Full Text
WEEKLY BRIEFS - City of Arvada internal news October 16, 2023 Arts and Culture Commission votes to return lost art to original artists and their families Learn the story of how nine pieces of colcha embroidery art are being returned to the original artists and their families after the art was unknowingly held in City storage at the Arvada Center for 41 years. The lost art was unearthed by Arvada Center staff in preparation for a 2023 colcha art exhibition at the Arvada Center. The artworks had been held in city storage dating back to a colcha exhibition at the Arvada Center in 1982, and their whereabouts were unknown to both the artists and their families The Arvada Arts and Culture Commission recently voted to officially return the art back to the original artists and their families. If you live in Arvada, take the Community Survey by Oct. 31! If you live in Arvada (or have friends or family who do), we invite you to take the City’s Community survey. Resident feedback is critical to the City's understanding of the current and future needs of Arvada and acts as a consumer report card, providing residents the opportunity to rate their satisfaction with their quality of life, community amenities and local government. The survey is available in English and Spanish at ArvadaSurvey.com or by calling [PHONE REDACTED]. To learn more about the Community Survey and review past survey results, visit ArvadaCO.gov/Community-Survey. Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- Organizational Service Effectiveness Work System How to protect yourself from respiratory infections, including the Flu and COVID View this flyer to learn more about what you can do to protect yourself from respiratory illnesses this fall and winter. Updated COVID-19 recommendations What to do if you test positive for COVID-19 If you test positive for COVID-19, we advise that you isolate. Please keep the following in mind: ● Day 0 of isolation is the day of onset, regardless of when you tested positive ● Day 1 is the first full day after the day your started We also recommend that you do the following: ● Stay home for 5 days. ● If you have no or your are resolving after 5 days, you can leave your house. ● Continue to wear a mask around others for 5 additional days. ● If you have a fever, continue to stay home until your fever resolves. What to do if you are exposed to someone with COVID-19 If you are exposed to COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status or previous infection, it is recommend that you do the following: ● Instead of quarantining, wear a high-quality mask as soon as you find out you were exposed. Wear a mask for 10 days and get tested on day 5. Please also keep the following in mind: ● Start counting from Day 1. Day 1 is the first full day after your last exposure ● Day 0 is the day of your last exposure to someone with COVID-19 ● Get tested at least 5 full days after your last exposure. ● Test even if you don’t develop You can access COVID testing at your physician's office and some stand-alone testing sites. The CDC also has a locator search. Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- As always, consult with your doctor regarding your and the severity of your illness. Please stay home if you are not feeling well. Continue to protect your health and the health of others by following these guidelines and the advice of your doctor. Please notify your supervisor if you have tested positive or have been exposed to COVID-19. Please contact Human Resources Manager Jeff Monzingo at [EMAIL REDACTED] or Senior HR Business Partner Scott Jarvis at [EMAIL REDACTED] if you have questions. Registration is now open for One Community Summit! Join your Arvada colleagues and other local government and non-profit employees from around the region to learn how to best serve our increasingly diverse communities. Participants will gain: ● Connection and collaboration ● Learning and cultivating new skills and tools ● Exposure to new resources and supports ● Courage to move from awareness to action Attendance is cost-free for participants thanks to funding by partner organizations. See the full schedule and register through the One Community Summit website. Reduce slips, trips and falls! Prepare for winter: Attend a seminar and get your cleats (and earn a Wellness Program Punch)! Winter is coming, and we want you to be prepared. Think about the job you perform and the environmental conditions during the tasks that you do. We want to help reduce slip and fall risks for all members of our City team! Attend a seminar to learn how you can prepare yourself for winter work PT Ergonomic Specialist Valerie Reed will present two Slips, Trips, and Falls Ergonomic talks in October. Locations are subject to change. Sign up may be required due to limited space in Anne Campbell. ● Oct. 26, 9 a.m., City Council Chambers Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- If you have questions about winter preparedness, reach out to Valerie at [PHONE REDACTED] or at [EMAIL REDACTED]. Get your ice cleats Please consider using ice cleats in those higher risk, icy conditions. Central Stores now has an additional cleats option, the K1 Ice Cleat. It is pictured above in the first two photos. The other two cleat options currently in Central Stores are pictured above as well. The K1 option may work better for you if you are having to intermittently operate machinery, plows and/or climb on/off or in/out of vehicles or indoor work areas. With the K1 option, you can easily slide the cleat from the bottom to the top of your boot and even leave it on when not in use for easy access for the next time you do use it! Every ice cleat fits differently. There are varying profiles of cleats, and each set of cleats may have different optimal