Sellwood Moreland Improvement League

April 2026 SMILE Newsletter

Upcoming SMILE Meetings!

The March SMILE General Meeting will be on April 1st, and as usual it will be from 7:30 to 9 p.m., at SMILE Station – on the southeast corner of S.E. 13th Avenue and Tenino Street (a block south of Tacoma Street). Everyone in the neighborhoods of Sellwood and Westmoreland is always invited to attend, and to participate in these neighborhood meetings.

 

The March Board Meeting, also always open to the public, will take place on the third Wednesday evening of the month, April 15th, also always open for anyone to attend. The Board Meetings also take place at SMILE Station from 7:30 until 9 p.m.

 

 

Not too early to consider taking a seat on our Board!

 

Every May, this nonprofit neighborhood association, dedicated to the benefit of the Sellwood and Westmoreland communities in Portland, holds its annual

Board Election. Four volunteer at-large Board Members are empaneled for two-year terms (the other four seats are voted on in the following year, to ensure continuity on the Board).  Each year, our Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer are voted on for a one-year term; our President has a slightly longer term – but all our officers are volunteers also. SMILE serves as sort of a town council for the neighborhood, advocating for the neighborhood before the City of Portland, and being the official conduit between the city and the neighborhood.  If having such a role interests you, consider running for a seat.  The election will take place at the Wednesday, May 6, SMILE General Meeting. A good start, to explore the idea, would be to attend the April 1 SMILE General Meeting, and perhaps talk with members of the Election Committee before or after the meeting. See the meeting details in the first item, above!

 

 

SMILE hears about city transportation funding issues

 

The featured speaker at the March SMILE General Meeting on March 4th was Mark Lear of PBOT, on an “Alternative Transportation Funding Report” prepared by the Portland Bureau of Transportation. 

 

Scott Kelly, Chair of the SMILE Transportation Committee, arose to introduce Lear. He pointed out that funding shortfalls at the City of Portland have been publicized, recently, and that Mark Lear has just finished a series of Open House meetings seeking “robust and inclusive community engagement about options”.

 

Lear – who is the Bureau’s Policy, Resources, and Partnerships Manger – began by observing that the federal gas tax has not increased in 32 years, and that state transportation funding has not kept up with inflation.  He explained, also, that PBOT receives very little Portland general fund revenue.  Legislation to increase fees and taxes to support transportation in Oregon passed the State Legislature recently, but then was put on hold, pending a referendum by voters.

 

Streets are increasingly less safe, Lear said; and traffic fatalities and injuries are unacceptably high.  City pavements continue to deteriorate, and increasingly are in poor or very poor condition.  “The longer we wait to fix these things, the more expensive it gets.” The Open Houses have presented for comment some new funding options for PBOT, and also have sought the public’s priorities on which repairs are most important and should come first.

 

Lear then outlined four new funding options for PBOT, two of which seemed to be the most acceptable, according to public feedback at the Open Houses. 

 

The first is a “Transportation Utility Fee”, which could be administered through Portland Water Bureau billing at very little extra cost. This fee is a common tool in Oregon for transportation funding; 30 municipalities in Oregon have adopted such a fee by action of their City Councils, and one more town by vote of its people.  Nine cities right here in the Portland area have such a fee. 

 

The fee is based on “trips produced by property type”, and there is an established low-income discount structure for such a fee. The regional average for the fee is $12 per single family per month, and $8.40 a month in multifamily situations. The corresponding average commercial fee in Oregon is $61 per month.

 

The other idea is a “street damage restoration fee”, to be paid by construction firms trenching in the public streets under a city permit.  Lear said “trenching in the streets reduces the pavement’s useful life by over 60%.” Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles have adopted such a fee, he said – a tax on companies, utilities, and contractors who excavate the streets.

 

The remaining two revenue ideas involved a tax on retail food delivery services, and a tax on retail deliveries, but he remarked that there could be difficulties involved with such taxes. He concluded by inviting suggestions and comments from the people of Inner Southeast Portland.

