News

162nd Max Station (view east), 162nd & E Burnside, Portland OR

By Jenny Glass
Executive Director, Rosewood Initiative

(Update: On November 29, 2017 TriMet decided they won't be going forward with changing the name of the 162nd Ave MAX station. Residents of the Rockwood, Wilkes East and Wilkes Community group had expressed strong feelings against the name change during recent neighborhood meetings.)

(Update: At the November 13, 2017 Wilkes East Neighborhood Association General Meeting neighbors approved a motion to support the Rosewood/162nd Max station name change.)

The Rosewood Initiative, a community organization serving the neighborhood since 2009, has requested that TriMet change the 162nd Ave MAX station name to Rosewood/162nd. This is a request to honor, identify and lift up the community that the station resides in. It is part of a larger effort for and by the community to create a sense of place and belonging. Where is Rosewood?

No one has claimed "ownership" in the form of investment, financial or otherwise, in this MAX stop since it was created. In fact, although the 162nd MAX station has one of the highest rates of ridership compared to other stops, the station area has received almost no public or private investment since it was built. Here's a snapshot of the lack of investment:

The public sector has invested in mixed-use buildings, pedestrian improvements and crime prevention programs to improve MAX ridership. At the 162nd Avenue station, that amount totaled $900,000.

By comparison, the public sector has spent $28 million improving the area around the Killingsworth MAX station, the audit said. The Tuality MAX station in Hillsboro has drawn $12 million in transit-oriented public investment.

When the public sector does not invest in a community for decades, we collectively pay the price by having to react to symptoms like concentrated poverty and high crime and consequently an extraordinary amount of police and emergency response services, as well as social safety net services. Maintaining brokenness is very expensive. We can't afford it.

Renaming the MAX station is an opportunity for us to come together as a community and create a strategy for investment around the 162nd MAX station. The Rosewood Initiative has stepped up to lead the advocacy for investment in this station.

The Rosewood Initiative was started to reduce crime in the area. Rebuilding relationships between community and police in both Gresham and Portland was one of the first strategies. But even the Portland and Gresham Police that started The Rosewood Initiative understood that the high crime in this area was not going to be solved by policing, but by public and private sectors coming together and collectively investing in a community.

We would love to work together with Rockwood Neighborhood Association, Wilkes East Neighborhood Association, City of Gresham, TriMet, Metro, and the people that live near the 162nd Ave MAX station to create a comprehensive strategy for investment that is led by the people that live in the community.

We believe that one of the first steps toward collectively taking ownership of the 162nd Ave MAX station area is to give it its own unique identity. Since this area is now known to many as "Rosewood" we think this is a symbolic gesture to highlight the cross-jurisdictional investment that is imperative to support the Rosewood community.

More Info
For more information contact The Rosewood Initiative.

Kids explore the bronze otter statue at Nadaka Nature Park, Gresham OR

By Monica McAllister
Nadaka Nature Park Coordinator

Something For Everyone
This past summer and early fall at Nadaka Nature Park has been abuzz with celebrations under the picnic shelter, free events, new additions to the play area as well as gardeners tending their harvest, and nature lovers exploring our lovely 10-acre forest. Even as the winter days start settling in, we at Friends of Nadaka (FON) have already started planning for next year’s events at the park. From hosting free indoor gardening workshops to forest restoration with local schools and community members, we are excited to offer plenty of opportunities for you to spend time with friends and family at Nadaka. Before we jump straight into next year’s events, let’s take a cue from the fall season to slow down and reflect on the bustle of activity that has occurred over the past few months at our neighborhood park.

Community Festival
This year’s 7th Annual Nadaka Community Festival was one of our best festivals yet! We had over 400 participants, 3 performances, and 35 partnering organizations & businesses, 28 of which hosted a community booth. We were thrilled to have The Aztec Dancers, Ukrainian Folk Singer Natalia Hougan, and the NW Panmen Terry Baber and Brad Hirsch on the Steel Drums perform again at this year’s festival. A big thank you to our Festival Committee, volunteers, partners and everyone who made the festival a marvelous success! Our Festival sponsors and donors included: Metro, City of Gresham, Owens Corning, and St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church. Albertsons & Organically Grown Co., Starbucks, and Rockwood PUD donated hot dogs & chips, organic apples, coffee, and water respectively.

