September 2015

The sale of the West End Building to Yakima Products closed on Friday afternoon, 8/21. A portion of the upper floor is being leased back for the staff and contract engineers of the Lake Oswego-Tigard Water Partnership. The challenge of moving out quickly was met in a great example of inter-departmental cooperation. Parks & Recreation had the most to move, but Police, Records, Engineering, Library and IT all had their own material and equipment to deal with. Getting Palisades School ready and then handling the logistics of the move required a lot of support from Facilities and IT. There is still work to do. But all in all, it was a smooth move, and I thank all the staff who made it happen.

Thirteen Lake Oswego residents submitted applications to be appointed to the City Council position vacated by Karen Bowerman. At their September 1 meeting, the Council will select a shorter list for interviews, tentatively scheduled for September 8.

The Street of Dreams is wrapping up. Meeting the Homebuilders' tight timeline for building the subdivision and homes required a tremendous amount of work on the part of Engineering and Planning & Building staff. The Police Department helped minimize neighborhood complaints about traffic and parking. Bonnie Hirshberger produced an excellent four-page brochure on city services and amenities that was scooped up by visitors. Megan Phelan served as overall troubleshooter before and during the show. The offsite parking lots and shuttle service (including the downtown trolley) seemed to work very well, and in spite of the thousands of people who attended the show, there were very few problems.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the LUBA decision which in turn affirmed the decision of the City Council to approve the development application for Block 137 (the Wizer block). Several departments will be involved in one way or another with this project. Sid Sin is providing overall coordination of the staff effort. September will see the beginning of activity on the site; PHK development has created a web site on the timeline for the project at http://timeline-lo137.com/

As in other cities, our City Council will need to make some decisions on the sale and growing of marijuana. The Council will have a preliminary discussion of the issue on September 1. Under recently-adopted state legislation, an outright ban (if the Council is inclined in that direction) must be approved by voters. Beginning in October, medical marijuana dispensaries will be allowed to sell recreational marijuana, but that's a moot issue for us, since for the time being the dispensaries are not allowed in LO.

The Northwest has been hit with a number of serious wildfires. In the wee hours of Friday 8/21 our Fire Department put out a brush fire in Waluga Park (see the Council Digest post). It was of course on a much smaller scale than the fires in forests, but still a reminder that we are fortunate to have the resources (skilled firefighters and a reliable water supply) to prevent a brush fire from turning into a major catastrophe.

Congratulations to all our colleagues who participated in the Hood to Coast race!

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August 2015

Career Changes  Chief Johnson swore in three new police officers on 7/20. They will be good additions to the department, and what is especially interesting is the path they took to law enforcement. Mike Svoboda served in the US Coast Guard and then gained customer service experience in a Colorado sporting goods store. Brock Rosenthal was "road tested" by the department in his role as a Community Service Officer, and found to have qualities that would make him be a good (sworn) law enforcement officer. And Mark Laymon has proven himself over seven years as a utility worker in our Public Works Department, and thought it would be cool to make a career switch to police officer. Congratulations to all three of them!

Councilor Karen Bowerman announced at the July 7 Council meeting that she will be resigning from the Council, effective on August 31. With direction from the Mayor and Council, Anne-Marie Simpson has posted an ad and application form for residents to express interest in being appointed to the position (the term expires at the end of 2016). The Council hopes to make an appointment in September.

A key feature of Lake Oswego's Gallery Without Walls is that the sculpture is displayed on a two-year rotation, giving residents a fresh view of outdoor art, and letting more artists display their work. One of the sculptures that was scheduled to rotate out was Sunflower that has been displayed at Sundeleaf Plaza. But it has been a favorite with residents and visitors, and many were sad to see it go. In response, Council member Skip O'Neill and his wife Lynda stepped up and purchased the sculpture as a gift to the community. Nancy Nye, Executive Director of the Arts Council, said this is one of the largest single donations the Council has received.

