Woodlawn Neighborhood Association General Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 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, & what brought you to tonight’s meeting
- Social time – talk to your neighbors
7:15 – 8:00 General Business
- Approve March meeting notes.
Anjala makes a motion to approve the March minutes with an editorial amendment. Melody seconds it. All are in favor. Minutes are approved. Nancy will edit the minutes accordingly.
- Presentation by Lauren Funk and her business partner Aaron Hall about the historic Village Ballroom building and its future. Lauren currently teaches dance classes upstairs via her business, Pivot. The Village Ballroom will continue to be an event space as well. They gave a preview of the new restaurant that will be opened where the Oregon Public House used to be. The restaurant and bar will be called LaVerne’s. They are hoping to be open by late August or early September. Lots of creative ideas for fun food offerings (rotisserie chicken!) and to center the space as a key part of the Woodlawn neighborhood. There will be a rental space for community events on one side. Standing room occupancy is at 55-60 with 40 seated. The upstairs space has been “grandfathered in” at occupancy at 299—170 seated, to 250 standing. There will be free Wednesday night dance parties too!
- Final plan for and volunteer sign up for 2025 Easter Egg Hunt
We need more volunteers. Liz Kennedy will do the kids table. We have a bunny costume mascot this year. Dave will text all of the volunteers before the event to remind them of their shifts.
- Next Neighborhood Social—Retro Game Bar for later in the month of April.
- Reports on other projects:
Communications Grant from NECN—we got it! Melissa will start shopping for the items that we talked about at previous meetings. Most of the purchases will be items that allow us to better communicate with at our meetings and public events.
Donation Drive—
We need money! Melissa updated us on some thoughts for generating donations. Fundraising ideas. 1) Scan a QR code to do recurring donations. 2) She is reworking a letter for local businesses re: partnership opportunities and donations. 3) She has ideas for getting more donations of goods from local artists and makers and then using for a silent auction or raffle at a future event. 4) Grants—google will give you free advertising, work space, etc. Should we explore these options? 5) Stickers! To sell! To get our name out there. 6) What about a contest for local kids to design the sticker to drum up interest ahead of time?
Movie Night
Need to reach out to other NAs to do these fun events. Nancy and Barbara will get the names of the folks to Melissa.
Pedalpalooza Bike Ride
Keith attended the Piedmont NA where he shared information our summer events—Pedalpalooza ride and the Movie in the Parking Lot. Unfortunately, their meeting was largely dominated by a single issue for them—the potential closure of the Peninsula Park Community Center. (See NECN update below.) Anjala will talk to John about available dates for this year’s ride/history tour. The idea is to have a late morning start on a Saturday so that the ride then ends at the Woodlawn Farmers Market.
Visits to other neighborhood associations
Working on it. Keith went to the Piedmont. Nancy will be going to Concordia in April and will inquire about the Concordia Yard Sale as well as involvement with the movie in the parking lot event in the summer.
Dumpster Day – May 24th, 2025—Reminder that it is happening. Information about the event is also on Go Woodlawn.
Neighborhood Cleanup—April 5, 2025
Buy Nothing group and SOLV are getting the word out. From 10 until Noon on April 5, 2025.
T-shirt Sales
We will be selling them at the Easter Egg Hunt. And the at our table at the May 10th at the Winter Farmer’s Market. Nancy and Melissa will staff the table.
Redoing the Woodlawn NA magnets.
Melody suggest we work with the PTA have a “contest” to have Woodlawn kids design these. Linde suggested we reach out to Mallory at Woodlawn PTA re: this.
- Still need volunteer to coordinate Neighborhood Night Out – Tuesday, August 5th
We need a team of coordinators/group of volunteers by the next meeting/May 2025. Need to request the park permit 45 days before the event. Melissa is willing to coordinate the food. But if we don’t get an overall volunteer to helm the event, we probably won’t be able to stage it this year.
- Presentation and Discussion of Survey results, if we have enough responses.
