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Parkrose
Mark Gardner, chair since October, says that at the moment the association is “six to eight regulars who show up, and we do what we can. We’re just something that gives people in the area input into decisions. We’ll deal with anything that involves the safety and well being of the neighborhood, and if we don’t know who to call we can always call Bixby. It’s not always exciting, it’s often run of the mill stuff.”
An example of this was a letter written by the association at the behest of a neighbor which led to city enforcement action against a property owner who had put up a brick wall illegally, without a permit. The Association also works with the police.
On a larger scale Parkrose helped secure changes in Tri-Met’s bus routing plans by sheer perseverance. “They were going to have a token meeting just to say they had a meeting,” Gardner says. Currently they are working with the North Parkrose Target Area program on creating safe walking routes to school, and developing Senn’s Dairy Park (which the Portland Parks Bureau calls Prescott Park) at Northeast 112th Avenue and Prescott Street. The association also participates in the Rossi Farms’ annual harvest festival.
Parkrose Heights
“We’re pretty versatile,” chair Carol Williams says. “If people have concerns about traffic or neighborhood problems, we can be a resource. There are a limited number of things that we can do directly, but we can steer people to the proper place.” Planning and zoning committee chair John Stockem is “quite good,” Williams says. “If he finds something that doesn’t fit, he’s on top of it.”
Not long ago the association wrote a letter of concern, on behalf of resident Virginia Anderson, about a nearby residence; the authorities investigated, and found that people at the residence were involved in stealing cars and identity theft.
Parkrose Heights also sponsors summer activities in Knott Park, such as last summer’s Symphony concert, an appearance by the band Blue Plate Special, and a National Night Out gathering. With the help of the neighborhood office they are seeking grants to put on more such events. “This is something people enjoy, and it brings them together,” Williams says.
In turn, she hopes the gatherings will produce more volunteers to help run the association. Parkrose Heights sponsors a patrol of the park under the direction of Doris Lawson, but Williams says, “More people would put less pressure on the people doing this now.”
Mill Park
Chair Rosemarie Opp says, “We do the best we can to maintain our neighborhood’s livability. We should have a real say in what our neighborhood should be.” Instead, she says, they spend lot of time fighting against “the city’s agenda of increased density.” They participate in activities such as the Opportunity Gateway project, often as dissenters.
“People more and more are seeing the effect of the Outer Southeast Plan,” Opp says. New development projects are “right up to the sidewalk, and way too high.”
The association has sponsored workshops on growth and density issues, Opp says, as well as National Night Out gatherings. They have a crime prevention committee, and have negotiated good neighbor agreements with nearby businesses. When land use issues are brought to their attention they attempt to deal with them or refer interested people to the neighborhood office. However, Opp confesses, “Land use issues can get quite complex, and there are so many changes, people in the neighborhoods can’t keep track of it all. We’re volunteers, not experts.”
On two occasions they have mailed flyers to all 2700 people in the neighborhood, but more often they notify people who have participated in the past. They customarily meet at Midland Library where, Opp notes, there are things for children to do while their parents are at the meetings.
“We would like to do more if we didn’t have to focus so much on all the changes,” Opp says. “If a lot of people participated, we could have more committees to deal with different things.”
You may have noticed a recurring theme among these associations: They need new volunteers to function effectively and remain effective. Do utilize them when you need them, but also think about offering to shoulder some - not all - of the burden yourself. After all, it’s your neighborhood too.
To find out how to get in touch with your association, call the East Portland Neighborhood Office at 823-4550. Or check the Neighborhood Associations meeting schedule in every issue of the Memo.
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