Please join us in learning about a new initiative in the Montavilla neighborhood called the “Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative” (NPI).  A representative of this Portland Development Commission-driven effort will present at the Montavilla Neighborhood Association general meeting on the evening of February 13, but here are the basic facts about NPI:

• NPI would create an urban renewal district on 82^nd from Harrison Street south to Franklin Street, and along Division from 82^nd to 93^rd.
• Tax revenues generated in the district would be reinvested in the district to stimulate economic growth (using a typical tax increment financing approach).
• The project would start summer 2012, last 7-10 years, and reinvested funds would be used on things that enhance the district.

To participate, residents can educate themselves on the project by

1. reviewing the links below and

2. attending a community forum on January 30 at PCC (2305 SE 82^nd) and

3. take an online survey (see link below).  Please consider how you’d like to contribute to this project – it holds significant promise for the southern part of our neighborhood.

The organizer of the project at this point is Bridget Bayer – her contact info is: Bridget Bayer, 2243 NE 20^thAvenue, Portland, OR 97212, 503.290.4377, bridges@bampdx.com.  Feel free to contact her.

-Fritz Hirsch, Co-Chair and Public Safety Coordinator, Montavilla Neighborhood Association

Here are the sources of info on the project:

• Learn about the project:

http://www.pdc.us/bus_serv/npi.asp

• Take the survey:

http://www.82ndavenue.org/wherewemeet/speakout.html

• Subscribe to the project’s listserv:

http://82ndavenue.us4.list-manage2.com/subscribe?u=bff7e5936a8ce9a34eb13c33e&id=8d122b790d

• Fritz Hirsch, Montavilla Neighborhood Association co-chair and chair of the association’s public safety committee, reported that he recently helped organize a group of residents who live near Multnomah Bible College. He also reported that he plans to apply to Southeast Uplift for additional funds for graffiti removal efforts.

• Lew Scholl, land use chair, reported that he’s planning to learn more about the Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative, which is sponsored by the Portland Development Commission (PDC) and aims to promote the diversity among owners of businesses located near S.E. 82^nd Ave. and S.E. Division St.

• Paul Knight, the association’s events chair, reported that he received several excellent suggestions for the year ahead, including a tour of Montavilla gardens, a 10K run and an official disaster preparedness day. If you’d like to help out with these events and others, please e-mail Paul at paul@gardpdx.com or, better yet, attend an upcoming meeting.

• Brigid’s Table is a weekly hospitality outreach for people who are homeless that’s taken place at Saints Peter and Paul at 8147 S.E. Pine St. for a quarter century. If you’re interested in volunteering on Saturday mornings or making a donation, contact Susie Pierce at susibtraveln@yahoo.com or call the church at 503-254-8168.

• Are you interested in participating in the Occupy movement right here in Montavilla? If so, please share your thoughts and ideas via e-mail at occupymontavilla@gmail.com

The Montavilla Neighborhood Forum:

The official guests of the association’s first meeting of the election year were two state representatives, each of whom have until March 6 to declare their intention to seek reelection in November. Alisa Keny-Guyer was recently appointed to serve out the remainder of Ben Canon’s term representing District 46. Michael Dembrow represents district 45, which recently expanded to include the northwest corner of Montavilla.

Dembrow offered an overview of the legislature from a historical perspective while Keny-Guyer used the presentation to introduce herself to the people of Montavilla. Having lived on Mt. Tabor for many years, she’s familiar with Montavilla through the businesses on S.E. Stark St., the farmers market, the Montavilla Community Center, where she took her children swimming, and her many trips to and from the airport. While Dembrow’s passions tend toward education, Keny-Guyer is passionate about healthcare.

Dembrow and Keny-Guyer are participating in a town hall meeting from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 30 in the Great Hall at Portland Community College Southeast Center at S.E. 82^nd Ave. and S.E. Division St. Parking will be free.

Underscoring their dedication to serving as a conduit and an advocate for citizens, both would like to hear from you. To reach Keny-Guyer, call  503-986-1446 or e-mail rep.alissakenyguyer@state.or.us Dembrow may be reached at 503-281-0608 or rep.michaeldembrow@state.or.us

To learn more about how you can contribute to the quality of life in Montavilla, please call Jennifer Tamayo at 503-257-2940 or visit the association online at www.montavillapdx.com, where you’ll find information on volunteer opportunities, contact information for local resources and several options for connecting with the Montavilla Neighborhood Association, including Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter and flickr.

