West Gresham

2021 Spring Newsletter "Diversity, Harmony, Community - Together 'WE' can make a difference!”

Read it now!

Spring 2021 Newsletter Inside This Issue: Downtown Rockwood Arrives Albertina Kerr Housing Update Wilkes East Land-Use Update Reporting Livability Issues Hazardous Spills, Who To Call Neighborhood Tree Outreach

Download your copy here. (includes active web links)

Newsletters are a regular publication of the Wilkes East Neighborhood Association. They are hand-delivered to over 1,500 residences and businesses in our area 3 times per year, timed to correspond with our regular meetings.

View archive   |   Policy & Ad Rates

'Green Gresham, Healthy Gresham' Grant Project

The City of Gresham is partnering with Multnomah County Office of Sustainability and Friends of Trees on a grant from East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (EMSWCD) to get trees surveyed, maintained and planted in the Rockwood, Wilkes East and North Gresham Neighborhoods. From mid- December 2020 to end of February 2021, you may notice a small
crew of three to four members wearing bright fluorescent safety vests, known as the Gresham Tree Team. The 2020 Gresham Tree Team is a group of County staff and interns making the following improvements to your neighborhood:

• Tree planting activities such as digging holes, planting trees, and moving mulch;
• Tree surveying and measuring in the public right of way to gather data on the tree type, size, and health; and
• Tree maintenance in the public right of way along arterial and neighborhood streets.

Gresham Tree Team
From 2018 – 2020 this team has:

• Inventoried 1300 trees
• Planted over 300 street and yard trees
• Recruited 80 homeowners to plant yard trees

This EMSWCD Green Gresham, Healthy Gresham grant project will improve your neighborhood with information on where to plant more trees along with newly planted trees that will help:

• Cool the urban environment during our hot summers
• Provide windbreaks and help conserve energy during our cold winters
• Improve the walking environment and air quality along busy West Gresham streets
• Reduce water pollution flowing into local streams and waterways

Work will be performed Tuesday through Saturday (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.)

More Info
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, please contact Tina.Osterink@GreshamOregon.gov or call directly at 503.618-2392.

Neighborhood Board Meeting When: Mon Jan 11, 2021 6:30PM-8:00PM Online meeting via Zoom Contact for details.

Board meetings are now scheduled for the 2nd Monday each month 6:30PM
For more information please contact: info@wilkeseastna.org

Upcoming Meetings

• Feb 08, 2021
• Mar 08, 2021 *
• Apr 12, 2021
• May 10, 2021
• Jun 14, 2021

  * Public Meeting

Wilkes East Neighborhood
17104 NE Oregon St
Portland OR 97230

Neighborhood Board Meeting When: Mon Dec 14, 2020 6:30PM-8:00PM Online meeting via Zoom Contact for details.

Board meetings are now scheduled for the 2nd Monday each month 6:30PM
For more information please contact: info@wilkeseastna.org

Upcoming Meetings

• Jan 11, 2021
• Feb 08, 2021
• Mar 08, 2021 *
• Apr 12, 2021
• May 10, 2021
• Jun 14, 2021

  * Public Meeting

Wilkes East Neighborhood
17104 NE Oregon St
Portland OR 97230

Get involved, Make a difference When: Tue, Dec 15, 2020 2PM-3PM Where: Online meeting via Zoom Get Map!

The Gresham Redevelopment Commission (GRDC) meets as needed on the third Tuesday of the month. GRDC meetings allow necessary Urban Renewal business to be dealt with, such as advisory committee reports, bid and grant awards, budget adoption, public hearings, resolutions, project updates and policy matters.

COVID-19 emergency order meeting procedure

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the meetings are held online via Zoom, typically on the third Tuesday of the month 30 minutes following adjournment of the 10:00 am Gresham City Council, with some exceptions to that schedule. The Dec.15 meeting will start at 2:00 pm.

How to attend and access agenda materials

• The Zoom meeting log-in/call-in information is listed on the first page of the meeting agenda. The agenda and related materials are posted on the Council Meeting Agendas and Videos web page under Upcoming Events and on the Gresham Redevelopment Commission web page in the Meeting agendas and minutes section. Agenda materials are posted to those locations approximately one week before the meeting.
• If you are unable to access the meeting via Zoom, contact Cecille Turley, Program Technician, by calling 503-618-2545 no later than 24 hours before to the meeting start time so the City can provide alternate arrangements.

How to provide testimony

• Residents wishing to provide oral testimony must register their name, e-mail address, phone number, and subject matter no later than 24 hours before the meeting start time via email to Cecille Turley, Program Technician, at Cecille.Turley@GreshamOregon.gov.
• Residents wishing to provide written testimony must submit their written testimony no later than 24 hours before the meeting start time via email to Cecille Turley, Program Technician at Cecille.Turley@GreshamOregon.gov so the testimony can be provided to the GRDC before the meeting.

