Buckman Community Association

01/13/05 BCA General Meeting Minutes

BCA General Meeting Minutes 01/13/05

In attendance: Lily Witham (BCA), Bruce Orr, Carla Forte, Bethany Pratt (BCA), Seann McKeel (BCA), Officer Dennis McClain (Portland Police), Aron Homberg (CCHS), Jim Evernden (Hinson), Ann Hughes, Chris Grace, Tom Grace, Robert Benson, Rich Mackin, Blarr Varl, Faddah Yuetsu Wolf, Ann Bowling (BCA), Gilly Burlingham, Nelson Jones, Steve Hoyt (SEUL), Heather Jones, Galina Grigoryan (CPPC), Joe Ryan, Amy Hsuan (Oregonian), Mark Friedman, Don MacGillvray, Gregory Kern, Martha Peck Andrews, Jim Andrews (BCA), Susan Lindsay (BCA).

Jim Andrews made a motion to approve the minutes from 01/06/05, which was seconded by Seann McKeel, with vote passing unanimously.

Susan Lindsay reminded everyone present that the meeting places have changed -General meeting to be held at 7PM every second Thursday, in the library at Central Catholic High School, SE Stark and 22nd. The board meetings are now being held at Old Wive’s Tale restaurant at E. Burnside and SE 13th, from 6-7:15PM on the first Thursday of each month. She also made a reminder announcement about the BCA meeting with PDC, scheduled for 7pm on Monday, January 24th, at nocturnal (1800 E. Burnside).

Eastbank Farmer’s Market- Chris Grace announced that the Eastbank Farmer’s Market will re-open on the first Thursday of June. She called for volunteers to help during the market, and also asked for fundraising ideas. Chris may be contacted by emailing marketmanager@ebfm.org . The market now has it’s own website at EBFM.org

Police report- Officer Dennis McLain filled in for Officer McMurray, who couldn’t attend the meeting. He distributed the monthly crime statistics sheet and answered some questions regarding the link between methamphetamine use and increased crime activities.

Crime Prevention Specialist Report- Galina Grigoryan, SE Crime Prevention Specialist for Buckman gave out surveys for crime prevention training options. There was brief discussion of the Time Place and Manner ordinance by the BCA Liquor Committee (Susan Lindsay, Bethany Pratt and Lily Witham).

St. Francis Meeting- Susan Lindsay will be meeting with Commander Rosie Sizer of the SE Precinct and Valerie Chapman of St. Francis on January 20th to discuss the recent undercover drug busts.

Lone Fir Cemetery- At the recent archeological dig/ scan no human remains were found. However, there will be one more day of digging on Wednesday 19th. Steve Hoyt told the group that the Southeast Uplift Board took an official position that the property should be returned to cemetery use and that the County should be responsible for demolition of the building and clean up of the contaminated site.

WAMO- Susan Lindsay reiterated the information that the City of Portland did purchase 4.5 acres on December 23rd. However, the City took out a loan to pay for the land, and the loan must be repaid within 3 years or the City can choose to recoup the money by selling the land to a developer.

Earth Day Clean-up- Ann Bowling asked for volunteers to help with the annual Buckman /Kerns Earth Day Clean-up in April.

Newsletter- Lily Witham announced that the next edition of the Buckman Community News will come out around the first of April. She asked for volunteers to write articles, with a submission deadline of March 20th.

Burnside Bridgehead-Susan Lindsay gave an update on the latest developments of the Burnside Bridgehead Development project. Jim Andrews told everyone about the group AFRIEND (Alliance for Responsible Inner Eastside Neighbourhood Development), which is headed by attorney Emily Simon of Kerns. Susan had an idea of teaming Beam with another more experienced developer. Lily asked about going back to the original smaller sized project (block 76 and part of another block). Neighbour nelson Jones talked about how much he’d like to see E. Burnside turned into a true boulevard, with trees, crossing walks, traffic islands, etc.
The BCA drafted a letter of support for Beam, which is:

“The BCA supports a Burnside Bridgehead development that is compatible with the character of the Central Eastside, that creates an environment to nurture and incubate new businesses providing family wage jobs, that supports existing and new local businesses, while providing housing and workspace for artists and creative people. Of the 3 proposals reviewed, the
Beam Development proposal best supports these goals. We continue to have strong concerns about traffic impact and pedestrian and bicyclist safety”.

Jim Andrews made a motion to approve the letter of support, which was seconded by Lily Witham, with a unanimous vote.

Submitted by Lily Witham, Secretary.