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Mt. Tabor Park threatened by
proposed budget cuts
Mary Kinnick, chair of the Friends
of Mt. Tabor Park, is leading an
effort to save essential services in
the 196-acre park. Cuts now
under consideration could lead to
reduced garbage pick-ups in the park
and closing of the restroom, which
would be replaced by portable
toilets. There would no longer be a
park technician on duty fulll-time
in the park. The park tech has a
critical role in habitat
restoration work, in adition to
helping keep the park clean.If the
tech's hours are reduced,
restoration efforts by volunteers
will be undermined. Neighbors are
rallying to save the park's funding.
Here is a link to
access the budget recommendation package and
Comment Forms:
St. Andrews Care Center
opens its doors
(From the
Southeast Examiner)
At noon on the fourth Thursday of
every month Susan Danielski rings
the bell topping St. Andrews
(standrewscarecenter.com) to
herald a mass presided over by a
priest from the nearby Ascension
Church. Anyone who cares to attend
is welcome at the monthly service in
the center’s 120-year-old chapel.
It’s one of the ways St. Andrews,
located on the eastern border of the
Mt. Tabor neighborhood, has opened
up to the outside world.
St.
Andrews, which has been opening its
doors to the public since Premier
Senior Living took over management
in May 2009, is owned by Christopher
Place Senior Communities.
Up to 85 older adults with
Alzheimer’s disease or other forms
of dementia are cared for at the
center, founded 120 years ago as a
monastery and chapel.
(Click
here to continue reading this
dispatch.)
NE/SE
50s Bikeway Project
approved by City Council
For a thorough explanation
of the project, considerations pro
and con, click
here
The
vote was 4-0 in favor of the project
at the council's Sept. 29 meeting.
Thirty-nine
people signed up to testify before
the vote. Most supported the
project.
Opposition centered on the
Transportation Bureau's plan to
install a "semi-diverter" on SE 52
Ave. at Divison Street. Some
residents of the streets parallaling
52nd feared cars diverted from 52nd
would take their streets as
alternate routes to pass through the
neighborhood
Work on the project is expected to
begin in about a year.
Whatever is done will be
scrutinized during two four-month
testing periods. If the diverter
unduly impacts the parallel streets,
it will be removed, trasnportation
officials have promised.
The 4.5 mile
north-south bike route would extend
from NE Thompson Street and 57th
Avenue south to SE Woodstock
Boulevard and 52nd Avenue
Bruce Treat, former president of the
MYNA, and current board members Mike
Shaver and John McLaren spoke in
favor of the project including the
diverter at the council meeting.
The only neighorhood group along
the roure to oppose the bikeway was
the MTNA. At its June 15 meeting,
the association voted 56-55 against
the staff plan. A revised staff
proposal presented two weeks later
incorporated a new and softer
"regulatory approach" to get
northbound traffic on 52nd to turn
right or left at Division instead of
crossing it.
Thrughout the extended
discussion, project managers Rich
Newlands and Sarah Figliozzi have
bee continously available to all
sides of the diverter issue, in
attemtping to work out a compromise
agreement.
Click
here to see Stephanie Stewart's letter to Newlands and Figiliozzi,
explaining how
the neighborhood reacted to the plan
on three key votes at the June 15
meeting..
And while you're
visiting us, click
here
to
read our current MTNA newsletter
(Previous editions of the
newsletter can be read in the "About
MTNA" Section of the website)
Visitors Center planned for Mt. Mt.
Tabor Park
Dave Hillman, a longtime park
activist and a founder of the
Friends of Mt. Tabor Park, wants
folks to know more about the
196-acre park that is the crowning
jewel or our neighborhood.
Read about his plans.
City Commissioner Amanda Fritz urges
residents to stay informed
Portland City Commissioner Amanda
Fritz was an actively participant at
our October meeting. She said that
to some extent the city’s "hands are
tied" by federal regulations in
regulating noisy cell towers, which
many neighbors find objectionable.
Fritz, the public utilities
commissioner, suggested audience
members contact their congressional
representatives to share their
concerns. Federal law dictates that
cities may regulate the unsightly
towers on the basis of possibly
adverse health effects, and so must
turn to other arguments, such as
diminished property values.
Fritz urged the MTNA to stay
ahead of the game as far as the
Portland government is concerned, by
"knowing what’s coming down the
pike...If you wait until the council
meets, don’t expect to change minds
in three minutes."
