There has been a lot happening here over the past few days!
Vickie and I are in charge of the Marana table at the League of Cities and Towns showcase of Towns convention. Each participating jurisdiction has a booth where they present all thats awesome about their city/town. Vickie and I have been working diligently on ours. We have a theme, and have talked with some of the other departments about how to implement that design with actual materials and devices the Town uses. I think that the more authentic the booth, the more attractive and interesting it will be. I really want it to be the most popular at the convention! I think we are on our way to having a successful event.
I have also been working on getting through all of the wastewater files and documents. I was lucky enough to have two staff members help me drag and drop. Thank goodness for them! They are saving me so much time and are allowing me to focus on the other documents that do NOT even have names or assignments yet. We should have a big document party once they are all renamed and assigned to the proper folder! I know it sounds totally boring, but for a giant nerd like me...its the best thing ever!
The commissions project has been coming along nicely and I have a meeting with the Town Manager at the end of the week to go over what has been done so far. I hope that he likes it and can give us some great feedback before we take the idea to the department heads. Another thing I am nervous about!
The survey I have been creating with HR seems to be working out great. We sent it out to a test group and got some great feedback. I have been reorganizing questions and types of responses to make it that much better. I think that by the end of the summer, the survey will be implemented.
I am so excited that some of things I have been working on are coming to fruition! I have been working hard and am glad to see that my work is paying off. I don't think that would have been the case this quickly if I had worked for a large municipality. I am glad to be here, and working on these projects just reinforces that notion each day!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
QT and Trico Adventures
Today was busy! I started the morning at the Grand Opening of the new Quick Trip gas station that opened on the east side of I-10 at Cortaro. There is a few QTs by my house and they are awesome, so I was really looking forward to this event. It started right at 8am and the Chamber of Commerce had a ribbon cutting ceremony just like with the Legacy Apartments. It was really neat to see all the people who had worked on the project there to see the final result. The planning department, the Town Manager and Deputy Town Manager as well as many of the council members were there to help congratulate the people at QT for a job well done. It will be a terrific sales tax and HURF revenue generator for the Town and the State, which is great with the current economic climate. I was really impressed with how many people were there, not just for the ribbon cutting but were already there buying gas and other gas station goodies. It looks like they are going to do really well.
The other event we had this morning was the dedication of the new Trico Electric Co-Op's solar field. It is right next to the Trico building on Tangerine. This is an amazing new feature for Trico members.
NERD ALERT!
This new solar field allows members to purchase a portion of a solar panel and use the energy it generates for as a credit on their electric bill. They can buy a quarter or up to the entire panel! It allows the members to reduce reliance on "non-green" methods of energy in a cost effective manner. Here are some FAQs if you are a Trico member and want to learn more about the program. Sadly, I am not a Trico member...
The rest of the day was taken up with meetings, finishing up projects and learning about new projects. My Manrana Legends list is almost complete, I am tracking down a few more phone numbers and addresses for the lady writing a book on local legends including Marana, Oro Valley and Catalina. Should be fascinating with all the history in the area. I also met with some of the staff to begin work on finding a way to work with the United Way. It had tried to be done in the past and had some challenges, but now we are hoping to get the program reinstated and starting giving back to the community in other ways.
As the summer has gone along I have really been given the opportunity to be involved with many facets of the town. I have been able to work with HR, Strategic Initiatives, the Manager's Office, and Utilities and many other areas. It just reinforces one of the major pluses about working in a municipality like Marana; each department works directly with others on a pretty daily basis. I enjoy learning about the interconnected manner of the different agencies and be able to use other people's and department's talents toward a project. This does not seem like the norm, just another way that Marana is innovative and ahead of the game!
The other event we had this morning was the dedication of the new Trico Electric Co-Op's solar field. It is right next to the Trico building on Tangerine. This is an amazing new feature for Trico members.
NERD ALERT!
This new solar field allows members to purchase a portion of a solar panel and use the energy it generates for as a credit on their electric bill. They can buy a quarter or up to the entire panel! It allows the members to reduce reliance on "non-green" methods of energy in a cost effective manner. Here are some FAQs if you are a Trico member and want to learn more about the program. Sadly, I am not a Trico member...
The rest of the day was taken up with meetings, finishing up projects and learning about new projects. My Manrana Legends list is almost complete, I am tracking down a few more phone numbers and addresses for the lady writing a book on local legends including Marana, Oro Valley and Catalina. Should be fascinating with all the history in the area. I also met with some of the staff to begin work on finding a way to work with the United Way. It had tried to be done in the past and had some challenges, but now we are hoping to get the program reinstated and starting giving back to the community in other ways.
