Tuesday, January 19, 2021 | View in browser
Good afternoon!
Read below for ideas about how to keep your body moving, a link to an Employee COVID-19 Q&A webinar, and employee shout-outs!
Top Stories
 Feeling cooped up? Get your body moving!
With the pandemic still underway and winter in full swing, many of us are feeling cooped up in our homes. It's important to keep your body moving even if you can't go to the gym! Here are a couple of great ways to stay healthy, both mentally and physically:
- Take a walk outside in nature
- Stretch every morning when you wake up
- Give virtual yoga a try! YouTube has some good free videos
- Put on some music and dance it out!
- Create a home workout area in your house that feels like a gym
- Keep it social. Set up a video workout with a friend or family member
 Click image to play video
COVID-19 Q&A Webinar
Last week, our Health & Human Services Department and Human Resources Division hosted an informative COVID-19 Vaccine Q&A webinar. For those who missed the webinar or would like to view it again, you can find the video on our COVID intranet page!
You can also find a list of vaccine FAQs at cityofevanston.org/vaccine.
 Ask City Manager Erika Storlie
Submit your questions for City Manager Erika Storlie, and we'll feature answers in the next Employee e-Newsletter! Those who submit questions will remain anonymous.
Reminders
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Temperature scanners: In order to help keep staff safe, we have installed a silver, stand-alone temperature scanners in some of our facilities. To use, simply place your wrist next to the infrared eye on the right side of the scanner and your temperature will be displayed on the screen.
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Retirement planning: Victor Perez, our ICMA-RC Representative, will be hosting individual appointments on Thursday, Jan. 28 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Thursday, Feb. 25 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Schedule your appointment
Employee Highlights
Resident Feedback
Farewell Chief Scott, hello Interim Chief Polep!
 Congratulations to Deputy Chief Paul Polep who has been appointed interim chief of the Evanston Fire Department following Chief Brain Scott's retirement last week.
Thank you Chief Scott for all of your hard work over the years and for everything that you did for the Evanston Fire Department and Evanston community.
 Employee Shout-outs
We know that many City employees go above and beyond for residents and their fellow coworkers on a daily basis. Help us shine a spotlight on those employees by giving them a "shout-out" in our Employee E-Newsletter. Fill out this short Google Form each week to give a shout-out to a fellow employee and tell us how they went above and beyond. Then, we'll highlight that employee in the following week's Employee E-News.
Tera Davis, Accounts Payable Coordinator
Tera is always very meticulous about her work, and is always willing to teach people the correct process that needs to be followed, which makes life easier for everyone. Tera is also understanding that life and mistakes happen, and always jumps into action when needed.
Building & Inspection Services Permit Desk Staff: Jesse Breceda, Nela Saric, Chris Rennord and Tracey O'Mann
The Community Development Department wants to give a huge shout-out to these co-workers for their hard work to get the permit desk on track during a very difficult time. In March, when the pandemic hit, these staff members had to move an in-person operation at the Civic Center to an entirely remote operation and then back to in-person in a new office at the Robert Crown Community Center while implementing COVID-19 safety protocols. Coupled with a pandemic, 2020 was one of the busiest building seasons on record. A total of 4,445 building permits were issued as opposed to 3,710 in 2019. The total permit value for this time was $5.9M as compared to the previous year’s $4.4M. Notable during this time was the April hail storm which created an influx of roof permit application submissions. In 2020, the permit desk issued 1,900 roof permits alone (in comparison to 440 in 2019). This team (Tracey joined in the fall amidst our transition back to in-person) in coordination with others in the Community Development Department ensured that the City continued to keep this important office open and operating during the ups and downs of 2020.
Staff Highlight: Public Works Recycling Crew
 Henriks Lizenbergs, 6, with the Evanston recycling team.
What's the best day of the week for a six-year-old who loves trucks? Recycling day, of course! Read this heartwarming story about Evanston's Recycling team in the Chicago Tribune!
Thank you for all that you do for our community and for going above and beyond to make a child smile.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
The City of Evanston
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