As a result of looking at the results, it was decided to move our monthly meeting start time. Barbara’s proposal is that we move the meeting at 6:30 pm on First Tuesday of the month. Melissa makes the proposal. Dave seconds. All in favor. Done deal.
- Time for Neighbor open comments
Nancy needs someone to empty her trash can on NE Dekum just down the street from Electric Lettuce from April 23 until May 2. Dave will clean the can for Nancy while she is traveling.
8:00 – 8:20 Board Business
- Treasurer’s Report – Melissa
We have $4042.42 in our bank account. That includes the Communications Grant. Melissa finally has access to the bank account. Questions were raised about payment for the WNA Zoom account which is $2.49 per month. Anjala has been paying for it and now Melissa will that take over.
- NECN Report – Anjala
Anjala is now co-chair of the District #2 NE Coalition newly revised board. It has been a long six months of challenging interpersonal relations. It is now finally functioning and doing “good things.” Work is being done to figure out how to be the voice of the neighborhoods to all three counselors of District 2. All three have visited our WNA meeting.
About the Woodlawn neighbor who has mental health challenges and then tosses her possessions into her yard and driveway on a regular basis—Anjala feels that we can register concerns through our District #2 reps. But we may not expect results for a while.
NECN is doing the best it can while the city is facing challenges. Meanwhile, the level of citizen frustration is very high.
NECN likely to finish the year under budget.
Issue with insurance provided through NECN—Over time, NECN began to provide Officers and Directors Insurance for doing “official” events. Used for Event Insurance as well. City of Portland is in dire financial straits and is suggesting that money to neighborhood coalitions be cut. Much of the money from the city goes toward providing insurance to what are now 28 groups of NAs. So the need has gotten larger while the pool of funds has dried up. What is the actual dollar amount we would need to provide all these groups with insurance? Approximately $40,000 would be the total needed to provide these insurances every year.
There are ongoing risks to the Community Centers in our Parks as well. The idea has been floated to close both the Peninsula and Columbia Community Centers. Protesting has started re: these proposed cuts.
Anjala will get the summary about the NECN newsletter and opt-in options to Nancy so she can add to the minutes. Necoalition.org = where you can also sign up.
Anjala mentions that there was a presentation at NECN about several ways an NA can do a cleanup and earn money. This was recorded and she will share that with Melissa.
- Secretary Report – Nancy
Send Nancy any links that are broken on Go Woodlawn. Nancy will work with Shelly to fix our website to reflect the new meeting time 6:30 to 8 pm, first Tuesday of the month and to correct other site-wide issues as they arise;
- Outreach and community engagement Report – Linde
Budget Listening session from 6 pm to 8:30 pm on Thursday April 3, 2025.
Linde will do another newsletter in the next two weeks and make an urgent call for volunteers for upcoming events.
- Land Use and Transportation Report – Anjala
Letter from a neighbor. Informing neighbors they are continuing to run an Air BnB in their house. Judy on NE 21st Avenue.
Brian Borello is an artist who lives in Piedmont. He got a grant to design a red metal topper for Rosa Parks neighborhood street signs. There were extra so Woodlawn now has toppers for all of our neighborhood intersections near Rosa Parks. Unfortunately, there is now a snag around having PBOT install these signs. Any advocacy to get these items installed in the next little while would be most welcome!
- Farmer’s Market Update & Winter Markets – Keith (online)
Reminder of the 2nd Saturday winter market in Classic Foods. June through October is the regular farmers market season. The Fresh List = sent a few days before each market to get a list of the vendors. Go to the farmers market website to sign up for their e-mail list. There are also vendor applications there. $23,000 in funds right now but most due to recent grants to fund a year-long market. PZ’s title has changed. They are now the Market Managing Director and still reports to the board.
8:20 – 8:30 Additional agenda items and announcements
Question was asked—Does Tri-Met still intend to change the route of Bus Route 8? Anjala doesn’t yet know the answer.