As the summer has gone along I have really been given the opportunity to be involved with many facets of the town. I have been able to work with HR, Strategic Initiatives, the Manager's Office, and Utilities and many other areas. It just reinforces one of the major pluses about working in a municipality like Marana; each department works directly with others on a pretty daily basis. I enjoy learning about the interconnected manner of the different agencies and be able to use other people's and department's talents toward a project. This does not seem like the norm, just another way that Marana is innovative and ahead of the game!
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Busy Little Bee
I have been having such a great time during my internship!
In the past week or so I have given 2 newspaper interviews, along with Vickie. These were new experiences for me and I was glad that I had the opportunity. One was published in the Northwest Section of the Arizona Daily Star, and the other has yet to be published, but will be in the Marana Explorer. It was a great way to talk about our projects and time with the Town, while also learning how to interact with the media. I was nervous, but glad that I was able to do it also.
I have been dilligently working away trying to get the wastewater documentation under control. There are documents that go back to the IGA from 1979! Each of these needs to be identified and then filed in the appropriate area. I have created all the folders and now its just organizing. I am obsessed with getting through all the files and make sure they are right and orderly and uniform. It is almost a compulsion. I should really seek some type of help....
I also have been working on an internal HR survey for employee's skills. Researching online survey tools as well as how they work has been challenging. I was used to one system, but it might not be the best at exporting the data we are looking for. I am using one program and Vickie is using another for her emergency preparedness survey. Once the survey melee has come to a close, we will make a final decision on which system to use. I'm nervous about the survey, I programmed some logic and branching so I hope that programming works.
My other projects include a new system for Boards and Commissions, a project with United Way, a Marana "All-Stars" reserach project for a local legends book, and Vickie and I are in charge of the Marana booth for the League of Arizona Cities and Towns Conference at the end of August. There is so much going on! I am really excited about all of these projects. It makes my days really full and fun.
I have been working on trying not to get overwhelmed with one project and being able to participate in many different things has been awesome. The best part is that everyone is so supportive of you and your ideas. I had a meeting a few weeks ago with the Deputy Town Manager, the Town Attorney and other higher-ups within the Town. I was really nervous since I was presenting them with my ideas and my projects and they were amazing! Really understood where I was going and gave great feedback for how they believe the system will work. That has been one of the most rewarding parts of the past few weeks. Knowing that everyone here is rooting for you to do well (and the home team).
In the past week or so I have given 2 newspaper interviews, along with Vickie. These were new experiences for me and I was glad that I had the opportunity. One was published in the Northwest Section of the Arizona Daily Star, and the other has yet to be published, but will be in the Marana Explorer. It was a great way to talk about our projects and time with the Town, while also learning how to interact with the media. I was nervous, but glad that I was able to do it also.
I have been dilligently working away trying to get the wastewater documentation under control. There are documents that go back to the IGA from 1979! Each of these needs to be identified and then filed in the appropriate area. I have created all the folders and now its just organizing. I am obsessed with getting through all the files and make sure they are right and orderly and uniform. It is almost a compulsion. I should really seek some type of help....
I also have been working on an internal HR survey for employee's skills. Researching online survey tools as well as how they work has been challenging. I was used to one system, but it might not be the best at exporting the data we are looking for. I am using one program and Vickie is using another for her emergency preparedness survey. Once the survey melee has come to a close, we will make a final decision on which system to use. I'm nervous about the survey, I programmed some logic and branching so I hope that programming works.
My other projects include a new system for Boards and Commissions, a project with United Way, a Marana "All-Stars" reserach project for a local legends book, and Vickie and I are in charge of the Marana booth for the League of Arizona Cities and Towns Conference at the end of August. There is so much going on! I am really excited about all of these projects. It makes my days really full and fun.
I have been working on trying not to get overwhelmed with one project and being able to participate in many different things has been awesome. The best part is that everyone is so supportive of you and your ideas. I had a meeting a few weeks ago with the Deputy Town Manager, the Town Attorney and other higher-ups within the Town. I was really nervous since I was presenting them with my ideas and my projects and they were amazing! Really understood where I was going and gave great feedback for how they believe the system will work. That has been one of the most rewarding parts of the past few weeks. Knowing that everyone here is rooting for you to do well (and the home team).
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