Rip Caswell, Joan Albertson, Chad Caswell		Art Donations Nadaka is especially grateful for the generous donation of the magnificent bronze otter and raven by Joan Albertson, the creators of the sculptures, artists Rip Caswell & son Chad Caswell.
as well as the work done by Lee Dayfield and Gresham Outdoor Public Art for making the installation and reveal of these beautiful art pieces possible.		Raven sculpture at Nadaka Nature Park
Giant Xylophone at Nadaka Nature Park		Another amazing addition to the park is a new Xylophone installed at the north portion of the nature based play area. Thank you to the anonymous donor who made this possible and to the City of Gresham for installing this amazing gift of music for the community.

Volunteer Programs
Friends of Nadaka would like to recognize the amazing work of our two Nadaka SummerWorks? Interns and seven STRYVE Interns (Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere) who helped lead and teach bilingual events for the Wilkes Elementary Books in the Park Program, HB Lee’s SUN Program, Home Forward Apartment complexes, and our summer Tadpole Tales event. In addition to these educational events, they were also instrumental in keeping the park in tip top shape by removing invasive plants, caring for two education garden plots, managing for the front 2 acres, helping with the Nadaka Community Festival and more. Four of these amazing interns have joined the ranks of the Nadaka Ambassadors to continue working at the park year round.

Cleanups & more
For the fall season, volunteers from the neighborhood showed their love for Nadaka at our SOLVE Beach and Riverside Cleanup in September and at the No Ivy Day event on October 28th alongside the “College Possible” High School youth to remove invasive plants and replace them with native plants. We also partnered with Audubon Society of Portland to host a September Bird Walk where we cataloged the number and variety of species passing through the park during fall migration. In the garden, we finished up our free hands on gardening workshop series with Outgrowing Hunger with a focus on “Harvesting Your Bounty” & “Shutting Down the Garden”. For those who are interested in gardening at the park, new garden registration for Nadaka begins February 1st. Contact Adam Kohl of Outgrowing Hunger (adam@outgrowinghunger.org) for more information and how to register for a garden plot.

Park Safety
At the end of August, we had over 40 people attend the Nadaka Community Safety meeting to voice their concerns, learn what is being done to keep the park safe, and give suggestions for improvements at the park. We wanted to thank NET (Neighborhood Enforcement Team), CVIP (Citizens Volunteering In Policing), Gresham Parks Department, St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, East Metro Mediation, and the Nadaka Ambassadors for sharing what is being done on the ground and behind the scenes to ensure that Nadaka stays safe and clean. One of the areas of concern was the heavily vegetated space between the St. Aidan’s parking lot and meadow. Since the meeting, we have worked with the City of Gresham Parks Department to lift the canopy and create a line of sight from the parking lot into the meadow. We are so grateful for the hard work that the Parks Department to help address this area of concern and have noticed a marked improvement in the activities happening in that area. By our community taking ownership of the park through volunteering, voicing concerns and potential solutions, in addition to simply being a positive presence in the park, we can continues to ensure that Nadaka Nature Park stays a safe and welcoming space to nurture nature, food, and families.

Fall & Winter Activities
As promised, here are a few great events coming up at the park in the next few months! Join us for a Free Beneficial Insect Workshop with EMSWCD on 11/4 from 9am to 11:30 AM, MLK Day of Service Monday, January 15th, and the Community Planting Event in February (date still to be determined). Other great events to keep your eye out for are our Annual Free Indoor Gardening Workshop Series with Oregon Food Bank, Spring Migration Nature Walk and Welcome Back Vulture Day with Audubon Society of Portland.

Connect With Us
These are just a few of the activities we have in store for the community at Nadaka. For more information and opportunities to get involved and help create a positive social and environmental change in the Wilkes East and Rockwood community visit www.friendsofnadaka.org, “Friends of Nadaka” on Facebook, or contact Monica at monica@friendsofnadaka.org or 503-956-8558. We look forward to seeing everyone at the park!

2017 Fall Newsletter "Diversity, Harmony, Community - Together 'WE' can make a difference!”

Read it now!

Inside This Issue:   Rockwood Boys & Girls Club Opens Zimmerman House Holiday Tours Rosewood/162 Max Stop Name Change Happenings at Nadaka Nature Park Reynolds Athletics Hall or Fame Neighborhood Meeting, Nov 13th 7PM

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

When: Mon Aug 14, 2017 7PM-9PM (New date! 2nd Monday) Where: Albertina Kerr Gresham Campus, Training Building (small bldg, center north on property) 722 NE 162nd Av Gresham, OR Get Map!

Neighborhood Meeting, Everyone's Invited

Join Your Neighbors. Get involved. Make a difference!

Save the date
Be sure to save Monday, August 14th at 7PM for the Wilkes East Neighborhood 2017 Summer Meeting. The meeting will be held at Albertina Kerr, 722 NE 162nd Av, Training Building (small bldg, center north on property), Gresham OR. Get map!

