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September 2008 meeting minutes
Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Association
Regular meeting minutes
September 17, 2008
Board Members present: Mark Bartlett, Jim
Blackwood, Nadine Fiedler, Heidi Kohne, Cathy
Kuehnl, John Laursen, Paul Leistner, John
McLaren, Nancy Norby, Bruce Treat and Bing Wong.
Board members absent: Cascade Anderson Geller,
Don Jacobson, Bunny Marechal, Gayle Marechal,
Others present: Houston Bolles, Gary Brannan,
Cathy Dolan, Tom Dolan, Robert Dortignacq, Barb
Gamelgard, Barbara Grimala, Michele Hamley, Don
Holden, Susan Kelly, Sara Maier, Officer Robert
Pickett, Michael St. Clair, Dawn Smallman, Greg
Snider, Al Staehli, Susan Yates Miller
Bing Wong led introductions. Minutes from the
July and August meetings were previously
distributed via email. The minutes were adopted
upon motion by Jim Blackwood and seconded by
Nancy Norby. There was not a quorum at the
August meeting so not enough board members
present to accept the July minutes until this
meeting. Bing Wong presented the treasurer’s
report.
Announcements
Justin Leonard resigned from the board via email
due to personal reasons. We wish Justin the
best.
Heidi Kohne said she’s heard that due to large
enrollment, there will be no staff cuts at Mt.
Tabor Middle School. Bruce Treat added that at
Atkinson Elementary they are actually adding a
K/1 class due to the large student population of
kindergarteners and first graders. Audience
members were impressed with Portland Public
Schools’ actually keeping and adding staff due
to large student populations rather than
reducing staff.
Tiffany Gates of Metro’s Regional Illegal
Dumping (RID) Patrol gave a short presentation
to inform everyone that if you see illegal
dumping on public lands, you can contact Metro
and they will come out and clean up free of
charge. Tiffany said that they have three
detectives on hand to investigate these illegal
dumpings.
Heidi said that the church was raising money by
its annual dinner on October 29th at Wongs King
restaurant on 87th and Division. Nancy Norby
made a motion that was seconded by John Laursen
that MTNA purchase four tickets and raffle them
off to board members prior to the dinner on the
29th. Motion passed.
Officer Robert Pickett visited to say that there
were several recent burglaries which all
happened during the daytime. He reiterated that
the better you know your neighbors, the more
likely you are to spot unusual activities. One
of the daytime burglaries was reported by a
fellow neighbor who thought it odd that people
were their neighbor’s house. Overall however,
crime is not a problem in Mt. Tabor.
Old Business
John Laursen said that some work had been done
to fix the area around the damaged entryway sign
at 50th/Hawthorne and that more work still
needed to be done. John relayed the news that
the city settled with the alleged drunk driver
over the accident that caused the damage but
that the driver had had no repercussions to her.
Mark Bartlett reported that a group of citizens
is to meet with the Portland Planning Department
to discuss decisions by schools to dispose of
schools and involve neighborhoods in those
decisions.
Bruce Treat made a motion which was seconded by
Nancy Norby that MTNA affirm the letter sent by
MTNA to the Bureau of development Services (BDS)
opposing the request for variance for the
property at 1150 SE 50th avenue. Motion passed.
John Laursen made a second motion, seconded by
Nadine Fiedler that MTNA file an appeal with BDS
should the request for variance be granted.
Motion passed. Much discussion about the request
for variance and about how nothing had been
heard by any of the neighbors in attendance from
BDS.
Don Holden made a motion, seconded by Gary
Brannan that MTNA support the Water Bureau’s
putting a bench at Mt. Tabor Park honoring WWI
veterans and also the memory of former Mt. Tabor
resident and WWI veteran Howard Ramsey. John
Laursen reiterated that previously many in the
neighborhood at many neighborhood meetings on
the topic opposed putting a war memorial in the
park where none now exist. John pointed out that
Washington Park, home of other war memorials in
the city, is the appropriate place for war
memorials. John said that he, and he suspected
others not in attendance, would be amenable to a
bench honoring Ramsey individually as a person
but not to one honoring WWI veterans as a group.
Much discussion ensued about the language on the
bench and Don withdrew the motion pending
further debate. Motion seconded by Mark
Bartlett. Jim Blackwood said he would contact
Don to help draft proper language and present at
a future meeting.
New Business
Sara Maier of the Water Bureau visited for the
first of three consecutive meetings with MTNA to
discuss the Mt. Tabor Historic Structures Report
being prepared by the Water Bureau. She
introduced Rob Dortignacq, who is the lead
architect. They are hoping to provide an
assessment of both immediate and on-going
maintenance for the Mt. Tabor Historic District
facilities and features. They will speak further
at the October and November MTNA meetings and
seek feedback from neighbors at those meetings.
Al Staehli agreed with the need for both
documenting and preserving the structures in the
park.
Leah Hyman of Southeast Uplift (SEUL) visited
and handed out `08-`09 Neighborhood Board Member
Handbooks to the board. The Secretary was also
handed possession of a binder of materials on
making the neighborhood association more
effective and germane. Leah also reminded people
to take the online poll regarding the street car
discussion.
Committee Reports
Southeast Uplift (SEUL)
Paul Leistner said that the Office of
Neighborhood Involvement (ONI) is working on a
new mission statement and is seeking input on
that. Paul also said that Tabor Commons is
coming along with murals being painted on the
outside of the building and a new garage door to
be installed in the back.
Friends of Mt. Tabor Park
Nancy Norby said 80-100 people attended the
August picnic on the 12th. Work parties assemble
on the last Saturday of each month to pick weeds
and clean up the park. Contact Nancy if you need
more info. She also said that the grounds on the
dog park will be upgraded soon.
Mt. Tabor Park Master Plan Update
John Laursen was pleased to announce that the
master plan update group had supported the
architects’ Option B, which calls for upgrades
to maintenance yard workers’ work spaces as well
as providing more storage facilities. The plan
calls for bicycle and pedestrian entry from
Division to the park and also may allow for a
community garden. City council will have a work
session on October 7th to discuss the plan but
may not act on adopting it at that time.
Meeting adjourned at approximately 9:00
The next MTNA meeting will be Wednesday, October
15 at 7 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church as SE
54th /Belmont.
Previous Minutes can always be found at
www.mttaborpdx.org/about
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