DRAFT- not yet approved
Continue reading Eliot Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Minutes 11/16/20
DRAFT- not yet approved
Continue reading Eliot Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Minutes 11/16/20
Board Members Present:
Others Present:
Meeting opened at 6:34 pm.
Welcome & Introductions
Neighborhood Update
Dawson Park: met with the police over Zoom. They said they were not aware of the magnitude of the problems at the park. Officer Quackenbush (LT Jim Quackenbush James.Quakenbush@portlandoregon.gov 503-793-9681) came by the next day and saw firsthand what was going on. Since then people have not noticed police presence. Will meet with the police again in two weeks. It was suggested that now is the time to get working on a solution so that when the weather gets better again we will have a solution in place. It was noted that Central City Concern has been in the neighborhood quite a bit trying to engage the people using drugs.
Can use pdxreporter.org to report crime. This is part of the city government and may be easier than waiting on hold on the non-emergency line.
Some questions that were raised included:
It was suggested that we should have a representative from Emanuel on the board. That was an agreement made in the past. There has not been an Emanuel representative in over a year.
Board Elections – Choose Directors for the Coming year
There was a brief discussion of the role of a director. The role includes attending meetings regularly and doing some work between meetings (small tasks such as write letters, articles for newsletter)
Allan reviewed the process: We will open for nominations, develop a slate, then vote in the slate. Then next month we will elect the officers. People can nominate themselves or anyone else.
Allan re-nominated all those currently on the board: Allan, Jimmy, Shireen, Pat, Jennifer, Sue
Johnny Engleheart nominated himself, Allan seconded
Harrison Osbourn nominated himself,
Kelli Fagan was suggested but declined but is interested in the livability committee.
The slate (Allan Rudwick, Jimmy Wilson, Shireen Hasan, Pat Montgomery, Sue Stringer, Jennifer Wilcox, Johnny Engleheart, and Harrison Osbourn) was unanimously elected.
Jimmy made a statement that we need to have a level playing field that need to be addressed before we bring new people into the board. In the past, there has been new leader training for new board members.
Pat recommended that the executive committee review Angela’s proposal for racial justice and diversity training and make a recommendation to the full board.
Old Business/Updates
Land Use committee met last week. The city is slightly changing the conservation district rules. They are being more flexible in how the houses can be used so that they will be used more and be less likely to be demolished.
Newsletter went out and looks great. Sue is open to people writing articles because she is down writers. She is hoping to connect with some high school students to get a youthful perspective.
Clean Air Team: Sue and Allan contacted everyone and heard back from some people. Most people were not able to participate at this time. Allan was going to send the letter to XPO Logistics but realized that the letter was not ready to send. It is unclear what we really want to ask for in this letter. The committee needs to meet to hammer out the details. Angela will do some research on community partners in the schools and try to connect them to Allan or Sue. After some discussion, it was decided that we will ask XPO logistics to filter their trucks.
Approve amended minutes from September’s meeting
Sue moved to approve the minutes as amended. Passed unanimously.
Meeting adjourned 8:17pm
Board Members Present:
Others Present:
Meeting opened at 6:34 pm.
Presenters:
Greg Bourget, Clean Air Oregon
Jeanine Morales, Deputy Director, NARAL Pro Choice Oregon
Angela Kremer/ Racial Diversity Training (Was not at the meeting, update given by board members)
Dawson Park Update
Board of Directors Update
Committee Updates
Minutes
Meeting adjourned 8:29pm
Chairs: Jimmy Wilson & Allan Rudwick
Board Members Present:
Others Present:
Meeting opened at 6:35pm.
Welcome & Introductions
Dawson Park update
Old Business/Updates:
Minutes
Amended minutes from July meeting were approved. Sue moved to accept the minutes as posted. Jonathan seconded. One abstention. Motion carried.
Meeting ended 7:35
Welcome & Introductions (6:32pm)
Gladys McCoy Memorial – Hilary Mackenzie
Dawson Park update
Dialogue about racism – Angela Kremer
Old Business/Updates:
– Livability – down to 1 member
Amended minutes from June meeting were approved.
Meeting ended 9:04
In the Saint Philip the Deacon Church, 120 NE Knott St, Portland, OR 97212
Meeting called to order: 6:37 p.m. Food was available during the meeting including pizza provided by Mississippi Pizza.
Robert Boyer—Eliot Neighborhood Past, Present, Future
Mr. Boyer gave a presentation about the history of the Eliot Neighborhood Association which he helped to create.