Guests & Topics
Speakers for the August 14th meeting include: Josh Fuhrer, Executive Director, Gresham Redevelopment Commission with a Rockwood Rising project update; Mario Palmero, Chair, Gresham City Council, highlighting what's going on at City Hall; Jay Higgins, Associate Transportation Planner, discusses City of Gresham City bike routes.

Who should attend?
This meeting is open to all residents and businesses in the Wilkes East Neighborhood!

Be Part Of Your Community. Plan To Attend.

Agenda

• Josh Fuhrer
  Executive Director
  Gresham Redevelopment Commission
  Rockwood Rising project update
• Mario Palmero
  Chair
  Gresham City Council
  highlighting what's going on at City Hall
• Jay Higgins
  Associate Transportation Planner
  discusses City of Gresham City bike routes
• plus a Nadaka update and neighborhood news.

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!

by Monica McAllister
Nadaka Nature Park Coordinator

Summer is here, delicious berries are ripe, baby birds are taking flight, and we hope you have been able to get out and enjoy it all at Nadaka Nature Park! The past couple of months have been bustling with families enjoying the new swing set, community members gathering for parties at the picnic shelter, gardeners tending their veggies and flowers, and nature lovers of all ages exploring the forest. The past few months ‘Friends of Nadaka’ (FON) has been hard at work providing environmental education activities, community events, and stewardship opportunities for our neighbors, schools, and partnering organizations.

We are most excited about the upcoming Seventh Annual Nadaka Nature Park Festival that will take place August 12th from 12-3pm. This family friendly event will include a visit from the Audubon Society of Portland’s Education Birds, free hot dogs and drinks, crafts, games, face painting, dance and music performances. Various partnering organizations will have information booths and fun hands on activities for the whole family. We would love to have volunteers from the Wilkes East neighborhood to help with the event. If you are interested please contact Monica, the Nadaka Coordinator.

Rockwood Town Center final design. Click to enlarge

Office, apartments and marketplace in the works by Mohawk MAX stop.

From The Gresham Outlook

Gresham City Hall's ambitious plans to reshape the heart of Rockwood are nearly finalized.

All told, public leaders and private developers will plunk down at least $40 million to create the three-building development located between Burnside Road and the "Mohawk" MAX light-rail station at Stark Street and Southeast 188th Avenue.

As The Outlook previously reported, site designs call for commercial office space, residential apartments and an indoor/outdoor marketplace orbiting a central plaza.

Rockwood Town Center plaza. Click to enlarge

Rockwood Town Center 188th & E Burnside. Click to enlarge

The project, branded as "Rockwood Rising," sits on 5.15 acres that formerly housed west Gresham's Fred Meyer. The city's Redevelopment Commission purchased the land for $8.1 million in 2006.

The plans for the Rockwood Rising Redevelopment Project are nearing completion and are open to the public. Zane Sparling, of the Gresham Outlook, offers a breakdown of the design here.

2017 Summer Newsletter "Diversity, Harmony, Community - Together 'WE' can make a difference!”

Read it now!

Inside This Issue:   Rockwood Town Center Awaits Approval Come Visit Zimmerman House Backyard Habitat, Providing Community Nadaka Update, Happenings & More Neighborhood Meeting, Aug 14th 7PM

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

All Things City of Gresham! Check Us Out When: Sat, May 13, 2017 10AM-2PM Where: City Hall Parking Lot 1333 NW Eastman Pky Get Map!

How the City works for YOU...how YOU can work for the City

Join us for a festival of fun at City Hall

Check out our big rigs, ride in a police car, meet Basco, Recon and Cash, the Citys Police K9 dogs, enjoy photo opportunities for the kiddos, tackle a bicycle obstacle course at the Bike Rodeo while learning about bike safety (bring your bikes, please), and having your bike helmet fitted properly. Plus, free popcorn and raffle drawing.

For more information about CityFest, contact Alexandra.Walker@GreshamOregon.gov

Come build a future with us

At CityFest, talk to staff about their career paths, meet with local resources to help you prepare for the workforce and learn about paths you can take toward meaningful work at the City of Gresham.

View current job openings

View internship opportunities

Not in the market for a new career?

No problem. You bring the family, well bring the free, hands-on, family friendly fun.

Join Us, See The Designs When: Sat, Apr 01, 2017 11AM-2PM Where: Sunrise Center 18901 East Burnside Street Get Map!

Come gather to sample delicious, diverse foods from local vendors and provide comment on the City's Rockwood Rising Project.

For more information about this event, contact Emily Bower at 503-618-2416 or Emily.Bower@GreshamOregon.gov.