Speaking of art, our library has been displaying the work of Dave Arpin, who splits his time between Parks & Rec and IT (you may have met him delivering mail). His art in the library features an unusual medium: colored duct tape. And his graphic design talent has served the city in another way--he designed the new eye-popping wrap for the Adult Community Center's van. It was a highlight of the July 4 parade, sending the message that our ACC isn't your typical senior center.

Lean Oswego

Deputy City Attorney Evan Boone has worked with IT to implement a digital signature process. This is a key step toward fully paperless contracts and agreements, in which contractors and city contract managers can sign agreements in a way that meets legal and practical requirements for authentic signatures.

The Planning & Building Department has launched an on-line tree permit application process, which eliminates the need for contractors and residents to travel to City Hall to apply for their permit. In related news, the Council has appointed an ad-hoc committee to make recommendations on changes to the tree code, and one of the charges to the committee is to consider code changes that can further streamline the process.

Engineering has converted the erosion control permit application to an on-line fillable form, and is working on a similar conversion for their traffic control permit. They are also devoting an hour per week to updating their set of standard specifications that contractors use when constructing street and utility facilities (they have over 130 of them!). Having clear and up-to-date standards will save time for both contractors and staff.

Jenny Slepian, management & sustainability fellow, sent this note to the Fire Department: "I was just looking through our EPA Portfolio Manager where I enter electricity, water, and gas use for city buildings each month. Since we started doing this in 2008, the fire stations have seen an AMAZING decrease in greenhouse gas emissions, which seems tied directly to a significant drop in energy use." Since 2008, the decreases are 25% for the Main Station, 18% for Westlake, 15% for Jean Road, and 6% for South Shore. Jenny wrote, "Now I really can’t wait to see what happens when the [new interior] LEDs and sensors go in!"

To streamline the recruitment process, the Police Department is considering an internship program, where interns (typically working on a criminal justice or related degree) will work on meaningful projects, but also be evaluated as potential candidates for a future position within the department.

 

July 2015

Many city staff members have benefited from the Leadership Lake Oswego program sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. My own experience was that it provided an excellent introduction to the community and to the organizations and institutions that make up the fabric of our city. The time commitment (one day per month) seemed reasonable. Registration is open for the 2015-16 year. If you're interested, see the program brochure for more information. (In the interest of full disclosure, Superintendent Heather Beck and I are listed in the brochure as instructors for the leadership sessions. This amounts to about an hour and a half at the beginning of each day's session on a leadership topic, similar to the areas we've been covering in LOU. We're doing it gratis as a way to "pay it forward" and support future community leaders, and we'll alternate months for a manageable time commitment.)

Lean Oswego
A byproduct of continuous process improvement is often increased efficiency, but the focus is on improving the customer experience. As another step in this direction, Councilor Joe Buck suggested creation of an automatic reply to citizens who send an e-mail to "council distribution." IT responded quickly by setting up a message that acknowledges receipt and thanks the writer for taking the time to communicate with the City Council. And it provides a quick link to our Citizen Request tracking system, so that if the writer has a complaint or service request that needs a staff follow-up, we can monitor it and make sure that action is taken.

And to help save costs for our water customers, new solar panels at our Water Treatment Plant are hooked up and producing power (June was a good month for this!).

Chuck's Coffee
Internal customers are important, too. Chuck Sciarotta offered to keep coffee supplies stocked for the various departments that share city hall. This has been previously done separately by each department. This may seem a small thing, but the important thing about Lean Oswego is that it's a continuous process of improvement, and many small things add up over time. Jim Collins uses the metaphor of a flywheel, spinning slowly at first but building momentum. He writes, "Tremendous power exists in the fact of continued improvement and the delivery of results."


Employee Picnic
Be sure to register for the employee BBQ on August 28 (4:30-7:30 at Foothills Park). If you didn't see a recent e-mail invitation, contact Gail Hoddevik in Human Resources.