Byrd Cruz—Emanuel Displaced Persons Association 2
Byrd is a Librarian, Researcher and Founding Member of the Emanuel Displaced Persons Association 2, EDPA2. EDPA2 is an ad hoc community based organization comprised of survivors and descendants of the Emanuel Hospital expansion forced removal. Byrd is a local expert on this issue and has devoted extensive study in this area toward advocacy for the descendants of this unresolved and painful era of Portland’s history. Byrd will be giving a presentation entitled Reclaiming Stolen Black Lands in the “Whitest City” at the Eliot Center of the First Unitarian Church on March 31 at 7pm.
It was noted that the ENA has sent a letter to Emanuel Hospital requesting that land be donated to the community.
Garlington Garden
The Garlington Center includes a 2400 SQ foot vacant outdoor area which Cascadia intends to develop a 1200 SQ foot community garden and a 1200 SQ foot children’s play area. Growing Gardens will partner with Cascadia to develop and maintain and teach gardening skills to Garlington residents, clients and the community. Cascadia is applying to Metro, to City of PDX, Prosper Portland as well as a few small foundations. Cascadia requests that ENA will support the effort in general and by getting the word out via their membership – in case there are some very interested in gardening who’d like to participate.
An offer was made for Constructing Hope to assist with building the garden beds.
Jere moved and Jonathan seconded that ENA edit the letter of previously written to support the garden and play area. This motion passed unanimously.
People Stepping Down
Two people are stepping down from the Land Use committee. One is moving and the other has other commitments. This leaves only 4 people on the committee. Carla who is currently chair of the livability committee is planning on moving as well.
Jere is stepping down as the NECN representative. They meet on the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Someone will need to take over this role.
Thursday is stepping down as the webmaster. Sue has agreed to do this on an interim basis.
Jim would like to step down as treasurer.
Jimmy suggested that there should be a mentoring/teaching process from those who are stepping down to help teach new people the role. Should we have a nominating committee? It is helpful to have a smooth transition and opportunities for job shadowing.
No motions were made on this item and no vote took place.
Blazers Money:
We have the contact info for someone with the Blazers. Jimmy agreed to reach out to the Blazers to discuss continuing the payment they have given us in the past. The Board agreed to support him in this effort. No motions were made on this item and no vote took place.
Candidate Forum:
We discussed the idea of a candidate forum. It was agreed to ask NECN to put one on. No motions were made on this item and no vote took place.
General Meeting:
We have a general meeting coming up. Do we want to have a speaker? Alan agreed to reach out to Mary Peveto to ask her to speak. No motions were made on this item and no vote took place.
Business Connections:
Susan recently talked with Corey Kaster who is interested in connecting the Eliot District businesses with each other. The goal would be to help the owners know each other and work together. Jimmy has been introducing himself to all the businesses in the neighborhood. No motions were made on this item and no vote took place.
Minutes of the Previous Board Meeting: January 27,2020
Two corrections were made to the minutes. Susan moved to accept as corrected. Jere seconded.
Alan reported that 4 candidates have requested to come to a meeting and he asked for clarification on what to tell them. It was agreed that he could tell them the ENA meetings are open to the community and they can attend. We may ask them a question and they would be given 5 minutes to answer. We may also ask them to listen to our concerns.
Newsletter Report:
The deadline for articles is March 1.
LUTC (Land Use Transportation Committee Report
This committee currently consists of Allan Rudwick, Brad Baker, Jonathan Konkol, and Phil Conti.
There was a discussion of whose responsibility it is to report to NECN.
Livability Report:
We have a relationship with Central City Concern’s Clean Start PDX program to help with community clean up. If there are large items left out we can call them and they will come and take care of it. They are doing a great job. The adopt a block captains have their contact information.
Treasurer Report:
Jim will email the report. He noted that at this point we have no income so our bank account total is slowly decreasing.
NECN
Jere is stepping down and we will need a new representative. There was a discussion of the ENA’s responsibility to NECN. Do we need to inform them of changes to the Land Use committee membership? No motion was made and no vote was taken.
Next Board meeting: March 16th at 6:30pm
Meeting adjourned at 8:45pm.
Meeting called to order: 7:01 p.m. after a potluck and time for socializing.
Goals: All present introduced themselves and stated their goals for the group for the coming year. Goals listed were:
New Business:
January Meeting: It was suggested that we should move our January meeting to a different date so that it does not conflict with Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations. The group agreed to change the meeting to January 27th.
