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TIM CURRAN
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
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| Colleen Gifford, from left, David Ableidinger and Luke Shepard at a Parkrose Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative organizational meeting held last month. Gifford was hired by the Parkrose Business Association through a grant from the city to recruit steering committee members for the Parkrose NPI, one of six areas in Portland designated by the City and Portland Development Commission for improvements. Mid-county Memo photo/Tim Curran |
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| Over the next ten years, the Parkrose Neighborhood Prosperity Initiative, from Northeast 99th to 121st avenues along Sandy Blvd., will have $1 million dollars to spend on physical, permanent improvements. COURTESY PORTLAND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION |
The Parkrose Business Association - designated fiscal agent for the project - recruited two volunteers joining five of the six members of the original PBA organizing group to serve on a steering committee that will spend $1 million over the next eight, possibly ten years in the Parkrose business corridor.
The NPI, part of the implementation of the city's Neighborhood Economic Development Strategy, is happening in six areas of Portland. Besides Parkrose, three other areas are in Mid-County: Southeast Division Street from 124th to 148th avenues; the Rosewood initiative, Southeast 160th Avenue from Northeast Holladay to Southeast Washington streets; and Southeast Division Street from 82nd to 95th avenues and 82nd Avenue from Division south to Powell.
All groups had until Jan. 31 to send commitment letters to the city and PDC stating they accept the conditions and are ready to move to the next step: raising $3,000 and “high-level visioning” before the end of February.
The Mayor is expected to announce at a Feb. 7 news conference the areas agreeing to participate in the new program.
The NPI is urban renewal, but not the model Portlanders are used to seeing. Envisioned and created by establishment forces, the NPI is a new, bottom-up program intended to be almost entirely community driven.
Deemed priority neighborhoods, the districts chosen by the city and PDC met the criteria of lagging commercial investments; a higher rate of poverty and lower median income compared to the rest of Portland; a concentration of minority owned businesses or businesses serving minorities; not part of an existing Urban Renewal Area; a concentration of locally owned businesses; and local organizing capacity.
The NPI model retains certain similarities with current urban renewal areas, such as defined boundaries, and PDC support and guidance. Also increased tax revenue generated by rising property values over and above what is currently collected - up to 3 percent annually - is placed in special Tax Increment Fund accounts to pay for projects and improvements in the district. After the lives of these districts expire, the tax revenue reverts to regular taxing districts.
Different from current URAs, the lives of the NPI districts are shorter: 8-10 years, and the money available is less: $1 million is projected for improvements in every area, $25,000 in the first years, rising to $125,000 in the final years. Additionally, the communities, not PDC, hold the purse strings. Instead of PDC writing contracts, the steering committee, through the fiscal agent, contracts directly with vendors doing the urban renewal work. Instead of PDC supplying the required staff person, the steering committee hires and pays that salary through annual fundraising with a PDC match.
All NPI areas have PDC advised core members who wrote grants for the $10,000 start-up money, did the outreach, hired a translator and facilitated organizational meetings.
In Parkrose, it was Parkrose Neighborhood Association chair Mary Walker, Parkrose Business Association board members Amy Salvador and Judy Kennedy, and PBA members Joe Rossi, Colleen Gifford and Luke Shepard. Gifford's business, ABC Sustainable Solutions in Gateway, served as paid staff for the initial NPI outreach.
Gifford said she wrote the grant with PBA board member Alison Stoll's help and she and ABC employee Carter Stafford were hired to do outreach in the target area, which involved contacting schools and churches and canvassing every business along Sandy Boulevard to tell them about the NPI and getting community stakeholders to the first three organizational meetings.
Including organizers, the January meetings averaged 20 people. Despite lower than expected business representation at meetings - 10 of 84 businesses in the proposed district were represented at at least one of the meetings - outreach continues through February. “Every group has a group of people working to create the steering committee,” said Dana DeKlyen, NPI Program Manager for PDC. It is expected there will be a cross section of participation and in every community there is a missing piece.”
At the first meeting, after initial remarks when the floor was opened for questions, Parkrose resident Nancy Humphries asked Gifford, “Other than the business people of the community that own businesses, how much of the community do you want to know that this is going on?” Gifford answered, “We want everyone in the community to know.” Humphries asked, “Was there anything in the Memo? I heard of this from my church prayer group. Who has heard of this?”
Gifford replied, “I spent last month walking the streets trying to get as many people in sight. I've been pretty much doing this by myself with my partner, but that's why we're here today, to ask you to help us.” She added that Mary Walker did Christmas caroling in the neighborhood and handed out 200 fliers.
In addition to the others, Parkrose School District Transition Specialist Loretta Stites and former Parkrose Neighborhood Association chair Marcy Emerson-Peters - also PBA members - volunteered for the steering committee.
Committee members also agree to do the annual fundraising - $15,000-$30,000 - and undergo 20 hours of leadership and district development training from March to June.
According to DeKlyen, not having a business in the target area on the steering committee will not slow down the work. She said people have trepidations about volunteering for something when they are not sure what it is. “There's a lot of questions about 'do I have the time?' and if not, then how else do the businesses provide feedback? That's the challenge all communities need to provide.”
DeKlyen said that often communities are concerned about “having it [urban renewal] done to them.” She said businesses need to participate in whatever way facilitates that exchange. “It doesn't all have to be at a 7 o'clock meeting. It's about what's the best way for the community to do their work. Gaining relationships and building trust in this process is key,” she added.
Owners of the largest retail business in the target area (Parkrose Hardware), and PBA members Bryan and David Ableidinger attended the Jan. 24 meeting to voice their concerns about the style of rules and regulations being imposed on their business. Bryan Ableidinger stated, “… if it's a great idea, but it's not practical for a business to do it, so whenever you guys come up with those ideas, it'd be great if you'd work with PBA to say 'hey, here's what we're thinking about' and they can get the word out so you get an agreement from the business district.”
DeKlyen and Rossi reassured the Ableidingers. “The steering committee is supposed to represent the businesses as a group. This process will be driven by the community,” DeKlyen said. “I think we'll use the PBA as the vehicle for that; we can have a subcommittee of business people to show some context before we take it to the business association stage,” Rossi added. Ableidinger replied, “Some things are just going to work for the whole district, some really affect the businesses and how they operate. That's really important to clear up before you charge down that road.”
The steering committee's next meeting is Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Russellville Grange, 12105 N.E. Prescott St. If you want to volunteer for the committee or want more information, call Gifford at 503-251-7610. The Parkrose Business Association's website is www.parkrosebusiness.org.
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