Special KNA Meeting, Canvassing Kick-off 5/21

King Neighborhood Association Special Board Meeting
Reflections Coffeeshop, 446 NE Killingsworth Street
May 21, 2011 – 10:00-11:00 am

Due to a lack of time, some KNA business went unresolved at our last meeting. In order to both clean house and to take care of our neighborhood canvass, we will meet at Reflections. If you are interested in the topics on the agenda or would like to volunteer to canvass part of our neighborhood that day, stop on by! We will go out with information about our association and our upcoming events–primarily the King Neighborhood Clean-Up and the King Garage Sale Day.

If you would like to canvass, you can cover just your block or as many as you wish. It’s a great way to meet your neighbors and to broaden KNA’s participation base so that we can best serve everyone in our little patch of Portland.

Agenda

10:00 Welcome and introductions. Approval of agenda.
10:05 Consideration of Jim Hansen/Henry V & NNEBA’s request for endorsement of the MLK Dream Run, 2011.
10:10 Consideration of Woody Broadnax’s request for endorsement of the Juneteenth Forward event at MLK & Alberta.
10:25 Preparing for neighborhood canvassing for the KNA clean-up & garage sale day.
10:45 Adjournment.

May Meeting Agenda

King Neighborhood Association General Meeting
King Neighborhood Facility, 4815 NE 7th Avenue
May 11, 2011 – 6:30 to 8:45pm

Agenda

6:30 Welcome and introductions. Approval of minutes and agenda. Announcements, including open positions on committees.

6:40 Youth and Sustainability: Cheryl Lohrmann, Create Plenty.

6:50 Elections for four KNA board positions: Co-chair, Treasurer, At-large #2, At-large #4.

7:00 Officer Dennis Mako, Portland Police Bureau update.

7:10 Shoshana Cohen, NECN announcements, including an update on Last Thursday.

7:15 Safety & Livability issues:
–invitiation from Friends of Last Thursday to join their steering committee
–Clean-up and Garage Sale: dates, proceeds, expenditures, volunteers, & publicity
–Two reps from King NA to the NECN SALT
–[REDACTED], mural projects in King Neighborhood
–Honoring Commander Ferraris: Fred Stewart
–NNEBA’s MLK Dream Run: Jim Hansen, Henry V Events

7:55 Community Connections
–Communications committee: logo design, brochure

8:05 Land Use and Transportation
–VisionZero presentation, Michele
–MLK/Failing intersection, Kevin Brake
–Southeast corner of MLK & Shaver: Eli Haworth, Sakura Group
–OCCURA rep for King NA

8:30 Voter-owned elections: request for campaign endorsement.

8:33 Blue Door.

8:35 Closing thoughts.

PDC Seeks to Fund Coliseum Upgrades with Urban Renewal Funds

At the upcoming PDC Board meeting on May 11th, 3:00pm, the Portland Development Commission is expected to vote to use $375,000 of tax-increment funding to support updates to the Memorial Coliseum. This comes after the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods had voted to oppose Interstate Corridor urban renewal funds for the Rose Quarter. In this case the funds will come from the soon to expire Oregon Convention Center URA which will be folded into the Interstate Corridor project.

This action will benefit the public as it will create both construction and permanent jobs by allowing public funds to be used to make improvements to VMC (Veterans’ Memorial Coliseum). Improvements to VMC will revitalize and update the facility which will encourage more use as well as make the building more energy efficient. VMC improvements will also preserve this historic structure as a key component of the broader Rose Quarter redevelopment.

Read the Board Report on the proposed amendment here.

The meeting agenda is here.

Chat with Lew Frederick

From Lew Frederick:

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Second Saturday Chat, May 14th

Our monthly Second Saturday get-together is coming up next week. We meet from 9:00 to 10:00 AM at Reflections Coffee Shop/Talking Drum Bookstore, 446 NE Killingsworth (just east of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.)

Thanks again to Gloria for letting us, and other community groups, use this space. Please show her some love by buying some coffee and goodies while you’re there.

Important bills and issues continue to be debated and voted on in the Legislature. Next week we’ll see the May revenue forecast and work on the budget will intensify. Let’s talk about it. Hope to see you there.

There’s an election going on!

Please don’t forget to return your ballot by May 17th. There are two local tax measures on the ballot to support Portland schools. I support both of them. Important elections are also under way for School Board, Community College Board and Education Service District Board.

I believe that it is vital to reverse the disinvestment in education that has taken place over the past twenty years, because I simply refuse to give up on our future. Please vote YES on Measure #26-121, the Portland School Bond, and Measure 26-122, the Portland School Levy.

Governor Kitzhaber Visits King

The governor dropped by a number of businesses in the African-American community today in the King Neighborhood. Kitzhaber did not make a prepared statement but went to local businesses such as Geneva’s Shear Perfection, Reflections and others in the Walnut Park retail center. He toured in the company of many local African-American leaders such as Paul Knauls, aka the Mayor of NE Portland.