Buckman Community Association

Gen. Meeting Minutes; 2, 3, & 4, 2002

B.C.A. General Meeting Minutes - February 14th 2002

The General Meeting was preceded by a short meeting of Board Members beginning at approximately 6:30 p.m. for the purpose of reviewing progress on the plans for the upcoming Chili Feed on Saturday, February 23rd. Among the items the Members confirmed were the following: a roll of tickets will brought by Kevin; a cash box by Ann; Don will check on possible donation of sodas by a local bottler; Kevin has received a wine donation; Kevin will check with Anne Hughes for any last minute items and will let Board Members know of anything else we need to do beforehand, through e-mail; Jenny will make list of business donors to display at the event; Jenny and Randall will create a display about the BCA and the neighborhood; all Board Members will bring desserts of various kinds; Susan is sending invitations to local politicians and other guests; and Don will e-mail a reminder to everyone whose e-mail we have collected from past meetings.

The General Meeting was called to order by Don at 7:00 p.m. in the meeting room at the Ritzdorf Apartments at S. E. Belmont and S. E. 12th Avenue. Paul Iarrobino acted as "timekeeper" so as to keep the meeting on track and within the confines of our time limit. Board members present were Don MacGillivray, Susan Lindsay, Jim Sutherland, Paul Iarrobino, Randall Howington, Ann Bowling and Kevin Kraus. Tom Baker was the only Board member absent.

First, we had introductions as there were a number of new people who were attending for the first time. Also present were Elizabeth Kennedy, Director of SEUL, and both the Principal and Vice Principal from Central Catholic High School, as well as a member of the Buckman School PTA.

There was a short discussion about the possible closure of Buckman Pool. No one present had much information as to how much of a reality the closure might be, so the discussion ended.

Next, a mother, Lisa, (accompanied by her young son) and a member of the Buckman PTA, asked to speak to the meeting about an auction fund raiser to be held on Friday, February 22nd and sponsored by the PTA. The auction will be held at the Melody Ballroom and the money raised will go to fund next years programs at Buckman School. There were be a silent auction and dinner, as well as an oral auction. There will be a lot of artwork to be auctioned as well as gifts from local businesses. This artwork has been created by parents and students from Buckman School. Lisa passed out posters and coasters with information about the event which everyone in the community is invited to attend.

We then had a short discussion on building a bridge between Buckman PTA and the BCA. Lisa said that the PTA will try to start sending a representative to the BCA meetings. She also invited the BCA to use the "Wednesday envelope" which is a means by which the PTA communicates with all of the parents. The "envelope" is sent home with students each Wednesday and contains news about events at the school. This would be a possible way for the BCA to get news into the community, although it was pointed out that many of the children come from other areas of the City besides Buckman.

We were scheduled to have a presentation about the Down Spout Disconnect Project, but no representative from this group was present.

Next, Kevin gave a short update about the Chili Feed to be held on Saturday, February 23rd at Anne Hughes Kitchen Caf. He covered all the items discussed in the short meeting held before the General Meeting.

Next, the two representatives from Central Catholic High School gave a report about recent work on the front steps of the school and the new sidewalks recently installed on the Stark Street side of the school. The School is in the process of getting construction permits to upgrade interior areas of the building. The plans call for an upgrade of the library and the cafeteria areas. The proposed work is being done for modernization purposes only and not for an anticipated increase in student population. The project is expected to take about 2 years and will cost around $10 million. As the work plans become more definite, the school has offered to send architects to a General Meeting to show the community its plans. There will be no visual impact to the surrounding neighbors as all work is going to be done inside the school. The was a short discussion about parking problems around the school due to student parking and resident parking in the same area.

At about this time, Officer Rickett, from the Portland Police Department arrived to give the meeting an crime update. Officer Rickett told the Meeting that due to budget constraints, the program that usually sends Officer Brendan McGuire has been changed and Officer McGuire has been reassigned. Officer Rickett said he will be coming to the General Meetings in the future with crime updates for Buckman.

