of all the department’s forms and case management systems. Chief Romero feels the platform will serve the needs of the Ontario Police Department’s Code Enforcement Division. October 9th-Chief Romero has made his final selection for an eleven (11) member Chief’s Advisory Council and will publicly announce his selection through the OPD Facebook on his October 2020 “Minute with the Chief” Commentary. The Chief reports that he received a diverse group of applicants and is excited to start working with this newly developed community governance team. Field Services Oct 7th- This week OPD was able to attend a community policing event. OPD was joined by the Oregon State Police at the Brookdale Senior Living Center for a socially distanced drive thru “Coffee with a Cop” event. The event was hosted by Brookdale on this National Coffee with a Cop day. Great Community support expressed by the staff and residence of the Brookdale community. Oct 7th- OPD shared in an outdoor “Pizza Party” event with the Ontario Boys and Girls Club. OPD provided pizza and candy to the kids and staff at the BGC to express their support for the staff, programs, and youth that attend the BGC. OPD looks to build strong bonds with our area youth to maintain ongoing and future mutual trust between the police and our community. Code Enforcement This week, OPD Code Enforcement worked on developing a temporary foster program for dogs, due to the current impasse between the city and local kennel service that the city had been doing business with. Kennel Services have been suspended due to COVID 19 and pending contract development. CEO’s worked on 4 Nuisance abatement cases that will be forwarded for formal administrative hearings. CEO monitored traffic conditions this week on SW 4th Avenue, via the OPD Speed Trailer. Public Works Field Services Crews continue crack sealing activities. The handrail for the skate park restrooms is taking shape. Staff worked on improving the road to the Bench Reservoir. The pilot test of the Titus Twister at the Malheur Lift Station has been discontinued due to visible fats, oils, and grease accumulating on the surface of Waste Treatment Lagoon. Water The water treatment plant is running well, and the reservoirs are full. Staff continued cleaning drying beds. The water reservoir at SRCI had a pressure transducer fail and SRCI staff requested help from Jacobs to respond to the problem. Wastewater In preparation for the bio-solids removal project, Fruitland Electric was at Waste Treatment Thursday disconnecting electrical service to three of the four rows of floating aerators in Lagoon #1. This will allow for the rows of aerators to be moved to the east end of the lagoon, so they won’t interfere with the solid’s removal dredge. Parks and Cemeteries Crews are focused on mowing and trimming. Engineering Staff participated in a preliminary PDAC for a 70-unit apartment complex. Staff also reviewed a request by Project Ruby about locating a production facility in Ontario as well as the Goodfellow and 5th Avenue improvements. TSP Open House
The City of Ontario has developed a new online open house to gather public feedback on active transportation improvements and a new streetscape plan for East Idaho Avenue. Multiple biking and walking routes have been selected for improvements and a concept design has been developed or East Idaho Avenue, but we need to hear from you! Please take just a few minutes and visit the online open house (open until 10/9) and give us your feedback. Visit the open house here. Chamber AV Upgrade – I received the third bid for the AV setup in the Council Chamber. I’ll bring a recommendation to Council for award on Thursday. Branding Implementation – Peter has been working on implementation of our new brand. Final presentation is coming to Council on Thursday and then we will launch with your approval. JOINT NEACT/SEACT – The two Eastern Area Commission on Transportation met on Thursday. Airport Planning Application –We officially submitted the Airport Planning grant application this week. Grants – Letters continue to come in from businesses for the EDA Grant. The mayor organized a meeting between him, President Dana Young, myself, and Andy Bentz to discuss the rangeland management program and possible grants. Highway Lighting – I got another estimate for the lighting of the overpass. It was considerably lower. The most recent estimate I got was at about $30k which is what I was hoping for. TVCC Aviation Program – I continued discussion with TVCC Administration about the Aviation program. Another CDBG Funding – Euvalcree was awarded the CDBG grant that they will be administering for us for the micro-business enterprises. It is for $50,000. Airport The 105 acres of mowing at the airport was completed this week. This should help immensely with the problem of blowing weeds. It is also bringing in comments of how nice it looks. Dan Beaubien and I attended the Airport Committee on Monday and discussed fueling procedures as well as other topics at the airport. An additional work session meeting will take place next Monday, October 12th to finalize a fueling solution. Precision approach path indicator lights have been repaired and put back into service this week. Also, a runway light and two taxiway lights which were destroyed by an aircraft upon landing. The BLM’s single engine air tanker planes and spotter plane left this week for the year. They went to Utah, Arizona, and Colorado. Pre-meetings are happening this week and next for capital improvement projects at the airport. Groundbreaking should begin next week to build a taxiway and hold apron at the airport. Fire Staff inspected Treasure Valley Cannabis and a neighboring building on 10/1/20. This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month. You will see our staff in pink to show our dedication and support. Incidents 9/28- Rescue-1 was contacted concerning a garbage can fire at Beck-Kiwanis Park. The reported can was extinguished as crews arrived. 