This Thursday is Kyle Beckerman's first home game as the Wolverine Head Coach! You can get discounted tickets by entering the promo code CityOfOrem092021 at this link.

Orem invites you to honor 9/11 by giving a few hours of service. Local opportunities to serve can be found on JustServe.org

It's that time of year where it's easy to start paying less attention to our landscape. Keep your yard healthy through the Fall with our September Landscaping Checklist!

A bunch of new programs are starting in the library this Fall. Find out what's happening on their calendar!

Our recreation department has a whole new set of programs and activities focusing on teens and tweens! See what's available and register on the recreation webpage!

Check out the new times and locations and refresh yourself on the rules and regulations on the website so you can take full advantage of this opportunity!

Great loan options are available to businesses who suffered during the pandemic. Click here to learn more.

Recently, I attended an Orem Police Neighborhood picnic at the Orem Westmoreland Park.

While sitting on a table and talking with a policeman, Kena Matthews, Community Services Director of Orem, leaned over to me and said "Look, can you see what you don't see?" As this was a rather interesting question, I asked what she meant.

She said "Look, you don't see anyone looking at their cell phone screens". As I looked around at all of the people who had gathered in the park for the picnic event, I could not see one parent, child, or policeman who had their cell phone out and was looking at it.

Families were seated at the picnic tables enjoying hot dogs, chips, and drinks while talking with each other and the policemen, Kids were playing on the playground equipment with their mothers sitting on the park benches in the shade under the beautiful trees. Other kids were playing frisbee and corn hole throwing with bean bags. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. And not one person in the crowd was on their phone. Rather they were enjoying the company of those around them.

The Westmoreland Park is a beautiful older park with majestic trees, open grass field areas to play, a nice pavilion;with picnic tables, new playground equipment that the city has purchased and is state of the art, and a new slatted chain link fence that surrounds two sides of the park.

I can't remember another event where people haven't had their cell phones out and were looking at them. I believe that our city parks are beautiful, well kept, and are fun places for families to come and play, enjoy some food together, and recreate.

Orem has 21 city parks in our city. We will soon add another park at the site of the old Hillcrest Elementary School. The city has purchased over 9 acres there and plans to start construction early next year on a new park at that site. The new park will include a splash pad, 12 lighted pickleball courts, a small children's playground, a larger children's playground, an indoor basketball gym with adjoining kitchen for indoor event use as well, a hammock station, a new pavilion, new restrooms, a lighted walking path, new lawns and trees, and many other amenities.

Orem's current parks have received all new playground equipment. Also a futsal court park, And an all abilities park for the disabled. We have two bike skills parks. A splash pad and soccer park. We have two pickleball court parks. We have a dog park. Also we have a large multi pavilion park for events. .We have multi baseball and soccer field parks. We have a concrete skate park. We have many neighborhood parks with tennis courts, pavilions, large grass areas, walking paths, and restrooms. The Scera Park is under construction with new small children,s playground equipment being designed and constructed for installation soon.

Parks are a great place for families to spend time together and not just on their cell phones. I encourage all of our residents to get out of the house, and use these wonderful city assets to exercise, and have fun together.

— Mayor Brunst

Orem’s General Election ballots will be mailed to registered Orem residents the week of October 12. This General Election residents will be voting for a new Mayor Jim Evans or Dave A. Young and three councilmembers Lanae Millett, David M. Spencer, Tom MacDonald, Quinn Mecham, Shauntee Ruiz Zundel and Nichelle Jensen.

Orem will be facing many challenges in the coming years with the 11% growth this past decade and population nearing 100,000. A few of the challenges will be housing in a city that is close to being built out. The State Street Master Plan includes high density housing on State Street. With the moratorium put in place by recent vote of Orem City Council more discussion is needed to address concerns and limitations for high density housing on State Street.

It’s important that all citizens vote in the General Election with only a 28% voting turnout in the Primary Election. If you are not registered to vote you can go here. You can get a form to fill out on this website and take it or mail it directly to the County Office to register. Voter registration must be received by the County Clerk no later than 5:00 pm on October 22, 2021 in order to vote in the General Election.

Ballot boxes will be open the week ballots are mailed so citizens can drop them off any time before November 2, 8:00 pm. It is cost effective to use the ballot boxes and guarantees that your vote gets in on time and is counted vs traditional post office route. There will be a vote center at the Center Point Church located at 1550 Sandhill Rd in Orem or the Utah county Election Office in Provo on Election Day November 2, 2021. Orem City Center will only have the drop boxes.

