HAND
By Jill Riebesehl
Serious discussion of community involvement dominated the November meeting of Hosford Abernethy NA’s Board and neighbors. Top of our list was working out how to proceed in planning for a tentative tiny house village in an open space off SE Division St. on SE 19th Ave. HAND sees a Good Neighbor Agreement as crucial and is establishing a group to research what all one would entail.
It recently came to light that the city’s Office of Community and Civic Life (OCCL) has been pursuing guidelines for how to engage with Portlanders. We would like to be a part of the discussions and signed off on a letter requesting that. Here is an excerpt:
“A project designed to enhance public engagement should itself benefit from a rigorous public engagement process starting as early as possible. Waiting until the plan is crystallized to talk with key stakeholders like neighborhood associations is too late–we would like the opportunity to shape the goals and the process as well as the outcomes. Community engagement is, after all, the work we do every day.”
Our suggestions: invite Michael Montoya of OCCL to a meeting to discuss the project further; possibly invite leaders from other NAs to discuss this; ask Southeast Uplift and other coalitions to host a meeting to discuss this; or even hold a citywide meeting with all NAs to share in what is happening and help everyone understand the process and how things will move ahead.
Last, but not least, for the better part of our meeting we discussed how to more clearly hone our mission and develop goals to help make our work as volunteers more inclusive and useful to our neighbors. We were guided by Paul Leistner, PhD PSU in public and urban affairs, longtime participant in neighborhood involvement.
The Board will not officially meet in December but will gather to socialize, as we have long done in December. All are welcome; the wheres and whens to be posted on our website.
Montavilla Neighborhood Association
By Jacob Loeb
The Montavilla Neighborhood Association’s (MNA) Board voted to extend the Board Chair’s term until a new person is selected or the next election in October 2023. A proposed change to the MNA meeting format received a majority vote and will begin in January 2023. The last meeting of 2022 will feature a speaker from the Portland Police Bureau and an update regarding the planned sanctioned camping sites for up to 150 people.
The MNA Board voted to change the meeting format starting in 2023 to focus on governance. Those meetings will continue to occur online via Zoom on the second Monday of the month, 6:30 pm. The public is welcome to attend, but people must request a space on the agenda in advance if they want to speak.
The general membership meetings will take a new form, returning to in-person events and rotating through several locations. The intended result of the change is to meet people in the neighborhood where they naturally congregate. This location will shift through the area to be accessible to all residents of Montavilla. The MNA welcomes location suggestions and feedback regarding these changes.
The next MNA meeting is Monday, December 12, 6:30 pm. This general membership meeting will be the last online meeting and future events will occur in physical locations. Register for the Zoom link at the MNA website, montavilla.org/mna-calendar. Audio recordings of previous gatherings are available online at montavilla.org/pdx-mna-meeting-podcast.
Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association
By Dave Petrozzi
MTNA hosted our regular community meeting November 16 via Zoom. We reviewed our communications and neighborhood outreach efforts, as well as brainstormed discussion topics and guest speakers for the upcoming year. Is there a particular topic or speaker that you’d like to see? We exist to serve our community and would love to hear from you.
Our next meeting will be a general strategy session Tuesday, December 14, 7 pm via Zoom. Find links for this and all of our meetings, under the Meetings and Events tab of our website, mttaborpdx.org. MTNA also creates a monthly newsletter about important civic issues, which you can find on our website next to each month’s meeting minutes.
Richmond Neighborhood Association
By Allen Field
The Richmond Neighborhood Association (RNA) held its monthly meeting November 14. Zoom meetings are the second Monday of the month, 7-9 pm. The link to preregister is on the agenda, which is posted to richmondpdx.org and the RNA Announce listserv. To be added to the listserv, email richmondnasecretary@gmail.com.Â
Most of the meeting was devoted to a Community Safety Forum hosted by the RNA. Representatives from the Portland Police Bureau’s Neighborhood Response Team, the city’s Community Safety Program and the Public Environmental Management Office (PEMO) described the programs and services they offer.
