This Week in the City

August is almost gone - where did the summer go? City crews have another busy week ahead.

The Water crew is working on the sewer line in the alley behind the Gunnisack Restaurant. They also continue to keep water in the City irrigation ditches, even with the low flows in the River.
The Streets crew is finishing up the prep work on the 100 Block of West Georgia Avenue. This is in preparation for the asphalt overlay after Labor Day. Pothole patching will take place when the City can obtain asphalt hotmix from the local asphalt plant. Slurry Seal of several streets will take place the end of September or the first week of October. The call for crack sealing bids will be posted the end of this week. It is best for the streets to cool down a bit before starting crack sealing. Tree grinding continues and the resulting chips will be hauled to the City Wasterwater Treatment Plant to be made into compost. The grinding keeps the organic tree material out of the landfill and provides a useable end product.
The Electric crew opened the bids for change-out of rotten utility poles and they are continuing utility pole inspections. The Electric crew is also preparing for the burial of the overhead electric line on the old Ruland School site that is now the entryway property into Western State College. The line burial will take place after Labor Day.
The Parks & Recreation employees are extremely busy with the maintenance and cleaning at the Community Center. The recreational ameneties are closed this week. Please see the prior post below for details on the closure. The Recreation Office is open all week and is accepting registration for the fall programs. The Community Center will reopen next week. On Monday, September 6th - Labor Day - the pools will be open from 8am to 9pm. There will be no early morning swim. The climbing wall will be open from 1pm to 8:30pm.
The Finance Department continues to receive and post utility bills, is working on an inventory of City fixed assets, and is starting work on the 2011 budget.
The Communications employees and Police Department continue to answer calls and provide service to citizens and visitors alike. Just a reminder - SLOW DOWN in school zones and throughout the community. School is back in session, so keep your foor light on the accelerator and watch out for the kids on their way to and from school.
The City Clerk's team is evaluating RFPs for a new City website and is preparing obsolete records for a mass shredding project.

Just a reminder - all City offices will be closed on Monday, September 6th, in observance of Labor Day. Police, Communications and the Fire Department will be working for emergency calls. Have a safe and productive week.

And in fantastic news - the City has been notified that it will be receiving $75,000 in grant funds from the Department of Local Affairs. This money will be used for repair of the downtown irrigation ditches. The project planning has been completed and prep work and purchasing of the necessary materials will be started. The actual reconstruction of the ditches will start in the spring.