Buckman Community Association
By Susan Lindsay
Join the BCA for our fourth and last District 3 candidate Q&A forum at our next monthly meeting, Thursday, October 10. This election will feature ranked choice voting, so learning as much as you can about the contenders will help inform you.
At the September meeting, we had four candidates take attendee questions and give us their ideas, plans, opinions and priorities as future City Council members. Next month we already have Jon Walker and Phillip Knab committed and will have two more. In addition, we’ve reached out to City Commissioner Mingus Mapps to attend and give us updates on the city and key issues.
The BCA continues to be actively involved with other stakeholders in a Multnomah County-led process to craft a Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA) for the soon to be open deflection center at SE 10th Ave. and Oak St. Key issues are safety, security, transportation and available, effective referrals for those choosing deflection. Currently the County is conducting deflections with mobile units, meeting persons where they are, until they open the center. The BCA, neighborhood members, CEIC leaders, business owners, representatives for the day care one block away, County Commissioner Sharon Meieran, the Baltimore based operators contracted to run the center, Turkhaus, and a host of County staff make up the group working on the GNA, which we hope to have in place before the center opens.
Both the summer 2024 Picnic and Movie in the Park were fun and smashing successes and we have decided we want to do it again next year! But we need funds to support these all-volunteer efforts. If you want an excellent tax donation, please consider giving to the Buckman Picnic. It’s easy! You can donate directly through our website, buckmanpdx.org, or by sending a check made out to “Southeast Uplift” (be sure to put “For Buckman Picnic” in the memo line) and mail it to SEUL, 3534 SE Main St., Portland, OR 97214. Your donation is 100 percent tax deductible and will ensure we can continue hosting these fun and community positive events.
We are also working to get the proposed “Live Nation” developer at the October meeting. This facility will be on SE Water Ave. and Taylor St.
The BCA meets monthly every second Thursday at 1137 SE 20th Ave. (enter on Salmon St.). We also have a hybrid option; email buckmanboard@googlegroups.com for the link or to get an item on the agenda. We have a Facebook group and one open Board position. We’d love to have you join us. See you in October!
HAND
By Jill Riebesehl
HAND, Brooklyn, the city and TASS shared an update on the Clinton Temporary Assistance Shelter Site (TASS) on the one-year anniversary September 17 at the Aladdin Theater (which donated space for the event). Currently, 195 people (includes 35 couples), 20 dogs and 12 cats are in residence. The sanctuary, at the request of guests, has created a section for people in recovery. The two Portland Solutions agencies involved in oversight are the Clinton Triangle Oversight Committee (CTOC), which meets for updates every two weeks, and the Portland Environmental Management Office (PEMO, looking at livability issues).
Several Board members regularly walk (or bicycle) through parts of the neighborhood to identify and report issues. Just before school started, a large campsite on SE 25th Ave. at the base of Cleveland’s parking lot was removed and another large campsite on SE Franklin St. between 24th and 23rd avenues was removed the third week in September. Many neighbors shared texts with their concerns and efforts to take down the Franklin site, helped by members of HAND.
The Board agreed to create a letter to all City Council and mayoral candidates requesting their commitment to support long-established rules and processes for community engagement. We will post responses on our website, and will send the letter to other neighborhood associations asking them to do the same.
Other news items include the Brooklyn Neighborhood planning a Powell Blvd. clean up, perhaps with SOLVE, and is asking for other neighborhoods’ support, tentatively planned for November 9; the Avalon homeless shelter opened the first week of September; we learned of a contact for sharing railroad crossing blockages—US Federal Railroad Administration (fra.gov/blockedcrossings), use ID# 759733U for the SE 11th Ave. crossing and ID # 759735H for the SE 12th Ave. crossing; and the Clinton-Division Street Fair, after a couple years’ recess, was a great success.
HAND meets at 7 pm the second Tuesday of the month at St. Philip Neri. All are welcome.
Richmond Neighborhood Association
By Allen Field
The Richmond Neighborhood Association (RNA) held its monthly meeting September 9. Meetings are the second Monday of the month, 7-9 pm, except January. They are held in-person at Central Christian Church, 1844 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd. People can participate via Zoom; the link to pre-register 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.
Terry Harris, Portland Government Transition Advisory Committee, gave a presentation on the reorganization of city government and ranked choice voting in the upcoming mayor and council election.
Matt Kibben, Sewallcrest Community Garden, requested a donation of $300 for garden work parties food and garden supplies and materials, which was approved by the Board.
The Board voted to apply for 501(c)(3) tax exempt status.
There will be a recycling event Saturday, October 12, 9 am-noon, at Central Christian Church, 1834 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd. Green Century Recycling will handle Styrofoam/stretch plastic and Metro will handle the CFL/batteries/meds/sharps collection. We will also accept recyclable cans and bottles to help fund C3 Food Pantry. More details are on the RNA website (richmondpdx.org) and in the Summer issue of the Richmond Newsletter.
If you did not receive the newsletter at your house, it means there is no delivery person for that route. Contact rnanewsletter@gmail.com if you want to help with delivering the newsletter.
The next RNA meeting is Monday, October 14. Everyone is welcome. Please join us and learn about ways to get more involved in your community.