The best way to connect with your neighborhood association, however, is to attend the next monthly meeting on Monday, Feb. 13. Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. and are held at the Montavilla United Methodist Church, located at 232 S.E. 80^th Ave., where parking and childcare services are both free and plentiful.

Current Board Positions Open:

• Secretary
• Communications

MNA General meeting
Monday November 14, 2011
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm
(This event repeats every month on the second Monday.)
Location: 232 SE 80th Avenue, Montavilla United Methodist Church
Street: 232 SE 80th Ave, Montavilla United Methodist Church
City State Zip: Portland OR
Phone: 503-257-2940

Agenda Items General Meeting:

Montavilla Neighborhood Association Meeting Agenda
November 14, 2011, 7:30 pm start
(Times are approximate, agenda subject to change)
… 7:30 Welcome & Introductions
7:35 Social w/refreshments
7:45 MNA Consent Agenda, Approve Minutes from Previous Meeting – Fritz Hirsch, Treasurer’s Report – Diana Marshall
7:50 Portland Police Bureau Update
7:55 Committee Updates
8:05 Election: MNA Chair (president)
8:10 Guest speaker: Willamette Pedestrian Coalition
8:30 Adjourn 

Next Meetings: Monday December 12th, 7:30 pm, Montavilla United Methodist Church at the corner of SE 80th Avenue & Pine, upstairs in the dining hall/auditorium.



Notes:
Many neighbors have expressed shock and concern over the recent shooting incident at 79th and Glisan on the night of Friday, September 30. To help address this, Montavilla Neighborhood Association will be hosting a community discussion about the incident on Monday, October 24 at Montavilla United Methodist Church, from 7 to 8 PM.

Residents, business owners and other concerned parties are encouraged to attend to learn more about the incident, hear from City of Portland representatives about how they are following up, and brainstorm how residents and businesses in the neighborhood can help. Representatives from Portland Police and other City bureaus will be present at this meeting.

For background information, here is an Oregonian article on the incident:

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/10/police_investigating_a_gang-re.html

Fall Leaves

Neighborhood Events and Opportunities:

• Opportunities to contribute to the quality of life in Montavilla abound. The Montavilla Neighborhood Association is currently looking for a chairperson. It’s easy to put yourself in the running for this critical position: Simply come to the general meeting on Nov. 14 and state your case. Other open board positions include a sustainability chairperson and a delegate to Southeast Uplift, the organization whose steady hand holds an umbrella over many neighborhood associations.

• Parks chairperson Roger Warren shared some inspiring statistics: In Portland there are 10,000 acres dedicated to parks and recreation. There are 365 athletic sites, one for each day of the year, and according to a city audit 90 percent of those surveyed rated their experiences at Portland parks as good or very good.  To further solidify the link among public spaces, public education and the overall well-being of the community, Warren plans to propose the creation of a new board position to represent Montavilla’s four public elementary schools.

• In addition to dedicating its Oct. 24 workshop meeting to discussing the widely covered recent gunfire exchange at N.E. 79^th Ave. and N.E. Glisan St., the incident was discussed during the crime update at the general meeting.  The presenting officer said that contrary to the current perception, People’s Grill has not been a problem in terms of calls made to the police. On another note, she cautioned attendees to keep in mind that as the holidays approach burglaries usually increase. In addition to reminding people to not leave valuables in their cars, she suggesting photographing your items’ serial numbers, which are required by law to be checked by pawn shops before those items are put on sale.

• Fritz Hirsch, who is currently serving as both public safety chair and temporary co-chair of the association, reported that a one-year graffiti cleanup campaign was recently completed. Funded by a grant from Southeast Uplift, Hirsch worked with a group of volunteers from JOIN to eradicate nearly 500 tags throughout Montavilla.

• A representative from Highland Christian Center, located at 7600 N.E. Glisan St., informed the meeting that the organization offers a Head Start program and counseling services and that it plans to feed 800 families on Thanksgiving.

