Minutes for March 2026 WNA General Meeting

2026-03-15

Minutes for March 2026 WNA General Meeting

Woodlawn Neighborhood Association General Meeting Agenda

Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 6:30 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.”

6:30 – 6:40 Social Time

Get to know your neighbors.

6:40 – 7:45 General Business

Approve February meeting notes.

Linde makes a motion to approve the February minutes. Anjala seconds. All are in favor. February minutes are approved.

Open Board Seats – Vice Chair & At-Large positions – PZ (6:45-7:00)

PZ nominates Joy Keen to be the Vice Chair of the WNA. Linde seconds. All are in favor. None abstained or opposed. Joy Keen is appointed to the board as Vice Chair.

Woodlawn Watch Group Presentation with Q&A – Dom (7:00-7:10)

Dom (they/them) helps run the Woodlawn Neighborhood Ice Watch which began in September 2025 when there was an uptick in ICE activity around Portland area schools. The group does protective presence walking the perimeter at start and end of the school day as well as rapid response. The group started with three people and now is fifty strong. They wear yellow bandannas as signifier. They do outreach at businesses talking about 4^th amendment right and will soon starting door-to-door canvassing for folks not on social media. In addition, they gather resources for families impacted by ICE including food and other helpful items. Currently the most pressing needs are food drives and fundraising for impacted families. Right now, the ICE presence is more pronounced in Cully and St. John’s neighborhoods. They are currently looking for people who want to get involved. If interested, e-mail to woodlawnwatch@proton.me.

Dom noted that Faubion and Vernon have scheduled a Migra watch training at Vernon Elementary from 6 pm to 8 pm on Thursday, March 5, 2026.

Woodlawn Farmers Market

Proposal to establish “Standard Committee” of community members interested in crafting the strategic planning of the farmers market in Woodlawn. PZ (7:15-7:30)

PZ notes that WNA is the fiscal sponsor of the Woodlawn Farmers Market, now entering its 12^th outdoor season and the 2^nd season of the winter market at Classic Foods. We are working to figure out a path forward for the WFM after the board resigned last fall. Issues—lack of funding, need someone(s) to do grant writing. Vendor fees cover about 20% of the cost; the rest of the funding comes from grants. There is only enough funding to get the market through July 2026. PZ proposes that an Ad Hoc Standing Committee be made up of interested neighbors who can brainstorm ideas on how to go forward with the market operations. There is currently a QR code on social media for interested volunteers.

PZ proposes that the WNA board create a standing committee to explore the future of Farmers Market. Anjala seconds. All are in favor. Motion passes.

Easter Egg Hunt – David (7:30-7:35)

Saturday, April 4, 2026, is the Woodlawn Annual Easter Egg Hunt. Dave needs volunteers to help stuff the plastic eggs for the hunt. Meet at March 21^st at 11 AM rain or shine under the bridge at Woodlawn Park. Volunteers are also needed on the day of the Egg Hunt to set up tables and activities, to hide the eggs, and to do cleanup afterwards. Volunteers should meet at 10 AM at the park. The event starts promptly at 11 AM on April 4^th rain or shine.

Establishing regular fundraising efforts for all things Woodlawn—Events, Monthly Socials, & Parties (including the Easter Egg Hunt, NNO/POP) and potential Fred Meyer Account Linkages, etc. PZ (7:35-7:40)

PZ notes that we need to figure out new strategies for fundraising. We will add this to the WNA April 2026 agenda to explore is greater depth.

Time for Neighbor Open Comments/Concerns (7:40-7:45)

Nancy would like to decommission the WNA-sponsored tiny trash cans on NE Dekum at two bus stops. David and Nancy have been emptying them for the past year or so. They are nearly 95% dog-waste bags. Given that there are other trash cans where dog walkers can dispose of their waste bags, they feel that these cans are no longer needed. Nancy will contact Tri-Met about the removal of these cans and then let the board know what happens next. Anjala will get Nancy the contact information for Tri-Met.