9/29- Crews responded to a fire at a homeless camp. Crews also responded to an arcing light pole. When Rescue-1 responded, crews noted sagging wires. Idaho Power was contacted. Police Administration Sept 28th- Chief Romero talked with an Ontario Real Estate Association agent to discuss crime prevention strategies for Ontario’s multi-unit parcels. Chief Romero presented a program known as the “Crime Free Multi-Housing Program” that focuses on crime reduction strategies for multi-unit rental housing and subsidized housing. Recent crime incidents at local apartment buildings were the origin of this community concern. Sept 29th-Chief Romero hosted the regional director from the Idaho-Oregon High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) agency to discuss a future plan for funding and assisting Malheur County law enforcement agencies with combatting the illicit drug epidemic in the region. Sept 29-Chief Romero attended a board meeting for the Ontario Boys and Girls Club. Chief Romero has been selected to serve as a co-chair for the BGC’s sustainability committee. Chief Romero hopes to increase the level of crime prevention education and youth activities offered at the BGC. Sept 30- OPD conducted its second annual “Feed the Veterans” breakfast at the Ontario American Legion POST. Following social distancing protocols and care, OPD was able to feed about 20 area veterans and some OPD staff that dropped by to exchange mutual support for each-others service to our communities and country. Sept 30-Chief Romero attended a community development planning meeting in the City of Baker. Chief Romero and other Ontario Civic group and business leaders were invited to serve as guest presenters and consultants for Baker City stakeholders and city officials. The topic presented was the launching of youth outreach programs and programs for serving the special needs and vulnerable population. Ontario has captured the attention of other areas for the great collaborative work that is taking place in the areas of outreach and community partnerships. Oct 1- Chief Romero served as a guest speaker at the FRCC for Project Dove and spoke about OPD’s role and support in combatting the crime of Domestic Violence. Chief Romero provided educational tips on how the community can help reduce incidents of DV and how to effectively report DV to law enforcement agencies. Chief Romero began review of applications for the newly formed Chief’s Advisory Council. He anticipates a 9-council member selection completed by October 9, 2020. Field Services OPD activities remained steady but OPD is glad to report that there were no significant crimes or incidents this week. OPD’s proactive efforts focused on some drug related complaints and recent vandalism (graffiti) that popped up throughout various parts of the city. It is believed that the same suspect is responsible for the vandalism. OPD is following some promising leads for identifying the suspect. Code Enforcement CEO’s met with Chief Romero and the city’s contracted “Hearing Officer” to draft and finalize contracts for the city’s current hearing officer and a newly selected second hearing officer. CEO conducted directed enforcement efforts in the southeast section of the city. Many of the contacts were follow-ups from previous warnings and notices as well as trying to identify chronic violators. This week’s enforcement focus was on illegal parking, specifically non-functioning vehicles that are left on public roadways. Public Works Field Services Crews spent the week crack sealing West Idaho Avenue. A pilot test of the Titus Twister that began last week at the Malheur Lift Station has removed about 95% of the fats, oils, and grease from the wet well. However, those waste products appear to be moving downstream to the wastewater treatment plant and congealing on the surface of Lagoon #1. Staff will continue to monitor the performance and results throughout the pilot test period. Water The water treatment plant is running well, and the reservoirs are full. Staff worked on cleaning out the drying beds. Sodium Hydroxide feed lines are being to break down. A solution is being pursued. Wastewater Arsenic sampling was performed at the wastewater treatment plant this week. Representatives of Synagro were on site Tuesday reviewing the scope of the bio solids removal work. They still intend to mobilize to Ontario the week of October 12th. Parks and Cemeteries A large new mower is back in service. Bids are being solicited for irrigation system upgrades at Evergreen Cemetery. Engineering The second phase of the SE 2nd Street project is scheduled to wrap up this week and Phase III is scheduled to begin. Staff are working with Oregon Department of Corrections to identify the amount and type of sulfate containing cleaning agents are being used at SRCI. Jacobs is recommending that using lower sulfate cleaners will reduce the amount of hydrogen sulfide being generated in the wastewater collection being received from SRCI. Hydrogen Sulfide is a prime suspect in objectionable odors emanating from the waste treatment plant as well as very corrosive the collections system infrastructure The fires across the state have burned over 1.1 million acres. I’m just grateful that we haven’t had to deal with that in addition to COVID-19. COVID – We got our phase 3 funding out for businesses. Please check our website and forward people who could use this funding to the website. The Small Business Development Administration is willing to help businesses with the paperwork. If it looks confusing, ask for help or apply and we will help them through the issues. Cases are still high at over 100 new cases a week. Peter has been working with the county on messaging to the public. It sounds like a vaccine is close to being developed but there are mixed indications about when they will be done. SRCI – We spent a lot of time building, refining, and discussing the financial model for the Rural Fire Department services with the city and SRCI. We accomplished proving that the number had to go up. Laxson Park – The walking trail at Laxson park was paved this week. It looks really nice. I drove by last night and saw an elderly couple walking on it holding hands. I tried to get a picture, but they broke off and went to their home. Here’s a shot of the new trail though. This was made possible by our park match program.  ICMA Conference – Next week is the ICMA Conference, which will be virtual. This means that I will be in conference sessions Wednesday through Friday.
