Board Members Present: Bruce Treat, Nancy Norby, Heidi Kohne, Bing Wong, Paul Leistner, Nadine Fiedler, John McLaren, Mike Shaver, Greg Snider, Stephanie Stewart

Board Members Absent: Cascade Anderson-Geller, Mark Bartlett, Jim Blackwood, John Laursen, Dawn Smallman

Others Present: Officer Gary Manougian, Holly Howard, John Pedrick, Aaron Tinkle, Tom Leiner, Gayle & Bunny Marechal, Tom Dolan, Dave Peroff (Mt. Tabor Theater), Mary Kinnick, Barb Gamelgard, Mark Cullington, Becky Wandell, Kevin Bryant, Bryan Brunley

The meeting opened with introductions led by President Treat. The minutes from the September meeting were then approved on a motion by Nadine Fiedler, seconded by Barb Gamelgard.

The financial report was presented by Treasurer Wong. A check was just written for the newsletter. We have a total of over $13,000 in the bank.

Announcements

The next newsletter will likely be published in February. Nadine and Gayle decided to publish the neighborhood newsletter only 3 times a year instead of 4. Anyone can submit articles at any time to Gayle or Nadine, as long as they pertain to this neighborhood.

John McLaren reported that the MTNA website in September received over 600 unique hits, and also got many hits over the summer. This could be due to the park’s centennial, the soap box derby, and/or the Sunday Parkways.

Neighborhood Issues and Concerns

Bunny Marechal expressed concern about Randy Leonard’s decision to have armed guards in the park. Nancy Norby said that City Council will be deciding this issue in the next few weeks. Discussion followed. It was moved by Nancy Norby, seconded by Bing Wong, to write a letter to City Council asking to delay the decision to have park security personnel to carry weapons, the letter to be written by Bunny Marechal; approved.

MTNA Board: Tom Dolan had expressed interest in becoming a member of the Board. It was moved by Nancy Norby, seconded by Stephanie Stewart, to accept Tom as a Board member; approved.

Mt. Tabor Theater: The theater, located on SE Hawthorne, is now open and is running a valid liquor license. David Peroff said that the staff is extensively trained in safety and security, making sure that patrons who enter the building are sober and that fights and trash don’t happen. He said that he needs to sign the good-neighbor agreement. David also said that they are anticipating having all-ages shows, including ones that invite children, and their existing liquor license allows them to have children on the premises. They are now also selling pizza, both on-site as well as pizza delivery around the hill itself. Go to www.taborpdx.com for more infomation on the theater.

Neighborhood Crime: Officer Manougian brought crime maps for distribution. Property crimes have jumped quite a bit. Thefts have included items such as purses and briefcases from workplaces, including those stored in employee-only areas. Greg Snider asked Officer Manougian his opinion about Commissioner Leonard’s wish to have armed guards in the park; Manougian responded with two questions of his own that should be brought up with the City Council: What is the area to be secured, and how would these people be armed? He said that current Portland Police response time to the reservoirs is basically the same as it is to any person’s home. The official address for the park in an emergency is 6650 SE Yamhill.

Hawthorne Neighborhood Entrance: Tom Leiner was wanting two loads of barkdust for the flower beds. John Larsen said that McFarland’s may give us free barkdust, so Tom will pursue that.

Committees

Land Use

Stephanie Stewart reported that a letter was written to City Council about our wish to pursue a variance through Water Bureau LT2. To date, she had only received a response from Amanda Fritz, who said that she was not aware of any variance paperwork at all.

Stephanie also reported about the Concordia Neighborhood Association’s issue of a home construction that exceeded the city’s building code. It was moved by Greg Smallman, seconded by Nadine Fiedler, to sign a petition in support of Concordia Neighborhood Association to the Land Use Board of Appeals; approved unanimously.

Friends of Mt. Tabor Park

Mary reported that the Friends had money to spend, and they will spend it on bike racks around the restrooms, an off-leash dog area water area, a volunteer service coordinator to work with invasive services and general cleanup, updating the trail map, a water source near picnic area A, and installing new wooden stairs in an area that needs some. She also said that the issues arising from the off-trail bike-riding are starting to be addressed. Nancy Norby said that Friends made some $4500 in net income from the centennial.

SE Uplift

Paul Leistner reported that landscaping is in the works for Tabor Commons. The main sign was volunteer painted, as was the mural on the building’s outside. There will be more landscaping happening this coming weekend. Tabor Commons is owned by SEUL, and Cafe au Play is a tenant in Tabor Commons. Revenue from Cafe au Play will go to the upkeep of the building. It is hoped that Tabor Commons will open late winter/early spring. It was moved by Nancy Norby, seconded by Stephanie Stewart, to partner with Cafe au Play to apply for a small grant to partially fund the opening celebration; passed.

Paul reported that the Portland Plan is now an all-encompassing idea, not just dealing with land-use. The Comprehensive Plan will be the land-use part of the Portland Plan. There will be a workshop for the public December 5, 10am-12:30pm for the southeast part of town at the Mt. Scott Community Center (72^{nd & Harold). Attendance at these meetings does matter, as there is some level of voting done by the attendees. The second phase of this Portland Plan will occur in February, which will be accompanied with more workshops and meetings with the public. The Vision PDX is influencing the Portland Plan.}

The meeting adjourned at 8:40pm.

The next meeting will be Wednesday, November 18, 2009, at 7:00pm at Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, located at SE 54th and Belmont.