Buckman Community Association
By Susan Lindsay
Hello Buckman Neighbors and Friends! Our next meeting is Thursday, April 10 in person with a hybrid option. Here’s what’s scheduled.
Margaret Salazar, CEO of REACH CDC, will attend to answer questions re: Reach’s recent decision to sell their “scattered properties” portfolio. Many of these 85 units are in Buckman or HAND as REACH’s portfolio originated in Buckman decades ago. While the details are not yet worked out and the sales process will be over time and staggered, current tenants will be offered opportunities for purchase and REACH will provide relocation options and support we’ve been told.
Megan Moyer, newly elected District 1 County Commissioner, will join the BCA for meet and greet. As the County holds the purse strings for behavioral health, medical need, homeless services, shelters, community corrections and bridges, getting a chance to meet our new representative and hear her ideas, aspirations and areas of interest should prove informative and engaging. The County and City are facing budget crunches…..where will the cuts be and what are your ideas?
Our new Metro Councilor, Duncan Hwang, will also meet and greet and to make connections with his Buckman constituents.
At the March meeting the BCA Board, after listening to many comments about safety and visibility voted to send a letter to BES and the District 3 representatives supporting intersection daylighting. This would prohibit parking 20’ from all intersections in order to increase visibility and safety. The current sewer project has removed over 150 parking spaces. As there is no parking requirements for multifamily structures, parking districts may increase over time.
Friends of Rainbow Road, a PBOT plaza project on SE Ankeny near 28th Ave., will attend seeking support and local connections.
We welcome a new Board member! Peter Luciano has join us to fulfill a term left vacant by a member who moved away. Welcome Peter!!
The Buckman Summer Events Fundraising crew really needs your help. We are happy to announce that we will be hosting another movie in the Park this July, as well as our fun, free for all Summer Picnic, but we need sponsors (business or individual) and donations to make it happen. You or your business or company can sponsor and there are benefits. The movie costs about $1,200 and the picnic $4,000. Both events are free, all-volunteer and all donations are 100 percent tax deductible via fiscal sponsorship with Southeast Uplift. So please help us be able to keep these positive, inclusive, multi-generational and really fun events going. There’s a link on our website to donate, or you can contact us directly at buckmanpicnicteam@googlegroups.com.
The Buckman Community Association meets every second Thursday, 7-9 pm at 1137 SE 20th Ave. (enter on Salmon St.). Meetings are hybrid; the link on our website, buckmanpdx.org. Contact the BCA anytime at buckmanboard@googlegroups.com.
HAND
By Jill Riebesehl
March was a busy month in the Hosford-Abernethy neighborhood. Two Portland police officers dropped in, for the second time this year. They said there had been two shootings. We mentioned again the disturbing loud bombs, maybe strobe rockets, at various night times and locations. But our main complaint was people around the Bob Stacey bridge, littering, camping, dealing and threatening pedestrians. The officers said they have tried to talk with people at the Clinton Triangle sanctuary, would patrol the area more and would like to attend the next city/neighborhood group (CTOC) meeting. It is Monday, April 7, 4 pm at the TASS shelter.
We were pleased to host Vice Chair Tiffany Koyama Lane, one of our district’s new councilors. She described how the new City Council is organized in working committees, that the mayor is in charge of day to day but must collaborate with the council, which can act as a check on him. The main concern now is the budget: 50 percent of the budget goes to police and fire; parks, PBOT, etc. have to split up the rest. Koyama Lane said she reads all her emails.
She asked what our main concerns and hopes are. Our answers: retaining Fire Station 23; solving the problem of congestion when trains stall traffic; returning access to the river for swimming, promised by an earlier administration; keeping the concept of pods for people who are homeless, but siting the sanctuaries more evenly; and retaining the successful citywide Public Environment Management Office (PEMO). We mentioned that neighborhoods have for years felt ignored by the city, but that is changing.
Nikki Mandell, from the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub that is making a second round of visits to neighborhoods seeking support dealing with the tank farms, explained why the latest ask from Zenith and others claiming to be based on recyclable energy is equally dangerous. The CEI Hub has two bills in Salem: HB 3450, calling for a transition plan away from the river banks, and HB 2949, finding a way to mandate financial assurances in the case of a disaster. The Board has supported the group’s initial request and is likely to retain it.
We will meet Tuesday, April 8, 7 pm on the St. Philip Neri campus. All are welcome.
Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association
By David Petrozzi
During this month’s meeting, MTNA members received an update on the Portland Water Bureau’s proposed filtration plant. This project is currently over $2 billion and is likely to cost even more before completion. Advocates explained that a UV plant could achieve the same goal—ensuring our water remains among the healthiest in the nation—at a significantly lower cost of $150 million. Given the escalating expenses and the availability of a much cheaper alternative, we urge everyone to contact their city council representative. Let them know Portlanders do not want even higher water bills to fund this wasteful infrastructure, especially when the city is actively seeking ways to reduce spending. Let’s ensure continued funding for essential services by addressing this costly mistake stemming from the previous form of city government.
Our ongoing neighborhood history project will interview long-time residents to gather local stories. We look forward to hearing their experiences about growing up in Mt. Tabor and seeing what it was like through their eyes.
Bike Buses are a wonderful way for kids and adults to ride together to school: easing traffic, improving our environment and fostering child independence. We heard a proposal on the deployment of additional modal filters (diverters) to cool automobile traffic on our greenways, in an effort to encourage this form of sustainable transportation.
We decided to invite our new city council members to upcoming MTNA meetings one by one as featured speakers, giving you the chance to interact directly with your representatives. We enjoyed a presentation highlighting the importance of ‘placemaking’—creating community gathering spaces where people can feel connected to each other and the places they inhabit—and will be coordinating with City Repair to explore placemaking opportunities in Mt. Tabor.
