June 29, 2020

Chamber Board Meeting
Chief Leighton and I participated in the Chamber Board Meeting. They are talking about how to best serve chamber members moving forward.

Leadership Team – Our department head team was able to get back to focusing on the City Council strategic plan. We have been in incident command mode for a long time and we took the opportunity to refocus. It’s amazing to look at the plan and see how much we have accomplished though. I’m attaching an updated copy. Great things happen when you prioritize and focus on delivering outcomes.

COVID-19
We had a spike of 12 cases in one day. That brings us up to 72 cases in the County. Payette, Washington, and Canyon counties are also surging so it is somewhat inevitable. The best tool we have recommended to us from the people who have spent a lifetime preparing for these events is to continue with social distancing measures.
It’s unknown if the state will do anything for our county or by the state.

Applications for utility assistance are coming in. It’s being received positively and appreciatively.

Black Lives Matter – Trademark is really excited to work with BLM. I spoke with BLM today and they have groups identified for each mosaic. I think we can keep moving forward with this and have a really neat outcome that will accentuate our community. They were very grateful with how the Council received them.

I participated in 3 hours of training from the State Department of Public Safety Standards & Training that the state wanted city leaders to understand what they were training as far as use of force and other imminent issues.

Eastern Oregon Border Board – Peter and I participated in a conversation with students working with the Border Board to analyze data around community competitiveness. These are graduate and undergraduate students from schools all over the country.

Merchant McIntyre – I had a productive conversation with the grant writers today. I believe they will present their recommendations to the council at the July work session.

Walmart – We should have the appraisal regarding the Tater Tot Trail done within 15 days. The Right-of-way attorney sent a letter to Walmart providing 15-day notice for the appraisal.

NPDES – Jacobs staff met with me to provide updates on our permit projects. Several aspects of the permit are being worked on.

Airport
Kenneth came out and mounted one of the higher resolution cameras at the airport as a comparison to the ones that are currently out there. With its increased megapixels it is now possible to read aircraft tail numbers which is an important part of security at the airport.

Two more leases have been completed and are awaiting signatures. They will be recorded and filed with three more coming soon which need amendments to bring them into compliance with city codes.

The Cares Act funding through the FAA has gone through its final stage and should be available in two or three weeks for use.

The wheel lines on the grass runway are being run often as this current heat requires additional moisture. Our three security gates are working better than ever now, and the keypads have been sealed with just one Knox box left to repair off the 201 access.

Our recent hangar inspections have helped immensely in getting current information on hangar owners. Updating hangar leases and incorporating correct square footage is still in process.

Community & Economic Development
General Office
The office was open last week allowing customers to come in, but the foot traffic is still at a minimum with most still calling in and/or making appointments.

Building Department
Staff is reviewing 23 building applications this week and has issued 12 building permits this past week.
We have issued several new single-family homes this past week and look forward to growing our community.

Planning Department
The Planning department is keeping busy processing the 24 land use actions as well as working with the public on new projects.

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).

Fire & Rescue
Inspections
6/18,26 Chief and building officials did inspections at the new bank inside Wal-Mart.  6/24 Fire sprinkler modifications at SRCI were reviewed and observed on site in multiple buildings.  6/26 Building official and Chief met the fire sprinkler contractor at the new building of the TVCC Vo-tech center to check out the progress and reinspect some changes in the old portion of the building.

Training
6/16 The majority of the staff did a ten-station fitness exercise with the stations representing actual firefighting duties.  6/23 The staff did classroom simulation of motor vehicle crashes.  They did scene safety, incident command, extrication, and medical treatment.

Events
6/15 Ladder 109 had its annual hydraulic ladder testing done by an outside testing agency.  6/19 Some of the city staff participated in the local food drive at Beck park and gave food to 150 households.

Incidents
6/14 The crew responded to a gas leak.  6/15 Rescue-1 responded to an oxygen machine failure and had to assist the patient get a different machine in service and arrange for repairs on the original oxygen machine.  6/18 Multiple crews responded to a fire at a property that had many piles of trash all over that were burned.  The fire spread to a camp trailer that was totally destroyed and a passenger car was heavily damaged.  The fire also threatened and partially burned two small houses.  6/19 The crew responded to a dumpster fire at one of the dispensaries, the fire was contained to the dumpster. 6/19 Chief and a firefighter assisted Malheur County and OSP for an agency assist during the investigation of a crime scene.   6/20,22 the crews responded to some illegal burns that were put out by the tenants after they were advised of the regulations by the staff.  6/24 Rescue-1 and Chief responded to a head on collision on the Interstate, the end result was good, and no extrication was needed.  6/25 the staff responded to a grass fire that caught a skateboard ramp on fire and destroyed it.  6/25 Multiple crews responded to a single wide trailer fire on a Mobile Home park on North Oregon Street. The main fire structure was fully involved when the crews arrived and is destroyed.  The mobile homes on each side had slight damage and two vehicles were damaged.  The home had two occupants inside. They both got out, but a young male did receive some burn injuries.  They also had a dog that was not able to be saved.  The crews also responded to five false alarms that they investigated.

Public Works
COVID-19 Update
Due to the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the area, all non-essential staff are being instructed to work from remote locations.  All in-person meetings have been canceled and are being rescheduled to be done remotely where possible.

Anyone coming into the public works office will be required to wear a mask and self-perform a body temperature reading before entering. The site visit Ameresco had planned for next week has been canceled as well. We are working together to identify what items can be handled remotely. Staff is working to sanitize common workspaces.
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Field Services
The Oregon Street project has begun the phase to realign the center line and re-slope the crown of the roadway on sections of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Avenues. This work will require closing sections of those avenues as the work requires, but the plan is to have as little impact on traffic flow on South Oregon as possible. 

The asphalt milling and repaving phase of Oregon Street is scheduled to begin after the July 4th holiday weekend. The full project is slated for completion by mid-July.

Water
Eastside #3 Booster Pump VFD has been installed and is operational.

Wastewater
The water level in Skyline Reservoir has dropped to the point where pumping treated effluent from the waste treatment process has resumed.

Crews finished cleaning the East Chlorine Contact Chamber and have placed it in stand-by.

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.)

Facilities
The remote door lock for the Annex office has been installed but needs special batteries to make it fully functional. Those batteries have been ordered.

The upgrade for the Golf Club House HVAC has been approved and is moving forward. 

Engineering
The Water Master Plan was presented to Council this week. The bio-solids removal plan is moving into the final stages before being released for bid. The “Safe Routes to School” plan is being prepared. Work on the Skate Park restrooms is on schedule.