SE Uplift
7/5/2011 Board Meeting

Attendees
Marianne Colgrove, Ardenwald-Johnson Creek and Past Chair
MaryLouise Ott, South Tabor
Dan Weiland, SMILE
Steve Schmunk, Brooklyn
Leah Dawkins, SE Uplift
Louisa Lakos, SE Uplift
Heather Wilson, Sunnyside (not yet seated)
Brandon Sanders, Buckman
Chris Hart, Brentwood-Darlington
Steve Couche, Reed
Moshe Lenske, Woodstock
Jeff West, Buckman
Anne Dufay, SE Uplift

Guests
Amanda Fritz, Portland Commissioner
Lee Perlman, free lance writer
Don McGilvray, Buckman
Kevin Downing, SMILE

Meeting called to order at 7:04
Welcome, Declaration of Unity, Introductions

New Board Members
Brandon Sanders was nominated from Buckman. Motion by MaryLouise to accept, second by Chris. Approved unanimously with 0 abstentions.

Steve Schmunk was nominated from Brooklyn. Motion by Moshe to accept, second by Chris. Approved unanimously with 0 abstentions.

Jeff West was nominated by Marianne as board member at large.  Motion by Moshe to accept, second by Chris. Approved unanimously with 0 abstentions.

Officer Elections
Moshe coordinated the election process.

Chair: Jeff West was nominated for Chair. Motion by MaryLouise to close nominations, seconded by Chris.  Passed unanimously with 0 abstentions.  Motion by Brandon to elect Jeff, seconded by MaryLouise.  Passed unanimously, 0 abstentions.

Vice Chair:  The position of vice chair is open. Chris offered to serve.  Motion by Brandon to close nominations, seconded by MaryLouise.  Passed unanimously with 0 abstentions.  Motion by MaryLouse it elect Chris, seconded by Dan.  Passed unanimously, with 0 abstentions.

Secretary: Laura Vail was nominated for Secretary.  Motion by Chris to close nominations, seconded by MaryLouise.  Motion passed unanimousely, 0 abstentions.  Motion by Chris to elect Laura, seconded by MaryLouise.  Motion passed unanimously, 0 abstentions.

Treasurer: Dan Weiland was nominated for Treasurer.  Motion by Brandon to close nominations, seconded by Chris.  Passed unanimously, 0 abstentions.  Motion by Chris to elect Dan, seconded by Steve.  Passed unanimously, 0 abstentions.

Past Chair: The position of past chair is ex officio and election is not required. 

Commissioner Amanda Fritz
Commissioner Fritz briefly discussed a number of her recent activities:
•    She has been a staunch advocate for ONI funding, and was particularly pleased to see funding restored for the neighborhood small grants program.
•    She is particularly involved in establishing the new Office of Equity, which she hopes will be established in September.  She invites participation from community members, neighborhoods and coalitions.
•    Graffiti abatement has been an area of concern, and there are aspects that can’t be handled by volunteers.  She collaborated with the Mayor to double graffiti abatement staff.

Q: Steve helped create the SE Portland Tool Library; they have made efforts to reach out to immigrant communities but haven’t been successful. Who can they work with to make better connections with diverse communities?
A: the 823-4000 referral line, which is run by ONI, can be very useful when you’re not sure who to work with.  Amanda specifically recommended Polo in Human Relations and Emilie in Nick Fish’s office, who is involved with Parks.  She also invited people to contact her directly if they aren’t able to reach appropriate staff, though her email queue is sometimes a few days behind.

Q: Don noted that the Portland Plan draft is due to the Planning Commission in 3-4 weeks.  It appears that “20 minute neighborhoods” have really turned into “40 minute neighborhoods”.  There are 20 sections of the city with “town centers”, but they don’t really relate to neighborhoods or schools.  What happens to the commercial districts that aren’t he designated town center?
A: Amanda encouraged Don to work directly with the Planning Commission to raise these issues.  Often by the time an issue or plan gets to Council, it is way too late to have real impact.

Q: Don also raised concerns about Portland growth projections, which are huge, and how that relates to the buildable lands inventory.  If projections are off significantly in either direction, it could be a real problem for long-term planning.
A:  Amanda encouraged individuals concerned about issues to send emails directly, to the Planning Commission in this case.  While messages from SE Uplift are useful, messages from individuals, in their own words have the greatest impact.  If you wait until City Council to make your point, you have waited far too long.

Q:  Moshe wondered where numbers such as “300,000 growth” come from and what they refer to?  Heads, head of household, etc?
A:  Don clarified that they are projection the need for 125,000 new “housing units”, 2/3rd apartments and 1/3rd single family.  Amanda pointed out that we need to find creative ways to increase density without tearing down old homes.  For example, large houses might be subdivided.  Also, if you zone for apartments, plans have to include sufficient amenities, and services like schools, parks, etc.

