Woodlawn Neighborhood Association General Meeting Agenda

Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024, at 7:00 pm

Please make every effort to join us In Person at Classic Foods: 817 NE Madrona 

 Woodlawn Neighborhood Association General Meeting Agenda

Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at 7:00 pm

Please make every effort to join us In Person at Classic Foods: 817 NE Madrona 

 Or join the meeting online via Zoom (now with improved audio): https://zoom.us/j/3014662210?pwd=d3VKbXkzVldqYzNWU2RwVm9OUkZyZz09

Meeting ID: 301 466 2210 , Passcode: WNA

Streamed/recorded on our YouTube channel: youtube.com/@woodlawnneighborhoodassoci5818

Welcome and Vision: “In the future, Woodlawn will be a place where people live harmoniously, respectfully, and in support of one another.  The neighborhood will be a clean and thriving community… All Woodlawn residents will share and pursue the common values of health, efficiency, beauty, equity, and justice.”

7:00 – 7:15 Introductions

• Please share name, pronouns, and what brought you to tonight’s meeting
• Quick share:  “What are you thankful for this year?”

7:15 – 8:00 General Business

• Approve September & October meeting notes.

Melissa makes a motion to approve these two sets of minutes. Thelma seconds. Everyone present in favor. Several board members in absentia also sent in their approval via e-mail before the meeting—Barbara, Linde, and Melody.

• Encourage additional volunteers to become part of our board – 3 available positions for members-at-large. We can have up to 12 board member positions. To be on the board, you must live or work in a business in the neighborhood. You come to a meeting once a month. We volunteer at a few WNA sponsored events throughout the year. If anyone is interested come and talk to board members at your leisure.
• Next Neighborhood Social & Reports on Other Projects

This past year, we have been coordinating social events at businesses in the neighborhood. The original purpose was to ask these businesses to make donations to us to help our work—a “reciprocal relationship.” So we decided to patronize these Woodlawn businesses back in return. We are also doing these as a way to build community, network and build resources, connect with one another, and help to bring “new life” to the organization. Last summer, Linde, Barbara, and Melissa sat down and realized that there are a dozen bars in Woodlawn. So we can go to one bar each month! In our next e-mail we will suggest a location in January for happy hour/social sponsored by WNA.

• Presentation and Discussion of Survey Results 

We got 32 responses to date. Melissa suggested we send out the survey again to our e-mail list once or twice again to see if we can get more engagement and then discuss again in January 2025. We sent out a neighborhood engagement survey. Results so far: 62.1 % said Tuesday was OK. So probably keeping it on Tuesday is going to work. We will revisit the time for starting next years. So many topics including tree planting, gardening, native plants, invasive plants, local business presentations, affordable housing, North Star housing and village movement, U of O update, Narcan training, houselessness advocacy, mutual aid education, DIY home repairs, swap tables. Our newsletter is the most effective way to get the news out to people. About 1/3 of the respondents attend meetings or events. All of our events are quite well-received! Melissa will provide a final summary of the results after we do two more mailings. The upshot is that we are on the right track! Anjala makes the motion that we send out the same survey for another two months. Melissa seconds it. All in favor and the motion passes.

• Volunteers to Coordinate Easter Egg Hunt and Neighborhood Night Out

Dave is willing to coordinate the Easter Egg Hunt for 2025. Barbara has a to-do list for each month including getting permits for the park. The event has these basic elements: (1) Procure the candy (2) Stuff the eggs (3) Hide the eggs and (4) Find the eggs. David could also have an understudy for this if anyone is interested in learning how to run this event. Barbara and Keith will connect re: getting the permit.

National Night Out Coordination (First Tuesday of August)—Now called Party On Portland. We need to find someone else to take it on as an overall project. Melissa will do the food again in 2025. We will revisit this need again on our January 2025 agenda.

• Planning for 2025 including:
  • Meeting time and day—tabled until we see if we get more results from surveys.
  • WNA events— tabled until we see if we get more results from surveys.
  • Speakers for 2025 Meetings

Folks do want the new mayor, Keith Wilson, and the 3 new District 2 reps (Pirtle-Giney, Ryan, and Kanal) to come to the monthly meetings, one at a time of course. We should reach out to these folks sooner rather than later to schedule them into these slots.

• • Fundraising ideas—tabled until we see if we get more results from surveys.
  • Updated vision statement—tabled until we see if we get more results from surveys.
  • Suggestions, comments, and new ideas—

To partner more with the nearby neighborhood associations on assorted projects of benefit to us all.

To partner with other neighborhood associations on the Movie in the Parking Lot again this year—Concordia, Vernon, and Sabin want in on this event this year. For Good & Co. donates all the equipment and other resources.

Also Melissa is working with the city to do Dumpster Day in the For Good & Co parking lot again this year too.

• Time for Neighbor Open Comments

Dave said that last week there was another fatal accident on Lombard (under the jurisdiction of ODOT) between NE 13^th and NE 15^th. The city has put in long-term wish list to put a signal there but now there are funding cuts and project cuts. Anjala makes the point that it takes people having fatal accidents to pressure the city to do things about this. Keith said that when citizens individually call 311 and express opinions about intersection etc. it is fed into that safety corridor of Lombard. Many calls about this can be the tipping point. Rolling in other opportunities near work you are doing is a strategy that occurs at places like PBOT.

People attending the meeting approved Anjala working with Keith to send letters to both PBOT and ODOT concerning traffic fatalities in the vicinity of NE 11^th to NE 15^th and Lombard. We might also want to include in the letter the fact that Lombard is also a “venue” for street racing. We might want to partner with adjacent neighborhoods to make our voices heard even more.

8:00 – 8:20 Board Business

• Treasurer’s Report – Melissa—

Barbara and Melissa have everything ready to go to get Melissa on all the accounts. Current balance around $3100. There may be a $300 invoice for our website floating around out there. Melissa will be putting fundraising ideas together for our January 2025. She will also get together with our former.

Anjala moves that we accept the treasurers report. Thelma seconds. All approved.

A former WNA treasurer received a post card about a Google class action lawsuit. Opinion is its not worth the time and effort to file this. Anjala makes a motion that we do not pursue the Google class action lawsuit. Thelma seconds. All approve.

• NECN Report – Anjala—

Now known as District 2 NECN. Dan Ryan and other city reps recently attended a meeting. Key thing: the board expanded from 12 to 28 members representing NAs, district coalition offices, and non-profit groups like Dignity Village. A period of transition. Anjala was elected co-chair of this new board. NECN gives out communications fund every years to NAs. We need to apply for the $1000 in funds for WNA for next year. Melissa will ask at her work as to the best use of that money for communications. There

• Secretary Report – Nancy—no updates.
• Outreach and Community Engagement Report – Linde — no update tonight as Linde was not able to attend the meeting.
• Land Use and Transportation Report – Anjala

Anjala will be writing the PBOT/ODOT letter with Keith re: fatalities on on Lombard.

What can be done about an abandoned house in the neighborhood that is now covered in graffiti?

• Farmers Market Update & Holiday Market – Keith

The season is over. Farmers Market: account roughly has $33K in it—much of this is because of a recent grant acquired to expand operations. The annual holiday market is on December 7^th at 7^th and Dekum at Village Ballroom. Local artisans, arts and crafts, some food, music, free entrance. Vendors are community members by and large. Also, it was noted that the Concordia Neighborhood newsletter has been posting ads for the Woodlawn Farmers Market.

8:20 – 8:30 Additional agenda items and announcements

FYI—Woodlawn PTA Jazz Night. Friday, February 28, 2025. Village Ballroom. Would like WNA participation in this event.