Mayo House: The Mayo House will be turned into a museum “ARTchives.” There was discussion of showing “Root Shocked” and having architectural models or posters at our April general meeting. A question arose about the impact of showing this documentary and the need to be prepared for people’s concerns. Another idea was to have a series of films including “Lift Every Voice”, “Vanport: Lost City”, and “Priced Out.” It was suggested that we should show a series with the focus on where we have been, where we are now and where we want to be. Susan agreed to get in touch with Cleo about the architectural students’ work.
Helping the Homeless: There was a brief discussion about what we might do to help those who are unhoused. Suggestions included creating a new Right2Dream or a tiny home pod.
Goals: At our meeting next month we will break into groups based on goals we would like to focus on and create action plans to address those goals.
Accountability: There was a brief discussion on the need to be accountable.
Emanuel Land: The group reviewed the letter from the Land Use committee requesting the Emanuel blocks be donated to the community. Alan moved and Susan seconded that the letter be sent. This passed unanimously.
Next Board meeting: January 27th at 6:30pm
Meeting was adjourned at 8:36pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Jennifer Wilcox, Recorder
Board members present: Jere Fitterman, Jimmy Wilson, Pat Montgomery, Darren Holcomb, Sue Stringer, Jonathan Konkol, Shireen Hasan, Sherry Staggs, Jennifer Wilcox, Allan Rudwick
Board members absent: Jim Hlava
Guests present: Teressa Raiford ( and her two daughters), Fyndi Jermany, Perez, Tai, Cleo Davis, approximately 6-10 more that didn’t sign in.
Meeting begins 6:40 pm
Minutes from October approved unanimously as corrected stating “… funding was provided for the Diversity Community Gardening Co-Op at St Philips Church led by Shireen Hasan.” Sue Stringer motions to approve, Allan Rudwick 2nds
Visiting mayoral candidate Teresa Raiford led a discussion about the needs of our neighborhood that she can focus on during her potential term as mayor. Topics included displacement of longtime residents and why she wants to run as mayor.
LUTC Report: LUTC voted to keep its board and officers. Current board includes:
Allan Rudwick motions to approve LUTC committee for 2020 term, Sue Stringer 2nds. Unanimously approved
Treasurer Report: Jim Hlava was not present. Per Jere Fitterman, Karla Gostnell still needs to find out about the blazer money for this year and ongoing continuation of funds as well as who should be our point of contact with the Blazer organization. Jere will follow up with Karla regarding this matter.
NECN: Mischa Webly with NECN is responsible for the NECN newsletter and has just launched heyneighborpdx.org which will be an online venue for articles, events and information in a timelier manner and for all the NECN neighbors to contribute to. Sue will connect Mischa Webly and Thursday Bram, our webmaster, to enable posts on their site that would be relevant to all neighborhoods.
Old Business: Darren Holcomb gave an update regarding Lauren Hall Barrons request for assistance on the loud garbage trucks that drive down her street, Monroe, in the middle of the night enroute to businesses on MLK. Darren will get the letter from the neighbor to Jere Fitterman. Jere Fitterman motions that she, Jere Fitterman, will write a letter to Metro and deliver it to Metro regarding this issue.
Election of Officers for 2020 term:
Allan Rudwick motions to remove the position of Community Outreach as an executive board position. Jonathan Konkol 2nds. Motion does not pass. Community Outreach continues as an executive board position.
Executive Board voted in unanimously:
Allan Rudwick and Jimmy Wilson, Co-Chairs
Jim Hlava, Treasurer
Jennifer Wilcox, Recorder
Newsletter Editor, Sue Stringer
Community Outreach, Shireen Hasan
Meeting adjourned 8:45pm
In the Saint Philip the Deacon Church, 120 NE Knott St, Portland, OR 97212
Meeting called to order: 6:39 p.m.
Welcome and Introductions:
Pastor Maria McDowell from Saint Philip the Deacon Episcopal Church was introduced. She spoke about the Leven Community Housing Coalition, a group of faith communities who are trying to leverage land they already own to provide housing for individuals experiencing homelessness. They are looking to assess the needs of the community and advocate with the city for changes to conditional use codes so that they build housing on their land. Saint Phillip the Deacon church is looking at what they can do with their current land. They want to invite the Eliot Neighborhood Association into those conversations.
