By Diane Redd, MTNA president
Thanks to the many neighbors who completed the green survey distributed last spring. MTNA will publish the survey results on the website, and we have begun to use the information to inform our planning and activities for the coming year. More...

By Nadine Fiedler
If you haven’t visited already, check out www.mttaborpdx.org. Webmaster Bill Guthrie has put together a resource for everyone in the neighborhood—and MTNA welcomes suggestions about what else might be useful for Mt. Tabor people. The latest addition is an illustrated brochure on Mt. Tabor architectural styles, written by realtor Jan Caplener; you can download the pdf from the site. In addition to neighborhood statistics, association information, and news are documents that include the park master plan and supporting material for the park’s National Register of Historic Places designation. You can read past MTNA newsletters and meeting minutes, and easily link to city bureaus and groups such as the Friends of Mt. Tabor Park and Friends of the Reservoirs. What this newsletter editor likes best is an online form for neighbors to submit articles for the newsletter. So visit now and help make the site, and the newsletter, reflect the beauty and diversity of our neighborhood.

By Dave Hillman
In the late calendar year 2000, the Friends of Mt. Tabor Park started a foot patrol for periodic walking patrols within the park. The patrol began with seven members but has grown, with 42 different people having participated during its nearly four-year existence. The major accomplishment, however, is that on September 30 the members conducted their thousandth foot patrol! This major milestone was recognized with many thanks from Portland Parks and Recreation, the Southeast Portland Police Precinct, the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, and the Portland Water Bureau. One of the accolades stated, “The thousands of patrol hours your group has committed has helped to ensure Mt. Tabor remains one of the city’s crown jewels, both as a regional park and as a critical portion of the city’s water system. The Friends of Mt. Tabor Park foot patrol remains one of the most outstanding examples of citizens identifying a community need, organizing an effective solution, and coordinating with the responsible public agencies.”

Over the years, the foot patrol has not only monitored park activity, but provided first aid, answered countless questions, returned lost personal items, assisted with special events, picked up litter, and participated in parades and other community events. The foot patrol has proven to be a true community asset. For more information on participation in the foot patrol, please call Dave Hillman at 503/254-5931.

By Diane Redd
Mt. Tabor neighbors are invited to hear special presentations at January and February MTNA meetings. Speakers limit their remarks to 15 minutes or less, and there is a 20–30 minute period for questions from the audience.

Wednesday, January 19: City of Portland Transportation Options will discuss its development of a SE Portland walking map, as well as guided walks and bike rides in 2005 as part of Ten Toe Express and Portland By Cycle Campaign. Mt. Tabor and its six adjacent neighborhoods will be the geographic focus of the effort.

Wednesday, February 16: Dawn Uchiyama and Jim Dixon of the Bureau of Environmental Services will speak about the city’s watershed approach to improving the Willamette and how, even in an urban neighborhood, the concepts of watershed function can be applied.

By Cascade Anderson Geller
There’s nothing like a threat to something important to spur action. The open reservoir replacement project proved to be such a threat and did indeed motivate citizen activism across the city. The city council, acting on the findings of a city-appointed review panel, passed an ordinance in July that terminated the contract for the project. More...

By John Turner
Mt. Tabor residents have spoken, and so have the other neighborhood associations in Southeast Uplift (SEUL), the coalition of southeast neighbor-hoods: traffic is among the top concerns for residents here. No one wants traffic on their street; everyone wants it controlled. But what is traffic control, and how is it achieved? More...

• Kids Night Out at Franklin High School
• Glencoe Elementary School news
• Block captain training set for March
• Future of the deli site across from Atkinson
• Young parents support committee starting
• Do you know about the soapbox derby track?
• New committee will focus on the environment

More...

By Charles Heying
The Friends of the Reservoirs held a huge volunteer celebration in the park in October. The celebrants collectively consumed about 18 gallons of root beer and 15 gallons of ice cream. Dave Hilts’s home made root beer was a runaway success, with nary a drop left at the end of the day. In my personal taste test comparing Dave’s premium brew to the donated Widmer, I gave Dave a slight edge for being a more crisp and earthy. But there were those who did favor the Widmer for its smoothness and consistency.

Of course it was all delicious. And it was great to have all the donations. New Seasons donated Umpqua ice cream, and Widmer and Dave Hilts the root beer. Cascade Anderson Geller brought coffee and tea to warm us up. The water bureau offered to donate surplus plastic material to use in case of rain. But, as is always the case with Friends events, the weather was absolutely perfect.

Phil Busse hit just the right note by highlighting the importance of civic engagement efforts. We gave away t-shirts to those with the best suggestions about what to do with the surplus hypalon reservoir covers. As expected, there were several suggestions for E-bay auctions. We sold nearly all of the remaining t-shirts; the proceeds came close to covering the cost of the celebration.