• Montavilla Neighborhood Association yard signs have arrived. They’re bright yellow, they announce the monthly meetings and you can be the first person on your block to have one by contacting Lew Scholl at lewscholl@msn.com

• If there’s a disaster of any type, knowing how to shut off your natural gas is important. To learn more about this and other subjects that are critical during an emergency, please visit www.portlandonline/oem

The Montavilla Neighborhood Forum:

Choya Adkinson-Stevens, community engagement coordinator with the YWCA of Greater Portland, presented on events and activities happening in conjunction with national Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which took place in October. As of early October, in 2011 27 people in the state of Oregon have died as a result of domestic violence. Opportunities to formally acknowledge the issue during the month included special film screenings, lighting of the Morrison Bridge and a community vigil. While the month may have ended, the problem, unfortunately, has not. On a year-round basis, the YWCA of Greater Portland offers domestic violence services, senior services and camp opportunities for children of a wide age range as well as families. The YWCA of Greater Portland is also one of the nonprofit partners of Gateway Center for Domestic Violence Services, which is located at 10305 East Burnside and offers those dealing with domestic violence advocacy services on a drop-in basis every weekday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. For more information about the center, please visit www.gatewaycenterdv.org or call 503-988-6400. If you’d like to learn more about the YWCA of Greater Portland, please visit www.ywcapdx.org or contact Choya at 503-294-7480 or, via e-mail, at choyaa@ywcapdx.org

To learn more about how you can contribute to the quality of life in Montavilla, please visit the association online at www.montavillapdx.com, where you’ll find information on volunteer opportunities, contact information for local resources and several options for connecting with the Montavilla Neighborhood Association, including Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter and flickr. The best way to connect with your neighborhood association, however, is to attend the next monthly meeting on Monday, Nov. 14. Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. and are held at the Montavilla United Methodist Church, located at 232 S.E. 80^th Ave., where parking and childcare services are both free and plentiful.

• The Montavilla Neighborhood Association still has a number of positions open on its board of directors, including secretary and community events chair. For details call Brian Wong at 971-221-4718 or e-mail him atwong.brian@yahoo.com

• Montavilla Neighborhood Association yard signs have arrived. They’re bright yellow, they announce the monthly meetings and you can be the first person on your block to have one by contacting Lew Scholl at lewscholl@msn.com

• The Portland Sunday Parkways offer a unique opportunity to ride a bike along closed streets on routes that connect parks. The Southeast Portland ride takes place on Sunday, Aug. 28 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Northeast Portland ride happens on Sunday, Sept. 25 from noon to 5:00 p.m.  To check out the route and plan your day, please visithttp://portlandsundayparkways.org/ (no “www” required) or call the Portland Bureau of Transportation at 503-823-5185.

• Thatcher’s annual brew festival takes place on Saturday, Aug. 20 from noon to 9:00 p.m. at 7906 S.E. Stark St. In addition to good beer, the festival will feature music, food, billiards and, hopefully, some genuinely summer-esque weather. If you feel a tinge of guilt about spending a Saturday afternoon at beer-based event, just remind yourself that Thatcher’s donates the proceeds from this event to the Montavilla Neighborhood Association, which awards it to an organization or individual working to make a positive impact on the quality of life in Montavilla.

• If there’s a disaster of any type, knowing how to shut off your natural gas is important. To learn more about this and other subjects that are critical during an emergency, please visit www.portlandonline/oem

The Montavilla Neighborhood Forum:

If you’re a Montavillan who owns a Toyota truck, beware. During a Portland police officer’s update on local crime trends, it was revealed that thefts of catalytic converters from these particular vehicles are on the rise. Should you be unfortunate enough to experience such a theft, please contact the Portland Police Bureau at 503-823-3333 immediately. The bureau is monitoring the theft of scrap metal, which is on the upswing, and trying to determine if the thefts are the handiwork of practitioners who have been released from jail or if there’s a new crew on the scene.

Attendees at the July Montavilla Neighborhood Association voted to donate the money raised at Thatcher’s annual beer festival to the efforts underway at the former Wilcox Elementary School, which is located on N.E. 74^th Ave. between N.E. Glisan St. and N.E. Halsey St. and is currently used as a service center for people with special needs. The project commenced nearly a year ago and has been driven primarily by input and enthusiasm from the neighborhood. The group originally wanted to install a cob bench but, due to exorbitant costs, switched to a wood model that, according to one of the presenters, “can be brought in and installed with no drama.” In addition to building and installing the bench, the group will use the proceeds donated by Thatcher’s to build and install two poetry posts, the content of which will be maintained and regularly updated by neighborhood volunteers.

The Montavilla Neighborhood Association meets twice each month at the Montavilla United Methodist Church, located at 232 S.E. 80^th Ave., where parking is both free and plentiful. The general meeting takes place on the second Monday of each month* at 7:30 p.m. and includes free childcare services. On the fourth Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m., the association hosts a meeting dedicated to delving deeply into one specific topic or issue.  To request a spot on the agenda of either meeting, please contact Brian Wong at wong.brian57@yahoo.com. To participate, the only requirement is your presence.

