AGENDA:
Draft Agenda

Introductions

Crime Prevention Officer

Elections to the Board

Updates

(1) CleanUp Marilee
(2) Green Team Ethan
(3) Washington High survey – Liz

Presentations and Conversations

(1) Tabor to the River BES
(2) Division Street traffic/citizen working group – Amy

Internal Board Issues

(1) Approval of minutes
(2) Treasurers report Matthew

ELECTION OF BOARD MEMBERS:
Join us! We need volunteers from all backgrounds to help make our neighborhood a great place to live!

At May’s meeting we will elect new board members. Members serve a two-year term as volunteers for the neighborhood. If you are interested in serving, please contact a member of our board. (Contact information can be found here.)

Here’s a few more details from our bylaws:
-Number of board members: no fewer than four and no more than 20.
-Terms of office: two years
-Recruitment of members: nominations opened on April 1 of each year and held open until the general membership meeting in May, names of candidates placed by nominating committee or nominations from the floor
Eligibility requirement for board members: Only members can vote and serve on the HAND board. You should read the following aloud at the election meeting, so that everyone present can determine whether or not they are a members, and therefore are eligible to vote and serve on the board. “Membership shall be open and given to all qualifying residents, property owners, business owners (or their designees), governmental agencies and non-profit organizations located within the boundaries of HAND or to any person appointed as a member to HAND by the Board of Directors in accordance with Article VII of the bylaws. Each member that is of legal voting age in the State of Oregon shall be entitled to all voting privileges. To qualify as a HAND member, one must meet the requirements of this said section and have signed a membership list provided by the Board of Directors.”.
- Quorum to vote at general meetings, including elections: the number of members in attendance.
- Process for voting: The HAND bylaws allow for voting by hand or written ballot.

Community Forum on Precinct Restructuring
Monday, April 20, 2009
6:30PM – 8:00PM
Cleveland High School (in the library)
3400 SE 26th Ave.
Portland, OR 97202

Bureau Advisory Committee Response to Proposed Budget Cuts
January 27, 2009
Doing a better job with less is an admirable accomplishment. The Bureau Advisory Committee (BAC) is very impressed with the Portland Police Bureau’s efforts to do just that. The emphasis on reducing commanders in order to increase patrol will enable the bureau to have more emergency response and neighborhood patrol. However, there is an area of concern for the BAC regarding this new configuration, specifically, the increase in command staff by creating three new captain positions and the elimination of six NRT positions. These proposals do not enhance community policing. While the boundaries might change for the precincts, the citizen population does not. A reduction in NRT officers does not serve the best interest of our neighborhoods and is a serious blow to community policing. An increase in upper management at a time of budget constraints does not make economic sense. Coupled with a decrease in NRT officers is alarming! We endorse the concept in the proposed “Three Precinct Configuration” as a means to provide more service in a time of budget constraints. In past BAC reports we have recommended moves towards precinct consolidation. This new version surpasses our previous recommendation with an increase in over all savings while attempting to maintain police presence in the affected neighborhoods and allows for an increase in sworn officers. Utilization of the proposed closed precincts for training and traffic not only saves money on leases, and improves accommodations for both those functions but keeps a police presence in both North and Southeast neighborhoods. Neighborhoods that have historically protested the closing of precincts should feel a sense of relief knowing that bureau members will continue to be in their neighborhoods for training purposes. Plainly stated, by eliminating the three new Captain positions and restating the six NRT positions will make the new configuration practical, efficient and a good use of taxpayers money.
The BAC is concerned in this atmosphere of dire economic turmoil that there will be a push for deeper cuts to the PPB. We strongly urge that if this becomes necessary, look towards revenue production versus service cuts. Before eliminating prioritized programs on the list, please consider these recommendations first. Year after year in the BAC has urged the bureau to recoup the expenses of special event overtime. Repeatedly, we have recommended special event organizers be required to pay the costs associated with a requested police presence. The BAC has also repeatedly requested an increase in alarm monitoring fees and fines. In addition to these suggestions for revenue we would like to add a new one, the PPB should recover the costs of investigating non-injury auto accidents. The rationale for this recommendation is simple; there is no crime being committed, no threat to our citizens. The investigation of a non-injury automobile accident is merely legwork for the insurance industry. The insurance industry should pay for the service.
In addition to revenue producing actions the BAC recommends the PPB actively reviews their entire command structure, not just the operations branch staffing, with the objective of optimizing supervisory positions. When the economic downturn hit corporate America the first course of action taken was to analyze middle management. The discovery of a heavy middle management sector led to restructuring and cost savings. The exact same cost savings approach used in the proposed three precinct configuration should be applied to all management positions. All Sergeant and Lieutenant positions should be analyzed with an eye towards efficiency. Keeping programs running and officers on the street should be the priority if the PPB is to maintain public safety at current levels.
The BAC urges City Council to adopt Option A.. The combined precinct restructure, reprogram and one-time restructure responsibly meets the 5.11% requested budget reduction. Public safety is one area of public service that cannot be compromised. This plan cuts dollars not public safety. Let us repeat, if more reductions become necessary, we strongly urge reviewing the ways to increase revenue sources and/or cost recovery over cuts that will adversely affect public safety. Finally, a continual search for efficiencies, such as the recommended optimization of supervisory positions should be undertaken immediately.