Airport Planning Grant - I spent some time working on the airport planning grant for the border board. Homelessness – Several members of Council have expressed concern about the homeless in our community. I am participating in a workshop about case law and solutions for homeless persons in the community. The first session was primarily the legal framework, the session next week will be on solutions. Grant Writing - I met with Merchant McIntyre twice this week to work on grant applications. Engineering is putting together their part and I have to contact some businesses to get letters of support for job retention and expansion. Downtown Scaping - We met with Andrews Seed to talk about the trial planting in one of the bulb-outs. We are going to see if the plantings can survive with the water schedule we are currently on. We don’t want to do the whole downtown without knowing if it’s going to work. Public Works staff met with us and we talked about the care for the planters that should help us next year. Leadership Team – Our staff leadership team met this week and focused on two things. First was which service provider we would use for automation of services online. We have come to a decision and will be bringing that to Council on October 8. The second item was to work on the Coronavirus Relief Fund Budget that was presented to council on Tuesday. To prepare for that, I spent time communicating with our other community organizations to address their needs. We will need to be flexible if we see certain activities are not being funded and other needs appear more important. Police Administration Sept 16th- Chief Romero attended the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run Charity Golf Tournament planning meeting. Chief Romero would like to invite community members to come out to the Scotch Pines Golf Course in Payette, Idaho for a community building, social distanced designed event. The event is Saturday October 3rd, 2020, with registration beginning at 7:30 am. Flyer will be posted on OPD Facebook. Sept 16th- Chief Romero conducted a safety inspection and walk thru of the Ontario and Payette Boys and Girls Club houses at the request of the BGC CEO and staff. The inspection is part of the Chief’s plan to assist local businesses with the creation of safer working environments through the concept of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED). Sept 17th- Chief Romero began a comprehensive review of the department’s current use of force policy and practices in order to assess its applicability with the recently proposed “8 can’t wait” national campaign for police use of force policies and practices. Chief Romero is determined to have the best trained (most modern) and proficient (skilled) police agency in the state, in the area of use of force. Sept 18th- Chief Romero met with Snake River Correctional Institution Superintendent Brad Cain to discuss the current state of prison operations and professional partnership opportunities between the two agencies. Field Services It was a very busy week for the OPD team. Sept 14th- OPD assisted the fire department with evacuation efforts at the scene of a residential fire in the 900 block of NW 4th Ave. Sept 15th- OPD assisted the fire department with a suspected arson case near the bottle drop center on NE Goodfellow St. Two shopping carts and their contents were lit on fire but no damage was reported to any nearby structures. Case is under investigation. Sept 15th- OPD responded to a shots fired call in the 100 block of NE 3rd St. An adult suspect was identified and arrested for shooting at several victims. All parties are believed to be associates and no threat to general public was identified. Sept 17th- OPD responded to 2 different calls for individuals exhibiting mental illness and very bizarre behavior. Both incident the individuals posed a threat to the community and in one incident a threat to officers as well. Both were forcefully detained and taken to the hospital for emergency psychiatric care. Incidents involving drug addicted, mentally ill, individuals remain steady within the city limits. Sept 17th-OPD provided an agency assist to the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office regarding a shots fired call just outside the city limits. OPD officers located the suspect as he fled the area and made the arrest of the suspect. OPD assisted MCSO with putting all the pieces together for the investigation and expect to file charges against the involved parties. Case continues to develop. Code Enforcement Code enforcement officer Brockett spent the week preparing for abatement administrative reviews and proceedings. OPD is looking to procure a second administrative hearing officer to add to the efficiency of the process. CEO assisted with caring for two dogs-at-large and assisted OPD officers with several vagrancy related calls this week. Audio Visual - We had another bidder come look at the Council Chambers for the AV upgrade. I’m expecting a bid from them soon.
SRCI & Protection District – I spent a good amount of the time working with the State’s economist on a financial forecast. We spent Wednesday in mediation. We met again on Friday and the state said they want to work with me on the cost model. I will be working with the state hired economist over the next week and we will be back in mediation on Friday. LOCAL Boots on the Ground – Our local recovery team met and continued to talk about helping our businesses. 9/11 - We had a very nice service for 9/11 working with the American Legion. The Legion presented a very nice flag to the City for first responders. Airport After an inspection of the airport following the high winds Monday, only one hangar had minor damage and no aircraft were damaged. Two meetings have been set up for next week to discuss fueling regulations at the airport and chemical applicator practices. Bringing both sides together to look for a solution should bring about a best practice for the city’s airport to follow in the future. Positive comments were made by those who used the grass runway over the weekend. Two additional SEAT firefighting planes came in from South Dakota today to help battle wildfires. Fire & Rescue Meetings This week seemed like one big meeting. Due to the fires in our state the Oregon State Fire Marshal hosted meetings every day that Chief Leighton participated in as the Fire Defense Board Chief for Malheur County. There were also mediation meetings and conference calls with the financial advisors for the state in dealing with the contract for SRCI. The Rural Fire District board also had a meeting that staff attended. Training The staff was supposed to have our annual fire department family BBQ but due to Covid-19 guidelines, we cancelled the event and then held our circuit drills we have been having for the past few months. Incidents This was a busy week for our staff. We had a few illegal burns and multiple grass fires. 