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June 2015

Naming Contest
Thanks to the following individuals who submitted entries in last month's contest to come up with a new name for our continuous process improvement program:

Janice Reynolds

Chip Larouche

Kira Taylor

Cathie Recker

Todd Mecklem

Greg Barnum

Maria Bigelow

Sara Hasegawa

A select panel of judges reviewed the entries...and the winner is (drumroll):

Lean Oswego submitted by Maria Bigelow at the Adult Community Center. Thanks Maria!

A Lean Oswego milestone was recently reported by the Parks and Recreation Department in our new Council Digest blog (itself a product of the Lean Oswego program). Click here for the link.  Watch this space for related news.

Passport to Fun
And speaking of Parks & Rec, take advantage of the Living Well in LO program (see LakeOswego.city/parksrec/living-well-lo) You don't have to be a resident of Lake Oswego to benefit; you can enjoy many of the activities in the program over a lunch hour or before or after work.

WEB
Details are being worked out, but it seems we're very close to an announcement on a buyer for the West End Building. We'll send out a citywide e-mail when that happens.

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May 2015

Naming Contest

We need a snappier name for our Continuous Process Improvement program. Please think of some good labels, and enter them into a naming contest. We'll all vote, and the winner will be memorialized in an equestrian statue in the center of the Iron Mountain roundabout (well, it will be a virtual one with the help of Photoshop). Words that are associated with this program are Quality, Customer, and Lean. Acronyms are fine, but CPI seems to have been taken (and not to be confused with our PCI - pavement condition index - and CIP - capital improvement program). To submit your entry, just fill out this quick form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BGYVCJN

Introducing...  www.LakeOswego.city
Have you ever been on the phone, trying to give someone your e-mail address? Do you get tired of saying "dot," and does the other person get confused? Well, our sparky colleagues in IT have created a solution. A new series of web name extensions opened up, and the IT department snagged lakeoswego.city. Much simpler, yes?

We won't print out new business cards or re-paint the police cars just for this. Instead, we'll do a "soft roll-out." Use the new address (good for both the web site and e-mail addresses) where it's easy to update, such as electronic publications. When you do print new cards or outfit a vehicle, use the new address. It may take a few years to fully make the switch, but that's okay. Both addresses will work.

Here are some tips and guidelines from IT:

• For the web address, it doesn't matter if you put "www" in front. Both "www.LakeOswego.city" and "LakeOswego.city" work. Sometimes it's good to put www in front so people know it's a web address; use your own judgment.
• Capitalization doesn't matter either. LakeOswego.city looks a little classier, but lakeoswego.city works just as well. Most e-mail addresses are all lower case, so name@lakeoswego.city would be appropriate.
• www.LakeOswego.city will get you into the web site, but when you navigate around in it, your browser will show the old www.ci.oswego.or.us. 
• People can send you mail using name@lakeoswego.city, but when you hit reply, it will show the response coming from name@ci.oswego.or.us.
• All the former shortcuts and extensions still work with the new web address. For example, you can get to the library page via LakeOswego.city/library in the same way you can with www.ci.oswego.or.us/library (and isn't it easier to type?)

Recognition
Last month, Megan Phelan received national recognition with the Pacesetter Award, given by the National Public Employees Labor Relations Association (NPELRA). And Ivan Anderholm has earned the distinction of being a "Certified Parks & Recreation Executive," one of only 129 nationwide.

If you or your colleagues receive any awards or recognition from professional or community organizations, please let me know.   --Scott

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Special April 1 Edition

Local News
Developer Jerry Abel has announced plans for a new strip mall to be built at an undisclosed location. When asked if it would be consistent with village character, he replied, "Sure, I'm going to name it some kind of village; I'm leaning toward Swampview Village."

Parks Director M.J. Chong said there is no truth to the rumor that recreational marijuana will be grown at Luscher Farm as a source of revenue to the parks department.