Hosford-Abernethy | 04-08-09 | 2405 SE Ladd Avenue | Historic Design Review – NOTICE | LU 09-116288 HDZ (PDF Document, 879kb)

See Portland Online to download the notice, and for all additional current notices in SE PDX: http://www.portlandonline.com/bds/index.cfm?c=35625.

Olympic Mills Conference Center (formerly the B&O Building)
First Floor Common Areas
107 SE Washington Avenue
Portland, OR 97214

The City of Portland has completed concept designs of the SE Clay Green Street Project. Get information about how this project will manage stormwater along SE Clay Street between Water Avenue and SE 12th Avenue, and how these improvements will enhance pedestrian, bicycle, and motorist safety, creating a route to the river, while maintaining the business and freight needs of the Central Eastside Industrial District.

Come by to review final Route to the River concept designs, talk with project staff, and enjoy refreshments. This project is a collaborative effort between several city bureaus and members of the community.

Get more information at www.portlandonline.com/sustainablestormwater or call Alice Meyers at 503-823-7914.

Home at SE 21st & Taggart sometime during the 1930s.

Read the report here. (.pdf document)

You can find more on their website: www.visitahc.org.

Expect more information on future historic preservation programs created specifically from the findings in the Needs Assessment.

Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood Development Association (HAND)
Community/ Board Meeting
Tuesday, March 17, 2009, 7:00 PM

(Land Use meeting at 6:00)
St. Philip Neri Church Paulist Center
2408 SE 16th Avenue (and Division)

General Meeting Agenda 7:00 – 8:45
Introductions
Crime Prevention Officer
Announcements
(1) Sustainability meeting – 5th Tuesday of March

Community Issues
(1) Portland Streetcar update – Julie Gustafson and Kay Dannen
(2) Clinton Street Max Station – Tri-Met
(3) Speed bumps on 20th and Hawthorne – Will Stevens
(4) Clearwire pole at 26th and Division (to replace a PGE pole) – Steven Topp

Updates
(1) Pedestrian Safety Issue – Sue Pearce

Internal Board Issues
(1) Approval of minutes
(2) Approval of Portland Triathlon’s use of the Eastside Esplanade

For more information please contact HAND chair Alex Bassos at: chair@handpdx.org

Hosford-Abernethy | 03-03-09 | SE Clinton Street – lot west of 2426 SE Clinton | Land Division – NOTICE | LU 08-182289 LDP Publish date: March 3, 2009 | Pull date: by 5PM on April 2, 2009

Hosford-Abernethy | 03-11-09 | 1552 SE Hickory Street | Historic Design Review – NOTICE | LU 09-110769 HDZ (PDF Document, 777kb)