Q: Dan raised questions about how people can engage with the city in positive ways.
A: Amanda encouraged people to identify the appropriate commissioner for the bureau they’re interested in, and to work with directly with the appropriate staff. 

Q: Moshe asked if Amanda had any comments on public financing of elections.
A: Amanda was elected through public financing and was very proud to have been financed by many people making small donations.  She pointed out that the ballot measure to preserve public financing of elections suffered from bad timing, due to the economy, but lost by less than 1000 votes.  It may very well come up again in 2014.

As an aside, Amanda mentioned that Brian Hoop from ONI will be sending out form information to coalitions about “electioneering” at neighborhoods and coalitions.  If you invite some candidates, be careful to invite them all.

Finally, Amanda invited anyone who wanted to discuss an issue with her to send email to Amanda@portland.gov, and be sure to include the specific topic in the subject.

Building Update: Jeff & Anne
Jeff reported on ongoing concerns with mold in the building.  There was visible mold on the walls in two of the bathrooms.  This was traced to a leaky exterior drain pipe and some bad flashing in the roof.  The moldy wallboard was removed and the bathrooms are currently taped off and out of use.  In the basement, there is evidence of some bad repair work done after previous flooding incidents and there may be mold in the walls, but it is contained so far.   Several steps are underway:
•    We are looking into the possibility of removing the carpet, but it is complicated by the fact that it is glued to tiles with asbestos in them. 
•    We are working with a non-profit development corporation called Motive Space.  They adopt a new group once each month and we are on the agenda for their July board meeting. If they take on our project, they can assist with remediation, planning and development, visioning processes, and fund-raising.
•    Jeff asked the board for approval to sign paperwork with Umpqua Bank, which would enable us to determine how much financing we might be able to get for work on the building.  It is the equivalent of getting pre-approved for a loan, with no financial commitment.  We have recently moved SE Uplift finances to Umpqua and have good relationship with them.
Motion by Chris to approve Jeff to sign the appropriate paperwork with Umpqua to get pre-approval for a loan, seconded by Dan. Motion passed with one abstention (Brandon).

Anne pointed out that there is a clause in our building sale document that if we ever leave the building or dissolve the corporation, our building reverts to the city.  Effectively this means that we have no equity and aren’t able to get financing.  We are working with the city to revise this sale agreement se we can tackle all this deferred maintenance and building improvements.  This will also need to be in place before we could finance any work.

Director’s Report: Anne
The staff benefits cost came in within last month’s estimate, so the budget will go forward as approved in June.

ONI and the coalitions are undertaking a five-year plan to identify what it will take for coalitions to do their jobs.  For example, if we had sufficient funding for a staff position dedicated to advocacy, would that help us?  Would we prefer to do something else?  With Amanda’s help, we recently got some funds for governance training; the coalitions will pool their funds to develop shared training materials.  Would we like to do more shared training efforts?  Are communications funds to neighborhoods adequate?

ONI hopes to have city-wide discussion of the five-year plan before the budget cycle gets under way in January.  September would be a good time for neighborhoods to have discussions about what they would like to see from the neighborhood system in the next five years.

Amanda also noted that ONI is trying to better document all our volunteer hours.  We know that volunteers are spending incredible amounts of time on neighborhood and other civic activities, but we don’t document it very well.

Q: Should people include time spent volunteering for a religious organization?
A: You should encourage that organization to count the hours their volunteers contribute.  If you consider your activities community service, then they can be included.

Land Disposition and Pedestrian Safety Advocacy: Leah
Jeff indicated that we will always try to have time on the agenda for something that relates to our strategic directions.  This time, it will be a follow up discussion on the Disposition of Public Lands project report from Leah last month.

Leah provided a hand out showing how her time is divided between various activities.  After the time allotted to direct neighborhood support, technical advice and assistance, land use committee and its activities, SE Uplift projects and events, she has about 10% available to dedicate to special projects. She has been working on land disposition for about three years, providing steering committee support, managing a group of PSU students, coordination public events and conducting research.  The primary outcome has been some increased public knowledge about the issue.  While it certainly is an important topic, there hasn’t been a strong demonstration of community and neighborhood interest in it.  It isn’t engaging neighborhoods to a level that justifies so much direct staff support.