The public is invited to meet the candidate Thursday October 7, 2021 from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. It will be held in the new Orem City Hall Auditorium on the Orem City Campus. Citizens can find candidates links to their website on the Orem City Website. Your vote counts in Orem’s General Election. Last election the difference between the third seat and fourth candidate was 12 votes.

On Thursday, September 2^nd we are celebrating the City of Orem night at the UVU Men’s Soccer game vs. Cal State Northridge. The game starts at 7:30 PM We invite you and your families to join us at Clyde Field on the campus of Utah Valley University. The Men’s Soccer team is off to a great start getting a win on opening weekend. The UVU Men’s Soccer team is led by new Head Coach and RSL legend Kyle Beckerman.

Instead of paying the $5 ticket rate at the gate, you can enter the code CityOfOrem092021 at this link for discounted tickets.

Congratulation to the Candidates that will be moving onto the City of Orem 2021 General Election:

Jim Evans

David A. Young

Shaunte Ruiz Zundel

David M. Spencer

Nichelle Jensen

Quinn Mecham

Tom Macdonald

LaNae Millett

Thank you to all the candidates that participated in the City of Orem 2021 Primary Election. We appreciate your willingness to be involved and serve your community.

The annual Fall Clean-Up is back by popular demand.

Please note that there will be new hours: 8am - 7pm Monday through Friday and 8am-3pm on Saturday.

Please review the rules of this program at orem.org/cleanup before using the dumpsters.

One of the big takeaways from our recent survey of recreation patrons was that we needed to offer more things for kids ages 8 to 13. We are excited to announce several new options for this age group.

Our new Fall group fitness class schedule has started. Check it out by clicking the link below!

The water aerobics class schedule has been redone for the Fall and Winter. This schedule will go into effect Tuesday, September 7th.

Storytime will resume starting September 7. Music & Movement, Bilingual Storytime, and Bouncing Babies will also return in the fall. Check the Orem Library's online calendar at oremlibrary.org/calendar/all-events/ for a complete schedule.

Starting in September, a new Dungeons & Dragons club for teens 12–18 will be held every 3rd Thursday of the month at 4 PM. In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, teens are invited to a Hispanic-themed cooking class on September 18 at 7 PM and tweens (ages 8–12) will be watching Coco and creating crafts inspired by the movie on September 28 at 4 PM. There will also be supplies for teens to make papel picados throughout the month in the Teen Area of the library.

Each year the librarians at the Orem Library pick a book to read as a community. This fall we are reading Sharyn McCrumb's novel, The Ballad of Frankie Silver. Join us for storytelling events, music programs, a cooking class, quilt and art displays, and more resources that explore the themes and period of the book. Each household in Orem may pick up a free copy of the book at any Orem Reads event. To learn more, visit oremlibrary.org/oremreads2021. 

Our fourth annual Touch-a-Truck event will be at the Orchard at University Place on Oct. 9th from 10 am to 2 pm.

Bring the whole family to learn about and explore all of the vehicles that keep the city rolling. There will be dump trucks, fire engines, police cars, garbage trucks, and more!

Waste Management will be providing a free lunch at 11 am for the first 2,000 attendees.

As an Orem community, we invite residents of Orem to give at least two hours of service this year on Saturday, September 11th, in remembrance of that sad day 20 years ago. To find local service opportunities, please look online at JustServe.org or watch for flyers on your door.

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the national eviction moratorium late last evening that was put in place on August 3 through an order issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The order temporarily halted evictions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In the majority decision, the Court ruled that the CDC had exceeded its authority and that the federal eviction moratorium must be authorized by Congress. The ruling does not affect eviction moratoria put in place by state and local governments

To receive tips twice a week on helping kids become EveryDay Strong, text EDS to 833-904-0618. These tips are provided by United Way of Utah County EveryDay Strong program in partnership with Davis Behavioral Health.

If your property is starting to look like the beginning of a Jeff Foxworthy joke, then you might be in violation of Orem City Code. Each year, the city provides free passes to the landfill. The Fall Cleanup is an easy and FREE way to clean up your property. Find more info at orem.org/cleanup.

City Code: 11-1-3

Fall is just around the corner, but for now September is great month to enjoy the cooler temperatures and the harvest of your labors. It’s also a great time for some much needed landscape tasks.

Click below to see our September checklist that covers lawn, flowers, trees, vegetables, and more!

Was your business negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you looking to fund your next business venture?

Look no further because the City of Orem's CARES Act Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) is here to help.

The City of Orem's CARES Act RLF program offers 0% to low-interest loans to assist businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more at bit.ly/oremloan