County Communicator 12/9/22 Edition

COUNTY COMMUNICATOR

DECEMBER 9,2022

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SWEARING IN CEREMONY HON. HAMLYN

Upcoming

Events

December

10

December

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Kids Christmas Matinee s It's that time of year again when the State Theatre rolls out all the best kids' Christmas classics! Here's this year's line-up: December 10: The Grinch (free book and cookie for every kid!)

December 17 & 24: The Polar Express December 31: Abominable

Karaoke Sunday Come out and order some great food and drinks, receive great service and sing some great songs! Lil Bo has the largest selection of karaoke songs in Northern Michigan. If we don't have it, it isn't made for karaoke!

Men's Night

December

15

This night is a salute to the men! Enjoy all the excitement while you shop the night away and snare those last minute holiday gifts! More details coming soon!

Sounds of the Season

December

17

Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving when people around the world come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give. Silver Spruce Brewing hosts this special Giving Tuesday happy hour to support Traverse Area Recreational Trails (TART). TART staff will be on hand collecting donations and talking trails. Join the conversation, learn about the area's fabulous trail system and grab a tasty cider or beer. A dollar of the price of each pint will be donated to TART!

DECEMBER 9, 2022

THE COUNTY UPDATES

IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION FOR FUTURE COUNTY COMMUNICATORS: EMAIL HANNAH DUELL

NEW HIRES WELCOME TO THE COUNTY TEAM!

ASHLEY COLE CORRECTIONS OFFICER TORI BROBST EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATOR/DISPATCH EMMA FERGUSON CORRECTIONS OFFICER/JAIL CONI SPRAY ACCT TECH/TREASURERS DEBRA COOK ASSESSMENT NURSE / COA CHRISTINA BARNES UNIVERSAL AIDE/COA JEFFREY JAEGER MEI – HEALTH DEPARTMENT

CHRIS GWINN MEI

NEW HIRES GERALD CLARK

1

KASEY BRAMER

1

KATE MAREK

1

KENT WOODY

1

NATALIE COOK

1

CHRISTINE COIL

2

TONISTY WINTERER

2

DEVIN ROBERTS

3

EMMY LUCAS

3

SAM GEDMAN

3

JOHN LEACH

4

SARA DEMAN

4

NICOLE HUNTER

5

ROBERT GRAY

5

MATILDE TORRES

6

RON CLOUS

7

MIKE GODFREY

8

BROOKE BEARUP-DEBOER

12

SALLY RATHS

12

MATT KARCZEWSKI

15

DAWN RECTOR

16

DON VYVERBERG

19

ROSS ARNDT

20

MARTHA THORELL

21

HEIDI SMITH

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KAREN SANCHEZ

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PEGGY HAINES

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BOB COONEY

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SUE SCHAUB

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myGTC UPDATE

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY UNIVERSITY Have you checked out GTCU? County employees now have access to a wide variety of training materials for onboarding, Microsoft 365 and myGTC. GTCU is housed in SharePoint, and can be accessed here. Your login will be the same as your Outlook email login and password.

Other ways to access SharePoint: 1. Browser Outlook(Email) 2. Desktop Outlook (Email) Watch a tutorial on how to access SharePoint here.

myGTC

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VIDEO TUTORIAL ON FLIPBOOK Many people have had an issue with the size of the font within the flipbook version of the County Communicator. However, there are multiple ways to enlarge the format for better readability. Watch video below to learn how to maneuver within the flipbook.

Watch a video tutorial on how to use the flipbook version of the County Communicator.

HR Update

myGTC

PAGE 8

GOVERNMENTAL CENTER PARKING PERMIT-IMPORTANT

Beginning on January 1, 2023, the City and Grand Traverse County have entered into a lease agreement for the Governmental Center parking lot located at 400 Boardman Avenue. This agreement allows for employee parking spaces at no cost to those with a permit and license plate number on file.

This will be enforced by using license plate recognition software known as LPR. You do not have to send this form back if you do not park in the Governmental Center parking lot.

Please make sure that you fill out the attached form and send it back to Jennifer Kain (jkain2@gtcountymi.gov) in Human Resources by December 26, 2022. If you do not send this form back by December 26, 2022, and you park in the Governmental Center parking lot after January 1, 2023, you face the chance of paying for a parking ticket.

This is only for the Governmental parking spaces and not the courthouse parking lot.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me.

Thanks, Donna

myGTC UPDATE

myGTC

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Who is eligible for a parking permit?

Any current City or County employee, all active commissioners or board members, and any other individual approved by the City or County HR Directors.

How is permit parking enforced in the lot?

LPR can identify license plates and the active permit associated. When multiple license plates for one permit are in the same lot, the system flags the two license plates, and a citation will be issued.

Do you allow multiple license plates on one permit?

Yes. LPR allows for multiple license plates to be linked to one permit.

Will LPR work if I did not link my license plate to my permit?

No. The license plate must be linked to the permit in order for LPR to acknowledge the vehicle has an active permit.

A parking ticket was issued to a permit holder who did not register their plate. Will you void the ticket?

No. Parking permits must be linked to the license plates of vehicles that are parked in the permit area.

Failure to link a license plate indicates that no parking permit was issued to the vehicle at the time of the citation and the citation is valid.

A permit holder drove their spouse’s vehicle and was issued a ticket. Will you void the ticket?

No. Parking permits must be linked to the license plates of vehicles that are parked in the permit area.

Failure to link a license plate indicates that no parking permit was issued to the vehicle at the time of the citation and the citation is valid.

