Minutes September 14th, 2017
Irvington Community Association
Meeting Minutes
September 14, 2017
Prepared by: Joseph Albert
Board Members Present: Steve Cole, Christine Coers-Mitchell, Joseph Albert, Peter O'Neil, Susan Hathaway-Marxer, Jim Barta, Huck Bales, Jon Eaton, Michela McMahon, Doug Cooke, Sarah Burns, Bob Dobrich, Nathan Corser, Sean Green, Pam Lindholm-Levy
Neighbors: Don Lamperd, Linn Lamperd, Janet Goetze, Carrie Hooten, Scott McCurdy, Jon Guillory, David McMahon, Logan Garrett, Lauren Garrett, Erik Hovmiller, Billy Cao. Mary Cao, Mark Jamieson, Dave Keller, Donna Keller, Tom Jackson, Catherine Jackson, Laurie Knightly, Sandy Polishuk, Phillip Weichel, Gregg Neel, Phaedra Cole
City/County Employees:
Robert King, North Precinct Commander, Portland Police Bureau
David Jackson, Sergeant, Neighborhood Outreach, Portland Police Bureau
Mary Tompkins, Portland Office of Neighborhood Involvement
Haley Rayburn, Deputy District Attorney, Multnomah County District Attorney's Office
President Steve Cole calls meeting to order at 7:00pm
Introductions
Minutes Approval
Several board members had not read the distributed minutes, so approval was deferred.
Police Report and Neighborhood Crime Discussion
Commander King spoke about neighborhood crime. He stressed that improvements in staffing levels have been made to better address issues. They have seen an increase in petty crime, possibly due to an increase in the homeless population, and some measure of crime being attributable to homeless individuals. He also indicated that the city is trying to deal with homelessness issues, but there is no magic bullet. The temperate climate makes Portland attractive to homeless individuals, and Portland is ranked #2 in the country per capita for homeless population. He also mentioned that PBOT has asked the council for funding to deal with a sharp increase in abandoned vehicles.
Commander King also indicated that he considers Irvington to be a safe, family-oriented neighborhood, and stressed that it is important to contact the Portland Police Bureau about crime problems, as there is always something they can do to respond even when the laws are not supportive (e.g. the city legalized camping on public right-of-ways).
Sergeant Johnson introduced himself as being responsible for neighborhood outreach. He deals with issues surrounding homelessness, liquor licensing, working with businesses on shoplifting, crime prevention, and with Parks & Rec and BES.
A meeting attendee asked if crime is increasing commensurate with the impression people have who use services like Nextdoor, and/or is Nextdoor amplifying the perception of increasing crime. Commander King responded that he thought overall Nextdoor was amplifying the perception of increasing crime.
Several neighbors shared frustrations they have had working with the Portland Police Bureau to resolve various issues, and Commander King and Sergeant Johnson passed out business cards with the suggestion that they be contacted if someone experiences an unacceptable response from the the Portland Police Bureau.
There was animated discussion about a particular judicial case concerning an individual who has been charged with committing a violent assault in the neighborhood. Information presented included that the individual was in jail pending trial at the time of the meeting. Deputy District Attorney Rayburn spoke about the case in general terms, mentioning that, while the individual was charged with a crime covered by a mandatory minimum sentence under Measure 11, a plea bargain may lead to conviction based on a lower crime for which there is not a mandatory minimum sentence.
Mary Tompkins of the Office of Neighborhood Involvement spoke about the formation of a Public Safety Action Committee that is organizing Meet & Greet events wherein interested citizens can discuss concerns with the Neighborhood Response Team of the Portland Police Bureau. This is intended to replace having a community police officer attend neighborhood association meetings. The next meeting for the neighborhoods covered by the North Precinct was communicated as taking place on September 28, 6-7:30pm at the Leaven Community Salt & Light Lutheran Church at NE 20th and NE Killingsworth. Future meetings will be announced on Nextdoor.
A motion to form an ICA Public Safety Committee was seconded and passed unanimously.
No More Freeway Coaltion
A motion to ratify the joining of the No More Freeway Coalition was seconded and passed with 3 abstentions.
Charitable Giving Committee Report
Charitable giving thank you letters received from grant recipients were passed around the meeting for meeting attendees to view.
A motion to let Community Warehouse use the ICA name as a supporter of a pillow drive was seconded and passed unanimously.
Disaster Preparedness Committee Report
A map your neighborhood event is planned for November 5. There will be an ICA booth at the Oct. 1 Irvington Farmer's Market that will include Disaster Preparedness committee members to distribute information.
Capital Improvements
The area of the Klickitat mall that was cleaned up now has substantial growth of elm tree seedlings. Because of the protected status of elm trees, the team working on the Klickitat mall cleanup is working with the city to clean them up appropriately and legally.
There was discussion of the residential development project at NE 11th and Brazee, in which a house has been jacked up and re-positioned on the lot. The house is still on jacks, and there was a question if this is allowed for such a long time. The answer provided is that it is allowed-- they have an open permit from the city. The city has asked them to install a fence to prevent children or others from endangering themselves by trying to enter the space underneath the house.
Other Committee Reports
There were no reports from Land Use, Budget, Trees, or Parks.
New Business
No new business raised. Agenda item to discuss a proposed soda tax was deferred to the October meeting.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9:07pm.