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| Hazelwood HydroPark plans solidify Editor’s note: For your reading pleasure we present Perlman’s potpourri - a round up of news items about the neighborhoods of Mid-Multnomah County from veteran Beat Reporter Lee Perlman. Perlman attends dozens of meetings and reports back on important Mid-county issues and concerns that are relevant to your life and affect our Parkrose and Gateway neighborhoods. In June’s potpourri Perlman reports on planning for the new “HydroPark” in the Hazelwood neighborhood; plans for a 58-unit low-income apartment complex off of Northeast 82nd Avenue; the grand opening this month of the Heights at Columbia Knoll, the new senior residence occupying the old Shriner’s Hospital property; Prescott Elementary Principal Michael Lopes holds the final meeting for the SAFE Routes to School program planning. Perlman’s June potpourri is chock full of information. This guy goes to a lot of meetings. His June potpourri continues with a report on the Program Advisory Committee for Gateway Regional Center Urban Renewal project cutting the proposed budget for a piece of art at the Northeast 102nd and Halsey Street traffic “jug-handle.” And speaking of cutting, the Douglas firs on the property adjacent to David Douglas High School were cut down - all but five - to the chagrin of the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association. A development planner was hired to look at the Prunedale area of Mid-county – roughly the area from Northeast Glisan to Southeast Stark streets and from I-205 to 102nd Avenue – a prime area for redevelopment, it appears. And, in the same Prunedale area, there’s news about the fate of the State Farm building site. Lastly, Perlman updates us on the review our most capable and able State Representative Jeff Merkley gave to the Hazelwood Neighborhood Association last month. LEE PERLMAN THE MID-COUNTY MEMO HydroPark plans move forward City officials and neighbors moved forward on plans for new East Portland Neighborhood Offices and a community park on the site of the old Hazelwood Water District headquarters at Northeast Holladay Street and 117th Avenue. At a community meeting last month, Tom Klutz of the Portland Water Bureau said that renovation of part of the existing headquarters building for use as the office will begin in mid-June and take about a month. The new office will include a meeting space for 25 to 40 people that will be available for local use when not otherwise spoken for. The promised paving and upgrading of Northeast 117th Avenue should occur in mid-August. For the four acres surrounding the building, plans now call for tearing down an unsightly fence; decommissioning a well and tearing down a second, unneeded building; and installing a path, benches picnic tables, and a water feature of an unspecified nature. There may be a horseshoe pit with a “bring your own” horseshoes rule. There will not be facilities for organized sports or playground equipment. An existing water tank will be retained as an emergency water supply. Klutz said according to existing laws, wells must be decommissioned when no longer being used regularly. Regarding the surplus building, he said that leaving it in place, unused, “gives bad guys bad ideas about bad things to do.” Sarah Bott of the Water Bureau said that playground equipment must be checked for safety every day as a liability requirement. “We’re plumbers; we’re not in the sandbox business,” she said. There will be two rules for the park, both of which preclude activity that exists there now: no motor vehicles, and no dogs running off leash. Referring to the first, nearby resident Nancy Campagna told city officials, “The people who come here to screw around won’t be stopped by a curb. I’d hate to see you do the work of fixing up this park and then have it messed up by some yahoo.” Bott replied, “If we make it look nicer, hopefully people will treat it better.” For now, there will be no community garden. This has proven to be a controversial matter that divides neighbors to the park, with some wanting it and others not. More to the point, the Portland Park Bureau, which manages such facilities, doesn’t have the resources for a new one. “There’s more to it than I thought,” Bott told the group. “We can put in plots - that’s pretty easy - but there’s more to it than that.” Someone is needed to oversee the garden and enforce the rules. (“If your tomatoes are too big, they kick you out,” Bott said.) She is seeing if Parks & Recreation will allow the function to be performed by a volunteer. Campagna had concerns about this idea. “It’s a big commitment,” she said. “I’ve seen several. It’s not appealing to see weeds and buckets everywhere.” Another neighbor, Heather Sill, said, “They’re left alone in the winter.” Regarding the plans in general, Bott said, “We’ll see how it goes. Nothing is cast in stone.” >>continued |
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