My permit has expired, and I received a ticket. Will you void the ticket?

No. Valid parking permits are required to park in designated permit areas.

How can I update my vehicle information?

All permit holders have access to their permit and vehicle information through the online portal. Use this link to access your account: https://downtowntc.t2hosted.com/Account/Portal How do I contact the Traverse City Parking Services?

Their offices are located at the Hardy Parking Garage at 303 East State Street. They may be reached by calling 231-922-0241 or by emailing parking@downtowntc.com.

myGTC UPDATE

myGTC

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EMPLOYEE SHOUTOUT! - SCOTT KURTZAL “The Equalization Department would like to thank Scott Kurtzal from IT for his help with our ArcGIS Enterprise upgrade on Tuesday, November 22nd. Beginning the upgrade at 5:30 pm, Scott stayed at work late into the evening hours with Josh Green and Mike Barres to upgrade our current online mapping applications in ArcGIS Enterprise. Over the course of 5.5 hours, the team worked through various road bumps while installing the upgraded software on 4 different machines, which interact to make the online mapping applications functional. Troubleshooting steps included managing user account passwords required for the update and configuring new web adaptors. The mapping applications impacted by this upgrade include the application that drives the Energov permitting software, the publicly popular parcel viewer, and other applications that serve the public and other county departments. Before the end of the night, all applications were functioning and there were no complaints about downtime or glitches associated with the update.”

EMPLOYEE SHOUTOUT! - KALI MARKHAM Kali Markham has been working very hard during the MyGTC roll out. She has gone to different departments to assist with time entry, and taken on many tasks that wouldn't ordinarily be in her job description to ensure the smoothest transition possible. She always acted professionally and willingly adapted to the additional workload. We greatly appreciate her extra work and positive attitude during the stressful transition to the new software.

myGTC UPDATE

myGTC

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PARKS AND REC- BILL MOUSER MEMORIAL TREE AT JACK’S LANDING, NATURAL EDUCATION RESERVE. The Grand Traverse County Parks Commission honored Bill Mouser, former Road and Parks Commissioner, with a tree and memorial at the Natural Education Reserve on Thursday, December 8, 2022. Bill’s contributions to the County Parks system and dedication to his community will forever be remembered through this memorial overlooking the Boardman River. Thank you, Bill!

PARKS AND REC- IMPROVEMENTS COMING TO PARK RESERVATION PROCESS Beginning in January 2023, the Parks Department will introduce a new reservation software solution.

The department has selected Civic Rec as its new provider with the goal to simplify internal processes and offer customers a more user-friendly platform to make park reservations.

COUNTY UPDATES

UPDATES

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VIEW THE ARPA APPLICATIONS The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) applications are complete. To view the ARPA applications from the Grand Traverse County community, click here.

RESOURCE RECOVERY SURVEY Grand Traverse County residents and businesses. We would greatly appreciate your feedback on the future of waste and recycling opportunities in our region. Please take a few minutes to participate in this online survey.

Together, we can help to shape what the future of our beautiful region will look like. Thank you for your participation.

Click here to take the survey.

COUNTY UPDATES LIGHT PARADE

UPDATES

PAGE 10

WELLNESS FEEL, THINK, LIVE, BE... WELL!

FIND AND KEEP YOUR JOY ALWAYS Every day has something positive in it, but some days you just might have to look a little harder.

Keep your joy year-round! You don’t have to let bad news and negativity ruin your day, because you have a choice about where you focus your attention and how you choose to respond to any situation. Ask yourself, “Is there another more positive way I could view this?” Hundreds of studies have shown that being able to think optimistically is good for your health and wellbeing. Some examples of keeping your joy may include meditation, listening to music, gratitude journaling, following your passion, surrounding yourself with positive individuals, and more.

Simple habits can spark joy throughout the year! Unleash your joy potential today: Seek joy Write a joy list Practice gratitude Remain mindful and savor each moment Find the extraordinary in the ordinary Spread kindness Spend time with nature Let go of the negative

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

AUTHENTIC SOPA DE TORTILLA (SOPA AZTECA) 1 cup roma tomato diced 6 cups vegetable stock preferably homemade 1 pasilla chile, stemmed 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil 1/2 cup carrot (about 1 carrot) julienned 1/4 cup onion chopped 1/2 Tablespoon fresh ground pepper 1 teaspoon kosher salt Toppings 8 baked corn tortillas cut into strips 1 avocado peeled & diced ½ cup plant-based queso, panela, queso fresco or cotija cheese crumbled lime wedges cilantro chopped Directions 1. Place the tomato, vegetable stock, pasilla chile, and oregano in a blender. Puree and set aside. (see note #1 below) 2. Place a saucepan or stockpot over medium heat and add oil to coat the bottom. Add the carrot and onion and saute until lightly browned.

3. Add the tomato-chile puree, salt & pepper. Bring to a simmer and taste for seasoning. Add more if needed.

4. Simmer slowly for about 10 minutes to develop flavor.

5. Serve hot and garnish with the tortilla strips, avocado & cheese. Squeeze some lime juice to taste if desired

GTC FACEBOOK PAGES GRAND TRAVERSE 911

HEALTH DEPARTMENT

ANIMAL CONTROL

PARKS & RECREATION

EMERGENCY MANAGMENT

SENIOR CENTER NETWORK

GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY

SHERIFF'S OFFICE

VETERAN AFFAIRS

You deserve it. Take a break. Relax & read the County Communicator!