Don’t miss our neighborhood cleanup event Saturday, May 17 for your oversized junk and electronics disposal.
Visit our website, mttaborpdx.org, for further details on all of our neighborhood initiatives. Be sure to join our mailing list and register for our next meeting Wednesday, April 16, both online via Zoom and in-person at Taborspace. See you there!
Richmond Neighborhood Association
By Allen Field
The Richmond Neighborhood Association met March 10. Meetings are held the second Monday of the month 7-9 pm, except January. All are welcome to attend and participate. They are held at Central Christian Church, 1844 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd., people can also participate via Zoom. The link to pre-register for Zoom is on the agenda, posted to richmondpdx.org and the RNA’s listserv. The meetings are recorded and posted to the website. Email richmondnasecretary@gmail.com to get on the listserv.
Stephanie Engelsman announced she is running for the PPS Board, Zone 6, which encompasses much of SE Portland, with Cleveland and Franklin high schools.
Steve Novick, District 3 Councilor, discussed the $100 million budget deficit, due in part to expiring federal funds for homeless programs and public safety, and reduced property tax revenue from vacant downtown buildings. Cuts will come out of the General Fund (covering police, fire, parks, homeless and housing services). He shared his thoughts on how to reduce spending, including reducing police and fire overtime, cutting back on police welfare checks and false alarms, reorganizing city departments to reduce redundancies and possibly charging Medicaid for Portland Street Response and Fire Department CHAT calls.
David Michelson summarized the results of the RNA’s survey which 260 people filled out. Street maintenance, especially SE Division St., was the biggest issue, followed by traffic, public safety and housing/homelessness. The Board will discuss the survey results in the April 14 RNA meeting.
The Richmond Spring Cleanup is Saturday, May 17, 9 am-1 pm at Central Christian Church, 1844 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd. We will have 40-yd dumpsters for mixed waste, electronics and metal recycling, U-Price-It rummage sale with reusable items dropped off and a huge plant sale. Please note that we do not accept construction, remodeling or demolition material; styrofoam (instead bring it to our July 19 styrofoam/stretch plastic and Metro’s batteries/sharps/CFL collection at Central Christian Church); or box trucks, rental trucks, vans or trailers—they are too big for the event. This is a free event.
Heather Flint Chatto showed drawings of the SE Hawthorne Blvd. and SE 37th Ave. Plaza and Kisok. It will be a seasonal and in place May or June through October. The RNA appointed Board member Claire Cofsky to the Plaza Naming and Mural Committee.
The RNA Board Election will be Monday, June 9, with Board voting likely June 10 too. Notice of candidacy for a Board seat is due by Monday, May 12.
Come to a meeting to get more involved and learn about issues in the neighborhood.
South Tabor Neighborhood Association
By Cathy Kudlick
Following the March 9 traffic death of one of our neighbors who was trying to walk across SE Powell Blvd. from a bus stop, STNA came together to mourn and strategize. Neighbors shared stories of those they’ve lost and those they’ll miss seeing on daily walks. Others expressed fears for the schoolchildren who have to cross SE Powell Blvd. daily to get to Kellogg, Franklin, Arleta and Marysville.
It was noted that a TriMet-led project to enhance pedestrian crossings on SE Powell Blvd. is scheduled to start this spring—regrettably six years after its original target completion date. STNA urges everyone to join us in demanding immediate measures to slow vehicles and prevent more injuries and deaths, and in pressuring ODOT and PBOT to finalize the jurisdictional transfer of SE Powell Blvd. to the city.
On a brighter note, collect your stuff, plant your bulbs and mark your calendars for South Tabor’s annual garage sale and garden tour Saturday, June 7.
Our next in-person meeting will be Thursday, April 17, 7 pm at All-City Church, SE Clinton St. and SE 67th Ave. (enter from the parking lot side). To sign up for our mailing list and read issues of our newsletter, The South Tabor Crow, visit southtabor.org.
Sunnyside Neighborhood Association
By Gloria Jacobs
City councilors Tiffany Koyama Lane, Angelita Morillo and Steve Novick came to the SNA’s March meeting. They talked about how the new form of government is taking shape, and the looming budget crisis that will be consuming much of the council’s efforts. Bottom line on the budget—it’s going to be tough. Depending on how the deficit is calculated, the city faces a deficit of $92–$120 million for the next fiscal year.
The committees that District 3 members are on are Climate Resilience & Land Use (Novick, Morillo), Community & Public Safety (Novick, Morillo), Finance (Novick), Governance (Koyama Lane), Homelessness & Housing (Morillo), Labor & Workforce Development (Novick) and Transportation & Infrastructure (Morillo, Koyama Lane). Learn more about each committee’s work at portland.gov/council/policy-committees.
Making Earth Cool is planning an Earth Day parade and celebration for Saturday, April 26. Events will kick off at the Sunnyside Environmental School at 11 am with crafts, information booths and other activities. The parade gets going at noon with an approximately one mile route. Individuals and groups are welcome to join the parade. Make a banner! Put on a costume! Walk for the Earth! There will be an Earth Church ceremony at the Sunnyside Community Center (the former Methodist church at SE 35th Ave. and Yamhill St.) later in the evening. Find out more at makingearthcool.com.
Annual Board elections are Wednesday, May 14 at the SNA’s annual meeting. If you are interested in getting more involved in the neighborhood and working with some great folks on important issues, please reach out to Chris Waldmann by email (cjwaldmann@gmail.com) or phone (202.421.5822).