*There will be no meeting on Aug. 8 or Aug. 22, 2011

Childcare at MNA Meetings

As a reminder, Montavilla Neighborhood meetings, offers childcare during the duration of General meetings (start at 7:30pm) and the Board meetings (start at 6:30pm). Both meetings are held every second Monday of every month at 232 SE 80th Avenue, Montavilla United Methodist Church. Except for February – both meetings have been moved to February 24th. Details further down. Our web address is www.montavillapdx.com

MNA Meeting Updates

If you decided to cheer on the Duck’s loss rather than attend the January meeting of the Montavilla Neighborhood Association, here are just a few of the things you missed:

Neighborhood Police Report

When it comes to crime, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. While the homicide rates are the lowest they’ve been in 40 years and gang-related violence is down, car robberies are up in Montavilla, especially in areas bordering Mt. Tabor. The two Portland police officers who attended the meeting reminded attendees to exercise caution and common sense.

• First and foremost, do not leave valuables in your car. And, if possible, park your car in a well-lit area, one lit, if possible, by sensor lighting, which is annoying to many people but a proven deterrent to would-be burglars.
• In terms of general residential safety, if you are planning to be away from your home, remember to let your neighbors know. If you have an outside mailbox, either have someone pick up the mail or contact the postal service to have the mail held until you return. Also, extra patrolling services are available to those who request them. To do so contact the Portland Police Bureau East Precinct at 503-823-4800.

Community Needs Assessment

Montavilla Neighborhood Association wants to hear from you!!! We have partnered with Adele, a researcher at Oregon State University, to help us really determine what our community needs are. This will allow us to focus our energy where it is really needed and give value to our volunteer based efforts. Your identity will be strictly confidential. Help shape your community. Let us hear from you. Contact Adele Kubein, 541-757-0323, kubeina@onid.orst.edu.

EPIC Meeting

The next regularly scheduled community meeting presented by the East Precinct Involved Citizens, or EPIC, will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 6:00 p.m. The keynote address will be presented by the Prostitution Team and will cover the impact it has had on 82nd Ave. and its ongoing work to address issues associated with underage prostitution. The meetings, known for their lively and interactive nature, are held in the Community Room at the Portland Police Bureau’s East Precinct, located at 737 S.E. 106th Ave.

Landlord Forum

For landlords and anyone interested in becoming one, the City of Portland is hosting its ongoing series of landlord forums. Upcoming forum topics include Terminating Tenancies: Good Bye or Good Riddance? on Jan. 20 and Common Landlord Errors: Avoiding the Trips & Traps on Feb. 17. Forums take place from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the East Portland Neighborhood Office, located at 1017 N.E. 117th Ave. For more information, contact Rosanne Lee at 503-823-3505 or via e-mail at Rosanne.lee@portlandoregon.gov

Graffiti Removal Info

If you’re interested in graffiti removal, the 2011 Regional Graffiti Summit will be held in Portland on Apr. 19 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at The Tiffany Center, located at 1410 SW Morrison (on the Max line and the 15 TriMet bus route). The summit will include informational displays, a panel of district attorneys and a lot of information on how to best organize and sustain volunteer cleanup efforts. To register, contact Marcia Dennis with the City of Portland at 503-823-5860 or via e-mail at Marcia.Dennis@portlandoregon.gov. Deadline for registering is April 1.

MNA Board Positions

Two new positions are freshly minted and looking for enthusiastic persons. The position of Outreach Chair and Communications Chair are immediately available. Outreach Chair is mainly responsible to running the table at such events as the Farmers Market, Summer Fest at Montavilla Park, and other events. Communications Chair is responsible for help create and distribute “hard copy” items – such as this newsletter you reading. Please contact Brian at 971-221-4718, wong.brian57[at]yahoo.com.

February Meeting Dates Change

Finally, February’s schedule will be a bit different here in Montavilla. In honor of everyone who is in love, everyone who believes that there is only one day per year that this sentiment may be openly expressed and everyone who is required by the laws of integrity to put one foot in each camp, the Montavilla Neighborhood Association will not have a general meeting on Feb. 14. There will, however, be a workshop on Feb. 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Montavilla United Methodist Church, located at 232 S.E. 80th. While the topic of the workshop is still being determined, the fact that it’s a potluck event is confirmed, so please plan to bring a dish or beverage to share.

Stark Street Fair Volunteers Needed

And, if construction and coordination of volunteers is your forte, the committee that’s planning a festival on Stark Street next August would like to hear from you. Please contact Dokken Ramey, who is organizing the party, at zdocmon@gmail.com for more information.

Submitted by Patrick Collins