Mid-County residents feel like orphaned step-child as core downtown reaps windfall

Activists say pet projects get attention as Mid-County

infrastructure crumbles

By Don Weston

THE MID-COUNTY MEMO

Editor’s Note: In the second part of a three-part series, neighborhood activists respond to The Memo’s question: “Has Portland lived up to it’s annexation promises?” In this issue, neighborhood leaders explain their frustrations and dilemmas in keeping neighborhoods livable, and grade the city’s efforts.  Next month, the Memo offers the response of city leaders.

Annexation in the late 80’s and mid 90’s was akin to a civil war between Portland, a city that wanted to grow, and unincorporated Mid-Multnomah County residents, who liked the area because it was rural with a minimum of restrictions.

Times have changed for the better in the years since annexation. Former enemies are now working toward common goals in battlefields known as neighborhood associations. But at times, the lines of communication still appear strained.

During annexation attempts, foes quickly learned the legalese of land-use planning. As the city of Portland started eight annexations in the mid-county area (See map on page 16), local activists Pete and Dorothy Smith launched counter attacks on behalf of residents, filing eight lawsuits against the Metropolitan Boundary commission.

Portland claimed it was pursuing annexation, ostensibly to implement the state’s requirement that mid-county be hooked up to sewers. Today sewers are installed and results are mixed among neighborhood activists.

 “If you look at the history, we didn’t have to go on sewer,” Pete Smith said. “They wanted to get more densely populated areas off cesspools. The city likes to put forth they didn’t put sewers on us, that the state mandated it. It occurred solely because the city put forth legislation to mandate sewers, and when that didn’t work, they changed the timelines to allow themselves to mandate sewers whenever they wanted to,” Smith said. “Essentially, Portland wanted to put in sewers. A lot of people felt they were unnecessary and expensive.”

“I don’t know many people who wanted to be incorporated, but I think we’ve accepted it,” said Arlene Kimura, chair of the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association.

“But at the very first we were told we were getting a certain service, and we’ve had to fight for everything.  The sewer service is not a bad service; it’s the billing that is the problem.”

She said spotty billing practices and the lack of rebates for people who dump storm water onto the ground has frustrated many mid-county residents.

“Almost everybody east of 82nd Avenue dumps storm water onto their own property,” she said. “Nobody dumps into the storm sewer, yet they’re billed for storm sewers.”

When Portland City commissioners tried to add a road fee onto resident’s sewer bills recently, resulting in a move by voters to refer it to a ballot, they were duplicating a lesson learned earlier.

“Sewer fees are the only fees that cannot be referred to voters,” Smith, explained, noting Portlanders already are paying special fees on their sewer bills.  “Street cleaning in Portland is charged to the sewer bill,” he said.  “The excuse being that they are cleaning the storm drains. This was done back during Earl Blumenauer’s tenure. They were simply finding another source of revenue to help pay for street service.”

Police services rate slightly better with mid-county leaders, but activists feel that police officers and residents have faced an uphill battle since annexation.

“The police were certainly put on the back burner, but perhaps they are now approaching the level they were,” said Smith. “Under the Sheriff, there were regular patrols. That disappeared almost immediately after annexation.

“When Portland took over policing, even though they hired a number of Multnomah County Sheriff’s deputies, they always seemed to be short of officers, “Smith said.

“There was some budget voodoo,” he said. “What they didn’t say, is they came by and abolished vacancies so it didn’t look like there were so many. When citizens reported crimes, they got more of a run-a-round than with the Sheriff’s office before annexation. We do have police that are doing some neighborhood patrolling now. I don’t know how often or how extensive it is.”

“We’ve needed an urban level of police protection and we’ve never gotten one,” said Bonny McKnight, who prefers to speak as a 35-year resident of mid-county and not as the co-chair of the Russell Neighborhood Association. “We had a better level of service under the Sheriff.”

McKnight said the recent 8 p.m. daily and weekend closure of the East Precinct Police Office hasn’t endeared residents to the council. “Most people feel it’s more costly to do it this way. You have a police officer, at a higher salary, doing clerical work.”

Carol Williams, chair of the Parkrose Heights Association of Neighbors, also is critical of the evening closing of all city police precinct offices except the central office. “I think it’s abominable, she said. “We need these people in these front offices; we need them open twenty-four-seven.

“They have this phone outside the precinct office for emergencies,” she said. “If someone is following you, are you going to feel safe getting out of the car and going over to the phone?  I don’t think so! “

Are there any good things the city has done since annexation?

“Except for closing the precincts, I think the policing has improved,” Williams said. “I think the fire protection has improved too.” 

With annexation have come neighborhood associations, and Williams likes getting together once a month with representatives of all the communities. “It gives neighborhoods a chance to get their issues before the city and that’s good,” she said.

“The neighborhood process is the best process,” McKnight said. “You’re more likely to be involved in policy formation through the neighborhoods than anything else.” McKnight also rated park services high, praising the city for developing three parks with another in the works.

Kimura says the city has “done reasonably well in terms of overall land-use issues. It’s the application that’s at fault,” she said.  “They’ve done better with environmental issues with Johnson Creek and the Columbia Slough. But that’s not done at Portland’s direction, the state and federal government drive that.”

Positives, aside, McKnight feels the political focus is on the downtown area. “We have commissioners who come to tell us what they are doing, but we have a difficult time getting our issues on the table,” she said.

“We don’t see the commissioners very often and the mayor has never come out. There’s disconnect. They don’t know us; they aren’t familiar with who we are and what we do.”

That may have been the reason for a recent snafu when the city tried to get the neighborhood associations to give annual reports directly to the city.  “They tried to cut the neighborhood association funding,” McKnight said. “We were going to be another bureau.

 “Politically we are very disconnected as well,” she said. “I think there are people out here who don’t feel we have any representatives on city council.”

McKnight thinks the city commissioners spend too much money on things like the new downtown trolley and futuristic parking meters at the expense of providing infrastructure for neglected neighborhoods.

“Just do the basic services; then do the good ideas,” she said. “One of the ways to do good ideas is to take them to the people for input. I don’t get the feeling  (the commissioners) really trust the people. Of course, the reverse is we don’t trust them either. That’s not good.”

Williams had similar sentiments. “I think we are the orphan children in mid-county,” she said.  “I don’t think we get the same attention those in downtown and West Portland receive. We have to fight for what we want, and sometimes we get it and sometimes we don’t.”

Each quoted neighborhood activist was asked what letter grade, from A to F, they would give to the city of Portland for the level of services provided since annexation:

Kimura gives Portland a C:  “I don’t think they’re not trying; it’s just not working well.

Smith gives a grade of C: “ “They’ve sure run the taxes up. I’m not sure I know of anything out here as being done well; maybe not poorly, but not done well. There are no A-pluses.”

Williams gives a grade of C+:  “I think there’s an effort there. But I think they could do a lot better.”

McKnight gives a grade of D: “We have a difficult time getting our issues on the table.”