The following ideas were discussed: offering activities in the parish hall in connection with the housing, build something over the current parking lot with housing, intergenerational housing. A comment was made that churches are not focused on making money and can help address greater city concerns such as homelessness. Emanuel church in the Humboldt neighborhood is working on a similar project. Prosper Portland has money available for these types of projects. The Meyer Memorial Trust is wanting to connect with the community and look for creative ways to offer/create affordable housing.
New Business:
Clarifying our reimbursement policy: We do not currently have a reimbursement policy. The following proposal was made:
if there is an approved budget item outstanding, any receipts that seem reasonably related to the item should be approved and paid ASAP
if there is not an approved budget item, the board should be contacted before reimbursement
It was noted that in the past if someone had a project they had to present a budget as part of the project. A clarification was made that there are currently no outstanding projects that need to be paid or reimbursed.
Jonathan moved and Allan seconded that we have a small discretionary budget of up to $100 for smaller items. The chairs would be able to approve payment for these items. This passed, 6 in favor and 1 opposed.
Current funding: Jim noted that we have no current money coming in to the budget. We need to follow up on the Blazers money. Shireen will talk to Angela to find out the name of the person at the Blazers and we will send a letter as a board to follow up. Also Susan will talk to Jere to find out if they have a contact at the Blazers. Jim noted in the past we have had a balance of $8,000-$12,000 which is a good amount. We should try to be revenue neutral for now until we have a source of income. No motions were made on this item and no vote took place.
Procedures on having speakers at our board meetings: It was agreed that we should direct people who want to speak at our meetings to the Community Outreach Coordinator (Shireen Hasan) or the chairpersons to get the person on the agenda for the next meeting. The person putting together the agenda will reply to the Outreach Coordinator so they know that the message has been received. It was also agreed that the agenda will be sent out a week before the board meeting so people have time to review it. No motions were made on these items and no vote took place.
Procedures on having political candidates speak at our board meetings: There was some discussion about if we have had politicians speak at board meetings in the past. Allen said there are two reasons not to invite candidates: 1) we as a board cannot look like we endorse candidates and 2) we would need to invite all the candidates so as not to appear to be favoring some and this would take up all the time for the meeting. It was suggested that we could have a candidate forum. Alan sent out an email from the Office of Neighborhood Involvement with guidelines for having politicians address neighborhood board meetings. He suggested we should review it. Susan moved and Patricia seconded that candidates may attend meetings. We may ask the candidate a question and they would be given 5 minutes to answer. We may also tell them our concerns. This passed 5 in favor and 3 opposed.
Committee Updates
Newsletter: Articles for the spring edition are due by March 1. Ad copy is due by March 8. The newsletter will be sent out April 1
Livability: no report
LUTC (Land Use Transportation Committee): The house on Vancouver and Page has been moved once and is up for demolition. They are looking for someone to move it. Three houses were just demolished, these were some of the last African American built houses in the neighborhood. A letter was sent to the city in favor of infill.
Clean Air: There was a brief discussion about data gathering. The committee is putting together a letter to the trucking company the main contributor to the diesel pollution. There was also discussion about the need to make progress on this issue and that people want to be involved in the process.
Community Outreach: Pastor Maria McDowell spoke earlier in the evening.
Minutes of the November 2019 Board Meeting:
Moved to accept: Susan Seconded: Jim Vote Count: 7 in favor, no opposed
Minutes of the December 2019 Board Meeting:
Moved to accept: Susan Seconded: Jim Vote Count: 5 in favor, 2 abstained
Next Board meeting: February 17, 2020 at 6:30pm
Adjourned at 8:37pm
Chairs: Jimmy Wilson & Allan Rudwick
6:30 pm via ZOOM
Board Members Attending:
Other individuals attending:
Meeting Called to Order: 6:35
Welcome & Introductions
The Freeway Fight (Aaron Brown, No More Freeways PDX)
Aaron gave some background information on ODOT’s Rose Quarter Improvement Project. ODOT wants to expand the freeway, widening I-5 into the backyard of Harriet Tubman Middle School. No More Freeways is working toward bringing ODOT to court about not being in compliance with laws. Two major tracks:
One track is the Governor’s Executive Order on Climate: Every government agency needs to be held responsible for climate impact. ODOT and OTC are covered by this executive order.
The second track is to focus on the impact on the local neighborhood, to argue that ODOT conducted a truncated environmental assessment
Is the Eliot neighborhood Association willing to be a part of these lawsuits? We have as an association voted to oppose this several times in the past.