The land use reviews noted above have been attached to TRACS for your review. For those who do not have TRACS you should be able view the land use case on the web within 24 hours. At the following link, click on the District Coalition. http://www.portlandonline.com/bds/index.cfm?c=36652

*** 7 Corners design project details and report are being completed by Stuart Emmons and the Planning Bureau and should be available for review shortly. While there were limitations as to what could creatively happen at the Ladd Ave corner because of historic preservation issues and other concerns, there were some great ideas that have been captured in the summary and will help inform the design of the overall street as well as 7 Corners. Which leads to…

*** Proposals are currently being reviewed from design firms for the Division Streetscape and Reconstruction Project. The winning firm will oversee the design and citizen involvement portions of the project. The consultant(s) should be in place by the end of this month and ready for the first Citizens Advisory Group meetings starting in April …

***A Citizens Working Group and Technical Advisory Group are currently being put together with Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). Membership on these groups should be confirmed this month with the first of monthly meetings beginning within a few weeks. This will be the group that oversees the Design and talks through the pro-time lane decision etc. Anyone is welcome to come to these meetings while remembering that committee members are the only ones who vote…

*** Pro-time lanes and other roadway issues are being studied by Kittleson traffic engineers. They have concluded the first part of their study, and it indicates traffic flows are down a bit. Their report on existing conditions will lay the groundwork for all future discussions on roadwork and streetscape etc.

*** Funding for the project continues to evolve. According to PBOT the combined funding sources for the project (General Transportation Revenue and the 2004 MTIP award) total $5.8 million. Paving estimates (as of the end of 2008) total $8.2 million. Costs for the streetscape will be established once the conceptual streetscape design has been identified. Total budget is projected at $9 million. We did not get the additional funds requested through Metro so that leaves a deficit. However, some of the material costs for this project have gone down recently with the overall economic slump. There is no way to know if that will continue to be the case, but it is hopeful, since cost escalation has been one of the stumbling blocks to moving this project forward in satisfying way. The other good news is there is a chance that we can coordinate some of the work to happen on Division with the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) Tabor to the River (Taggart D) Project. BES and transportation are working to align their design and construction schedules and BES will be on hand to answer questions at upcoming CWG and Community Meetings.

*** There is a small case study going on around the Urban Development Partners multiuse project scheduled for 38th and Division. The goal of the study is to try and learn from the relationships between the Division Street Plan, place, neighborhood association, business association and local neighbors. Learnings from reflecting on both the process and the design may help inform some of the work to come along the Division Street.

*** We are continuing to be strong advocates with PBOT and other agency stakeholders to ensure that the next phase of the project will embody the collaborative approach we have been modeling since the start of this vision 7 years ago. We have been promised that regular updates and communications will be coming from PBOT on this project. In the meantime, while we look forward to that happening, after a couple months of delays, we want to pick up responsibility for providing this update so we can all have a better sense of what is going on and where you can get involved or provide input.

Cheers,
Charles and Linda

March 23, 6:00-9:00: Grand (Location: Metro Regional Center, 600 NE Grand)
March 30, 6:00-9:00: Broadway (Location: Metro Regional Center, 600 NE Grand)
April 6, 6:00-9:00: 39th (Location: Hollywood Theater, 4122 NE Sandy)

HISTORICAL INFORMATION ON GRAND AVENUEFrom: ballestrem@gmail.com
Val Ballestrem points out that ….” even though it isn’t tied to a person, the name Grand Avenue does have historic significance, otherwise the historic district that bears the name Grand, wouldn’t be so named.”

