September 2017 - City of Orem Newsletter
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Touch-A-Truck: Sponsored by Waste Management

Harvest Festival @ Orem Community Hospital

City of Orem Emergency Drill

Tiered Water Rates

Election Results

Scam Prevention Tip from the Orem Police Department

Housing Rehabilitation Program - Habitat for Humanity 

Go Paperless - Save $1 Per Month

Women Who Build Business Workshop 

Web page for Road Construction Updates

Calendar of Events

Mayor's Message: The Tower of Power
TOUCH-A-TRUCK: SPONSORED BY WASTE MANAGEMENT
Bring your kids, friends, neighbors, and yourself to explore vehicles of all kinds from dump trucks to fire engines to police cars; there's something for everyone! 

Free lunch is made possible by a generous sponsorship from Waste Management.

The Fitness Center is also offering 50% off admissions that day! They will offer a one day sale on passes: 20% off annual passes, 10% semi-annual passes, no initiation fee for monthly EFT passes.

HARVEST FESTIVAL @ OREM COMMUNITY HOSPITAL ft. LI'L SEBASTIAN

The City of Orem and Orem Community Hospital are excited to announce the Harvest Festival which will be held on Monday, September 25th! 

Lil' Sebastian will even be joining the fun this year! You won't want to miss this wonderful evening full of music, free pony rides, food, produce, games, pumpkins, and of course, photo ops with Li'l Sebastian! Li'l Sebastian will be there by 4 PM.

OREM CITY EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS DRILL

This year's city-wide drill will be on  Thursday, September 14  at  6:00 PM.  See the website below for more information.

WHAT IS THE "DRILL DOWN FOR SAFETY"?

The drill is a chance for Orem City to practice its ability to communicate and respond to needs during a disaster. At 6:00 p.m., on September 14th, preassigned block captains will signal that the "disaster" has begun by blasting a car horn or an air horn. Orem citizens will start checking in with their block captains as quickly as they can. The block captains will then report on the status of their neighborhoods to City Officials and emergency personnel. The goal is to account for everyone in Orem, in the shortest amount of time possible. 
THE NEW TIERED WATER RATES
Many of you have noticed the change in how your water rate is calculated. On November 1, 2016, the city implemented tiered rates, as required by State Law. The 4 tiers are shown below (numbers reflected per thousand gallons).
The pricing of each tier is set to generate the revenue needed to construct the projects identified in our master plan which are required to keep our water system functioning into the future.

For more information about the types of projects needed to be constructed, please see our Water Master Plan and Sewer Master Plan .

The City of Orem currently operates and maintains: 382 miles of water main, 103 miles of service lines, 9 wells, and 21,990,000 gallons of water storage. It takes a significant amount of money to keep these assets in repair.

There are resources available for those wanting to find ways to conserve water and thus lower their bill. Click below to find information at slowtheflow.org.
2017 PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS
For the second year in a row the City of Orem has utilized vote-by-mail. As was the case in 2015, the City again experienced a near-doubling in voter turnout.

The top 2 mayoral and top 6 city council candidates will move on to the general election in November.

If you did not receive a ballot for the primary, be sure you are registered to vote by visiting vote.utah.gov.
SCAM PREVENTION TIP FROM YOUR OREM PD
Some online scams people fall victim to begin when they are selling merchandise on either KSL.com or Craigslist.com. After the person places an ad, they usually receive a text message from someone asking if the item is still available. After the seller responds back that it is, the subject asks for a name and address to send a check for the purchase. They usually send the check for more than the asking price, and ask the seller to forward the remaining money to someone who is going to pick the item up for them. They will ask the seller to send the money back to them through various means using either Western Union, Walmart money grams, pre-paid visas, and even iTunes cards. Once the money has been sent, and they have the transaction information, they can retrieve the money from anywhere in the world. Stay aware!
HOUSING REHABILITATION PROGRAM - HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
Habitat for Humanity works in conjunction with communities through out Utah County and the Federal Government to provide low income families with 0% interest loans up to $5000 dollars to make critical home repairs needed to alleviate critical health, life and safety issues.  We also provide 0% interest loans for low income veterans to make critical home repairs with the help of Home Depot and Wells Fargo Bank. 

In addition, we support Neighborhood Revitalization Projects. These include Neighborhood cleanup projects using the roving Tool Library, Police Picnics, and neighborhood painting projects.