9/6 Rescue 1 responded to a carbon monoxide alarm and monitored for elevated levels but did not find any. The staff also responded to a house fire in New Plymouth and assisted with salvage and overhaul. The crew also responded to a grass fire on I-84. 9/7 The windstorm we had caused some downed power lines and a large fire incident we aided Parma Fire on. 9/8 Rescue 1 responded to a truck hauling hay on I-84 where the bales caught on fire. The crews have responded Tuesday and Wednesday to fight wildland fires and provide structure protection at the large fire north of Cambridge ID. 9/10 157, the rural brush engine responded to mutual aid for Vale Fire for a grass fire. Police Administration Aug 31st-Chief Romero developed a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for OPD’s “Major Crime Team” response procedures. The purpose of the SOP is to develop an effective and efficient multi-agency response plan for major crime incidents. OPD has a history of working well with the local area law enforcement agencies. Sept 9th- Chief Romero coordinated a promotional video for the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run for Idaho-eastern Oregon. The video promotion included representatives from Idaho State Police, Oregon State Police, Ontario Police, Malheur County Sheriff’s Office, and the Malheur County District Attorney’s Office. Local law enforcement pledged full support for our areas special Olympians. Great partnership by all that participated. Field Services Sept 1st- OPD responded to St. Alphonsus Hospital regarding an individual who was bloody and creating a disturbance inside the facility. The subject turned out to be an adult with mental illness who had forcefully removed an IV from his arm. Medical staff was able to care for the individual after he was spoken to and persuaded to continue his medical treatment. Sept 4th- OPD pursued a vehicle that eventually crashed near the airport. After a brief foot pursuit through the shooting range, two suspects were apprehended. The two suspects were arrested for outstanding warrants and were found to be in possession of AR-15 ammunition. Vehicle is suspected of transporting illicit drugs as well. Sept 6th-OPD responded to a shooting at the Motel 6. OPD contacted a shooting victim who was not cooperative and was suspected of illegal activity. This incident is an active investigation. No arrests have been made as of this date. Sept 11th-OPD responded to the Best Western Hotel regarding a female who was damaging a room and causing a disturbance. The female was determined to have mental illness and was transported to the hospital for emergency psychiatric care. The female remained hostile towards medical staff at the hospital but was treated without incident. Sept 11th-OPD responded to a call of a male in the roadway on West Idaho Avenue and 5th Street. The male was attempting to stop vehicles and grab items from passing vehicles. The subject was contacted by OPD and was arrested without incident. The subject was armed with a pocket- knife in his hand at the time of his arrest and was believed to be under the influence of drugs. Code Enforcement This week Chief Romero filled in due to both code enforcement officers being away for vacation and family leave time. Chief Romero met with various property owners to discuss abatement actions and equitable resolutions. Public Works Field Services Staff are working on vegetation control on City property. Crews have finished building the storage area for bio-solids at Skyline Farms. They have also improved the haul road on the south and east side of the property and laid gravel for a “track-out” zone to keep empty haul trucks from tracking bio-solids down the road. Potholes on NE 4th Street and East Idaho Avenue have been filled with patch material, however, ODOT has responsibility for maintaining this section of road. Staff have been working on the “put-in” trailhead for the Malheur River Water Trail. The open section of the Dorian Ditch along the east side of NW 22nd Street was backing up. Crews found that debris had blown into the ditch with the high winds earlier in the week. Once they cleared the debris, the ditch began flowing. This is an ongoing challenge to stay on top of. Water #2 Booster Pump at Westside Reservoir is still down. The vendor supplying repair parts does not have an estimated time when parts will be onsite. There is one final chemical pump due for routine annual maintenance. The clarifier maintenance for last week and this week is finished. Nothing out of the ordinary was encountered. The wooded area around the water treatment area doesn’t appear to have unauthorized camping. A couple of the “No Trespassing” signs have been vandalized, but not to the point where they became illegible. Wastewater Control panels on the pivots at Skyline are failing. We will be requesting a proposal from the vendor who supplied the control panels for the Malheur Farm pivots to update the Skyline panels. Skyline pivots 4, 5 and 6 are now fallow and ready for bio-solids application. It is estimated that Skyline pivots 1, 2 and 3 will be fallow by October 15th. Staff are working with Christine Kelly of Oregon State University to begin sampling waste treatment plant influent for COVID-19. Christine is a professor of bioengineering at OSU and will be performing and collating all the test data. Jacobs staff will be collecting samples and sending them to Christine for analysis. Parks and Cemeteries The new walking path at Laxson Park is scheduled to be paved this week. Engineering Final inspection and commissioning for the pH project is scheduled for this Friday. The City Council has awarded the bio-solids removal contract to Synagro. Synagro is planning to mobilize to Ontario the week of September 21st. Visitors and Convention Board – The V&C Board met this week and awarded their first grant in 6 months for the TVCC new student orientation. They also fulfilled a promise to add an additional $2,500 to the Palmer Healing Garden.