Grand Avenue Historic Information – most of this information comes from the 1990 National Register Historic District nomination for the East Portland Grand Avenue Historic District.
* Grand Avenue, along with Union (now MLK) were the main thoroughfares through the separate city of East Portland .
* Grand Avenue was a primary north-south streetcar route
* 1990 National Register Historic District nomination refers to Grand Avenue as “the commercial spine” of the district.
* The significance of the East Portland Grand Avenue Historic District is its history and the theme behind the district nomination is commerce. Grand Avenue was one of the two major streets in the district; the other Union Avenue has already been renamed.
* The district can be defined by the historic commercial and community activities of Grand Avenue.
* “The East Portland Grand Avenue Historic District is significant for its historical origins as the commercial center of what was once the City of East Portland.”
* “Between 1883 and 1915ŠGrand Avenue and adjacent streets developed into a fully articulated community business centerŠGrand Avenue emerged as the major north-south streetcar artery linking the Madison, Morrison, and Burnside bridges.”
* Construction of the Weatherly Building (1928) points out the continued role of Grand Avenue as a community business center.
* “Grand Avenue was the first north-south street that was high enough to avoid problems of bridging and trestlingŠGrand Avenue quickly became the artery used by horse cars and then by electric streetcars”
* The heart of the district is clearly defined by the commercial buildings erected in the 1880s-90s along Grand Avenue from Morrison to Oak Street.
* Grand Avenue was the location of the annual Rose Festival Children’s parade.
* “It [5th] was changed to Grand Avenue in 1893 at the request of aspiring East Siders who wanted their main commercial artery to have more imposing name.” From Eugene Snyder’s Portland Names and Neighborhoods: Their Historic Origins Binford & Mort, 1979.
Val

City of Portland
Update on Street Renaming
The City of Portland’s Office of Transportation advises that the City Auditor has verified enough signatures to validate the application of the Cesar E. Chavez Committee. The committee has nominated Broadway, 39th, or Grand as candidates for renaming. A formal process will begin soon. This process is described in Portland City Code Chapter 17.93.
Though it was adopted almost 20 years ago, this process has never been used to rename a city street. The code creates a Historian Panel to consider the appropriateness of the nominee and the historical significance of the current street names.This panel will hold a series of public hearings:
March 23, 6:00-9:00: Grand (Location: Metro Regional Center, 600 NE Grand)
March 30, 6:00-9:00: Broadway (Location: Metro Regional Center, 600 NE Grand)
April 6, 6:00-9:00: 39th (Location: Hollywood Theater, 4122 NE Sandy)

In addition, the City Engineer will formally notify neighborhood and business associations that they have 45 days to submit written comments (in addition to their testimony to the Historian Panel) and the City Auditor will send a postcard survey to owners and occupants of property along the three streets.

You can get more information on the City’s website at www.portlandonline.com. To get to the Street
Renaming page, go to “Government”, then “Special Projects,” then “Cesar Chavez Street Renaming Process.”

We are actually lucky in Portland to have many of our crime statistics dropping each year. Part of that decrease is due to neighbors getting involved in block watches, foot patrols and being aware of and reporting suspicious activity in their communities.

If you are interested in the crime statistics for your community, the Portland Police website has some links to several sites that you can browse.

CrimeMapper2 includes the last year of data and is updated monthly. There are 28 crime categories that you can search, which is helpful if there is a specific crime that you are interested in seeing the results for. CrimeMapper searches by street address or intersection. You can also sign up for a monthly email notification that is sent to you. CrimeMapper will create a map for you similar to the maps that you see at your neighborhood or business association meetings. The link to CrimeMapper is http://www.portlandonline.com/police/index.cfm?c=29830.

If you are interested in what crimes have been reported in your whole neighborhood, precinct, coalition or city you can use the CrimeStats program that can be accessed at http://www.portlandonline.com/police/index.cfm?c=29831. CrimeStats is great for comparing crime rates over several months. You can choose a date, month or week range, as well as compare multiple ranges. The data is updated on the 15th of each month.

CrimeReports.com can also be accessed through the Portland Police Bureau website at http://www.portlandonline.com/police/ or directly. This website can search by address, zip code or city to find 911 calls in your community. The information is updated daily. As you know, not all 911 calls end in a police report, so this site will list calls made, not just the calls that police reports were written for. The information is limited, but will give you a good idea of the nature of the call.

We encourage you to look at all of the sites and decide for yourself what is most helpful for you. Please keep in mind that all of these sites only include information on reported crimes. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact Havilah Ferschweiler at 503-823-0540 or Katherine Anderson at 503-823-3432.