conditions for use. We encourage you to take the time to consider what may work safely and best for you in the conditions you work in and use the cleats to reduce your personal risk of a painful fall and/or injury. Contact Jim Mclaughlin, [EMAIL REDACTED], at Central Stores to help you determine the best option for you! Changes in personal use room Beginning Monday, Oct. 16, the personal use room in City Hall, located across from the locker rooms in the gym area, will be designated solely for the use of nursing mothers. We made this change to ensure compliance with the recently passed PUMP Act. We will continue to provide a personal use room for employees; this room is located just outside and around the corner from the gym area in the back of CED. Employees can reserve this room by making a calendar appointment in the same manner as booking any other room in the city. The room is listed as “Personal Use Room”. For those who need the use of the mother’s room you will need a code to access the room. You can get an access code by emailing Katie Will at [EMAIL REDACTED] in Facilities. Katie will provide users with an individual Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- code allowing access to the room. To reserve the mother’s room just make a calendar appointment. The room is listed as “Mother’s Room”. If you have questions, please contact Scott Jarvis (x7571), Leesha Neuhold (x7566), or Katie Will (x7696). Cybersecurity Awareness Month: How to detect a phishing email Phishing is a social engineering attack that aims to steal sensitive user data such as login credentials, credit card numbers, etc. Attackers pretend to be trustworthy entities and lure victims into opening an email, instant message, or text message. Victims are then tricked into clicking on a malicious link or downloading an attachment that can install malware, result in the disclosure of confidential information, or take over the system as part of a ransomware attack. Phishing emails often rely on social engineering techniques to gather the victim's information. There are two primary types of phishing email attacks: Standard and Spear phishing. Standard phishing often targets a large group of people intending to compromise at least one victim. The attacker knows that this approach may not be accurate and may not work on everyone in the group, but it only takes one successful victim for them to gain a foothold. Spear phishing is a highly targeted phishing attack that targets a specific individual, organization, or group of people. Unlike generic phishing campaigns, which send mass emails to a wide range of potential victims, spear phishing is more personalized and tailored to the intended target. Here are some tips and tricks to protect yourself against falling victim to a phishing email: ● Examine the sender's address: Always check the sender's email address. It might resemble a legitimate address but could have a slight variation or misspelling. ● Look for generic greetings: Many phishing emails start with vague salutations like "Dear User" or "Dear Account Holder." Legitimate companies will typically use your name. ● Check for spelling errors: It is often observed that attackers tend to pay less attention to spelling and grammar, which is not typically the case with regular senders. ● Examine the link: It is crucial to examine links before clicking on them. To do this, hover your mouse over the link (without clicking) to see where it leads. The real destination will appear at the bottom of your browser. If the link in the hover-over text does not match the link in the text or if it does not lead to the official website of the sender, it is best to be cautious and avoid clicking on it. ● Verify legitimacy: When in doubt, contact the company or individual directly using a verified phone number or email address instead of replying to the questionable email. Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- ● Sense of urgency: Many phishing attempts try to create a sense of urgency, claiming that your account is in jeopardy or that you need to confirm details immediately. Always be cautious and think twice before taking action based on such messages. ● Attachment: It's essential to be cautious when dealing with unexpected email attachments, especially if there are other warning signs. Malicious attachments may contain malware that can risk your device's security. ● Check for signature: A lack of details about the signer or company strongly suggests phishing. Legitimate businesses always provide contact information. ● Requests for personal information: Legitimate companies will never ask for personal or financial information, passwords or other sensitive details via email. If you are uncertain about an email's legitimacy, always take action by clicking on the orange phishing hook or forwarding to [EMAIL REDACTED] to notify the IT security team. We will investigate the email further to ensure the safety of the organization. It is better to report something that turns out to be legitimate than to risk the organization's security. Your IT Service Desk Team can be reached at: Website: itservicedesk.arvada.org Email: [EMAIL REDACTED] Phone: [PHONE REDACTED] x.4357 After hours phone: [PHONE REDACTED] IT team will be uninstalling PaperCut Client software PaperCut Client was first implemented by the City of Arvada in 2019 to capture billing codes for documents printed to City printers. We no longer use PaperCut Client for this or any other purpose, and the client software will be retired from staff workstations starting this month. PaperCut Client will be removed silently in the background, and there will be no disruption, alerts, or impact to staff when this update occurs. PaperCut server will continue to operate. You can access job