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WEEKLY BRIEFS - City of Arvada internal news Jan. 1, 2024 Meyers Pool progress update Construction on the Meyers Pool replacement began in Fall 2023. In December, concrete crews started pouring the base foundation and everything is right on schedule. Watch this video with footage of concrete pouring and updates from Facilities Manager, Kim Vagher. For regular updates on construction progress, visit the Meyers Pool project page. ACTION REQUIRED on updates to Personnel Rules and Employee Policies by Feb. 2 In 2023, the City’s Human Resources team collaborated with the Legal team to make several significant updates to the City’s Personnel Rules, which are ordinances approved by City Council, and numerous Employee Policies, which are City Manager’s Office approved guidelines to help with the implementation process related to the Rules. On Jan. 3, 2024, the HR team emailed all employees the links to these updated rules and policies, as well as an electronic acknowledgement form that is required to be signed and submitted by every City employee. Please note that MuniCode and Intranet updates are currently in process, with expected completion in the near future. Please view the links below: ● View the updated Personnel Rules, as well as a copy of the red-lined version of the rules that shows all the updates. ● View the updated Employee Policies, as well as the red-lined version of the policies that shows all the updates. Every city employee is responsible for reading and understanding these policies, as well as for completing the EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGMENT FORM. Once you click the SUBMIT button, the form will be sent electronically to both the HR team and your email. This acknowledgement form must be completed by February 2, 2024. If you have any questions about any of the updates or the acknowledgement process, please fill out this Google form. An HR team member will reach out to you to answer or clarify your question. Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- Network logon credential password minimum length increase New minimum character length for passwords goes into effect on Jan. 3 at 9 a.m. On Wednesday, Jan. 3 at 9 a.m., 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. The original change date of Nov. 1 had to be pushed back. We are making this change because our current standards are out of date with modern security thresholds and must be adjusted to provide adequate security protection.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 To protect your password, do not share it with anyone, even us. We won’t ever ask you for your password and don’t need it to provide assistance. If we reset your password, we will have you immediately change it so you are the only one who knows it. Your IT Service Desk Team can be reached at: Website: Email: [EMAIL REDACTED] Phone: [PHONE REDACTED] x.4357 Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- Thank you to everyone who donated and volunteered for the Community Donation Drive! The City’s Community Donation Drive to provide urgently needed items to unhoused individuals in Arvada and migrants in Denver wrapped up on Dec. 17. From gently-used items to brand-new coats to handmade Winter hats, the Arvada community showed an outpouring of generosity. The team filled more than 50 large-sized moving boxes with urgently-needed items, which have been distributed to those in need. Thank you to those who coordinated, donated or sorted items to make this drive happen! Fidelity Phone Appointments available on Jan. 9 and 10 Sam Casad from Fidelity will be holding 30-minute phone appointments this month on Tuesday, Jan. 9 and Wednesday, Jan. 10. 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. 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. Phone Appointments - Tuesday, Jan. 9 Phone Appointments - Wednesday, Jan. 10 If you are unable to get a phone appointment, you can also speak to a Fidelity representative 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. Martin Luther King Jr. Day event opportunities The City of Aurora, Colorado is hosting a variety of events to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 15. View this schedule of events to learn more. Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- 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. 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 Delegation Skills Jan. 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Register on Inside Arvada Virtual Employment Matters Trakstar New User Training Jan. 24 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Register on Inside Arvada In-Person PD Training Room Jeff Monzingo and Scott Jarvis Project Management Training Jan. 25 from 1 to 5 p.m. Register on Inside Arvada Virtual City of Arvada Internal Project Management Team Conflict Tools: Empowering Others Jan. 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Register on Inside Arvada Virtual Employment Matters The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People *This course is a prerequisite for the Emerging Leader Program* Jan. 31 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Register on Inside Arvada In Person West Woods Community Room Noelle Oberg Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- Employee Committee Corner 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: ● 2024 Find My Rep! ● 2024 Events Schedule* - All City event dates coming soon! *Please note: this is a working document and all events are subject to change. ● Meeting Minutes - Look for updates after our January 18th meeting Please contact your Employee Committee at [EMAIL REDACTED] if you have questions. Vibrant Community & Neighborhoods Work System Majestic View Nature Center In 2023, volunteers contributed 2,580 hours to the mission of Majestic View NatureCenter – connecting people to nature through the demonstration garden, exhibits,outreach, programs, and more. This contribution is valued at $88,864 and made an unbelievable number of things possible in the past year. Check out the list of accomplishments made possible by the hard work of our dedicated volunteers. Recycle your Christmas tree at Stenger Sports Complex The City’s annual Christmas tree recycling program is open now through Monday, Jan. 15. The drop-off site is located at the southwest corner of W. 58th Ave. and Oak St. at Stenger Sports Complex. The drop-off site is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Free mulch is available on site while supplies last. Residents are responsible for loading and hauling their own mulch. Please make sure your tree is free of nails, wire and all decorations. For more information, visit the ArvadaCO.gov webpage. Email your news to ---PAGE BREAK--- City, AURA break ground on Garrison Garden Paseo linear park In partnership with the Arvada Urban Renewal Authority (AURA), the City recently broke ground on its newest park project, the Garrison Garden Paseo. The new linear park – or paseo – is located between 57th Avenue to the south and Ralston Road to the north. The newly designed walkway will feature a shaded overlook and add a more gentle slope to the existing corridor to make the space more accessible for all users. The project is expected to be completed in the late fall of 2024. Visit the Garrison Garden Paseo project page for more information. Community and Economic Development Olde Town Arvada Strategic Reinvestment Plan finalized In an effort to preserve the history and character of Olde Town Arvada while ensuring the district remains a thriving and vibrant downtown for many years to come, the City of Arvada has finalized the Olde Town Arvada Strategic Reinvestment Plan and it was adopted by City Council in October 2023. The plan includes the development of a shared 20-year vision for Olde Town as well as a study into the feasibility of permanently maintaining street closures that have created a comfortable pedestrian experience in recent years. The Community and Economic Development Team is thrilled to complete this plan and looks forward to beginning implementation once the priorities of the plan have been determined by City Council. View the final plan today. Email your news to