Introductions and Welcome: Mary Weaver, Chairman; in attendance were Pat Duval, Staff Liaison, Officer Crystal Squires, and 12 other neighbors
Previous Meeting’s Minutes: David Aschenbrenner moved and W. Bischoff seconded that the previous meeting’s minutes should be approved as written. The motion carried unanimously.
Police Report: Officer Crystal Squires, one of the department’s newest officers, introduced herself and said that there are 2 other new officers going through training at the moment. She said that Jag the K-9 officer, and Officer Huston have completed training and that Jag has already begun to perform well.
Clackamas County FD #1 did not attend. Their latest newsletter is available here: http://www.clackamasfire.com/documents/communitynewsletters/200904.pdf and monthly in the NDA’s email at [email protected].
Projects Update:
Railroad Avenue School Zone: Mary Weaver reported that Gary Parkin, the City Engineer, had replied to our letter that the request for a change to a lower speed limit on Railroad Avenue has been requested of Oregon Department of Transportation, and that the school zone signs will come down before school begins in September, and will be replaced with some other warning signs. The lights on Monroe at Garrett may or may not be moved to Home and Park; this action is waiting funding for implementation of new technology for the lighting system, as the current system is obsolete.
First Aid/CPR The idea for the PTA to sponsor a pediatric First Aid/CPR class in the neighborhood was tabled since Mr. Agoun was not there to report. (This will not be raised again unless the PTA does so).
National Night Out – August Meeting Jeff Louden reported on the tasks completed to date, and broke down the potential budget costs, which fit within the $500 voted for the project. Jeff will continue to contact suppliers and local businesses. Neighbors were requested to bring potluck (preferably commercially prepared) food to the event, which will be from 6-8pm at Homewood Park. Hot dogs and chips will be supplied. Neighbors should bring their own non-alcoholic beverages and folding chairs.
Further information will be in the Pilot article for August and on the NDA’s website.
Action: Jeff Louden, Mary Weaver
Grants: Milwaukie Pioneer Cemetery: The $100 that we had donated to a memorial headstone fund for Madalaine Bohl at Milwaukie Pioneer Cemetery was in excess of their requirements. Following discussion, a motion was made by David Aschenbrenner, seconded by W. Bischoff, to contribute an additional $100 from the administrative fund to purchase a lifetime membership for the NDA at the Milwaukie Pioneer Cemetery. The motion carried unanimously. It was also suggested that the Chairperson write to Mrs. Macken-Hambright, the Board Chair at MPC, to suggest that they prepare a city-wide grant request and bring it to all NDA’s for their support for the cemetery so that sufficient funds can be found to do expensive excavation and headstone restoration work. Action: Mary Weaver
Parks Report: Sarah Smith reported that the irrigation system has been watering the lawns and appears to be doing well for the plants and grass. She had a work party with a group from Grace Pointe Church on June 28th, which was for a service work day. There needs to be another work party soon to continue to pull ivy and blackberries and to continue staining the fencing along the trail. The broken boards on the trail have been repaired by the parks department. Many young families continue to use the play area, and there has been little problem with unwanted behavior in the park.
A neighbor queried whether or not Milwaukie has a youth center, where teenagers who otherwise might hang around in the park, could go to have fun and do social activities. There is no current such center, although discussion has been made from time to time. Some local church groups may run their own activities, but the closest is Sellwood’s Boys and Girl’s Club. It was agreed that there certainly does need to be somewhere that teens can go to have fun without getting into trouble.
Public Safety Advisory Committee Report: Mary Weaver reported that there was a new Chairman for the PSAC – David Hedges. She said that the minutes for the previous meeting had not yet been distributed. During Milwaukie Daze there will be a 9K race for the K-9 fund organized by the Milwaukie Public Safety Foundation and members of PSAC that involves walking the parade route and then continuing the remaining length of the 9K. Dogs can bring their owner. Sponsors are requested and those entering the race will receive a bandana and doggy patch (for the dog) and t-shirts for the human participants. There is a registration fee. Contact Susannah Pai at or look on the Milwaukie Public Safety Foundation’s website: www.milwaukiepsf.org.
CERT (Citizen Emergency Response Team) training took place Saturday June 27th. Jeff Louden, Linda Hedges and Mary Anne Richardson attended from our neighborhood. The training is to prepare citizens to aid themselves, their families and neighbors in the event of a disastrous incident. A list of suggested supplies and actions was distributed so that neighbors can prepare emergency kits for themselves. It was reported that as this was a very introductory training, a suggestion for additional and continual training should occur, and an organizational infrastructure should be created so that there is sufficient training and supplies and intra-agency cooperation with the Red Cross, the city’s emergency management team, and others, so there would not be confusion at the time of an event. Linda Hedges will write to CCFD#1, who does the training, to suggest that this occur and offer our support.
Action: Linda Hedges
.Information:
Sarah Smith asked if we intended to participate as a neighborhood organization in the Milwaukie Daze Parade, but it was decided at the last meeting that we did not intend to have an entry this year.
A neighbor had asked whether it was possible to have historical usage data printed on our water bills. Chairman Weaver has discussed this with City Finance Director Ignacio Palacios, who stated he had not previously thought about this, and that it would add a cost to printing the water bills which was not currently in the budget. Chairman Weaver will recontact him to let him know that this data would be seen as a benefit by neighbors and to ask him to consider it for next year. Action: Mary Weaver
Chairman Weaver has prepared a form for project planning and summary for any projects that we do. This form will assure that all appropriate and necessary permits and notifications are done, and will provide an important record if the project is done another time.
The Mayor and Council will be considering in work session a request by a business owner to consider rescinding the ordinance prohibiting door hangers. The Chair will write to the Mayor and Council reiterating our opposition to the use of door hangers within the city. Action: Mary Weaver
OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD FROM 6-8PM ON TUESDAY AUGUST 4th FOR THE NATIONAL NIGHT OUT PICNIC, AT HOMEWOOD PARK.
Prepared by: Linda M Hedges
Approved: Mary Weaver