For applications and more information, contact Scotty White (801) 344-8527 ext. 117 or  scotty@habitatuc.org , or Kimberly Harter at (801)344-8527 ext. 114, or  kharter@habitatuc.org .
GO PAPERLESS - SAVE $1 PER MONTH
WOMEN WHO BUILD
BUSINESS BUILDING WORKSHOP
If you run your own business or if you’ve ever dreamed of starting something, sign up for Women Who Build, a business-building workshop organized by Orem City, Provo City, the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce, Mountainland Association of Governments and the BYU Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology. You’ll work with a team and mentors to build a business in a day with instruction from local business professors. The day will end with a pitch competition, lunch, and a keynote address from Chatbooks co-founder Vanessa Quigley. This will be a great opportunity to build business skills and to meet amazing women in our community.

RSVP here: 
WEB PAGE DEDICATED TO ROAD CONSTRUCTION 
Nothing says "summer" like the smell of hot asphalt and the sight of orange construction barrels. While we can't make it go away, we can do a better job of keeping you up-to-date as to the when, where, and why of each project. 

Next time you see the cones, please visit us at www.orem.org/construction so we can inform you what is happening. We don't add every project, just the ones that might make an impact on traffic and your daily commutes. 

Thanks for your patience as we build a better Orem.
CITY OF OREM - CALENDAR OF EVENTS
This summer there will be no shortage of events and activities for you and your family! Keep up with all Orem City events by following the link below.
MAYOR'S MESSAGE: THE TOWER OF POWER
This past Saturday,  a musical group from the sixties called "The Tower of Power" played at the Scera Shell. This group is made up of ten or so musicians. These talented people work together to produce music that is harmonious  and pleasing to listen to when they play. They have had nine hit recordings in the past.

As I thought of this group, I thought of the staff and management of Orem City. You could call them the "The Staff of Strength". They too work together to produce excellent results for the City of Orem.

I appreciate our city management and staff. They work hard to keep our city running and running well. I appreciate all that they do for us as residents.

As I drove down 1600 N. this past week I watched our city road crew putting a new top layer of asphalt on the road. As I drove down 400 E. I watched our city public works crew working on repairing a water line. Earlier in the week I saw our grounds crew mowing one of the many lawns in our city.

As I drove down 800 E. I looked over the lawns and area of the cemetery and thought how beautiful they keep it for the families of those who are buried there. I looked at the lawn of the area south of there and thought how this is kept up in better shape than many home lawns and how much work it must take to keep it in such good condition.

A week ago I walked through one of our city parks and heard some of the residents mention how they really appreciated the new and updated playground equipment located there. I drove by the Scera Park and saw the new pavement being put in at the parking lot there.

I have seen how our social media staff works hard to provide information through our facebook page and other social media accounts to keep our residents better informed on happenings in the city. I have watched how they have helped sponsor young people to give the Pledge of Allegiance at our city council meetings.

As this is election time, I have watched how our city recorder and her office staff have worked hard to help those running for office. I have seen how they have been efficient in getting out information to candidates on the final canvas of the primary election.

As I interface with the Chief of Police and the Fire Chief, I can see how they work to provide opportunities for the children of the city to get to know them and their officers. I see how hard they work to protect our city and keep it safe.

I watch how our city manager works to get citizens questions answered quickly and fully on many different topics. I notice how he works to keep all of the various departments working together for the city residents.

A city of 95,000 residents takes a lot of work.

What I really appreciate is that when I go to turn the water on, it is there and is the best tasting water in the state. When our trash is taken out to the curb, it is picked up each week. When someone goes to use the bathroom, the sewer system works. When I go to drive down a road, it is in good condition and usable. When someone is in an accident the police and emergency officers are there to help. When a fire occurs the fire department is there to put it out. When a city sidewalk needs to be repaired, out city staff is there to do it. 

All the basic needs that our city requires, happens without my thinking about it. The services occur to help my family live and function and work and play. When I want to go swim, or recreate, or play tennis, or go to a park, those facilities are there waiting for me in good working condition.

So again I want to thank our city management and staff for the great work they do in providing for a great place to live, where all of these services happen in a good and efficient manner.

We have a city staff of strength that is a Tower of Power.

Mayor Brunst