Resident Roger Burt asked the Officer about his complaint from last month regarding the increase of people living in cars around St. Francis Church. Officer Rickett said that there was not much the police could do to stop people from sleeping in cars due to recent orders from City Hall regarding camping in public areas. He said they could tag and move cars that were obviously out of commission or had out of date licence plates. He brought up the subject of the Compliance Agreement that was made with St. Francis Church a few years ago when neighbors were concerned about the problems associated with the dining hall and the people going there for meals. It was proposed that the Police Department, the concerned neighbors and representatives from St. Francis hold a meeting regarding the car campers in the vicinity. The Compliance Agreement calls for just such meetings when neighbors perceive problems developing in the area.

Plans for having this meeting will be discussed at the next Board meeting. We will also consult with Marcia Dennis, SEUL crime consultant, to help facilitate a meeting.

The principal of CCH asked the officer what could be done to combat the break-ins occurring to students cars during the hours the students are in school. Officer Rickett said, again, due to the budget cutbacks, it is difficult for the police to patrol as much as they did in the past. He suggested a citizen foot patrol be organized and for the citizens to lobby their lawmakers, local and state, for stricter laws as people caught breaking in cars are now usually given a ticket and most do not serve any jail time.

We then had a break in the meeting to allow everyone to have refreshments and to talk one-on-one.

After the break, Susan gave a short up date about the ongoing discussion regarding liquor sales at the MLK Texaco Mini-Mart. Plaid Pantry at Burnside and MLK wants the Mini-Mart to follow the same guide lines they are following regarding package sales. CEIC is still working with both parties to reach a solution and perhaps draw up a compliance agreement to spell the rules out for everyone.

She reported that yet another Wine Bar is applying to open on SE 28th and Burnside. No details were available at this time.

Susan said that all further developments in the East Bank Esplanade seem to be on hold for now due to the budget cuts in local governments.

Next, we heard a short presentation from a representative of the Neighborhood Preservation Act (NPA). This is a ballot measure that will appear on the May ballot. It purports to shift control of local housing decisions from METRO to local cities and counties. Flyers with more information and contacts were passed out. Don suggested that this be brought up again as an agenda item for April when the election is closer. One possible suggestion was to have representatives from both sides present at the April General Meeting.

Next, was a discussion of the Healthy Neighborhood Project which SEUL wants all Southeast neighborhood associations to participate in. Don gave a history of the project. Elizabeth Kennedy outlined the goals of the Project and how it is envisioned to help the neighborhood associations, once it has been completed.

Elizabeth, next spoke to the subject of upcoming proposed cuts in the City budget. One area of concern to SEUL is the proposed cuts aimed at the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. Elizabeth urged everyone to write the Mayor and the Commissioners to object to any cuts to ONI. She had preprinted letters and addresses available for those who were interested. Due to the time constraints, the discussion was ended and the meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jim Sutherland.

B.C.A. General Meeting Minutes - March 14th 2002

The General Meeting was called to order by Paul Iarrobino (in the absence of Don MacGillivray who was at a Sunnyside Neighborhood meeting and Susan Lindsay, the Co-Chair. Both Susan and Don arrived later in the meeting) at 7:00 p.m. in the meeting room at the Ritzdorf Apartments at S. E. Belmont and S. E. 12th Avenue. Board members present in addition to Paul were, Jim Sutherland, Randall Howington, Ann Bowling and Tom Baker. Kevin Kraus was the only Board member absent.

First, Paul began introductions of everyone in the room. There were a few people who were attending for the first time. A representative from Central Catholic High School administrative staff was also present, as well as a representative from REACH.

The first order of business was to hear a presentation by Linda Tomassi representing the Fair and Clean Energy Coalition. The purpose of Ms. Tomassis report to the community was to help citizens understand the recent choices we now have with the new utility options. PGE has been advertising the choices in the press and in inserts to electrical bills. Ms. Tomassi said that may people are confused by the choices and what each choice entails. Her group is speaking throughout the City in an effort to clarify the various programs being offered. She briefly explained the differences between the "renewable energy option" and the "current basic service." She passed out flyers which further explained the differences. Ms. Tomassi gave a web site which goes into further detail about the new options citizens have regarding energy. It is www.mypoweroptions.com She also gave out her e-mail, tomassi@hevanet.com for anyone to ask further questions.

We were expecting a crime report from the police representative, but no one from the Police Department was present at this meeting.