In contrast, there has been a huge ground swell of community interest in pedestrian safety and traffic calming issues.  In our coalition area, there is interest in areas such as Upper Division, East Burnside, Upper Glisan, Powell Blvd., and Foster Blvd.  At the recent land use retreat pedestrian safety was discussed as an important coalition-wide issue, and we are well-poised to make a positive impact.  Leah feels that her time is better spent on these projects where there is a groundswell of community energy.

MaryLouise echoed that is is a good time for her neighborhood;  PBOT has recently identified Division as one of 3 safety corridors, which will lead to heightened study and possible funding for traffic remediation.

Don noted that if growth follows the projected levels, traffic will certainly increase.  Now is the time to plan for that helps manage traffic speed and facilitates public transit.

Steve commented that 20 minute neighborhoods are really dependent on walkability & safety.  The city’s response has been somewhat “hit or miss” when consistency is really important, making pedestrian safety a coalition opportunity.

Amanda commented that the city did successfully get state legislation than enables us to lower speed limits 5 miles per hour without state approval (this was a priority on Portland’s legislative agenda).

The board voiced general support for pursuing pedestrian safety as a priority for their neighborhoods and SE Uplift. Leah will package up some of the land use retreat materials into a work plan, and also suggested this might make a good topic for a board/land use retreat in the fall.

SE Division Safety Corridor: MaryLouise
Division is “like a four-lane freeway” east of 60th, which effectively blocks South Tabor residents from safely walking to Mt. Tabor Park. South Tabor has been trying to address pedestrian safety on Division since 1972.  Working with Linda Nettekoven, they found that Division was one of three streets to be studied, with a possible grant application to follow.  Since that has been approved, a letter of support is not needed at this time. However, the study will cover all of Division from 11th, east to the city line, so a support may be needed to ensure that they fgive sufficient focus to 11th – 82nd.

Brooklyn Rail Yard: Kevin Downing, SMILE
Kevin opened by saying the legal case of the Eastmoreland Neighborhood Association (ENA) and Sellwood-Moreland Improvement League (SMILE) versus the Union Pacific Railroad is the longest running court case in Oregon.  Kevin also noted that, while he works for DEQ, he is not speaking as a DEQ employee.

The case was started in the ‘20s by the predecessors of the current neighborhood associations.  Then in 1954, the NAs went to court citing concerns over noise and “hobos”.  The judge ruled in favor of the neighborhoods and established an injunction limiting the length of trains and the number of train movements.  The injunction has not been respected by the railroad, and in 2004 the neighborhoods went to mediation to ensure better adherence to the terms of the injunction.  The railroad argued that federal law precludes the terms of the injunction.  The neighborhoods are now suing to protect the injunction, which they believe to be the only such injunction nationally.

Kevin also explained that research in the last ten years now shows diesel exhaust to be a health issue, contributing to both short and long term health concerns, including cancer.  Diesel is also second to CO2 as a contributor to greenhouse gasses.  Kevin distributed a hand out showing maps of diesel particulate matter in the Portland area.  The map of “railroad only” diesel particulates shows high readings along the Brooklyn Yard.  In addition, the Brooklyn Yard is an “intermodal” yard, which means cargo trailers from diesel trucks are loaded directly onto the trains, causing an increase in truck-to-train traffic, which will certainly affect our neighborhoods.

The court case is now in the discovery phase.  ENA and SMILE are spending funds on both an expert witness and attorney.  In addition to protecting the injunction, they are hoping to educate NAs on the issues and larger impact of train traffic, and facilitate sustained citizen involvement in the issue.  The are looking for “moral support” from SE Uplift, and also wondering if they can mention our support in press relating to the case.

Dan asked which venues would be most helpful for letters?  Kevin said that initially letters to ENA, SMILE, and City Council reinforcing our recognition and support of the issue. He will also consult with their attorney about whether any more specific letters would be useful.

Motion by Brandon that the SE Uplift Executive Committee write a letter of support to ENA and SMILE supporting their efforts to maintain the terms of the injunction, and further supporting their work to sustain neighborhood livability with respect to the railroad matter.  Seconded by Chris.  Passed unanimously.

Minutes from June 6, 2011: Jeff
Motion by Moshe to pas the June 6th minutes, seconded by Chris.  Motion passed with one abstention (Brandon).

New Business: Jeff
Jeff said that in the future we will try to make time on every agenda for a neighborhood “open mic” to discuss issues or raise questions from individual NAs.  Scott (Mt. Scott-Arleta) volunteered, and Brandon (Buckman) offered to do a subsequent meeting.

Dan will no longer be able to serve on the land use committee, now that he is Treasurer.  Committees need at least two board members to have executive authority, and three board members would ensure better continuity in cases like this.  Dan encourage board members interested in land use to volunteer for that committee.

Meeting adjourned at 9:15