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Neighborhood Coalition Meeting Held: Sep 12

By lkfreiermuth - Posted on September 24th, 2007
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Gresham Coalition of Neighborhood Associations

ASERT, Centennial, Central City, Gresham Butte, Gresham, Pleasant Valley, Hollybrook,
Kelly Creek, Mt. Hood, North Central, North Gresham, Northeast Gresham,
Northwest Gresham, Powell Valley, Rockwood, Southwest, Wilkes East

Minutes for September 12, 2007

Guests: Present: Councilors Dick Strathern & Paul Warr-King, Connie Otto, Council Coordinator, & Linda Kidby, Adm. Asst.
Members: Carol Rulla, Elizabeth McCallum, Sue Ruonala, Lee Dayfield, Roger N. Meyer, Reita Hribernick, Joan Albertson, John Bildsoe & Kris Freiermuth

Call to Order: President Carol Rulla called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM

Approval of Minutes: Quorum was not met, so minutes were set aside for approval at the October meeting.

Public Comment: None

Presentation of Proposed Restructuring of Advisory Committees & Discussion with Councilors.

Councilors' Dick Strathern & Paul Warr-King presented the proposed model for challenging & finding ways to engage with citizens; forming partnerships. The proposal included information concerning the data gathering of other communities in the region and comparing their communities to Gresham. They have almost completed The Planning Commission phase & will begin The Finance Committee next week. They have pinpointed five (5) major committees in the following order:

  • The Planning Commission
  • The Finance Committee
  • Public Safety Committee
  • Neighborhood Association Support & Citizen Involvement Committee
  • Natural Resources & Sustainability Committee

Discussion following the presentation:
Issues with the Planning Commission & Code Enforcement.
How can citizens better interface with City Hall when they have questions particularly problems with Code?

The criteria for the establishment of the proposed committees.
The number of members & the process for selection of the Neighborhood Association Support & Citizen Involvement Coordinating Committee.

Following is the proposed criteria & plan for selection of the members of the Neighborhood Association Support & Citizen Involvement Coordinating Committee:

  1. 7-9 Member Committee.
  2. Meets monthly.
  3. Acts as liaison to neighborhood associations.
  4. Provides oversight for citizen involvement programs.
  5. Coordinates and monitors Sub-Committee, Task Force and Focus Group activities.
  6. Executes duties outlined in committee charter.


  1. Initial membership will be comprised of committee chairs and/or other members from the following current standing committees.

    • Commission on Citizen involvement
    • Other members will be solicited from officially recognized Neighborhood Associations within the City of Gresham UGB.

  2. Additional members, to a maximum of 2, may be drawn but are not required to be drawn from established community organizations with special interests and expertise in the following areas.

    • As determined and approved by the City Council following development of this committee's mission statement & charge

  3. All members shall be nominated following successful completion of a qualifications assessment and an interview process involving three (3) members of the City Council. Appointments will be made by the Mayor and approved by a vote of the City Council.

  4. All members must accept and sign a "code of conduct" statement that governs their behavior as a member of this committee.

  5. All members serve "at will."

  6. All members must be residents of the City of Gresham or live within the Gresham Urban Growth Boundary.

  7. The CCAC will assign one of its members to act as Liaison to each Sub-Committee, Task Force or Focus Group created.

President Rulla inquired how best could we participate in formulating the criteria for membership on this committee? Councilors Strathern & Warr-King indicated it should be in writing & it should be done prior to their retreat. Connie Otto indicated the deadline would be the 11th of October & the document should be sent directly to her so it would be included in their agenda.

Action Item: Carol asked for all individuals interested in joining her in the review of the criteria & the proposed method of selection to meet & prepare suggestions for the Councilors. John Bildsoe, Lee Dayfield, Reita Hribernick, Suzan Wells & Kris Freiermuth agreed to participate in this task. Carol will e-mail possible meeting dates.

Roger Meyer announced a Rockwood Standing Committee on Housing is being formed. He indicated the group will have a broad based representation i.e., bankers, mortgage brokers, owners of different kinds of housing, renters, etc.

Big Box Code Concerns President Rulla inquired of the Councilors what comments they had on this issue. Councilor Strathern suggested no store be any larger in square footage than the proposed Gresham Civic Center. Councilor Warr-King disagreed with this limitation and didn't want to exclude a store such as Nordstrom's. President Rulla felt the more important issue was where a store of that size was located than a size restriction on all stores.

President Rulla indicated she had "Waiver of Liability & Hold Harmless Agreements" for those wishing them for any projects.

Next Meeting: October 10, 2007, 7PM.

Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 8:58 PM.

Respectively Submitted,

Kristen Freiermuth,
Secretary Pro Tem