Paul next gave an update on the March 11, meeting at Delta Clinic. The purpose of the meeting was for neighbors and the BCA representatives to meet with the owners and operators of Delta Methadone Clinic and review a draft Good Neighbor Agreement. Paul reported that the meeting was well attended, moderated by the neighborhood Crime Prevention Specialist, Marcia Dennis. The exchanges between both sides were positive and without rancor. There has been tension between the neighbors and the clinic off and on for the past five years. A number of areas of disagreement arose one of which is the degree of security that is needed and is in force now at the Clinic. Delta feels that everything is being done that needs to be done by their "in-house" security, i.e., employees of the Clinic. The neighbors and the BCA think the security arrangements need to be tightened and improved to be really effective. To that end, a small sub-committee of BCA members, along with Jack Maynard and Delta staff will meet again on Monday, March 18th to further discuss this issue.

Another issue that is causing the neighbors problems is the hours of operation. While the Clinic opens at 5 a.m., their clients have been observed hanging around the front of the Clinic as early as 4:30 a.m. Delta indicated that they are not in favor of changing their hours which they say are set early for those patients who must go to work by 6 or 7 a.m. At present, there no resolution was reached regarding this issue and it may surface again later.

Parking problems, traffic and noise were discussed at length at the meeting. Delta will consider turning their employee parking lot into patient parking from 5 until 8 a.m. to alleviate some of the parking problems, i.e. parking in residents driveways, double parking on Belmont and noisy cars circling the block or idling outside residences at that early hour. The feeling that the busiest times are the hours between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. daily, Saturdays also sees a great increase in traffic and clients because of the shortened hours.

There was a discussion after Pauls report by members of the BCA who attended the meeting,and Jack Maynard, a neighbor who attended also and whose property is behind the Clinic. One of the items brought up was the recent fatal shooting on a downtown street involving two people who were clients of the Allied Methadone Clinic on SW 6th. Several people said this incident had changed their view on Delta and brought to mind a bigger question than a GNA and that was whether or not a methadone clinic the size of Delta (between 500 and 600 patients daily according to Jim Poindexter, one of the owners) is appropriate for a residential neighborhood, given the clientele that are going there for dosing and counseling. Despite being told at the beginning of the March 11th meeting by Marcia Dennis that we would not be allowed to discuss the siting issue, since Delta was already there and there was nothing to be done about it, some people felt that siting IS the issue now.

There was some disappointment that Sunnyside and the Belmont Business Association was not present at the March 11th meeting, although they had been invited.

Currently, the feeling of most Board members is that there is not a majority on the Board who are in favor of the GNA at present. It was decided that the Board needs to decide whether or not the BCA will sign onto the GNA and that we will take up this issue at the April 4th Board meeting during discussions devoted entirely to this topic. Central Catholic will send a representative to this meeting as the administration in the school has an interest in the presences of methadone clinic in the immediate area. There has been an increase in car break-ins around the school since the Clinic opened five years ago.

Susan suggested that one solution might be for the BCA to try to work with the Clinic and the landlord on a possible way to relocate the Clinic to a location that is not in a residential neighborhood. It is believed the Clinics lease is coming up for renewal this summer the owners of the building. Whether or not locating the Clinic is possible is an unknown. However, it does relate to the "non-issue" of siting.

The future of Buckman Pool was the next topic on the agenda. A neighbor Spenser Villmore(?) came to the meeting to see what, if anything the BCA was doing about the possible closure of Buckman Pool due to a lack of funding.. There is a levy on the May ballot for increase revenue for the Park system. The BCA has already written a letter to Commissioner Francisconi urging that the pool not be closed. The feeling is that the pool is among several facilities being held "hostage" by the Parks Department in order to get voters to pass the levy the Parks Department wants in May. The proponents of this Park Levy will be addressing our General Meeting in April. Several suggestions on how to publicize the possible closure of the pool were made. Jim said that he would write something about this problem in the "Buckman Neighborhood Notes" for the April issue of the S. E. Examiner. It was also suggested that we put information into flyers to be given out at the Neighborhood Clean-up on April 20th. One neighbor also suggested that we find out how much it costs to run the pool and how much more admission could be charged to cover the costs of operation. Spenser V. has agreed to investigate aspects of the pool closure to report back to the Board with recommendations of what else we could do that would be effective in stopping the closure. Others in the meeting were encouraged to work with Spenser on this project. Everyone was encouraged to contact Commisioner Francisconi and the Parks Department with their letters and calls.

