Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association (MTNA) Regular
Meeting Minutes for June 17, 2009

Board Members Present: Bruce Treat, Nancy Norby, Heidi Kohne, Bing Wong, Paul Leistner, Mark Bartlett, Jim Blackwood, John McLaren, Mike Shaver, Dawn Smallman/Greg Snider, Stephanie Stewart

Board Members Absent: Cascade Anderson-Geller, Nadine Fiedler, John Laursen

Others Present: Officer Gary Manougian, Don Holden, Mary Kinnick, Deb Scott, Erroll Carlson, Shannon Loch, Barb Gamelgard, Tom Leiner
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The meeting opened with introductions led by President Treat. The minutes from the May 20th meeting were then approved on a motion by Paul Leistner, seconded by Jim Blackwood.

The financial report was presented by Treasurer Wong.

Announcements^:

Erroll Carlson announced the July 18th neighborhood block party. It will be held at Taylor Ct. and 80th. This will be the 8th time it’s held, having missed having it the last two years. Decorations are put up at 8am, 11am will have all the activities, including Irish fiddlers, a dog competition, some human races, Shriner clowns, some PSU cheerleaders, a half-court basketball shoot (Miss Oregon will present a model car as the winner), a parade of 75 floats at 1pm, and a dunk tank.

Bruce received a poster for the Climate Action Plans event at Mt. Scott Community Center on Saturday, June 20, 1-3pm. This is a town hall event with the City of Portland and Multnomah County.

Dairy Queen will be celebrating their 40th anniversary. There may be multiple days of celebration.

Neighborhood Issues and Concerns:

Don Holden reported that the bench and components will be here by the end of this month, with installation happening (hopefully) by July 4th. The bench will sit on a concrete pad. It will be similar to the other memorial benches in size and style.

Neighborhood Crime: Officer Pickett has been reassigned to another district. Manougian reported that crime activity is “normal”, not much in home invasions. He urges everyone to make sure everything is locked up, and if you see anything suspicious, please call the police. This was the first week of the new precinct districting. He said that it is still commonplace for police officers to be called all over town, not just their district. Sometimes district offices are unstaffed, and that is still being investigated. Manougian’s new district is located at 737 SE 106th (near the Old Chicago restaurant on 102nd and Washington) and can be reached at (503) 823-4800.

Mt. Tabor Entryway: Tom Leiner said that it looks like he’s the only one who’s doing any garden upkeep. He mentioned that at one point there were many cigarette butts in the dirt; he’s talked to a couple of bars, and it looks like the problem has abated a bit. Tom would love any help with weeding and other upkeep, just 3 or 4 people are needed. Heidi will write a letter to the apartment manager at that location to apprise them of the situation, and to let them know they are not obligated to maintain the garden.

Trimet: Bruce stated that TriMet did receive the letter that MTNA sent them, along with 250 signatures. However, TriMet has decided to go back to the original route. Mike Shaver brought up his dismay about TriMet’s decision.

Metro Letter Update: Bruce reported that he sent a letter to Metro urging them to keep the voucher program for neighborhood cleanups. The answer finally came back that it’s looking like there may be less money going out in future years. Deb Scott said that the answer she’s received said that the cleanups will happen next year, but with a possible reduced budget. Nothing will be known until after July 1st, the beginning of Metro’s fiscal year. Deb reported that the cleanup brought $3823.25 (gross), $275 of that came from the reuse area. Net income $2003.75, but we have not received the check from SEUL, which will be around $1000. Deb moved that MTNA make a $100 donation to Mt. Tabor Middle School for use of the parking lot. Carried. A couple of the master recyclers have expressed interest in helping out at next year’s cleanup.

Southeast Uplift: SEUL has a new executive director, Anne Dufay; she has much experience with neighborhood involvement and financial matters.

Saturday, June 27 is the neighborhood board orientation. Neighborhood ice cream social Monday, July 6, 7:30pm at the SEUL building.

Mt. Tabor Commons: Roofing has been finished, as well as sheet rock. Building inspections have been successful. There is a fruit stand there.

EPA LT2: The big meeting was videotaped and has now been transcribed. The City is hoping for a deadline extension with the EPA. Stephanie mentioned that an extensive test was conducted, testing the water for crypto, and it turned up completely negative. Mark said that the city has approved the budget to start constructing Powell Butte reservoir. Stephanie said that the Water Bureau just enacted a new policy May 19 to charge anyone who wants an electronic copy of information. Stephanie said that there’s a work session tomorrow (Thursday) to discuss what direction to go about the treatment plant aspect of this EPA requirement.

Friends of Mt. Tabor Park: Mary passed out the fliers for the Mt. Tabor Park concerts and centennial celebration. She also reported that all three trails are open and maps can be picked up at the kiosk near the parking lot. She also mentioned that on the last Saturday of each month, from 9am to noon, there will be service projects to clean up the park, mainly of ivy and other invasive plants. She finally mentioned that “scars” (ruts from off-road bicycles) are appearing throughout the park; the Board is exploring various ideas to address the problem.

Land Use Committee: Stephanie reported that there is an opportunity for Mt. Tabor homeowners to purchase solar panels for their homes at a drastically-reduced price. Go to www.solarizeportland.org for more information.

Stephanie also introduced William and Heather, who are wanting to hold their wedding at the park July 25 at 1pm and want music; MSC Jim Blackwood, Nancy Norby to accept the noise variance; she will write the letter to the Park Bureau. Stephanie also brought up changes to the MTNA’s noise policy at the park, spelling out in writing the guidelines that would be in addendum to the Park Bureau’s Master Plan; it was decided to postpone a vote to approve these new guidelines to next month’s meeting.

Stephanie also reported that the Portland Plan is almost complete, and we haven’t done ours yet. Urban Form Values is a major part of the Plan, where questions are posed to the neighborhoods on what aspects of their neighborhood people like. Transportation, Parks, Schools, & Businesses are also topics that are covered. Other topics brought up at the meeting included tree canopy and zoning. It was urged of Stephanie and the people present to get started working on ours, a little bit at a time. Stephanie would like volunteers to help out write up this neighborhood’s value plan, as well as topics to include in the plan.

Portland Parks Asset Disposal Policy: The Parks Department is looking at selling some land, and so is wanting to write up a policy regarding the disposing of public land that Parks Department maintains. Shannon stated that she has requested of Commissioner Fish that the MTNA and other neighborhoods be notified of any land-selling earlier in the general process. Discussion ensued about the apparent lack of policy of Parks Department and the City of Portland on selling land.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00pm.

For more information, please go to www.mttaborpdx.org.