There was much discussion and many questions were raised about being a plaintiff including: What would being a plaintiff mean in this context? How will this affect insurance?
What are the risks? What are other options?
What personal actions would we be expected to take? The tasks we would be responsible for as a plaintiff include: communications, providing quotes to newspapers. Probably not a lot of asks as a whole group, periodic check ins with the organization, making decisions as they come up.
What is the timeline? Hope to move in the next few weeks, then as long as the project is in process. ODOT claims they will break ground in 2023.
It was decided to move on to the other items on the agenda and provide more background information to members of the committee to help them make a decision.
Neighbors for Clean Air Presentation (Mary Peveto)
Mary gave an overview of Neighbors for Clean Air. They have worked with Harriet Tubman on clean air concerns for years. They have also worked with the school board to develop an HVAC indoor air quality system to protect the children. They have an NIH grant to understand total quantity of air impact.
Their focus: everything they look through is about air quality. Their most recent fight was to petition the state to do rule making around indirect sources of pollution. The single biggest contributor to pollution is using older diesel engines. HB2007 will regulate the trucks in the Portland metro area. Most diesel pollution comes from non-road sources: construction, rail and marine. They are looking at options right now for how to address this issue. Want to put the problem of diesel on our radar. About to launch a new website to help explain this to people and help them understand the problem with diesel air pollution. Diesel the most deadly thing in our air.
Mary suggested we read the series in the Oregonian: Polluted by Money. https://projects.oregonlive.com/polluted-by-money/
It is a political problem. Associations of contractors have been able to hold off any changes in laws. We are a dumping ground for old equipment because we have no regulations. Outside Oregon professional interests are trying to hold the line against Oregon’s progressive interests.
Strategy question: would approaching companies individually trying to have them change their ways be effective? Mary did that work with Vigor (the shipping company) and made significant changes. But the Port of Portland won’t make those changes. Mary states she is happy to work with us if there is a company we want to work with. She can help them get government grants to make changes.
It was decided that Mary and Jimmy will sit down together to discuss options.
COVID-19 – Updates on how everyone is doing / things we need right now.
The board members did a general check in about how they were doing during the current crisis and what thoughts or ideas people had. Some highlights included:
Updates
– NECN update: pushing out a weekly email of resources. They have an excellent website and their newsletter is on the website. Resources for COVID 19 which includes info about employment, money and housing, and how to get info about help. They got statements from 92 out of 94 candidates in the upcoming election. Very informative.
– Treasurer’s report: we are still slowly losing money month after month. The first three months of this year just over $1000. Balance: $8300. Was someone going to reach out to the Blazers? That is the only source of revenue that we could potentially have. Bringing the Blazer money back should be a top priority. Jimmy tried to reach out to the person who did it in the past. He will reach out to Angela to find out who to connect with. She can potentially help him figure it out. Jere also offered to help.
—Newsletter: Does it make sense to produce 4 issues of the newsletter this year? Will we have advertisers? Sue has almost covered the costs for the summer issue. Have some good ideas for content as well. Will know by the May meeting on what she has or needs. Now would be a good time to interview neighbors and spotlight on people.
– Land Use: Not much to tell. Had a short meeting, agreed to move forward with the Rose Quarter Project lawsuit. Allan will host a meeting to provide background info about the project for those that need it.
– Webmaster– call for a new one: Thursday stepped down from being webmaster. Sue is currently covering and enjoying learning WordPress.
Jere, Sue and Allan will coordinate about a communication strategy.
Next month will meet via Zoom again.
Adjourned 8:31.
Chairs: Jimmy Wilson & Allan Rudwick
Monday, June 15 2020
6:30-8:00 pm
Board Members Present:
Allan Rudwick
Jimmy Wilson
Jonathan Konkol
Shireen Hasan
Jim Hlava
Sue Stringer
Darren Holcomb
Others Present:
William Francis (Community Cycling Center)
Cameron Whitten (Black Resilience Fund)
Meeting called to order at 6:33pm
1 Welcome & Introductions
2. William Francis of the Community Cycling Center spoke. The Community Cycling Center’s mission is to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits. More than just a bike shop, they do a holiday bike drive, donate bikes each year, run a repair shack in the New Columbia Village, offer a low income community discount and several other programs. They are located on NE Alberta street.