Click
here to check out Fritz’s Coming
Down the Pike page for tips on
what's coming up.
Café au Play grand opening
was a grand success
Hundreds of people
turned out on a beautiful day July 17 to
celebrate the grand opening of Café au Play at
Tabor Commons, at 5633 SE
Division St. Games, musical performances, BJ the
Clown, a variety of ethnic foods for purchase, a
bike parade, and other events were all crowd
pleasers. A former drug house, the brightly
painted coffee shop was created over four years
of hard work by 150 volunteers, and the MTNA
was one of the sponsoring organizations. MTNA
board member Paul Leistner helped acquire the
site and was a leader in the restoration. He is
shown in photo at right addressing the crowd. To
learn more, go to
www.cafeauplay.org.
MTNA tidies up
50th Avenue entryway

From left, Greg Snider, Dawn Smallman and John Rutherford were
among about a dozen neighbors who
spent about 90 minutes Aug. 29
pulling weeds and otherwise cleaning
up the neighborhood entryway, at SE
50th Avenue and Hawthorne Blvd.
As of late November, it appeared
a professional landscaper would be
retained by the MTNA to maintain the
site for about $650 per year.
The site, developed by the MTNA
on a curb extension, features a
two-sided monument welcoming
visitors to the neighborhood.
Neighborhood Clean-up nets $2,500
Mt. Tabor and North Tabor
Neighborhood Associations joined forces
May 14 to offer
neighbors the opportunity to
responsibly and efficiently dispose
of unwanted items. About $2,500 was
raised. Collection areas were
reserved for scrap meals, yard
debris, clean wood, plastics and
trash. Stuff that still had some
useful life was for offered for sale
in a resale/resuse area.
MTNA asks City to spare Graffiti
Abatement program
President Bruce Treat has written
city officials to urge continued
funding of the one employee
responsible for graffiti control.
The position is threatened with
elimination by a budget cut. "I can
tell you that I now notice much more
graffiti driving around our
beautiful city and can't imagine
what it would be like without Ms.
Dennis' contributions," Treat said
in his message to Mayor Sam Adams
and Commissioner Amanda Fritz. Click
here to read Treat's appeal and
Fritz's response.
(Click
here
to read more)
MTNA members key in fight to save
open reservoirs
From the Southeast Examiner
Open reservoir backers are
regrouping for a vigorous campaign
to keep the reservoirs as they are,
safe and scenic repositories for
much of Portland’s drinking water.
Two advocacy groups, the
longstanding Friends of the
Reservoirs (FOR) and the recently
formed Citizens for Portland's Water
(CPW) have joined to work on behalf
of the reservoirs.
Besides influencing state and
local lawmakers and rallying the
public, advocates also hope to gain
the attention of the news media,
which they feel have been more
inclined to listen to fatuous claims
that the open reservoirs pose a
health hazard. Rate payers are
sufficiently burdened, they say,
without having to pick up an
expected near billion-dollar tab for
shifting drinking water storage from
the reservoirs to underground tanks
and building an unneeded treatment
plant, as required by the federal
LT2 rule.
(Click
here
to read more)
(And click
here to see an MTNA message
urging the City Council to "press
on" in the fight to keep the
reservoirs as they are and
here
for a lucid historical look at the
controversy by MTNA board member Paul
Leistner.)
MTNA throws cold water on gun-toting
guard proposal
Portland City Commissioner Randy
Leonard has proposed arming the
guards at the Mt. Tabor reservoirs
and other sites to protect the
area's drinking water. The plan is
opposed by many who say sufficient
protection already, and few can
recall incidents at the reservoirs
justifying armed intervention.
See MTNA President Bruce Treat's
letter
to the Mayor and City Council
opposing the scheme.
100th Birthday Party for Mt. Tabor
Park
The
celebrated Get A Life Marching Band
brought a rousing conclusion to the
Mount Tabor Park Centennial
Celebration August 1-2. Dave
Hillman, longtime MTNA stalwart and
a founder of the Friends of Mt.
Tabor Park, was a primary
organizer of the festivities, which
drew thousands of spectators,
participants and volunteers to the
park.
Click
here to read an account from the
Oregonian. And click
here for a photo page.