Merchant McIntyre – I met with our grant writers this week and went over the items they are working on. I’ll come to Council on the 15th so that they can make a decision about moving forward with them. They are working on two EDA grants. One, to finish construction on SE 2nd Street, and the other, to design the SE 1st Avenue Americold property. COVID Business Relief with City CRF – Staff is working on a plan that we hope to bring for Council approval to assist businesses in the 30-50% loss margin. Homeless Siting Taskforce – We held a group meeting about where the shelter should be sited. The participants included non-profits, church pastors, staff, and business owners. There is one property that is farther along in the process than any others, and that is the property behind the day shelter. The owner is offering to site these shelters without a monthly lease. We are planning a public process to vet the choices, so that it is all done in the open. Wayfinding – Peter, Dan, and I had the final presentation to staff on the wayfinding system. We are working with them to get a date to present to Council. We can start working on an implementation strategy for the logo. The grant we applied for will not be awarded until April 21, 2021. Ameresco – We met with Ameresco to come up with a plan to move forward and wrap up the Energy Savings Performance Contract. Audio Visual Bids – I have been collecting more proposals/bids for the chamber AV automation. The vendor we are using to record meetings does not have a competitive contract, so I need to get 3 bids/proposals. We will still have to keep up a steady pace on this to use the relief funds. Automation Presentation – We watched our 3rd presentation on automating services. We will be doing some cost and savings analysis. Multiple platforms look like they would help the city offer services online that we don’t currently have, so it will likely come down to value. STF/STIF – I participated in the State Transportation Fund and State Transportation Infrastructure Fund Committee meetings through the Malheur County Council on Aging Snake River Transit. Airport The FAA grant for our capital improvement projects has been approved by the FAA and sent to Ontario. The contractor will be notified, and work can begin as soon as they are able. The grass runway will be mowed Friday morning. Wheel lines and large yellow “X’s” will be removed and then it will be serviceable for aircraft throughout the holiday weekend. This should be a very marketable asset for the city of Ontario. The port of Portland, through the Oregon Department of Aviation, has supplied airports with masks during the duration of the pandemic. Approximately 500 new cloth masks have been added to the PPE supply for the city’s use. A Harrier jet did its first taxi today and some of its final testing. It will hopefully be part of our Air Museum someday. Community & Economic Development The office is open, but door is locked and allowing customers to come in one at a time. Foot traffic has increased again which is normal towards the end of summer with people trying to get their projects done. It was an extremely busy week for all staff. Staff is reviewing 23 building applications this week and has issued 8 building permits this past week. The Planning department is keeping busy processing 36 land use actions. Staff is handling many phone calls and walk-ins dealing with planning issues and/or questions. Dan and Marc held a web conference for the kickoff meeting with Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) staff and the Cities Hired Consultants on the $50,000 grant we were awarded to update our codes and Housing Needs Analysis (HNA). Staff is still working with Jacobs and Keller & Associates on the STP Updates for the East Idaho Traffic Study area as well as updating planning codes associated with the Comp Plan update. Dan and Adam attended the SREDA meeting, as well as web meetings for the Emergency Winter Shelters, the Business Relief program, and the ICS Leadership group dealing with keeping business open. Dan has been working closely with ODOT staff on the SE 2nd Street project dealing with construction and property owners. The construction plans are being reviewed by staff for the extension of SE Goodfellow Street and the North side of SE 5th Avenue from SE 13th Street to Malheur Federal Credit Union development. Flood Plain Administration Dan continues to work on the amendment Ontario Flood Plain Code (10A-47) to meet the new Oregon Model Code and federal regulations (FEMA). Economic Development Staff is working with Kit Kamo of SREDA on several large firms looking for sites in Oregon and is providing information to these projects. Fire & Rescue Meetings 8/24 City Manager Adam Brown, Chief, and the Rural Fire District’s legal council had mediation with the Department of Corrections for fire coverage at SRCI. 8/25 Some of the staff participated in the City Safety Committee meeting. 8/26, 9/1 City Manager Adam Brown, Assistant to the City Manager Peter Hall, and Chief worked many hours on building financial cost models for the city and rural fire needs. 8/27, 9/3 Chief virtually attended the Malheur County COVID-19 task force meeting. 9/3 Staff attended the Rural Fire Protection board meeting. Inspections 8/28 The Deputy State Fire Marshal, Airport Manager and Chief did fire safety inspections at all three agricultural service centers at the Airport. 9/3 The building officials and Chief did a final inspection at 727 South Oregon Street. The chief also worked with the staff at St. Peter’s School on occupancy issues for a new license. Training 8/25 The staff continued to do circuit training drills on the same hands-on stations we have been doing for the past few weeks. 8/28 Some of the staff did an extrication demo/class at North Verde Auto Salvage, trying out some new battery powered tools. 9/1 The Fire Department did Post Incident Analysis for some of our fires from the past couple of months. Events 8/25 Some of the staff got their physicals completed. 8/27,28 These were days of annual pump testing of all the apparatus. Incidents The past couple of weeks we have had three illegal burns, a trash fire behind West Park Plaza and a dumpster fire. The crews also responded to two semi-truck fires with the trailer brakes and tires extremely hot and burning. Public Works COVID-19 Update The Public Works office is closed to public and non-essential employee access. Field Services Staff are working on vegetation control on City property. Crews have finished building a storage area for bio-solids at Skyline Farms. They are now working to improve the haul road. Water #2 Booster Pump at Westside Reservoir is still down. The vendor supplying repair parts does not have an estimated time when parts will be onsite. Jacobs will be scheduling clarifier maintenance for this week and next. Wastewater BLM had requested that they be allowed to discharge fire retardant wastewater from their operation at the Ontario airport to the WWTP. However, the waste is hazardous and must be taken to an approved receiving facility. Final inspection for the pH project is being scheduled. Parks and Cemeteries Staff are working to keep up with the mowing and weeding at the parks and cemeteries. A new staff member has joined the Parks team. This will help with the backlog of trimming and mowing needs. Engineering The Goodfellow lane extension is being reviewed. A contactor has been contacted to look at the police station break room remodel. An AutoCAD program for the Community Development Director is being sourced. Jacobs staff have caught up with their part of the work on Skate Park bathroom. Once the contractor moves to the next phase, Jacobs will continue the work. We have to meet our deadline of the end of the October to finish out the grant. Safe Routes to Schools – We are submitting our Safe Routes to school grant through the state this week. We’re grateful for schools involved for submitting letters of support.
