Submitted by Laura Fay – Approved November 20, 2023
Eliot Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Minutes – approved
Monday 10/16/2023
7:00 – 8:30pm
Cascadia Garlington Health Center
3036 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd
BOARD ATTENDEES
- Patricia Montgomery – Co-Chair
- Jimmy Wilson – Co-Chair
- Jennifer Wilcox – Treasurer
- Cassie Muilenberg – Vice Community Outreach
- Laura Fay – Recorder
- Andrew Champion
- Kathryn LePore
- Alice Newman
- Allan Rudwick
- Bliss Suh
OTHER ATTENDEES
- Dora Decoursey
- Tessa Fowler – VOA MRC
- Lt Ron Mason – North Precinct
- Sgt Jorge Mendoza – North Precinct
- James Posey
- Officer Kyle Green – North Precinct
- Bill Spangle
- Alyssa Whitesides
WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS: Jimmy Wilson called the meeting to order at 7:02pm.
REVIEW MEETING AGREEMENTS: Jimmy reviewed the meeting agreements.
APPROVE MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 18TH MEETING: Kathryn LePore called for a motion to approve the minutes from the 9/18 meeting. Andrew Champion seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
AGENDA ADDITIONS: There were no additions.
NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY: Laura Fay provided an update from PEMO. In addition to their continuing efforts to provide better lighting on Stanton Street and beyond, PEMO has worked with PBOT and other city bureaus to install no or limited parking on Stanton. Speed bumps will also be installed between Williams and MLK. A baseline traffic study is underway on NE Graham.
Sergeant Jorge Mendoza shared that an update to the Time, Place and Manner Ordinance for Alcohol Sales is underway. He asks that ENA share specific complaints related to alcohol sale violations for investigation and enforcement by PPB. He offered to talk to the owner of the Stop N Go market about changes to secure the store grounds that would produce long-term improvements. He also noted that NRT could ask the RID team to come clean the Stanton Street sidewalk near Williams, adjacent to Immaculate Heart church.
Tessa Fowler shared an update from the Volunteers of America’s Men’s Resource Center. Of the original five STEP court participants, three have graduated out of the program and are doing well. A fourth will graduate soon. After leaving the MRC, graduates would go on to outpatient services, or a sober living facility, or back to their family homes.
Cassie Miulenberg reported that as the Eliot representative at the Specialty Courts Oversight Board, she has been dismayed to learn that all diversion courts are funded through a highly competitive and poorly funded grant process. The courts have experienced serious cuts this year. She believes it is time for ENA to advocate for stable support from the county, and is willing to draft an invitation to Commissioner Susheela Jayapal. We should consider anything else we want to speak with the Commissioner about.
MAAP Update: Jennifer is working on providing office space at the Garlington Center for the Eliot-assigned MAAP attorney.
BOARD ELECTIONS: Kathryn made a motion to re-nominate the following board members to continue serving on the ENA board, which Pat seconded:
- Andrew Champion
- Laura Fay
- Kathryn LePore
- Serena Li
- Pat Montgomery
- Cassie Muilenberg
- Alice Newman
- Allan Rudwick
- Bliss Suh
- Jennifer Wilcox
- Jimmy Wilson
The slate of renewing board members was unanimously elected.
NEIGHBORHOOD UPDATES
Eliot News: The newsletter is going online for the time being. We will try to draft a volunteer willing to lead a print effort.
Treasurer’s Report: ENA has $4,610.18 in the bank.
LUTC: Allan reported. There will be a follow up meeting with the Blazers regarding permitting for lower Eliot.
Community Outreach: Cassie will start working on an invitation to Commissioner Jayapal, to advocate for STEP court funding. We should consider any other initiatives we want to approach her about.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Andrew shared the following statement:
“In August 2022 I came as a member of the community and made a statement to a board that was wondering why more of the neighborhood was not coming to these meetings. For those who don’t know or remember it, it is recorded in the minutes, but I will share one excerpt right now:
[NE Stanton] has not always been like this and there are no angels coming to restore our peace but you, my neighbors, when you finally confront this issue head on with the urgency it deserves.
“This association is chartered to prevent the further deterioration of our neighborhood and there is no doubt in my mind that this board upheld its responsibility to do just that. Its pleas for help were ignored or turned away many times. Conventional wisdom says the lack of civility in our meetings was the cause of many self-inflicted failures, but I believe it is the other way around. The civility we now enjoy, however selectively enforced, is the product of finally growing to accept new ideas and strategies.
“In 2019, I wrote to the city asking them to address speeding traffic coming to and from Dawson Park. They directly told me that they wouldn’t take action until people started dying.
“In 2020, vice and violence escalated rapidly, culminating in a night of 58 rapid fire gunshots in late September. Killings followed, with two different murders in exactly the same spot.
“This year, with no obvious change of information, PBOT finally admitted that we have a problem. Unfortunately it arrived at the predetermined conclusion of installing the speed bumps we needed four years ago, in a different time. They went so far as asking the community if we would be okay with them before asking us to identify the actual problem we want solved.
“We can agree that fighting crime is not a transportation issue, but that is a red herring. PBOT engineers already know that they tackle violence directly, both at Mt. Scott Park and at Jefferson High School. They also know that transportation decisions affect commerce, and that Stanton Street is a conduit for the trade of prostitution, drugs, and violence. Nevertheless, their bureau repeatedly narrows the scope of its work on NE Stanton to address traffic safety with the explicit intent of preserving the same patterns that continue to bring death and destruction to our street.
“While I suggested other time proven, less expensive, and more sustainable ideas, only speed bumps were presented to others. That is what the city budgeted for, and that is what the city will spend. Alternatives may not be popular with everyone, but at my end of the street, where people can’t park in front of their homes for fear of vandalism and personal injury, we are willing to sacrifice much, much more.
“We did not move into a bad neighborhood. Just three years ago, families did not abandon their homes in the middle of the night. We could work and sleep without window-rattling bass. Our children felt safe sleeping in their own room. Our partners went for walks without escorts. These things were stolen down the road by new traffic on our street.
“Regardless of how you feel about traffic calming on NE Stanton, let me return to my statement last year: we must confront the issue head on with the urgency it deserves. No one can tell me that speed bumps, more than a year later, are either direct confrontation or a demonstration of urgency. A slap on the wrist for dangerous driving is not restitution for the peace and sense of safety that was taken from us.”
ADJOURN: Pat adjourned the meeting at 8:40pm.
NEXT MEETING December 18, 2023
Eliot Neighborhood 