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The Mid-county Memo is your newspaper. We want to hear from you. Discuss an important issue or address a concern you want to call to the attention of the community. We prefer e-mailed letters to the editor sent to Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. Please put “Letter to the editor” in the subject line. You may also mail your letter to 3510 NE 134th Ave., Portland, OR 97230 or fax it to 503-249-7672. Deadline for the October issue is Saturday, Sept. 15.
Editor's note: An item in the August issue of the Mid-county Memo, “School district condemns Rossi farmland” -August 2012”, created a lively discussion on the Memo Blog and Facebook page. These letters continue that discussion.
PSD board member explains need for Rossi parcel
To the Editor:
I would like to thank the Parkrose community for their support of the school bond and the students of Parkrose. The money from the bond is being used to update the elementary schools and will soon be used to build a new middle school.
As many Parkrose residents know, there is a .36-acre piece of property that the district does not own between the site for the new middle school and Shaver Street. The district would like to purchase the property because it will benefit generations of Parkrose Middle School Students.
Ownership of the land would benefit current students by allowing construction to begin with minimal impact to the current school building, thereby keeping more students in their classrooms and fewer students in portable classrooms.
Ownership of the land benefits future students by saving money. Construction of the building without the land would cost the taxpayers an additional $200,000 to $600,000. If that money is spent on elaborate drainage systems and retaining walls, it will not be spent on things like computers and furniture.
Finally, students far into the future will benefit because they will not have apartments or townhouses directly in front of their school. The .36-acre parcel is zoned high density residential, meaning that apartments or townhouses could be built there.
In May 2012, the need for the land was clear so the current landowners, the Rossi family, were contacted. After waiting and hoping that negotiations would allow the district to purchase the land, it has become clear that the Rossi family does not want to sell. Given the importance of the land to the students of Parkrose and the tight timetable for construction, the school board reluctantly voted to use eminent domain to force the sale of the land. Under the laws of eminent domain, a court will determine if the land is necessary for the project and determine a fair market price that the district will pay for the land. As a community member and Parkrose parent, I hope that the current landowners will sell the land and save both the district and themselves the cost and difficulty of the court proceedings. If they do not sell, I believe the benefits to Parkrose students justify the use of eminent domain to purchase the land.
David Horton
Member, Parkrose School Board
Board detractor advocates involvement
To The Editor,
In December of 2011, I wrote a letter to this paper concerning how the superintendent of the Parkrose School District desired to square up the property on which the Parkrose Middle School is situated on by purchasing that tiny piece of Rossi Family land. I questioned the need then and I more than question the action of condemnation taken by the Parkrose School Board. The district did not own the land when planning was taking place for the new school, one would think that would have been taken into account when deliberations were taking place. The reasons stated for the condemnation in the article on page 9 of the August Mid-County Memo are unconvincing.
The Parkrose community has seen how this superintendent and this board bargain. If they used the method with the Rossi Family as they did with the Parkrose employees, no wonder they could not reach an agreement concerning that tiny piece of Rossi Family land. Or could it be the board knew they could always condemn, so their problem was solved and the superintendent would get her squared up property. When you hold all the cards, how hard do you need to bargain?
Many in the community are upset and angry over the action taken by the district's elected officials concerning the Rossi Family land. The anger will not accomplish much other than making your blood pressure go up and casting a negative focus on the process of elections. Use that energy to attend some board meetings to see and hear the discussions that take place. Visit the district web site. There is some interesting information if you look. All five board members are up for re-election this coming year. Think about being a positive alternative to the current board and run for a board position. You have until the end of January or the first of February to make a decision, as that is when the election process starts.
MaryLu Baetkey
Long time Parkrose resident
Neighbor laments loss of farmland
To the Editor:
This letter is in response to the Parkrose School Board's condemning of Rossi farmland. Who do these people think they are? Have they no respect or knowledge of what the Rossi family has given to the Parkrose schools over the years?
I am a homeowner in the Argay neighborhood. I used to bring my boy to Rossi farms to shop for produce. The farmers always had little kid tractors for children to play on. They had chickens and rabbits that the kids could visit. It was always a family friendly place. There were always fundraisers going on for the schools, the Halloween town, the Old West town, and the Barn Bash among other events. We have many happy memories of Rossi Farm. I don't want to see part of it condemned for the new middle school.
In fact, if the school board had made that public knowledge when campaigning for the school levies, I would bet that they would have failed. This smacks of voter fraud. The PSB has thrown the teachers under the bus, for their own gain (meaning pay raises and new hires for them, and death toll to many hard earned benefits for teachers), and now they think they can get away with this outrage. Our community was lied to; PSB knew this was in the works and chose to hide it so the levies would pass. In my opinion, they all need to be fired. What a disgrace.
After 17 years in the Argay neighborhood, I can appreciate the beauty of the farms, the Rossi farm and the Garre farm. I see many people walking, riding bikes, and enjoying the beauty of them. It is so nice to see them being worked and tended; it adds to the livability of our neighborhood. They aren't making more farmland. Once it is gone, it is gone forever.
I hope there is something that can be done to stop this.
Diana Brown
Parkrose parent and disgusted homeowner
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