APPROVED Minutes Center Neighborhood Association Monthly Meeting
January 15, 2008 7:00 P.M. @ The S.E. Precinct
INRODUCTIONS:
Board Members Present: Robert Jordan, Shirley Nacoste, Claudia Halbert, Marsha Hahn, Sean Besso,
DyLynn Robertson Neighbors & Guests: Rey Ko, Charles Ingram, Mike Delman, Officer Gervais, Lee Perlman
ACTIONS:
I. Approved minutes from the October and November 2007 meeting. (All votes in favor).
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
I. Next C.N.A. Monthly Meeting will be held on February 19, 2008.
II. Portland Public Schools Facilities and Asset Management public meeting on January 22. Parents, students, community members and educators are invited to give input on options for repairing, remodeling and/or rebuilding Portland Public School buildings. http://www.reshape.pps.k12.or.us/.docs/pg/10950
III. Community Policing Forum Wednesday January 23 6-7:30PM @ S.E. Precinct call Max Margolis to RSVP (503) 823-0540. Topic relates to homelessness.
IV. SEUL’s Neighborhood Network Forum…Creative Approaches to Fundraising Wednesday, January 23 6:30-8PM 3534 SE Main. Please RSVP @(503) 232-0010.
V. Master Recycling Bike Ride with Center area neighbors January 26 (see C.N.A. list-serve for info).
VI. City Budget Outreach Forums Thursday, February 21 @ Alder Elem. School, 17200 N.E. Alder St. or Wednesday, February 27 @ Metro. Learning Center, 2033 N.W. Glisan St. 6-8:30PM www.portlandonline.com
OLD BUSINESS:
I. Approved minutes from November and December 2007 C.N.A. monthly meetings.
ONGOING REPORTS – COMMITTEES & PROJECTS:
Treasurer: no information was available.
Land Use & Transportation: Sean Besso summarized the few LU cases and neighborhood concerns…related to new sign on the Providence Cancer Center; a zoning change appeal at 53rd & Couch area; and the ongoing negotiations between developer of 47th & Burnside with the County.
Rey Ko mentioned parking concerns at 45th & Glisan near the Starbucks, DyLynn pointed out similar “bottleneck” due to parking at 60th & Oregon and others mentioned Flanders around 45th. Sean will draft a letter to PDOT with concerns and request for assistance in making changes to the parking plans in these areas.
Robert stated that the Eastside MAX Station Study is scheduled to begin (finally!) and emphasized the importance of C.N.A./neighbor input whenever opportunities arise. Robert will follow/gather info and updates regarding the timeline of this study. DyLynn brought up the 1997 Neighborhood Plan that was not ratified and suggested we get this on the online list. Sean will scan a copy to post and “educate” & motive others to get involved with this type of planning for the neighborhood.
Providence Standing Committee: Sean reported that the group met recently and will forward the minutes to post. C.N.A. Board members are invited to a sneak peak of the new Providence Cancer Center on Wednesday February 13 @ 5:30 p.m. Contact Marsha Hahn for RSVP info. The community wide open house is scheduled for Saturday February 23 from 10-12PM.
Robert asked for an update on the Moore-Litho building…Sean stated that it is a couple years away from development and that perhaps we can be more involved with Providence in plan and designs for the building.
SEUL Liaison: Shirley was unable to attend the recent SEUL Board meeting, but is feeling better and ready to get back in action after a bout of illness. She reported that the SEUL Board had announced the recipients of the Neighborhood Small Grants and pointed out how the requested funds and proposed projects were greatly unmatched by the city’s budget this cycle. All the neighborhood coalitions will be pushing the city to increase budget for next cycle.
Connections/Outreach: The Outreach committee has not met in several months. Despite this, Shirley has continued with the survey at Center Commons Senior building with hope of developing a sense of security and trust among the residents & increase communication & support community building. DyLynn pointed out the importance of these efforts related to the plan for a transit oriented “village” at the Commons that has not been encouraged nor developed by the owners or management company.
Outreach committee members will participate in the upcoming SEUL Neighborhood Network Forum: Addressing Barriers to Participation in the Neighborhood System on February 12 as the groundwork for strategic planning around C.N.A. volunteer base and neighborhood involvement.
Sullivan’s Gulch Trail: Robert has been meeting with the Sullivan’s Gulch Trail group (a lot!). The group continues to meet with community organizations, city bureaus and owners of property abutting the designated trail corridor. A landowner near the 35 acres of ODOT land at the junction of I-205 & I-84 would like to develop a world-class BMX bike park adjacent to the trail. Robert will continue to represent C.N.A. at these meetings. The Sullivan’s Gulch group will also been participate in the Eastside MAX Station Study.
Rosemont Bluff Natural Area: WE GOT THE GRANT! ($1190 from Neighborhood Small Grant program). Special thanks to April and DyLynn for working on the grant as well as the neighbors who have already begun the work on the Bluff. The grant allows us to buy tools, print flyers, and otherwise engage the community in efforts to restore native plants and habitat. Next meeting is a planning session with the Parks Dept. representatives on Saturday, Feb. 2. Meeting time and location to be announced. April has been working with Tim at SEUL to plan ahead for an Earth Day event in April atop the bluff. More info to follow. Contact April to help with this planning! DyLynn has proposed hosting a Naturescaping workshop as a fundraiser for the RBNA project and will look into scheduling & locale.
Communications: DyLynn created a separate “forum” linked to our Google list-serve group. Anyone can join and post on that site. The main list-serve will serve to archive minutes and post announcements. Current board members are allowed to post on the C.N.A. list-serve. The communications committee will work on some guidelines for posting. The SEUL website option appears to be at a pause due to their recent staffing changes.
Newsletter deadline has passed yet there is time to send DyLynn an article or update on projects! Will deliver to printer on 1/25 and hope to line up folks for delivery first in February. Let DyLynn know if you can do your “regular” delivery zone. Marsha pointed out that the most eastern boundary needs more clarification so that we deliver to our whole area. DyLynn will work this out.
Annual Clean-Up: Sean received application (due March 1) that includes summary of our event, focusing on increased recycling efforts. Sean will contact Master Recyclers, Free Geek and the Rebuilding Center as possible participants. Robert will contact Fred Meyer (as acting “liaison”) to initiate discussions about using parking lot and other forms of involvement such as donating items to a “raffle.”
Glisan Area Business Association: Lisa Gorlin met Jean Baker from APNBA (Alliance of Portland Neighborhood Business Associations) who can help get the GABA restarted. DyLynn sent info to Jessica and Sean also would like to be involved.
NEW BUSINESS:
Mike Delman, candidate for District 3 County Commissioner shared info and chatted at bit.
Rey Ko talked about changes in zoning codes and suggested inviting a rep from the City to address the changes. Sean will look into getting a rep from BPS for an upcoming meeting. This discussion included clarification of the difference between the City’s “Comprehensive Plan’ and Metro’s “2040 Plan.”
Meeting Adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Notes submitted by DyLynn Robertson, C.N.A. Secretary February 17, 2008