City snapshot

• Don't forget the barbecue at City Hall on Thursday, June 22, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., to meet the City Councilors, City staff, and new City Manager Brant Kucera. There will be free hamburgers and hotdogs for everyone and live music by The Anvil Blasters.

• Sisters City Council approved the placement of a bicycle fix-it station near the bike lockers at Village Green Park. The four-foot-tall station, which is only 6-1/2 inches in circumference, contains the most commonly used tools needed for simple bike maintenance repairs, a manual pump, hanger arms on the top that will accommodate most types of bikes, and a QR code on the front of the station that will take smart-phone users to a comprehensive bike repair website. Each tool is secured to the station with braided stainless steel aircraft cables. The screwdrivers and Allen wrenches are on swivel connectors for easier use. The station was acquired by the Sisters Trails Alliance.

• During a public hearing at last week's Council meeting, councilors approved the appropriation of funds for the $13,128,758 fiscal year 2017/18 budget and directed staff to file the budget with the county clerk. They also approved the City's tax levy of $2.6417 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

• A sewer connection agreement between the City and Sisters Eagle Air formalizes when the airport will connect to the City sewer. If there is a failure in the current airport sewer system or any new structures requiring plumbing are built, increasing the capacity, then immediate hook-up would be required. If neither of those events occur, connection to the City system will be required by February 2019, the same timeframe as hook-up to the City water.

• Joe O'Neill, City finance officer, provided Council with a quarterly financial report, which indicated that on the income side, property tax income is on track for FY 2016/17.

The transient room tax (TRT) being collected is exceeding predictions by "quite a bit," according to O'Neill.

There has been a big increase in the income from system development charges (SDCs) due to increased construction going on in Sisters.

Interest income being earned has also increased.

On the expense side, a disbursement of the TRT is always high at the end of the budget year as is the debt service payment.

Big expenses for 2016/17 have included street overlay, the new campground restroom 50 percent grant match, and the City's share of the roundabout.

• Ann Marland, Sisters resident and 10-year member of the Sisters Trails Alliance, was appointed by Council to represent Sisters on the county Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC). Marland told Council that she would work to provide more connectivity between the trails and the town

• Community Development Director Patrick Davenport reported to Council that the Sisters vision project should be getting underway this fall, after new City Manager Brant Kucera is at the helm. The City has received a $10,000 grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust through the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council to help with expenses related to the project. The Rural Development Initiative has also indicated an interest in providing assistance.

• Davenport reported that a number of building projects in Sisters are on hold because of a tight labor supply throughout Central Oregon. The new Dairy Queen, however, was scheduled to open on Monday, June 19 and is currently hiring.