Overpass Lighting – We haven’t talked about it in a while, but I reached out to some lighting companies to see about lighting up the overpass. I had an onsite visit with one vendor. This will be brighten the exit to our city as we attract visitors off of I-84. Downtown Attraction – Also, the Mayor and I talked about the downtown attraction that got a little waylaid by COVID. I have been talking to one company about a tower concept that was presented to us by the study. I’ll continue the conversations. Police Aug 24th- Chief Romero worked with CIS (Risk Management Consultants for the city) on training for understanding and respecting diversity in our workplaces and communities. This will be provided to all police personnel at OPD. Chief Romero met with members of the American Legion Post (Ontario) to discuss possibly hosting a joint “9-11” ceremony this year. Venue and ceremony details are being discussed and worked out with Fire Chief Leighton, City Manager Adam Brown and other stakeholders. Aug 27th-Chief Romero developed a new uniform policy for the Ontario Code Enforcement personnel. Chief Romero feels that a change in uniform for the two code enforcement officers will enhance their safety and create a distinction between sworn police officers and code enforcement officers. Field Services Officers were confronted by a suspect with a shotgun in the 600 block of SW 24th Street. The suspect ran and was able to elude pursuing officers. Suspect has been identified and is being sought. OPD had a short pursuit where the driver exited his vehicle armed with a knife. The subject was taken into custody without incident after numerous orders to comply. OPD continues to field numerous calls at our retailers regarding homeless individuals who are committing thefts. OPD has noticed an increase in the number of new homeless individuals arriving in Ontario from other parts of the state and Idaho. Code Enforcement Code enforcement continues to work towards the “Making Ontario Shine” campaign through concepts such as “Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design” and “assisting the elderly.” Aug 26th- Officers Reyna, Brocket, and Chief Romero conducted a pre-abatement inspection W Idaho. This property is a long-standing empty residence that has a severe weeds, grass, and bushes overgrowth issue. The city has struggled to locate the current owner(s) and the city has been seeking out a feasible abatement service. Aug 26 & 27th- CEO’s conducted a 5 X 5 initiative (5 block radius) in the southeast area of the city, addressing chronic abandoned vehicle issues. 20 + vehicles were marked and noticed for removal. Aug 27th- Code enforcement responded to issue an abatement notice. When the CEO’s realized the owner was an elderly female (90+) that was unable to care for her yard, CE officer’s Reyna and Brockett went into rescue mode and removed the “Goat head” noxious weeds from her property. Officers will be working with the resident to develop a future maintenance plan for her property, through her family or friends. Aug 26th- Code enforcement conducted an agency assist for DHS regarding a male subject living in filth at the location. Officers Reyna and Brockett located the property owners and issued a notice to correct. The primary owner is in an assisted living facility and the grandson is currently trying to squat in a camper on the property. CEO handled 1 dog abuse case this week in the southeast area of the city. Citations pending. Airport We had our very first completely virtual Airport Committee meeting Monday evening. It worked well. Thanks to all who helped make that happen. The last of the spraying for weeds at the Airport is now complete and the sprayer was cleaned, parked, and winterized. We said goodbye to our wonderful airport volunteer who is now taking up his academic studies. This mentorship program was truly a success this year. The donated building from the FAA to the city of Ontario is now ours to use completely. Electricity has been changed this week and put in the city’s name. The only thing left is for the FAA to remove a very tall tower. That will probably not happen for at least a year. Community & Economic Development The office is open, but the door is locked. However, we are allowing customers to come in one at a time. Foot traffic is still at a minimum with most still calling in and/or making appointments. Staff is reviewing 20 building applications this week and has issued 8 building permits this past week. The Planning department is keeping busy processing 33 land use actions. Staff is handling many phone calls and walk-ins dealing with planning issues and/or questions. The contract with DLCD on the $50,000 grant we were awarded to update our codes has been signed and staff is working with the consultant to put together the TAC committee and schedule the project. Staff is still working with Jacobs and Keller & Associates on the STP Updates for the East Idaho Traffic Study area as well as updating planning codes associated with the Comp Plan update. This was the first week of part-time Planning Technician, Marc Berg, helping us in the office. We think he will be a great asset to our office. He is very much needed and appreciated during this very extremely busy time of all the code updates required. Staff thanks the City Council and Budget Committee for approving this part-time help. Economic Development Staff continues to work on the Ontario Townhouse project which received a $5,325,000 LIFT (Local Innovation and Fast Tract) housing project grant. Staff is working with the developers to see what utilities may need to be upgraded for this project. Staff is working with Kit Kamo of SREDA on several large firms looking for sites in Oregon and have submitted serval sites to these projects. Public Works Field Services Hot taping for directional arrows took place around town. Garbage cans, bike racks, and benches have been installed on South Oregon. All bulb outs on the South Oregon Street project have the fabric and chips in place. Planting of ornamental vegetation is scheduled for later in the fall. Crews have been working to build a storage area for bio-solids at Skyline Farms. Crews are also working on the Skate Park bathroom. Water The #2 Booster Pump at Westside Reservoir is still down. The vendor supplying repair parts does not have an estimated time when parts will be onsite. Wastewater The contractor for the pH adjustment project is finishing up the final installation. Programming for the pH adjustment system is scheduled to be complete by September 1st. Parks and Cemeteries Staff are working to keep up with the mowing and weeding at the parks and cemeteries. One of the large mowers went down last week and is being repaired. Crews were catching up on trimming city properties. Engineering Oregon DEQ has approved the bio-solids removal plan as written. Four vendors submitted qualifying bids for the bio-solids removal project. Those bids are being compared and reviewed. Merchant McIntyre – The full submission for the Our Town Grant was made on Tuesday evening. All our community partners came together to get all the necessary pieces together. It sure was nice to have someone else with experience coordinating the entry. COVID City and County ICS – Both City and County ICS teams met. We are good on PPE between both the City and County. State Conference Call – The Governor held a live broadcast at noon today. The Governor is asking everyone to step up their own self-governance of the guidelines. Her request for local officials to lead by example, educate first, and enforce when necessary. Her plea is to solve it ourselves so she doesn’t have to intervene. LOC Conference Call - The testing market is dynamic at an international and national level. We are getting faster results on tests in our county, but there is still a shortage on the number of tests coming our way. The state is mixing up the testing as the market changes. Boots on the Ground Team – Our local response team met this week and listened to a presentation about an online incubator in rural Oregon. This could be a nice platform to move towards a brick and mortar incubator. It’s called Reinventing Rural. They have had great success in helping launch rural businesses. It’s a free open-source platform for small businesses. We are investigating whether our 40-50% business program must go through Business Oregon. Also, as we talked about the most recent change the SBDC is getting 8-12 calls a day with anxious and frustrated business owners, which is completely understandable given the uncertainty. BLM Airbase – I was able to connect with the BLM office out of Denver about the $2.5 million grant. They are still working on their final design for their tarmac and she assured me that the grant will roll over to the next fiscal year. They are working on getting agreements together though. I also had a call with Business Oregon to discuss the financing of the project. SRCI Fire Service – Mediation is on Monday. This is very short timing to get something together, but I am working on it. Transportation System Plan – We had a TSP meeting his week. We got good public feedback on the East Idaho Design.  Automation – Our staff leadership team listened to one provider of automated services. We have another next week. This is to make more services available online.
