Montavilla Neighborhood Association

December 2001 Meeting Minutes

December 10, 2001

The Montavilla Neighborhood Association met at the Montavilla Community Center at NE 82nd and Glisan. Discussed were the plans of Multnomah Bible College to build more student housing near campus. Lloyd Helm, from the college, gave us an overview of the plans and neighbors asked questions regarding traffic, landscaping and timeline for the project. Most neighbors felt that the college had taken the necessary steps to limit the impact on the surrounding residents. Michael Harrison from the Mt Tabor Neighborhood Association talked about the upcoming tree planting that we will be doing in conjunction with Friends of Trees and Mt Tabor and South Tabor neighborhoods. The date for this is Saturday, March 30. If you'd like to order trees for either your parking strip or yard, contact Michael Harrison at 503/239-0531 as soon as possible. Volunteers will be needed on this day to help with the planting. Lisa Uzunoe presented information regarding the Portland Parks 2020 Vision Plan. We discussed the impact it will have on the city and Montavilla. Also discussed was the progress of the outreach campaign that is currently being conducted. The "Sparks" program seeks residents willing to become a neighborhood resource to others in approximately the six blocks around their house. Some ways the "Sparks" will connect with their neighbors are by delivering the bi-monthly newsletters and occasional event flyers; helping to create an annual block party; sending one representative from their area to the MNA monthly meeting (or attending themselves); and being a general information source for their section regarding livability issues (i.e. referring people or information to the appropriate MNA committee or city resource but NOT handling disputes or problems themselves!). Not only will allow us to make sure that all areas of the neighborhood are served by the association and that all neighbors know that we serve as a resource for them but it's also a great way for neighbors to meet one another. The Outreach Committee will be meeting to talk about the next step in this campaign on Thursday, January 17th at 6:30 pm at SE Uplift. We talked about the starting up again of the Montavilla newsletter after almost a year hiatus. The first of the new bi-monthly issue should be delivered in mid-January. There is a strong need for residents who want to write articles for it. We are also looking for someone to manage the advertising. Currently the newsletter is mailed out to about 1000 Montavilla residents and can be picked up at just a few neighborhood businesses. We are working to increase the circulation by hand delivery and providing more pick up spots. The discussion then turned to what a busy year 2002 will be for us. We have a neighborhood-wide Bulky Waste Pickup planned for February. We will also be dropping information at the apartment complexes on February 2nd and 16th and will need help with that.