At this point, we took a 15 minute break for refreshments. This time seems to be a good way to "break the ice" and for everyone in the meeting to feel welcome and to get to know people they might not otherwise had a chance to meet. It also gives everyone an opportunity to further expound on the topics discussed in the meeting.

When we reconvened, the first topic was a reminder that during our April 11th General meeting, Valerie Chapman from St. Francis Church and Dave Russell from the District Attorneys Office will discuss the Compliance Agreement. This is being done at the request of neighbors who had some problems with car camping around the church recently.

Susan next reported on her meeting with an aide to Commissioner Francisconi about her idea for property where the old Monte Carlo restaurant used to stand prior to the recent destructive fire on the site. Susans idea is to site a Inner Southeast Community Center on the site. This Center would serve Kerns, HAND, Laurelhurst and Buckman areas. So far the response Susan said has been favorable from everyone she has spoken with. She hope to arrange a meeting with the owner of the property in the near future. She will also write up a proposal to the Parks Department. While money is of course going to be an issue, Susans idea is to focus on the "idea" right now and get that "idea" into the public conscienceness. The money part of it all can come later. The feeling is that if there is ever going to be a community center on the site, we must act rather quickly now with "ideas" before something else is planned for that block. Susan will report back to the BCA with her progress.

Susan gave brief updates on the following: Phase III for the Crescent part of the Esplanade the money has dried up for further work on this Phase. It has been recommended that at least the land is purchased now, and the improvements can come later. This is important because if the land is sold for some other use, then the opportunity will be lost forever.

Susan said that she has been working with Joanne Ferrero from CEIC and representatives of HAND, and Kerns to draft a uniform liquor licensing policy for the OLCC to use when approving licenses for new alcohol serving/selling establishments in these areas. Such a uniform code would prevent a lot of current problems and would make regulating all these establishments easier.

Don announced that election for Board positions will be held in May. We have 9 positions on the Board. One position is currently not filled and 5 other positions are up for election. Paul, Jim, Tom, Kevin, and Susans positions are up for a vote. Paul, Jim and Tom all announced that they will not be running in May due to other commitments. Susan will be running again for her position on the Board.

Susan reported that the Rose Festival Planning Committee will be holding an Arts Festival, which is a part of Rose Festival week, on the Esplanade. We will be working with the Buckman School PTA to see about including a display of student artwork at the Arts Festival. Central Catholic has also expressed an interest. Randall asked if we should maybe contact Kerns and HAND to see if they wanted to be involved.. Susan said that if they wanted to be involved on their own that they should contact the Rose Festival organizers. Susan felt that this project should showcase Buckman as the Arts Festival is being held on a part of the Esplanade that is in Buckman.

Tom suggested that the BCA consider meeting less than twice a month. He said this might entice more people to run for Board seats. He suggested having the Board meeting on the same night as the General Meeting, only one hour before. No definite decision was made, but we are going to discuss it further at a future time.

Ann reported that the Neighborhood Clean-Up scheduled for April 20th is on track. She said the Planning Committee has contacted Central Catholic and Outfront House for volunteers to help the neighbors conduct the Clean-Up. She said the we need to help out by soliciting merchandise and/or services from local businesses that can be used for prize drawings after the Clean-Up at the party scheduled. Food donations for the party are needed also. She said there will be a flyer in the S. E. Examiner in April. No hazardous wastes will be taken in on site this year, but people will be given coupons to take the hazardous wastes to METRO sites. The coupons will be good for a discount in the prices charged by METRO for this service.

Susan reported briefly on plans that the Portland Department of Transportation has revealed for West Burnside and for East Burnside up to S.E. 12th. The plans will have a marked effect on traffic on both sections of Burnside. A public showing will be held in the near future.. Of course, as with most improvement projects these days, "it all depends on the availablity of money to do this project."

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jim Sutherland.

