Montavilla Neighborhood Association

April 2001 Meeting Minutes

General Meeting

For everyone who couldn't make it tonight, here's a brief rundown of what happened at the meeting.

The Montavilla Methodist Church will be having a meeting with their neighbors to discuss their policy of allowing transients to sleep on the church premises. If you live around there, you know that this has become an issues for the neighbors. The church is at 232 SE 80th Ave. They want to eventually expand their services to include providing beds for transients so if you want to give them your opinion or just get more info, you can attend the meeting on April 23. The time was not included in the letter sent from the church but you can call Reverend David Weekley at 503/232-5529 for that information.

There was a homicide a few weeks ago over near 75th Ave and Hassalo. Apparently it occurred at a house owned by the New Beginnings Church. Not much info was available about this.

The Brooklyn neighborhood has asked Southeast Uplift (SEUL) to organize other SE neighborhoods to write a letter of support regarding the Light Rail going south next to the Willamette river and donate money to hire someone to study this option. No action was taken on this request.

SEUL is looking for representatives to serve on two committees. One would be the Chiefs Forum and the other is the Guidelines Review for the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. I don't have much info on what each committee does but if you'd like more info, you can contact Lisa Laurenceau (Montavilla's representative to SEUL) at 503/254-6138.

Officer Appreciation Day is June 20th this year. This is the day that the officers of the SE Precient at 4735 E Burnside are treated to a twelve-hour potluck by volunteer citizens for the purpose of saying "Thanks for all your hard work". If you are interested in participating, contact Marion Fuller at 503/823-2156.

The Clean up last Saturday was a very big success! We filled 17 dumpsters, took in almost 100 old tires, 50 matteresses. Volunteers even picked up at 40 different homes in the neighborhood. The neighborhood association took in almost $500 in donations. The only things that would be done differently next year will be following up the letters to volunteer organizations with a phone call to make sure they will be participating and asking people who sign in where they found out about the clean up. This last suggestion will help us publicize the event better the following year.

The Multnomah Bible College will be having a clean up morning on April 17 from 9 am to 12 pm. Students from the college will volunteer to do yard work and other odd jobs for residents around the neighborhood. If you would like to utilize this service or know someone else who would, contact Scott Clemenson at 503/251-6718.

The cell tower issue is still a hot one for the residents who live near it's purposed site. They are now planning to go to LUBA (Land Use Board of Appeals). They are looking for pro bono legal advice so if you know of anyone who would be willing to give of their time, you can contact Alice Wallen at 503/771-7800.

The Mathematics Learning Center is a in-home Math tutoring and test preparation business that is just starting here in Montavilla. Millie Priebe will be running this new enterprise from her home at 86th Ave and Stark. Millie has almost 20 years of experience in teaching Math to young and old (including teaching classes at PCC). If you'd like more information, contact Millie at 503/256-8386.

Club Rio co-owner Martin Garza was present to talk to concerned neighbors about the problems they have been having with his establishment. Some of those problems have been parking, noise during late night hours, trash in residents yards, and squealing tires late at night. The discussion will continue with the drawing up of a "Good Neighbor Agreement" that will include input from Martin, the SEUL Crime Prevention Specialist for our neighborhood, a concerned resident who lives near the club, a member of the board of the neighborhood association and a Portland Police Officer from the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team. If you'd like more info about this issue, contact Joanna Wilson at 503/253-3845.

The neighborhood association officer elections will be held next month. We are in need of some new faces to give a little of their time to benefit the neighborhood. The positions available are President, Vice President, Secretary, Land Use and Transportation Chair, Newsletter Editor and Crime Prevention Chair. If you are interested in any of these positions or would just like more information, contact me at kmbrly101@hotmail.com or 503/262-0831. Even if you aren't interested in serving on the board, there are six committees that could use your help. They are Special Projects, Outreach, Fundraising, Land Use and Transportation, Banners, and Crime Prevention. Don't forget to come to the May meeting and vote! We would like as much input as possible for the upcoming year.

Thats all for the April meeting. If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear them. I'm at kmbrly101@hotmail.com or 503/262-0831.

Thanks for taking an interest in your neighborhood!