A meeting attendee noted that there are opportunities to work with Portland Parks on the nature areas now in Woodlawn Park. More information about nature areas volunteer stewardship is available at Portland Parks and Recreation here — https://www.portland.gov/parks/nas

Anjala noted that the annual Slough Fest is currently on from February 28 to March 8, 2026. More information about the events is available at: https://birdallianceoregon.org/our-work/learn/adult-programs/slough-fest/

An attendee mentioned that we might want to explore grant opportunities through Metro and Oregon Humanities.

*Feel free to leave or stay for Board business!

7:45 – 8:00 Board Business

Board attendees: Anjala, David, Joy, Linde, Nancy, and PZ. Online via Zoom: Keith and Melissa.

Land Use and Transportation Committee (LUTC) Report – Anjala

A group of neighbors who live on NE Liberty between NE 18^th and NE 22^nd attended the meeting to discuss their opposition to the proposal for cottage clusters to be built on the property at 1926 NE Liberty where there is currently a small house built in 1927. They noted the many issues about would adversely impact the neighborhood. Cottage clusters are required to have common green space or garden areas. If there are five or more, one unit is supposed to be ADA-accessible. The neighbors would like the board to support a Demolition Appeal to slow down the demolition of the current house to allow more time to work with the developer to see if there are alternative options for this property.

Anjala notes that the WNA LUTC could write a letter. James Yarger proposes a vote for the board to support the Demolition Appeal of the Liberty Street neighbors. Nancy seconded it. The motion passes. Anjala will work with the neighbor group to have the WNA draft and submit a Demolition Appeal by the deadline of March 17, 2026.

Anjala notes that NE Coalition of Neighborhoods received a land-use notice that proposes the total demolition of Lloyd Center. In addition, there are proposals to keep certain parts of the center intact, such as the ice- skating rink. Another Land Use project proposal she recently received is to improve MLK Blvd to better serve the community which includes potential parking along MLK. Anjala notes that the deadline for giving feedback is on a very short notice. More information about this project is at https://www.portland.gov/transportation/pbot-projects/construction/ne-mlk-jr-blvd-safety-and-access-transit-project

Treasurer’s Report – Melissa via Zoom.

There is currently $2219. 41 in account. Of this, $285 remains from our NECN 2025 Communications Grant. Melissa is still working on Venmo log-in problames. She also noted that PZ still has to go to the bank to get on the WNA bank account. PZ asked Melissa for financial forecasts for events we have scheduled for the coming year based on costs and expenses from last year. Here are the specifics:

$250 for egg hunt.
$1053 on food at National Night Out. We won’t be able to borrow the grill from For Good and Co. this year, so the grill rental is roughly $200. We have paid extra to remove the grill in the past which may bump the costs up to circa $350. $500 spent on entertainment.
$375 for movie rental for Movie in Parking Lot. For Good cannot commit to supporting this event right now. Attendance was not great last year. PTA has a movie night so maybe we can team up and do something with them.

Farmers Market Update – Keith

Keith noted that there is $10,855 in account and newly-formed FM committee will work to “turn these seeds into plants.” We also need to find out when the next payment for the Farmers Market website is due.

Secretary’s Report – Nancy

Nancy checked with Shelly Caldwell who hosts our Go Woodlawn website for free. The only “fee” we currently pay is $20 for the annual Go Daddy cost. Shelly also believes that we can use the NECN Communications Grants for expenses related to ongoing website upgrades and related purchases.

Outreach and Community Engagement Report – Linde

We currently have over 1000 signups for our newsletter. Linde is concerned that the newsletter may be landing in people’s spam boxes. If you think you are not getting the regular newsletter, send e-mail to info@gowoodlawn.com. Linde is open to folks helping out with the newsletter—reach out if you are interested.

NECN Report — Anjala

The board has been going through turmoil! But NECN held the ABCs of Land Use workshop and may do more of them in the future because this one was well-attended. Sponsoring ABCs of Land Use workshops quarterly. A slide deck on NECN of the workshops is on the NECN website website as a resource for the community.