Fiber – IT and I met with LS Networks to talk about next steps for fiber service. We have a third party that will be helping us with the service to other airport customers. We are working on an agreement with him. Homeless Emergency Shelter Siting – I joined a call with Community in Action this week to talk about next steps for the winter emergency shelter. I created a shelter siting committee to ensure we have stakeholder representation and public input into the process. Airport Monday began with the loss of irrigation water due to a burned wire in an electric panel. Fortunately, there was no fire and it was repairable. Water was restored Tuesday. We were finally able to close out the grant from two years ago with the FAA for taxiway lights, signs, and VASI lights. The contractor selected to do the new taxiway and hold apron will also be relocating the irrigation ditch. They are putting it to their engineer now and will then submit a proposal. There were two bids submitted for the mowing and maintenance at the Airport. We will bring a recommendation for award on the 3rd. Due to the high volume of fuel sales at the Airport from the firefighting aircraft, it is estimated the city will make nearly $1,600 from flowage fees just from last week’s sales. Both Burns and John Day ran out of fuel and the firefighting efforts there had to stop. The Federal Aviation Administration called to say the grant has gone through channels for the taxiway and hold apron and should be sent to us within the next two weeks. Fire & Rescue 8/19 The building official and Chief inspected projects at River Drive, Malheur County Child Development, Sunset Drive and West Idaho Avenue, and Reiter Drive. The staff is still training with social distancing so another circuit drill of drone, water supply, and water rescue. Incidents 8/14 Rescue 1 assisted the OPD with the thermal image camera looking for a suspect/ They also responded to a controlled burn on East Island Road and a vehicle fire on the 700 block of NE 3rd Avenue. 8/16 The crew responded to a dumpster fire at 254 SE 2nd Street. 8/17 the crews responded to multiple grass fires along Railroad Street by Clark and Lincoln. 8/19 Rescue 1 responded to a possible arson where someone had set a fire at the front door of a house on the 200 block of NW 2nd Avenue. The fire was out upon the crew’s arrival, but they cleared the smoke out of the house. The crew responded to a burning complaint on NW 36th Street and a dumpster fire at 995 Manor Way. 8/20 the crew and extra staff twice had to respond to assist with the loading and transport of a very large man needing medical treatment. Public Works COVID-19 Update The Public Works office is closed to public and non-essential employee access. Jacobs has one COVID-19 positive case who is self-isolating until symptoms improve. At this time, it is believed that none of Jacobs Ontario staff have been exposed to this case. Field Services Hot taping cross walks continues around town. Weed removal is taking place on city owned properties Crews have removed the sunken sidewalk and gutter at Aquatic Center and poured new gutter and will pour sidewalk next week. Crews sealed and painted the Skate Park Bathroom this week. We began construction of the holding pit for the bio-solids removal project at Skyline Farm. We also swept Downtown and finished the full town sweep this week. Wastewater The contractor for the pH adjustment project is onsite removing obsolete equipment. The project is on track for completion by the third week in August. Facilities City Hall HVAC UV lights are in the works. Engineering The Mercury Minimization plan for the waste treatment plant is under final review before submitting it to Oregon DEQ. Work resumed on the Skate Park Bathroom. The roof was installed this week and the field services staff will sand and seal it next week. We welcomed a new front desk attendant. Her name is Laura Reyes and she comes to us from working at the 8c School District. She had a great start this week and was welcomed by all the staff.
COVID19 Roll back to Phase 1 – As everyone knows by now, we are being rolled back to Phase I on Monday. I have been talking with several businesses downtown who are being impacted. (Important) The federal increase of $400 for unemployment benefits is dependent on the State paying $100 of the $400. It’s possible that the state could pull some or all of our coronavirus relief funds already promised to the city to pay for this unemployment match. Coronavirus Relief Funds – We are working on a proposed program for businesses that were hurt between the 30% to 50% range. I asked staff to begin while I was gone on my short vacation and they put together a rough outline working with the SBDC. In addition to using the relief funds for the business support, and the virtualization of our city council meetings, we are also looking to automate some of our processes that can be done online. Right now, there is only online utility billing, but there are many more things we can do online. River Trail – I had a follow up call to the right-of-way attorney today to inquire about the appraisal. I was told that the appraiser had a serious medical issue and had to drop the case after the property walk. The attorney is picking up another appraiser and the first will not be charging us, but it does slow us down. Our Town Grant – I spent a good part of the second half of the day helping with the Our Town Grant through National Endowment for Arts. I still have a little to do. We had a follow-up call at noon today to fill in the holes. The grant is due on Tuesday. PERS Incentive Fund – We received notice from PERS that they are not accepting any more payments to side accounts for the purpose of matching them with the employer incentive fund. Our payments are still covered, it’s just that with the uncertainty of the state finances, they are unsure whether it can be matched going forward. Good thing we got ours in early! JOINT SEACT/NEACT – Last week Dan Cummings and I attended the joint Eastern Area Committee on Transportation on Wednesday. Border Board Meeting – Applications for the planning grant will open back up and close in September I have a meeting scheduled with Business Oregon to help put together the financing package for the BLM base next week. I’m still pushing with several federal officials on the location. Airport A large cleanup project was completed this week with volunteer help. This puts approximately 1 acre back into usable ground and enables the mower to mow that ground as well. Work continues on updating leases with one more lease update needed as a hanger sold last