TriMet overrides MTNA objection to 2-way bus
service on Lincoln Street
TriMet will resume both-way Line
71 bus service on Lincoln Street
over the opposition of the MTNA. A
neighborhood consensus on the issue
is lacking, TriMet said, even though
the association voted 26-10 at its
April meeting in favor of a
"couplet" rerouting of the bus line
when the buses return to Lincoln and
proponents had collected 250
signatures in favor of the move.
(Check out the MTNA's letter to
TriMet
here)
Line 71 buses were rerouted from
Lincoln about two years ago to
accommodate city Water Bureau work
at the east end of Lincoln. Under a
"couplet" proposal backed by the
MTNA, eastbound buses would have
been shifted off Lincoln to Division
Street, a move that proponents said
would make Lincoln safer for
bicyclists and pedestrians.
Despite the MTNA vote, TriMet
said, there is still no neighborhood
consensus on the bus routing issue..
"Given this lack of consensus and
TriMet’s strong concerns about the
significant difficulties of
communicating with riders when
inbound and outbound bus stops are
on different streets, TriMet has
decided against pursuing the couplet
idea and does not intend to further
review this matter," Jon L. Joseph,
TriMet Marketing Programs
Coordinator, said in a letter to
MTNA President Bruce Treat.
Treat said the TriMet response
was "disheartening," adding, "I'm
glad that other organizations don't
so easily disregard positions taken
by MTNA like TriMet does or we would
be in trouble."
Joseph said the resumption of
full Line 71 service on Lincoln was
tentatively scheduled to start June
21.
City
Council Passes Resolution Regarding
Tabor Maintenance Yard
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED,
that the Portland City Council
supports the updating of
the Mt. Tabor Park Master Plan
to include the parcel commonly
referred to as the Mt. Tabor Park
Central Maintenance Yard, and
including the Nursery and Long
Block, in a process that follows
the Public Involvement proposal
brought forth by the Mt Tabor Joint
Committee; and re...
Updated Hawthorne Site Features
Business Search and Map
By David Wagner, HBBA
Volunteer Writer
The Hawthorne Boulevard Business
Association (HBBA) recently
completed their overhaul of the
ThinkHawthorne website. More
current than a phonebooklisting,
www.thinkhawthorne.com/explore
can provide you with information
for businesses all along the
boulevard.
Hungry? Visit the site and type
"restaurant" into the search
field to get a complete listing
of the wonderful eateries and
bistros on Hawthorne. Want more
information? Members of the HBBA
often have a description of
their fare, hours, a photo, and
an email contact in addition to
their phone number and address.
Can't remember the name, but
know roughly where it is? The
ThinkHawthorne site also boasts
an interactive map. Simply click
on a section of blocks, and see
all the businesses on that side
of the block. Check it out and
be amazed by the number of
businesses on Hawthorne.
Questions or corrections? Email:
think@thinkhawthorne.com.
Clean
River Rewards, the City's
stormwater discount program, is
now available.
Contain the rain and earn
stormwater discounts on your
City Utility Bill!! You may
qualify for Clean River Rewards
if you contain rainwater on your
property and prevent stormwater
runoff from polluting the City's
rivers and streams. Your
discount may be worth as much as
35% of your basic stormwater
management charge.
Register online at
www.CleanRiverRewards.com
and your utility account will be
updated immediately, and your
discount will appear on your
next utility bill. Or, if your
property is a single-family
residence, register by
touch-tone telephone by dialing
503-823-1371 and following
the instructions.
Visit
www.CleanRiverRewards.com to
learn more about ways to manage
stormwater runoff or to review a
schedule of stormwater
workshops and discount
registration classes. This web
site also provides information
about utility rates and charges
as well as ways to receive
financial assistance.
Call 503-823-1371 to order a
discount registration packet or
a packet of technical
information about ways to manage
stormwater runoff or send an
email to:
cleanrivers@bes.ci.portland.or.us
Citizens
Hold Meeting About Sale of Mt.
Tabor Park Land
At the Same Time City Says
Park for Lease, Not for Sale
Citizens gathered for an
informational meeting at the Mt.
Tabor
Presbyterian Church last
night, November 13, to share
what they had learned about
the City's plan to sell a part
of Mt. Tabor Park to
Warner Pacific College.
The room overflowed with
over 50 people in attendance
even though the
meeting was quickly
organized and announced with
only a few days
notice. Some citizens found
out only a few hours before the
meeting..
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