Board Members present: Cascade Anderson Geller, Mark Bartlett, Nadine Fiedler, Don Jacobson, Cathy Kuehnl, John Laursen, Paul Leistner, Bunny Marechal, Gayle Marechal, John McLaren, Nancy Norby, Bruce Treat and Bing Wong.

Board members absent: Clifford Carlson, Dave Hilts and Justin Leonard.

Others present: Wayne Dietz, Jim Blackwood, Barbara Grimala, Heidi Kohne, Officer Gary Manougian, Deb Scott, Jerry Shrall, Katie Shrall, Dawn Smallman, Greg Snider and John Wish.

Bing Wong led introductions. Minutes from the April meeting were previously distributed via email and several copies were brought to this meeting. The minutes were adopted upon motion by Paul Leistner and seconded by Gayle Marechal. Bing Wong presented the treasurer’s report.

Announcements

Motion by Nadine Fiedler and seconded by Gayle Marechal that MTNA members vote by voice acclamation to accept the officers from 2007-2008 for 2008-2009 in the same positions as well as accept other non-officer members the same way. Motion passed. Dave Hilts and Clifford Carlson did not seek board positions this term. Finally, the board welcomes new members Jim Blackwood and Heidi Kohne.

Heidi Kohne said that the church will be holding a pancake breakfast on June 7th from 8:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. to raise funds for earthquake victims in China and invited everyone to attend.

Officer Gary Manougian visited and said that catalytic converters are popular with metal thieves. He also told us that Portland Police are likely splitting the neighborhood into two districts regarding service calls. He said that he would be moved to a district east of 82nd avenue and out of the Mt. Tabor neighborhood entirely. No one in the room seemed to think this was a good idea and Paul Leistner made a motion that was seconded by Don Jacobson that MTNA write a letter to SE Precinct Commander Foxworth expressing our concern that we are losing a police officer with years of valuable relationships built as well as intuitive knowledge of the neighborhood. Motion passed.

Susan Kelly of the Water Bureau visited and passed out information about construction on 60th and in the park. There was some discussion about recent vandalism which resulted in the draining of one of the reservoirs. Officer Manougian said that the matter was being very seriously investigated. It was noted that Tim Hall of the Water Bureau spent several hours volunteering at the clean up on May 10th and we thanked him for volunteering.

Susan Kelly was also asked about traffic overflow from the closed 60th street cutting through neighborhood streets instead of being directed to say, 50th which is a busier street and built more to accommodate more traffic. Susan said that the Water Bureau does not control traffic. They put up detour signs but that enforcement is the responsibility of the Department of Transportation and the police.

Bruce Treat needs someone to cover his Secretarial duties at the June meeting and Gayle Marechal volunteered.

Old Business

Gayle Marechal said that the annual clean up on May 10 was a success even though there were fifteen fewer vehicles than last year. After costs, we raised over $2,600 and donated that to the Tabor Commons project. Gayle made a motion, seconded by Heidi Kohne that we donate $100 to Mt. Tabor Middle School where the clean up is held. Motion passed. Gayle also announced that after five years he would be handing the clean up organizational reins to Deb Scott. We thanked Gayle for his hard work.

New Business

Jerry Shrall said that development has started again at 6371 SE Yamhill and that neighbors or interested parties may send comments to the city by June 4th to express concern. According to Katie Shrall, the newest plan calls for 22 trees to be taken down and that neighbors are concerned about erosion and water runoff. There is also anxiety about trees being cut without proper permits. There was apprehension that the police do not know what to do if called out and someone said that there are fines for unpermitted cutting.

Committee Reports

Southeast Uplift (SEUL)

Paul Leistner gave an update on meetings about the Portland Plan for determining which direction Portland goes in the future and how monies are spent. Paul conveyed that SEUL is both trying to get the public more involved and to get the Planning Bureau to accept that the public should actually be involved in decisions affecting the public’s future.

Entryway Project

John Laursen says that the city claims that they have a contract with the masonry firm to fix the entryway damaged in December but that it’s not scheduled yet. John also relayed that while the fauna is growing so too are the weeds. He says if you are walking by and a weed offends you that you should pluck it out. And, of course, dispose of it properly.

Friends of Mt. Tabor Park

Nancy Norby had no new news to report. She said that when the July concert series was announced that she would pass along details.

Southeast Public Land (SEPL)

Mark Bartlett is seeking volunteers to help with SEPL. The organization is concerned about protecting public land, including schools, for use by all citizens for generations. You can contact Mark at mbart@pacifier.com to help. A lengthy discussion about the city’s use and disposal of school property including the city’s role in buying back disposed land in the future when population increases. Paul Leistner also made a motion, seconded by Don Jacobson for MTNA to formally support SEPL and also to endorse Mark Bartlett as MTNA’s representative. Motion passed.

Mt. Tabor Park Master Plan Update

There is a public open house at the Mt Tabor Central Yard and Nursery at the South entrance at 64th/Lincoln on Saturday May 31st from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Everyone is strongly encouraged to attend. Some of the members of this group expressed concern about horticultural activities or lack there of at the park. There are also concerns about budget issues. Cascade Anderson Geller expressed concern about ownership of the park. She says the Water Bureau claims that they own it all. Meetings of the master plan update group are the first and third Mondays of the month at the church. The public is both welcome and encouraged to attend.

Meeting adjourned at approximately 8:45

The next MTNA meeting will be Wednesday, June 18 at 7 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church as SE 54th /Belmont.

Previous Minutes can always be found at www.mttaborpdx.org/about