The Knickers Dune Neighborhood Association is working on an amendment to the city's development code that would require use of a single house plan for any new infill development. The three members of the board are meeting next Wednesday to choose the paint color and to decide whether the shelves in the hall closet should be poplar or melamine.

In related news, the Second Subtraction Neighborhood Association recently mailed a survey to residents asking for opinions on a variety of Neighborhood Association issues and concerns, including elephants at the Oregon Zoo and the US military presence in Syria.

The Historical Society has mounted a campaign to preserve an old sandwich (circa 2008) that was left in the refrigerator of the employee lunch room.

The school board took testimony for three hours from angry parents, complaining their daughters didn't get enough playing time on the basketball team. One of the board members commented, "Seems we should instead be spending our time talking about educating our children." "What does that have to do with school?" parent Jock Stropp demanded.

Region
On Monday, I-205 was once again turned into a parking lot, extending from Oregon City to the Glen Jackson Bridge. The cause this time was a four-hour closure of all northbound lanes as emergency responders attempted to resuscitate a bug on a windshield.

State
A growing number of of bills have been introduced in the 2015 legislative session to impose a variety of land use "fixes" on local governments. LCDC Chair Dick Tator commented in a committee hearing, "We should just cut to the chase and make all local land use decisions in Salem."

Governor Luke E. Mee has proposed a bill that would include friends with benefits as members of households for the purpose of state ethics rules. The Senate Committee on Manners held a spirited and sometimes salacious debate on the definition of "benefits."

Nation

In response to the spiraling cost of higher education, Congresswoman Patty Padiddle has introduced a bill allowing student debt to be excused in exchange for donation of certain body parts for scientific research.


World
As a gesture to end the conflict in the Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin  has challenged German Chancellor Angela Merkel to an arm wrestling competition (best two out of three). Suspiciously, sales of black market steroids in Russia spiked after the announcement.

March 2015

Continuous Process Improvement

 Ken Miller, in Extreme Government Makeover, describes the use of  triage as a way to streamline processes. It involves moving from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more targeted process based on the needs and circumstances of the customer. A common private sector example is the "8 items or less" express checkout line in a grocery store. Using the same concept, some cities waive a plans review process for builders who have demonstrated proficiency in the building codes, and are willing to take their chances on inspections in the field during construction.

Our Parks & Recreation department is using this concept in a proposal to improve the way special event permits are reviewed and issued. Based on objective criteria, some event permits will be issued immediately, with other departments simply kept informed of the date and nature of the event. Others (for example, those requiring a street closure) will get more scrutiny. And still other events won't need a permit at all.

This new process will provide significantly better customer service, and it will reduce staff time.

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Our Library staff have made a significant improvement in the way magazines and other periodicals are processed. By using a software module available through the library network, they have reduced staff time in processing periodicals from 28 hours per week to 7 hours per week, a 75% reduction.  And it provides better customer service: library patrons can now see (via the on-line system) what the most most current issue available is at all times.

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With the Support of IT, the Police Department is transitioning from stationary in-car computers, to portable tablets. Not only does this reduce the amount of hardware in the patrol car, it allows the officer to gather records information or write a report “in the field,” away from the car. This can be especially helpful when at the scene of an accident or crime. The Police Department anticipates time savings as a result of this new mobility – no more need to hand write information for report writing at a later time – officers will only handle the information once.

The Police Department recently switched brick and mortar uniform store, to an online uniform vendor. As needed, this new vendor comes to the police department to ensure correct measurements for purchases, however, most transactions are completed online, with delivery to the Police department. The police Department is finding the service to be better than previously received and is reporting a time savings by eliminating travel to the brick and mortar store, previously in Portland.

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Something as mundane as how your workspace is organized can make a big difference in how efficient you are. Julia Childs stored her cooking implements on a pegboard, with the outline of each tool marked, the same technique used by journeyman mechanics. Along those lines, Jessica Numanoglu in the Planning & Building Services Department reorganized the commonly-used electronic folders to make working documents easier to find, and to consolidate similar topics in one place.