We even delivered on the live music. By chance, Barbara Grimala ran into someone who plays with a group of musicians every Monday night at It’s A Beautiful Pizza. Three of the musicians were available and showed up. That’s the Portland spirit.

While lots of folks worked on this, special thanks should be given to Lois Heying and Barbara Grimala, who chaired this event. The chairs get the special privilege of doing all those last minute tasks like getting all the historic material arranged on the bulletin board.

In the end, the most important part of the day was to be able to visit with some of the folks who have shared the journey and to thank them for their help.

By Linda Eggiman
The fact that your perennials and day-lilies are coming back for the second and third time and your rhodies and azaleas are blooming should not alarm you. That cold snap in August fooled them into a winter mode. Next spring should happen on schedule, but maybe a little later. Continue to water new shrubs and trees, and don’t be fooled by the rain. The ground is still dry and needs help. Up here on the hill our wind adds to the desiccation of evergreens, so if they’re new, they’ll need water.

Now is a good time to shop for tools. Think of a tough area or job you had this summer and see if there isn’t a tool that will make it easier. Now is also the time to lime your soil, except for potato and evergreen growing areas. It will activate in four months and be ready for next spring.

I’ve had calls from you about new plants. Proven Winners has some beauties for next spring and has added more perennials and shrubs this time. Plant Picks for ’05 will be out soon—some new and some standards have been chosen. If you did a garden just using PW and PP choices, you’d have a blue ribbon. Also, if you have any diseased plants, have them analyzed now to avoid the problem next year. Questions? Call 503/254-1814 or email eggie@teleport.com.

By Frank Gorshe
The MTNA graffiti committee is looking to become more active in the coming year. We are proposing that we turn the Mt. Tabor neighborhood into a “graffiti free zone” using an active group of volunteers. Each volunteer would take a portion of the neighborhood and adopt it as their zone of responsibility to monitor, document, and report graffiti. The volunteer would follow through to see that the graffiti in his or her zone is removed using personal, city, or MTNA resources. Each volunteer would have contact information for all the volunteers, including a map showing each volunteer’s zone of responsibility. If a volunteer spotted graffiti outside of their zone, they would report it to the appropriate volunteer. All the volunteers would also be available for special projects, such as graffiti cleanups or watches involving hard-hit areas or periods of heavy repeat activity.

I will be pursuing a map-based system to use for the volunteers’ zones. If you are interested in being involved with this project please email or call me at fgorshe@comcast.net, 503/255-4804. We are looking to have our first meeting towards the end of this year.

By Linda Ginenthal
As part of their commitment to encourage alternative transportation for southeast area residents, the city of Portland Transportation Options is creating a southeast area walking map, and they need your help to make it user-friendly, fun, and functional.

The city plans on including schools, parks, libraries, community centers, bus and MAX stops and routes, bike routes, and many other features. Boundaries are I-84 on the north, the Willamette River on the west, I-205 on the east, and the city boundary on the south.

The Options group would appreciate your help in identifying interesting and important sites, amenities, landmarks, and community assets that could be highlighted on a southeast area map. The goal is to print the map in April 2005. If you are interested in getting involved, call Linda Ginenthal at 503/823-5266 or email linda.ginenthal@pdxtrans.org.

By Charles Heying
Nearly a year ago (November 5, 2003) the Friends of the Reservoirs challenged the city in court for issuing revenue bonds without proper public notification. At the heart of the case was the claim by the Friends that the city of Portland’s notification of the sale of bonds was not sufficiently specific for citizens to determine what the bonds were to be used for. The city provided only a vague description stating that the bonds were for “public purposes.” More...

By Jennifer Pultz
Land use has become a priority for Mt. Tabor residents as of late. With the closing of the “cap the reservoirs” chapter (hopefully), the residents of Mt. Tabor can now focus on developing a grassroots committee on land use.

You are invited to attend a land-use information meeting on December 1 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Bueerman Hall at the Western Seminary, 55th & Hawthorne. This will be the kick-off meeting for the land-use committee and the monthly informational meetings on this important topic.

Dave Hilts will lead the charge at this first meeting by presenting two case studies of past land use cases. Participants will have an opportunity to see how the zoning code is used in land-use cases and how best to respond effectively. At the end of this first meeting people will be able to sign up for subcommittees addressing specific tasks that Dave has outlined for us. After this initial meeting, Land Use 101 sessions will begin, with learning about such issues as the historic code re-write or working on revising the comprehensive plan. There will even be a session in assisting with communication between concerned neighbors and the city. The goal of this land-use committee is to streamline the process of keeping neighbors informed, and to address critical land-use decisions.

Many people have expressed interest in this committee to Diane Redd, but some of the contact information went missing. If you have not heard from Diane, then please call or email her again (503/257-9488, diane.redd@mttaborpdx.org) so she can get you back into the loop.