Foster-Powell Neighborhood Association
By Lisa Kislingbury Anderson
Foster Powell recently received a grant from SEUplift and the City of Portland Office of Community & Civic Life to paint a street mural on an intersection of the Center St. greenway. The goal is to beautify our streets and make them safer for pedestrians and cyclists. We welcome input on where to paint the street mural and will be soliciting design ideas. Learn more at fosterpowell.com/2023-center-street-mural-project. You can also follow @BetterCenter97206 on Instagram to help envision a safe and inviting community space along SE Center St. in the Foster-Powell neighborhood.
If you’d like to donate your time and join our wonderful volunteers making and delivering food to our neighborhood shelters on the first and third Sundays of the month, please sign up on our website or email volunteer@fosterpowell.com. We’re looking ahead to Sunday, March 19, when we will have a community cooking session at TaborSpace. We will deliver the food we create to the Lilac Meadows shelter.
At our February 13 Board meeting, a representative from Boys & Girls Aid presented on their programs, highlighting the need for foster parents and other supportive volunteers. The next Foster-Powell Neighborhood Association meeting will take place from 6:30-8:30 pm Monday, March 13, at Favela Brazilian Cafe, 5300 SE Foster Rd. We’re excited to expand our community and bring fresh ideas for outreach and engagement.
Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association
By Dave Petrozzi
MTNA hosted our regular monthly meeting Wednesday, February 15 via Zoom. With a new location secured, we are officially moving forward with the annual neighborhood cleanup event for safe disposal of bulky items and household goods; stay tuned for more details.
A discussion ensued regarding guest speakers for future meetings, including a strong desire to host city officials involved in the transition and implementation of recent voter approved changes to the city charter. We also reviewed our communications outreach and received an update on the situation regarding the empty reservoirs on Mt. Tabor.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, March 15, 7 pm via Zoom with an expected guest speaker on the topic of air quality in our city, as well as information and a call to action from a representative on the newly formed Sustainable Southeast Community Coalition. Please find links for this and all of our meetings, under the “Meetings and Events” tab of our website at mttaborpdx.org.Â
Richmond Neighborhood Association
By Allen Field
The Richmond Neighborhood Association (RNA) meets the second Monday of the month 7-9 pm, except in January. The link to preregister is on the agenda, which is posted to richmondpdx.org, and the RNA Announce listserv the week before the meeting. To be added to the listserv, email richmondnasecretary@gmail.com. Meetings are still via Zoom, but we hope to resume in-person meetings soon and are looking into technology to allow for easy remote participation, aka hybrid meetings.
The RNA appointed Heather Flint Chatto to be its representative to serve on the board of Sustainable Southeast Community Coalition (s2c2pdx.org).
Board member Dr. Richard Bruno gave an update on the RNA’s Telehealth Booth project that will allow homeless individuals to access medical and psychiatric care services. If you would like to help with this project, contact rabruno@gmail.com. This project is made possible by a Community Small Grant SE Uplift, funded by the city’s Office of Community & Civic Life.
Neighbors near the Peaceful Villa/Home Forward low-income housing at SE 47th Ave. and Clinton St. shared their concerns over the redevelopment of the site from 70 to 180 residents and replacing the single-story bungalow units with three-story apartment-style buildings. They stated there has been a lack of adequate notice about the project and public process for them to share their concerns with Home Forward. The RNA voted to hold an open house to allow the public to share their concerns in order to work with Home Forward to improve the project.
The Peaceful Villa redevelopment project open house will be Saturday March 11, 12-3 pm at a location to be determined. Check richmondpdx.org/peaceful-villa for updates about the open house and information on the redevelopment.
The Board discussed whether to hold its annual Board election in May or later months and whether to combine it with a monthly meeting or hold the election the day after the meeting, as done the past two years with COVID-19. If you are interested in joining the Board, contact richmond.pdx.chair@gmail.com.
The Richmond Cleanup will be May 20. We are seeking volunteers and will pay people who can help with a seniors/disabled persons pickup service and/or can help transfer materials with your truck. Please contact richmondcleanup@gmail.com (please specify if you can provide a truck). Those who helped with the 2022 Cleanup are already on the volunteer list for this year. If you have a passion for recycling, helping our seniors or disabled neighbors, or getting involved in fun community events, this is the event for you.
Our next meeting is Monday, March 13. We hope you can attend.