information, history, and other details on the City’s website. The schedule is listed below: Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- Network Logon Credential Password Minimum Length Increase On Wednesday, Nov. 1, the IT Department will be increasing the minimum character length for our network logon credential passwords. The new minimum character length will be 16 characters. We are making this change because our current standards are out of date with modern security thresholds and must be adjusted to provide adequate security protection. The new standards will be enforced the next time your account has reached the 90 day password age limit. With this change, please take the opportunity to ensure that you are using a password that is unique to your Arvada account- a password that has not been used anywhere else on the internet. Password reuse is a leading cause of cybersecurity incidents for organizations. We also encourage you to employ a rather than a Password. A is a sentence-like string of words that is longer than a traditional password, which is easy to remember and difficult to crack. Best practices that users can incorporate when creating strong include the following: ● Use an easy to remember but uncommon group of three to eight words. ● Use capital letters or capitalize certain words. ● Add punctuation and special characters that make sense to you but no one else. ● Use unusual or abbreviated spellings of words. ● Make some letters into numbers. ● Spaces are allowed and count as special characters Below are examples of that meet our complexity standards (do not use these): ● Purpleturkeybanana#7 ● ● $2FidgetywhiteSquirrel ● Red@ndyellowthencame2b ● V00dooIcandowh@tudoEZ Open Enrollment 2024 The annual Employee Benefits Open Enrollment period is Oct. 23 through Nov. 3. This applies to all full-time and part-time benefited employees and health plan eligible employees. What makes Open Enrollment important to me? ● For most employees, this is the only window to make any Benefit changes and/or update Benefit coverage! Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- ● Most 2023 Benefits automatically rollover to 2024, EXCEPT for Flexible Spending Accounts (Health FSA and Dependent Care FSA). ● No action is needed UNLESS: ○ You want to make Benefit changes. ○ You want to participate with an FSA Plan(s): You must actively enroll in the Flexible Spending Accounts to have a 2024 Plan. ● There are some enhancements to the UMR and Dental plans for 2024, so please attend one of the onsite presentations to learn about the enhancements. Virtual options and a recording will also be available. Upcoming Open Enrollment Events Benefits presentations coming to your facility! Presentations will include an overview of benefits, information about any changes coming in 2024, and Q&A sessions. No registration is required to attend. There will also be a recording available on Inside Arvada. Onsite and virtual benefits presentations DATE TIME LOCATION Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023 7 to 8 a.m. Anne Campbell Room, City Hall 8101 Ralston Rd. Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023 7 to 8 a.m. Streets Shop 6161 Olde Wadsworth Blvd. Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Virtual Open Enrollment Register for the Webinar Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023 7 to 8 a.m. Wastewater Shop 5555 W. 56th Ave. Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Council Chambers, City Hall 8101 Ralston Rd. Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023 7 to 8 a.m. Indiana Shops, Lunchroom Indiana St. Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023 1 to 2 p.m. Dr. V Bayer on The Mindful Path to Health Goals Register for the Webinar Open Enrollment contact information If you have any questions, contact Human Resources Benefits Specialist Leesha Neuhold at [EMAIL REDACTED]. Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 ways to protect yourself from cyber fraud View this flyer to learn 5 things that you can do to keep your Fidelity workplace savings account safe. Fidelity phone appointments will be available on Tuesday, Oct. 24 and Wednesday, Oct. 25 Sam Casad from Fidelity will be holding 30 minute phone appointments this month on Tuesday, Oct. 24 and Wednesday, Oct. 25. Any participant from ANY of our City retirement plans can sign up for one of these appointments. All appointments are FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED. Please use the links below to access sign up sheets for these appointments. Each link has several 30 minute appointment times you can reserve. When signing up, please provide your name and a phone number for Sam to call you. On the sign up sheet, you will also see 5 additional alternate spots listed as well. These alternates will only be contacted if Sam has extra time during the day, or if he cannot reach someone who had signed up. He will call those people in the order they are signed up. ● Tuesday, Oct. 24 phone appointments ● Wednesday, Oct. 25 phone appointments If you are unable to get a phone appointment, you can also speak to a Fidelity rep by phone by calling customer service at 1-[PHONE REDACTED], or by accessing the numerous financial resources available by logging into your account through Fidelity NetBenefits. Arvada University Update Register in advance on the Arvada University Learning Calendar. Contact Liza Nolder ([EMAIL REDACTED]) with questions. Session/topic Date Registration details Type of Training Host Conscious Communication Oct. 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Register on Inside Arvada In person, Government Center, Brighton Adams County Ergonomics in the Workplace Available anytime on Learn Register on Learn Virtual, Valerie Reed Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- *Wellness Punch! Send a screenshot of your course completion to [EMAIL REDACTED] for credit.