Scott Swanson
Mayor Greg Mahler presented a summary of the past year in Sweet Home during the Chamber of Commerce’s Awards Banquet Saturday evening, July 24, at Sankey Park, noting that “2020 was a year that many of us would remember as a time that changed our lives.”
The city had to adapt to “ever-changing rules and regulations implemented because of COVID,” Mahler said.
He said officials and the population “stayed the course and were able to accomplish many things.
Mahler said the city’s overall financial health is “steady,” crediting city department heads for staying within their budgets. He also thanked voters for passing the five-year police and library levies.
“Because of you, those departments will have the opportunity to grow and thrive,” he said.
The Finance Department has put its budget in an online form for ease of public access, he said.
“This transparency portal will assist the community in seeing where our funds go.”
Finance Department staff also processed 213 passports, more than 2,000 accounts payable checks, and more than 40,000 utility billings. The Municipal Court staff, which operates under the Finance Department, handled more than 3,000 court cases, 14 trials and issued 780 warrants, “all while juggling COVID restrictions.”
The Community and Economic Development Department issued 274 building permits and conducted 1,521 building inspections on projects with a total valuation of more than $15 million.
Ground was broken for a 48-unit apartment complex in September 2020 and residents are beginning to move in, Mahler said.
“This is huge for our community. Last year I shared that 250 housing units are planned for construction in Sweet Home over the next few years. Today I can say the number is projected to be even higher.”
The Commercial Exterior Improvement Program provided matching grants to improve the exteriors of local businesses, including MoneyMan, Dairy Queen and Thriftway, he said.
The city’s partnership with RAIN, which offers help to business start-ups, resulted in assistance to 11 local entrepreneurs, he said.
Mahler said the Code Compliance program cleared 352 cases in 15 city code categories, ranging from barking dogs and tall weeds to “the most time-consuming: occupying an RV.”
Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the city library staff “pushed through and found creative ways to provide services,” keeping circulation numbers close to 25,000, he said.
“While COVID restrictions impacted our in-person programs, since our library patrons can access Overdrive and Lynda.com from their homes, we saw an increase in online connections to 5,700.”
He credited “our beloved Library Director Rose Peda” with making “a lasting impression.”
Mahler announced that new Library Service Director Megan Dazey, most recently Library Services Manager in Puyallup, Wash., will start in Sweet Home Aug. 16.
“We are hoping, with her strong tech background, we will be able to grow in many areas,” Mahler said.
The Public Works Department staff have continued “updating” the city’s water infrastructure, repairing 22 leaks in 2020, including one that was losing 350,000 gallons a day.
“With the repairs of the past few years and identification of city usage, we saw our water loss percentage reduce from 40% to 10%,” Mahler said, adding that the city also finalized its break-up with Jacobs Engineering in the day-to-day operation of its water and sewer plants.
Public Works parks staffers installed ADA-friendly playground equipment at Sankey Park in addition to “hundreds of hours” of managing parks and removing graffiti, he said.
He said radar speed signs have been installed in the downtown corridor as “yet another tool to assist us in curbing the whizzing through town.”
City police saw a reduction in property crimes and calls to dispatchers, but “there was an escalation of mental health calls, which is understandable with COVID.”
The city expanded the ways it communicates with residents during the past year, adding an electronic sign outside City Hall, holding meetings online and streaming meetings on YouTube, and increasing “our overall reach on social media,” Mahler said.
During the wildfires, the city utilized the sign and social media to alert the community of fire evacuation levels, he added, thanking the agencies that worked with city staff.
“Overall, our community was resilient through 2020,” Mahler said. “We have faced hard times in the past and we know how to put our shoulders into it and move forward. We watched as you came together to support your friends, neighbors and local businesses.”