week. Considerable interest in hangers at the Ontario airport continues. Keeping nearly 5 acres of grass runway green and growing through the summer months presented its own challenges. A bid for an underground sprinkler system should be coming in next week. Interest in the grass runway from pilots continues to grow. If you know of people who could do this mowing and clearing, please tell them to make a bid. Fueling issues are also being addressed and some usable plans are being put together. Community & Economic Development The office is open, but door is locked but allowing customers to come in one at a time, but the foot traffic is still at a minimum with most still calling in and/or making appointments. Staff is reviewing 22 building applications this week and has issued 14 building permits this past week. Dan is keeping busy processing the 31 land use actions. Staff is handling many phone calls and walk-ins dealing with planning issues. The contract with DLCD on the $50,000 grant has been signed and staff is working with the consultant in putting together the TAC committee and scheduling. Police Aug 11th- Chief Romero spent several hours working with OPD’s legal advisors (Lexipol) developing and reviewing three new agency policies (Social media, Wellness Program, and Tactical Armored Vehicle) for OPD. These policies resulted from state mandates, new agency programs, and to update and improve OPD’s risk management capability. Aug 14th-Chief Romero was selected for a promotional video that will be used to raise awareness and funds for the Special Olympics (SO) Idaho-Eastern Oregon Law Enforcement Torch Run. Field Services Aug 7th- OPD responding to a major accident (Vehicle versus motorcyclist) on east Idaho and SE 3rd street. The accident impacted the area for about 45 minutes while first responders treated the injured motorcyclist who was transported by Life Flight to Boise. Aug 8th-OPD monitored some minor protest activities at the Ontario Auto Ranch which was led by the organization “Black Live Matters.” The protest activities were peaceful and non-eventful. OPD continues to respond to a high level of vagrancy related calls due to homeless individuals in and around the area businesses on the east side of the city. OPD has provided resource information to many of the contacted individuals and have also issued several trespassing warnings to many at the request of businesses agents and owners. Code Enforcement Code enforcement continues to have success with issuing and collecting penalties with non-compliant property owners. High visibility efforts and proactive strategies have allowed code enforcement to develop promising new working relationships with many property owners throughout the city, that have historically been non-compliant. Aug 13th-Code enforcement officer, Rick Reyna, hosted Argus Observer reporter Griffin Hewitt during an agency ride-along. Griffin will be reporting on the topic. Fire & Rescue Chief had multiple meetings with the Ontario Rural Fire Board and representatives. 8/4 The staff reviewed and practiced safe moving of bariatric patients. 8/11 The staff did circuit drills again on Water supply and master streams, Rural water supply, and Water rescue. The crew assisted with the county Covid-19 testing at Malheur County Fairgrounds. Incidents: 8/2 The staff and mutual aid from other departments fought a fire in the Ontario Sanitary recycle center this was a 12,000 square foot building with heavy smoke and heat and a lot of fuel. I received a great compliment about our fire department from Scott Wilson. 8/3 the crew had a fully involved vehicle fire on SW. 4th Avenue and SW. 30th Street and then rescued a group of baby quail from the storm drain on Tori Drive. (Hero work!) 8/4 The staff responded to a fire in Laxson Park and only found a BBQ with hot coals. 8/5 Rescue 1 responded to N. Park Boulevard for a gas smell and were not able to find any hazards and only a slight odd smell. 8/8 The crew responded to 509 SE 2nd Street for an illegal burn of burning weeds in a pit without a burn permit and the burn ban in effect. 8/10 Rescue 1 responded to a child burned from playing with fire. The fire was investigated, and the child was treated and transported for burns to his stomach and legs area. 8/12 The crew responded to a grass fire on I-84 and MP 375 started from sparks from a vehicle. 8/14 Rescue 1 responded Ontario Auto Ranch to investigate some type of gas or liquid problem after two employees went to the hospital for medical issues. 8/14 The crew responded to assist OPD with equipment for a scene and they also responded for a vehicle fire on NE 3rd Avenue. Public Works COVID-19 Update The Public Works office remains closed to public and non-essential employees. Field Services Crews are hot taping and painting crosswalks and school zone around town. Garbage cans, bike racks, and benches were installed on South Oregon. Crews have been painting stop bars at the intersections. Crews have removed the sunken sidewalk and gutter at Aquatic Center and are pouring a new sidewalk and gutter plate. August 11, 2020 at 12:33 p.m. Knife River was excavating for a storm line installation on the SE 2nd Street Project when they hit and broke a 6" water main. Jacobs crews responded to the call and had the water main isolated by 1:10pm. Knife River started pumping water out of the excavation and called their pipe crew to repair the damaged line. Repair was finished at 5:15pm. Once the repair was complete, Jacobs crews began flushing the water line and collecting chlorine residual samples. A “Boil Water” notice was issued to the 17 homes affected by the line break. Wastewater The contractor for the pH adjustment project is onsite removing obsolete equipment. The project is on track for completion by the third week in August. The pump feeding Malheur Farm that had failed has been replaced. Facilities City Hall HVAC UV lights are in the works. This will be reimbursed by the coronavirus relief funds. Engineering The skate park restroom project is on hold due to COVID-19. At this time, it is unknown how long of a delay with will create The Mercury Minimization plan for the waste treatment plant is under final review before submitting it to Oregon DEQ. 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.
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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
October 2020
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Ontario, OR 97914 Phone: (541) 881-3201 Open: Monday - Friday 9 AM - 4 PM © COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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