For more information, contact Cecille Turley, Program Technician, at 503-618-2545 or Cecille.Turley@GreshamOregon.gov.

Fall Meeting Notice When: Mon Nov 09, 2020 7PM-8:30PM Where: Online meeting via Zoom Click here to Join Meeting Meeting ID: 552 671 8670 Passcode: #Neighbors

Neighborhood Meeting, Everyone's Invited

Join Your Neighbors. Get involved. Make a difference!

Save the date
Be sure to save Monday, Nov 9th at 7PM for the Wilkes East Neighborhood 2020 Fall Meeting. The meeting will be held online via Zoom meeting.

Agenda

• Robin Sells, Gresham Chief of Police
• Emily Bower, Executive Dir, City of Gresham Redevelopment, Downtown Rockwood
• Election of Officers
• Lee Dayfield, Parks Advocate, Progress report to get a Parks District for Gresham
• Neighborhood news and more

Dial-in Zoom
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 552 671 8670
Passcode: 5705607294

Who should attend?
Participation is open to all residents who live, own property or a business, organization, church or government agency within our boundaries

Be Part Of Your Community. Plan To Attend.

Watch for these red & white Meeting Signs the week before our meeting. The signs were purchased with assistance of the City of Gresham Neighborhood Grant Program, and with volunteer hours to set them out and retrieve them. Signs Now NW also made a generous contribution to this project.

Mark your calendar. See you there!

Questions or comments?
Contact Wilkes East Neighborhood by email at info@wilkeseastna.org, or by postal mail to: Wilkes East Neighborhood, 17104 NE Oregon St, Portland Oregon 97230

Metro's proposed Clackamas to Columbia River connector will impact school zones and pedestrian traffic on Northeast 181st Avenue

By Mike Elston, President
North Gresham Neighborhood Association

As President of the North Gresham Neighborhood Association, I'm informed about development plans that impact our neighborhood. Recently I became aware of a Metro proposal that'll increase traffic from Clackamas to the Columbia River ("C2C"), largely by routing it down Northeast 181st /182nd. Although the scheme has apparently been in development for years, Metro and the city of Gresham are only now involving North Gresham citizens — at a point where it's nearly a done-deal.

We have a number of concerns about C2C we feel aren't being heard by Metro. We strongly believe this will have the effect of transforming 181st /182nd into another 82nd Avenue. It will certainly increase traffic, which is already a nightmare during rush hour. That, in turn, will negatively impact the three schools along its proposed route as well as pedestrian access to the MAX and to our area's one grocery store.

We're at a loss to understand how this benefits North Gresham (and maybe that's why we weren't informed about the plan until it was too late to have much impact). Metro claims it'll provide jobs, but they're temporary employment during construction and not permanent.

In our view, this only benefits the higher-income residents of Happy Valley at the expense of Gresham's north-end, lower-income neighborhoods.

Funding for the C2C would be provided by the passage of Metro bond measure M 26-218 in November, and our only chance to delay C2C and permit more time for citizen feedback is for the measure to fail.

We therefore, ask for your help. Join us in voting NO on Measure 26-218, November 3, 2020.

Get Invloved, Make a Difference When: Tue, Sep 22, 2020 6PM-7PM Where: Online meeting via Zoom

Join us for a virtual open house, to be held with two separate one-hour Zoom sessions that fit your schedule.

We'll review:

• Community feedback on six park concept plan designs
• Concept plan report outlining potential enhancements for Gresham's six undeveloped parks, which aim to reflect the needs of each neighborhood and the overall Gresham community while also protecting access to nature

A vital part of the City's planning process is hearing from the community, to ensure all voices are heard. Since early 2019, Gresham residents have provided input through online surveys as well as on-site and virtual events. The concepts aim to meet the current and future demands of Gresham's growing population. They also outline financial needs for developing the parks in the future if funding is identified.

A Zoom link to register for this event will be posted soon.

For questions about this event, contact Tina Osterink, Natural Resource Planner at Tina.Osterink@GreshamOregon.gov or 503-618-2392.

1. Place your order online at www.sparrowhawknativeplants.com, between Sept 1 -16. Shop from a diverse selection of 80+ species of native plants from the comfort of your home.
2. Pick-up pre-ordered plants at Gresham City Hall on Sat, Oct 3. All pick-ups will be physically-distanced & outdoor.
3. Plant you plants. Double your impact. Sink your hands in the dirt - and feel great knowing that your new native plants enhance the habitat in your backyard, while a portion of the proceeds from your purchase supports Friends of Nadaka

Time: Aug 10, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join by PC

▼ Join Zoom Meeting by clicking the link below ▼  

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5526718670?pwd=Z1FNOURkTUFPbEdCTlk0V1A5ZDFxZz09

• When the dialogue box appears click "Open Zoom Meetings".
• Wait for the Video Preview window to open.
• Click the Join button that's right for you!

Meeting ID: 552 671 8670
Passcode: WENA_Aug

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Meeting ID:552 671 8670
Passcode: 76697192

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