B.C.A. General Meeting Minutes - April 11th 2002

The General Meeting was called to order by Paul Iarrobino at 7:10 p.m. in the meeting room at the Ritzdorf Apartments at S. E. Belmont and S.E. 12th Avenue. Board members present in addition to Paul were, Jim Sutherland, Randall Howington, Ann Bowling and Kevin Kraus and Don MacGillivray. Tom Baker and Susan Lindsay were absent.

Paul began the introductions of everyone in the room. The first order of business was an update from the Neighborhood Deputy District Attorney Dan Reynolds, on the Compliance Agreement between the City and St. Francis Church. The Compliance Agreement has been in effect for about five years. This update was a result of complaints of some neighbors, several weeks ago, who live in the vicinity of St. Francis. These neighbors felt there had been an increase of car camping in streets around the Church. They felt that the services the Church is providing to homeless people was contributing to the increase of people living/camping in cars and vans.

Mr. Reynolds reported that the car camping problem had been brought to the attention to his office. He said the Police Department in response to the complaints, had gone into the area and began warning the car campers that they were in violation of City codes. Mr. Reynolds said as a result of this action, the problem had greatly decreased. One of the neighbors who made the original complaint was present and he agreed with Mr. Reynolds about the current situation.

Mr. Reynolds explained how the Compliance agreement works. One of the values he said was that these agreements keep the lines of communication open, which in turn sometimes heads off problems before they get out of hand. He said that the Church was very cooperative with the City whenever problems have arisen as they want to uphold their obligations as defined in the Compliance Agreement. In addition, he said that the Church and the Police Department meet approximately every three months to keep the lines of communication open. He suggested that in the future, if neighbors had concerns they should contact Valerie at St. Francis first and let her know of the problems. He also said that neighbors could call Officer Rickert, neighborhood patrolman at 503-823-4123 to report problems.

Next was a brief report by Officer Rickert regarding crime stats in Buckman. He said that there has not been a noticeable increase in crime in any particular category over the last few months. After a spike in car prowls earlier in the year, there has been a drop off due to increased attention given by the Police Department in those neighborhoods where the problems were happening. One such area, reported by the administration at Central Catholic High School, was 26th Avenue bordering Lone Fir Cemetery. CH students cars were being broken into while they were at classes. He said on the whole the area is doing well. In response to a question about the lower Burnside area, he said there are the usual problems with drugs and prostitution. He also said as the weather gets warmer, we might expect an increase in property crimes.

Next, a concerned neighbor asked if he could be allowed to speak about a proposed business on E. Burnside he had heard about. He was very concerned and although there were other items on the agenda before him, he was allowed to speak first.

He passed out copies of the public notice he had received from ONI regarding the business which is listed as limited on premise sale facility to be know as Nocturnal. The proposed business is located at 18th and E. Burnside has made an application for a liquor licence in the name of Bethany Pratt, Inc. April 16th is the deadline for comment from the public to the OLCC. The facility is to be a dance and performance arts hall/juice bar on one floor for all ages and a full service bar in the basement for those over the age of 21. Hours are to be 7 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. There will be dancing and live bands will be entertaining. There was a discussion about this proposal. Susan Lindsay, who was not present, may or may not be aware of this new proposed business. A motion was made, seconded and after a discussion a voice vote was taken for the Board to write a letter to the OLCC opposing the granting of a liquor licence to this establishment. The neighbor encouraged everyone present at the meeting to write individual letters also.

The next item on the agenda was a presentation by Joey Pope, a volunteer with the Parks Department. She spoke about the upcoming Park Levy which will appear on the ballot in the May election. Ms. Pope gave an extensive background report on the Parks Department, its responsibilities and why the Levy is needed now. If the Levy passes, very little "new" projects will be undertaken with the $50 million over 5 years. The money will go primarily for repairs and restoration of facilities and programs. Ms. Pope said the cost of the Levy to individual homeowner would be 39 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation, or about $5 per month per house. Of concern to our neighborhood has been the possible closure of Buckman pool. If the Levy passes, this danger will pass. Ms. Pope passed out a large brochure explaining the reasons why the Parks Department is promoting passage of the Park Levy.