* Leading without Authority Oct. 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Register on Inside Arvada Virtual Employment Matters Mitigating Unconscious Bias Oct. 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Register on Inside Arvada In person, West Woods Community Room Employment Matters Trakstar New User Training Nov. 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Register on Inside Arvada In person, PD Training Room, City Hall Jeff Monzingo and Scott Jarvis Cultural Humility Nov. 9 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Register on Inside Arvada Government Center, Brighton Adams County 7 Habits of Highly Effective People *Emerging Leader prerequisite* Nov. 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Register on Inside Arvada West Woods Community Room Noelle Oberg Sign up for mandatory cybersecurity trainings Cybersecurity Awareness Month is coming up this October, and so are required cybersecurity trainings! All employees are required to attend one session. Please sign up for one of the sessions below. ● Thursday, Oct. 19 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. ○ Hybrid: Council Chambers and Zoom ○ Sign up on NEOGOV ● Monday, Oct. 23 from 9 to 10 a.m. ○ Hybrid: Council Chambers and Zoom ○ Sign up on NEOGOV Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- ● Wednesday, Oct. 25 from 2 to 3 p.m. ○ In person: Ann Campbell ○ Sign up on NEOGOV Employee Committee Corner Halloween Parade with Lawrence Elementary and Arvada K-8 The ghouls and goblins are back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 31, starting at 9 a.m. at Wolff Park, across the street from City Hall. Pre-K and Kindergarten students from Lawrence Elementary and Arvada K-8 will be stopping by for some treats from the City of Arvada employees stationed around the park. We invite you to dress up and participate in the Halloween Wagon Decorating Contest and theme your team in style! Winner gets a pizza party for their team! Look for contest rules coming soon. Please contact your Employee Committee at [EMAIL REDACTED] if you have questions. Thank you to everyone who attended the Employee Fall Carnival! The Employee Carnival on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at Clear Creek Valley Park was a successful event! Our team enjoyed food trucks, a comedian, carnival games, and delicious carnival treats. We appreciate everyone who came together to celebrate our incredible teammates and the work that we accomplish to Dream Big and Deliver. Thank you to our FANTASTIC Employee Committee, Janice Short, Tara Woods, Noelle Oberg, Layla Diaz, Adelle Burton, Steve Milke, Brady Portfield-Finn, Vesta Kruk, the Parks Department, Hyland Hills Parks and Recreation District, the Nascar Team, the Human Resources team, Sam Adams (comedian), Scraps, Adobo food trucks, Fun Production, and the many more who organized this great event! If you would like to see photos from the event, please visit: 2023 Employee Appreciation Carnival Photos. Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- About the Employee Committee Employee Committee representatives meet in order to plan and coordinate events as well as collect departmental updates to bring back to their respective teams. Check out the links below to see who your representative is, view the upcoming list of potential City events and browse Employee Committee meeting minutes: ● Find My Rep! ● 2023 Events Schedule* *Please note: this is a working document and all events are subject to change. ● Meeting Minutes - September Please contact your Employee Committee at [EMAIL REDACTED] if you have questions. Meet our new October hires This month's New Hire Orientation was held on October 4. Join me in welcoming our newest employees! Jessica Garner (Director of CED), Xavian Picaso (Utility Systems Technician), Kenny Lontine (Utility Systems Technician), Alex Hovet (Police Officer) and Chris Jones (Streets Technician).I Employee status changes We invite you to view this spreadsheet to see employee status changes. Employees may demonstrate interest in similar job opportunities in the future by contacting Human Resources at [EMAIL REDACTED] or [PHONE REDACTED], or your supervisor to obtain additional information. Here’s how to view City of Arvada job postings All City of Arvada job opportunities are posted on our job link. Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- Vibrant Community & Neighborhoods Work System World Migratory Bird Day celebration was a success! The World Migratory Bird Day celebration was a fun day for everyone involved! Nearly 200 people attended and enjoyed booths from our partners at Standley Lake, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Denver Audubon, Habitat Heroes, Wild Birds Unlimited and Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. In addition to booths, Nature’s Educators brought a Bald Eagle, Swainson’s Hawk and Turkey Vulture for visitors to see and our partners at Colorado Avian Research and Rehabilitation Institute showed participants how they band birds with a variety of species caught in a net on-site. To top it all off, the Solar Eclipse had everyone in awe! We’re grateful to all of the volunteers and partners who made this event possible. Safe Community Hops and Cops On October 12, Arvada Police personnel hosted a new community engagement event at Colorado Tap House. By changing the event time and venue type, APD officers were able to meet and engage with a different segment of the community than in previous events. Some City employees attended also! We look forward to sharing details about additional future events. Email your news to