 

 

SMILE 2026 community events

 

A number of public events will be presented by SMILE this year.  The first event is Saturday, April 4, at Oaks Park – our Easter Egg Hunt, to which President David Dugan said we are trying to add some additional elements this year.  Our partners again are Moreland Presbyterian Church, and the Sellwood Community House.

 

On Saturday, May 16, it will be our annual Neighborhood Cleanup, in the south end of the Westmoreland Park parking lot – once again back on its traditional mid-May date.  “We already have the permit,” he said; and Heiberg Garbage is on board.

 

The Summer Solstice Parade, again starting in Sellwood Park, will take place on Saturday, June 13 – a week before the actual solstice – which is when the city is willing to issue a permit for it, said Zack Duffly.  The event after that is the Milk Carton Boat Races in late June, run by the Royal Rosarians’ Connie Shipley, as the final event of the Rose Festival – we are supporting it with a donation, and it takes place as always at the Westmoreland Park Casting Pond.  The free Saturday evening July and August live concerts at the Moreland Presbyterian Church parking lot, at S.E. Bybee Boulevard and 19th Avenue, will continue this year, in cooperation with the church.

 

Jim Friscia reported that PP&R wants to present our Sellwood Park “Summer Free for All” concert on August 15, and they have already booked the band.  Jim said he is still trying to change the date – perhaps to the Thursday before the Sellwood-Moreland Business Alliance’s “Summerville” on the first Saturday in August, and “Sundae in the Park” on the first Sunday in August (or, alternately, at the end of August).  The date may be changeable, but the selected band will not be, he said – without mentioning what band it may be. 

 

SMILE strives to serve everyone in the neighborhood

A message from the President of SMILE: Over the last several months, the SMILE Board had been meeting to create a set of beliefs and values for the organization that will guide all our efforts to engage with, support, and represent, our growing and ever-diverse Sellwood-Westmoreland neighborhood. We are grateful for the guidance and support we received from the Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition in this process. We are proud to share an abridged version of our Beliefs and Values here, and we encourage you to visit us online -- http://www.sellwoodmoreland.org -- to read more.

Inclusion and Representation: At SMILE, we believe a strong and healthy community requires a diversity of voices, particularly in leadership roles, and we believe in representing all voices in our community.

Accountability: At SMILE, we believe that our policies, practices, and procedures should be consistent, transparent, and align with our values. We commit to being flexible and adaptable to community needs.

Equity: At SMILE, we believe in and are committed to being anti-racist. We recognize that our practices may have resulted in excluding some members of our community, and we pledge to learn from and correct our mistakes with humility and honesty.

Connections: We believe SMILE is only as strong as the community we represent, and the partnerships we nurture. We believe in prioritizing accessibility and fostering relationships among all residents to create a cohesive community. At SMILE we provide opportunities for our community to hear from one another and from a variety of perspectives. We commit to facilitating a safe space for respectful dialogue

Empowerment: We believe SMILE's role is to actively serve and inform the neighborhood.

Joy: At SMILE we use talents and resources, and collaborate with our community partners, to create opportunities for joy and celebration.

We hope our Sellwood and Westmoreland neighbors will join with us in these efforts.

Elaine O'Keefe, SMILE Past President
Simon Fulford, SMILE Past President

SMILE is a 501c3 nonprofit

Of the 95 recognized neighborhood associations in Portland, SMILE is one of the few to be authorized by the IRS as a nonprofit 501c3 organization. This means that donations made to SMILE are tax-deductible -- and are very welcome!

_____________________________________________________________________________

THE 2025-26 SMILE BOARD OFFICERS (1-year terms)

President -- David Dugan  (Now serving a two-year term ending 2027, after bylaws update)

Vice President -- Elizabeth Milner

Treasurer -- Pat Hainley

Secretary -- Eric Norberg

 

AT-LARGE BOARD SEATS (2-year terms)

TERM EXPIRES 2026:

Zack Duffly

Jim Friscia

Grant Huling

Suzanne Kruse

TERM EXPIRES 2027:

Scott Kelly

Eli Fabens

Jason Sturgill

Seth Caddy