During the pandemic the Community Cycling Center is working towards providing mutual aid. They are connected with a food pantry at the Rosa Parks school and another pantry in the Cully neighborhood. They are reaching 91 families delivering food by bicycle each week. There is a team of 6 volunteers making the deliveries. The idea is to bring food to individuals who may not be able to go to pantries for a variety of reasons.
They are looking for a food pantry to partner with in our neighborhood. There is one at the Boise Eliot School. Immaculate Heart church has a food pantry. Saint Philip the Deacon gives out food on Saturdays. They would also need to gather names of individuals or families in need. They make their deliveries by bike so families need to be within a 1-2-mile radius. Discussed putting an article up on the web about the program and then updating it for the fall newsletter. Sue will put a brief ad in the summer issue of the newsletter to ask for individuals who are in need of support. Shireen agreed to be the point person to help coordinate the neighborhood needs. Allan will also connect William to the Boise Eliot School as a way to gather names of families in need.
3. Cameron Whitten of the Black Resilience Fund spoke. The fund was founded two weeks ago to create resources to provide immediate support to Black Portlanders. They have received over 3000 applications for support. Their goal is to raise $1 million, and they are more than halfway there. They want to support a path toward healing and reconciliation to communities; create joy and build community. Their model is culturally specific. People who apply are being interviewed by Black Portlanders and funds are delivered by Black Portlanders. It is creating a way for individuals to be more connected. The website: BlackResiliencefund.com has lots of great stories. The fund is solving immediate needs for neighbors who are currently suffering. Becoming a program of the nonprofit Brown Hope. Jimmy stated it was very encouraging to see this work. He suggested that Cameron speak to the mayor. Black 211 workers are able to volunteer their time to help with Black Resilience Fund. It is a very empowering experience for many people. Sue suggested putting something on the website and also an article in the newsletter in the fall. Over 600 people applied to volunteer. Two co-founders. Shireen moved we donate $1000 to the Black Resilience Fund. Darren seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
4 Newsletter updates: Sue is finishing up the layout right now. Goal is to get it in everyone’s mailbox by July 1st. We have 12 pages which include interviews with essential workers, info about I-5, COVID-19 testing and many other articles. We are covering the cost for the issue though we are light on advertising. Would love to get more voices from the community for the next issue. Jimmy gave a statement about the protests. Sue reached out to Jimmy Wilson, Shireen Hasan, and Patricia Montgomery and Monique Gaskins to make sure the Black perspective was included in the newsletter. Jimmy wanted to make sure Sue explained why she asked those individuals in particular. She stated did not want to say the wrong thing or go in the wrong direction in the newsletter. Discussed the importance of honoring this moment. Jimmy said we are all in this together. Sue shared Jimmy’s statement to the group and a few edits were made.
5. Statement of support: Allan sent out a statement of support for the Black Lives Matter movement before the meeting. The idea is to acknowledge that we have been a part of the problem in the past and that we want to work to make amends and promote an anti-racist society. The group reviewed and edited the statement. We also agreed to add a paragraph to the masthead of the newsletter.
6 Ongoing business:
Meeting adjourned at 8:50
Chairs: Jimmy Wilson & Allan Rudwick
Monday, June 15 2020
6:30-8:00 pm
Board Members Present:
Allan Rudwick
Jennifer Wilcox
Jimmy Wilson
Jonathan Konkol
Shireen Hasan
Jim Hlava
Sue Stringer
Darren Holcomb
Others Present:
William Francis (Community Cycling Center)
Cameron Whitten (Black Resilience Fund)
Meeting called to order at 6:33pm
1 Welcome & Introductions
2. William Francis of the Community Cycling Center spoke. The Community Cycling Center’s mission is to broaden access to bicycling and its benefits. More than just a bike shop, they do a holiday bike drive, donate bikes each year, run a repair shack in the New Columbia Village, offer a low income community discount and several other programs. They are located on NE Alberta street.
During the pandemic the Community Cycling Center is working towards providing mutual aid. They are connected with a food pantry at the Rosa Parks school and another pantry in the Cully neighborhood. They are reaching 91 families delivering food by bicycle each week. There is a team of 6 volunteers making the deliveries. The idea is to bring food to individuals who may not be able to go to pantries for a variety of reasons.