Officers Nate Kirby-Glatkowski and Amelia Floher, Central Precinct, explained the roles of the Neighborhood Response Team, which focuses on addressing chronic livability issues, property crimes, graffiti investigations and providing patrol support. Richmond straddles two precincts: Central and East, divided by Cesar Chavez Blvd. However, they are not the first point of contact for people needing to contact the police. Contact 911 for situations involving an immediate threat to life or property (i.e, crime in progress), otherwise, for non-emergencies contact the police non-emergency line (503.823.3333) or file an online police report.
Sarah Berkemeier, Safe Blocks Program Coordinator, Central Team, described the changes to the Community Safety Program which was transferred to the Office of Management and Finance. Its programs include Safe Blocks, Office of Violence Prevention, Rose City Self Defense and Safe Summer PDX.
The Safe Blocks program offers trainings on Neighbors Together (formerly known as Neighborhood Watch), Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), Personal Safety and General Safety Training Development. To request or inquire about these trainings, contact sarah.berkemeier@portlandoregon.gov if you live west of Cesar Chavez Blvd, and Jacob.Brostoff@portlandoregon.gov or Mary.Tompkins@portlandoregon.gov if you live east of Chavez Blvd.
Christine Leon described the role and duties of the recently formed PEMO, which was created in May 2022 by emergency declaration of the mayor to work across the different bureaus to streamline the cleanup of trash, graffiti, illegal dumping and abandoned cars. They gather input from the community and business districts, create activation strategies and coordinate neighborhood cleanups.
Much of the meeting was devoted to responding to questions and concerns posed by audience members.
The Board voted to submit a grant application to SE Uplift to fund a telehealth booth that would provide the homeless with better access to medical and mental health service providers.
Our next meeting is Monday, December 12; we hope you can attend.
South Tabor Neighborhood Association
By Tina Kimmey
Another year is almost gone, but we’re still working on ways to bring neighbors together in the South Tabor neighborhood. In 2022, South Tabor hosted a neighborhood yard sale day, a BBQ with our new neighbors at Findley Commons, a pop-up pumpkin patch and a Halloween parade. We couldn’t have these activities without our Board members; Juan, John, Nate, Vigdis, Brian and myself. These are just some of the more visible activities we had in 2022. More behind the scenes work is done at the Land Use and Powell Frontage Road Committees as well as Board and general meetings.
But we need your help to be able to do more for our community in 2023. We are in need of volunteers to chair Communications and Events, as well as a volunteer to kick off our Diversity committee. There are other roles to fill and helping hands are always welcome. Visit our website, southtabor.org, to stay abreast of our activities. After all, you don’t want to miss next year’s activities, including the re-painting the street at SE Woodward St. and 67th Ave.
Our Board meets the third Thursday of every month (except December) so head to the website and sign up for our email list or meeting information, be it a link or address once we meet in person again, along with agendas and contact information. Happy Holidays!
Sunnyside Neighborhood Association
By Gloria Jacobs
A big topic at the November 10 SNA meeting was Mayor Wheeler’s new plan to open large designated campsites across the city and to gradually ban unsanctioned camping by Portland’s houseless residents. The pilot site would open with space for up to 150 people. They eventually expect to have six sites, with space for up to 250 people at each site. The mayor’s office says that each city-owned site would be managed by a private contractor, providing two meals, heated tents and access to service providers. The camps would be fenced and have security, including the 1,000 feet surrounding each site. The SNA Board will have its next monthly meeting Thursday, December 8 and we will return for our next general meeting in January.
The Sunnyside Shower Project and SNACC are hosting their 3rd annual winter gear and clothing drive collecting donations at Southeast Uplift (3534 SE Main Street) Saturday December 10, 10 am-1 pm. They are in need of adult winter weather items in all sizes. If you can’t drop off donations on December 10, email Hannah Wallace (hannahmwallace@gmail.com) to arrange another time. Items needed are new socks and underwear, winter hats, gloves, sweaters, sweatshirts, long and short sleeve t-shirts, sweatpants, long underwear, jeans, pants, boots, rain resistant outerwear, blankets, sleeping bags, tents and Hothands handwarmers.
Peacock Lane’s Christmas lights start Thursday, December 15 and end on Sunday, December 31 (6 -11 pm). The Hot Cocoa Booth will be open December 15-24 while supplies last. Pedestrian-only nights will be Thursday, December 15-Saturday, December 17. Starting Sunday, December 18, vehicles can drive down the Lane. Please plan ahead as traffic will get heavy.