We had scheduled our break for refreshments at this point. Jim suggested that since Pat Gold from Delta was present and because Pat has to be at work at 5 a.m. each morning, that we post pone the break and go directly to the matter of the proposed good neighbor agreement with Delta Clinic. Pat gave a brief overview of the past three meetings that the Clinic has had with the neighbors in the vicinity of the Clinic. Pat said that the Clinic had just today purchased cell phones for their security employees to carry so that they would be instantly available to any neighbor who had a problem to report (the number is 503-260-2085). She said the Clinic had received an estimate for installing a security camera on the outside of the building, but because it would cost $3,000, the Clinic could not afford to have it installed. She said the Clinic is facing an accreditation this year which will cost it $10,000 and they do not have money for the extras that the neighbors are seeking.

Marcia Dennis, Crime Prevention Specialist, who has been moderating the meetings between the two groups, was not able to be at tonights meeting. Jim read her statement from an e-mail message she had sent to those who had been working on the Good Neighbor Agreement.

After hearing Marcias statement, there was an open discussion. The discussion ranged from one Board member who is against the GNA because he feels the issue is one of siting and the Clinic should not be located in the middle of a residential neighborhood. This is a sticky point, because the Clinic is not going to even consider discussing this point. Their position is that they are sited legally there is no discussion about it. One Board member said that he did not feel the Clinic was being sincere in their efforts. He said the cell phones were supposed have been purchased in January and they were not purchased until the last minute and then only at the insistence of Marcia Dennis. This Board member has attended all the GNA committee meetings and he felt that the Clinic was not very compromising on any of the main concerns of the neighbors about parking, hours or security. This Board member thought the proposed GNA was a start but in its present form he could not support it. Two other Board members spoke. One member said he was not impressed with the Clinics response during the meetings, but at the same time, he felt the Board should accept the GNA . He said a Compliance Agreement may be the way to handle the problems, but without a GNA the neighbors would never be able to convince the City to enter into a Compliance Agreement. He also felt that for the BCA to reject the GNA would reflect poorly on the Association in the eyes of other neighborhoods and the City. Another Board member said that he was conflicted also. He also did not feel Delta had proved their sincerity, but at the same time he saw the GNA as a means to keep the lines of communication open. One Board member expressed no opinion and one Board member suggested more meetings with more neighbors involved. After the discussion had ended a motion was made and seconded for those Board members present to take a vote to approve or reject the GNA with Delta Clinic as written. A voice vote was take and the result were three in favor and three against.

Because of the tie vote, a discussion started as to what would be the next step. Everyone agreed, including Pat Gold that the small subcommittee of neighbors who had been meeting with Delta continue to meet. Pat said that she would like for the neighbors to be specific on exactly what part of the proposed GNA they were not comfortable with. It was agreed that the next meeting with Delta would be at the Clinic on Monday, April 22nd. A report on this meeting would be given at the next Board meeting on May 2nd. While the BCA voted not to sign onto the proposed GNA, because all parties have agreed to continue talking about it, the matter may come up for a vote in the future.

Next, Ann gave an update regarding the April 20th Joint Kerns/Buckman Neighborhood Cleanup to be held at the parking lot at SE 26 and E. Burnside. Everything is on schedule and Ann has asked that anyone volunteering show up by 9:00 a.m. when job assignments will be made. The clean up is from 9:00 until 12 noon. A block party will follow the conclusion of the clean up.

The last item on the agenda was a discussion about the Neighborhood Association Questionnaire handed out by SEUL as part of its Healthy Neighborhood Project. Don MacGillivray led the discussion. Each Board member was to have filled out the questionnaire prior to this meeting. Don asked each person to select the three questions s/he felt were the most important to the BCA. Jim kept a tally of each persons three questions they felt were the most important. Then of those questions a final three were selected for the group discussion. The selection was made on the basis of which question had the most votes. The results were that questions 4, 6, and 11 were deemed the most important by the Board as a whole.

Next, Don went to the narrative section and began a discussion on these points. Jim said that he felt the whole Healthy Neighborhood Project was a waste of the Board time, that it was busy work and if SEUL did not know after 25 years what a "healthy neighborhood" was, one more study was not going to make any difference. Don said that the Project was being done to benefit and help the neighborhoods. There was very little discussion by the other Board members.

The results of this survey are to be returned by April 26th and Don will report BCA results back to SEUL at the next Healthy Neighborhood Project meeting. He will then report back to the Board on the next phase of this Project.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Jim Sutherland.