They are looking for a food pantry to partner with in our neighborhood. There is one at the Boise Eliot School. Immaculate Heart church has a food pantry. Saint Philip the Deacon gives out food on Saturdays. They would also need to gather names of individuals or families in need. They make their deliveries by bike so families need to be within a 1-2-mile radius. Discussed putting an article up on the web about the program and then updating it for the fall newsletter. Sue will put a brief ad in the summer issue of the newsletter to ask for individuals who are in need of support. Shireen agreed to be the point person to help coordinate the neighborhood needs. Allan will also connect William to the Boise Eliot School as a way to gather names of families in need.
3. Cameron Whitten of the Black Resilience Fund spoke. The fund was founded two weeks ago to create resources to provide immediate support to Black Portlanders. They have received over 3000 applications for support. Their goal is to raise $1 million, and they are more than halfway there. They want to support a path toward healing and reconciliation to communities; create joy and build community. Their model is culturally specific. People who apply are being interviewed by Black Portlanders and funds are delivered by Black Portlanders. It is creating a way for individuals to be more connected. The website: BlackResiliencefund.com has lots of great stories. The fund is solving immediate needs for neighbors who are currently suffering. Becoming a program of the nonprofit Brown Hope. Jimmy stated it was very encouraging to see this work. He suggested that Cameron speak to the mayor. Black 211 workers are able to volunteer their time to help with Black Resilience Fund. It is a very empowering experience for many people. Sue suggested putting something on the website and also an article in the newsletter in the fall. Over 600 people applied to volunteer. Two co-founders. Shireen moved we donate $1000 to the Black Resilience Fund. Darren seconded. Motion passed unanimously.
4 Newsletter updates: Sue is finishing up the layout right now. Goal is to get it in everyone’s mailbox by July 1st. We have 12 pages which include interviews with essential workers, info about I-5, COVID-19 testing and many other articles. We are covering the cost for the issue though we are light on advertising. Would love to get more voices from the community for the next issue. Jimmy gave a statement about the protests. Sue reached out to Jimmy Wilson, Shireen Hasan, and Patricia Montgomery and Monique Gaskins to make sure the Black perspective was included in the newsletter. Jimmy wanted to make sure Sue explained why she asked those individuals in particular. She stated did not want to say the wrong thing or go in the wrong direction in the newsletter. Discussed the importance of honoring this moment. Jimmy said we are all in this together. Sue shared Jimmy’s statement to the group and a few edits were made.
5. Statement of support: Allan sent out a statement of support for the Black Lives Matter movement before the meeting. The idea is to acknowledge that we have been a part of the problem in the past and that we want to work to make amends and promote an anti-racist society. The group reviewed and edited the statement. We also agreed to add a paragraph to the masthead of the newsletter.
6 Ongoing business:
Meeting adjourned at 8:50
DRAFT- Not Yet Approved.
DRAFT- not yet approved
submitted by Allan Rudwick
In attendance: All Committee members: Brad, Monique, Zach, Phil, Allan, Jonathan
Public: PSU student Andrea was observing. Judge showed up too
Developer for page and Vancouver NW corner – 2 representatives: Alicia and Casey
Ali Sadri- Legacy Health
706pm
2306 n Vancouver
Zoning: CM3d – plan to use community design standards. may submit before end of the calendar year.
Proposal: 43 units. 1 loading zone. Mostly studios and 1br. 3 2br
Concerns: Neighborhood feel, street appeal important. Main entrance not gloomy. We would like more larger units less studios. Also want the building to address the street better. If they get below 40 units they can get rid of the loading zone
Ali from Emanuel (7:40pm)
Emanuel IMP ends 2023, but rules aren’t changing much
New building still going up. Planning on 16 OR. Quicker turnaround.
Core and shell of the building are very flexible. This will allow them to build spaces in the new building and then when finished move units over from older spaces. One highlight is a modernized burn center
Evergreen topic: Land between Vancouver & Williams. Ali & Emanuel want to rezone land they hold and change the development rules on their campus (which we support) but can’t due to city or something. Setbacks are holding everything back. Allan proposed getting some meetings with the city to get things going forward. Ali said he would attend if the right meeting can get set up.
Monique asked about air quality concerns with I-5. Hospital doesn’t care about air quality, they filter everything a ton already
Parking summary: car dealership wants to build a big building. Neighborhood not excited about it. Will continue letter-writing and staying on top of things.
Safer 7th: need to reach out to Nick Falbo and see what is going on and when we can start construction
Another devleopment proposal- we want them to come in for a future meeting – N Flint and Hancock.
6-0 passed: Motion to approve minutes
6-0 passed: Motion to keep land use committee