Minutes for April 2026 WNA General Meeting

2026-04-30

Minutes for April 2026 WNA General Meeting

Woodlawn Neighborhood Association General Meeting Agenda

Tuesday, April 7, 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 March meeting notes. (6:40)

Melissa makes a motion to approve the March minutes. Linde seconds. All are in favor. March minutes are approved.

Woodlawn Street Plaza Updates – John T. (5 minutes) (6:45)

Woodlawn NA has been accepted for a pilot street plaza on Durham by Firehouse and Campana starting in May 2026. First up, cleaning, painting then move into design phase. There will be no permanent structures for now. If all goes well with the pilot project, then the plaza will become permanent. There is a poll for choosing a name for the plaza at menti.com. Enter 66431051 and vote ASAP. Four potential names—Woodlawn Plaza, Dekum Plaza, Dekum Triangle, Woodlawn Yards (homage to history).

Sam Montanaro, a Woodlawn resident and graphic designer who works in marketing, spoke about ideas for the plaza street painting. Street painting—Sam Montanaro is the graphic designer and in marketing world. She is willing to volunteer her expertise to help us get an approved design. We can only do 50% asphalt painting coverage with a plaza. She will work on and circulate a design that incorporates the spirit of Woodlawn’s history, the farmers market, etc. and circulate it to the board. Send your ideas to her via e-mail: samanthamontanaro@gmail.com.

NET Updates (Woodlawn Rep) – Ethan (10 minutes) (6:55)

The Neighborhood Emergency Team program (NET) is back up and running. Ethan offered an update of the Vernon/Woodlawn Net Report. The idea behind NET is to give folks in the neighborhood core training so that those folks can do the “heavy lifting
that a single fire station in a number of neighborhood cannot possibly do on the day of an emergency. We are combining with Vernon; at present there are around 41 people available. Other updates—Rebuilt ham radio communications bike. Now have better batteries and internet. Neighbor Sebastian down by Woodlawn Schools into Mesh radios as a way for us to communicate. NET folks and the cool bike have been attending the monthly Farmers Market in Classic Foods.

May 30, 2026, there will be city-wide deployment exercise re: earthquake preparedness from 1 pm to 4 pm. The Woodlawn Park Staging is at the basketball courts along NE Dekum. The NET teams are going to enlist Spontaneous Unaffiliated Volunteers to participate use during the exercise. Update on the old NET/BEECN storage boxes. Unfortunately, ours was stolen; it will be replaced by insurance.

Open Board Seats – At-Large positions Currently Open, Treasurer October Opening, Secretary October Opening – PZ (7:05)

Nancy and Melissa will be moving into at-large positions in October.

PZ nominates James Yarger to join the board. All approve. James joins the board as an at-large member.

Woodlawn Farmers Market – Committee Update PZ/Keith (10 minutes) (7:15)

- Committee Updates

PZ reports that there are now a dozen community members on the standing committee. Let PZ know if you’d like to join that the committee. It is ad hoc—so far, there has been 1 in-person and 1 online meeting. The participants are trying to do as much via e-mail as possible.

- Volunteer at the Farmers Market Volunteer WFM online option available for Farmers Market Shifts. Copy/Paste Link Option: https://signup.com/go/VDbqVYu

Presently there are 24 vendors at the monthly market in Classic Foods.

Finances: $6000 in account right now. $8000 coming in, $6000 used to hire folks to help on day of market operations. More vendors signed up this year’s outdoor market for than last year. The market needs about $36K to run an annual market. We are currently in good shape to get us to October 2026. Sam M. is interested in helping with grant writing.

Saturday, April 11^th, there will be a Seed Gardening event from 11 am to 2 pm. Joy is managing the grant for the seed event. The event includes numerous donations including from Portland Nursery and Liz Blaylock. Donated soil. Liz Blaylock. Starter mix, seeds, hoping for 50 people. Donating from seed library. The g rant is to help people learn how to grow food from seed and then learn, in the fall, learn how to save seeds. Need volunteers to help set up at 10 AM and to take photographs to share with starts at 10 AM. Extra hands to help at 10 AM? Take pictures of the events to share with East Multnomah Soil and Water District who gave the grant. There is a link to signup.com in the newsletter for folks interested in volunteering.

Page on standing committee for the Farmers Market is going to develop a paper sign-up form that we will start having here at this WNA monthly meeting and at weekly Farmers Market information booth as well.

Angela T. and others are interesting in creating posts in high traffic zones throughout the neighborhood to spread the word about WNA and WFM events. Need someone with tools to create these items. If interested, let PZ know that you can help. Also, if you live in a high-traffic zone, let PZ know if you are open to having a yard sign in your own yard.

Next Events – April Solve Clean Up Jill Updates (5 minutes) (7:25)

Jill is taking over the Woodlawn cleanup. Working with SOLVE. Do with the Buy Nothing groups. April 25, 2026, from 10 am to noon. Kids and dogs welcome.

Should we plan a monthly social at a local restaurant or business for April or May? – PZ (7:35)
Time for Neighbor Open Comments (7:40)

Event—Ainsworth Linear Arboretum Dedication April 25^,2026, starts at 9 am with assorted events after. Meet at NE Ainsworth and NE 19^th.

Bri Williams—running for District councilor. She will get us some information about her positions.

April 21, 2026, at 3:30 pm is the hearing about the demolition and tree hearing on Zoom. The more attendees we have, the more help we can get to drive the effort to save the tree. If the neighbors can get another 60-day extension, the developer may walk away. There is a QR code for folks to join the meeting.

*Feel free to leave or stay for Board business!

7:40 – 8:00 Board Business

Chair Updates – PZ

PZ proposed that we move the meeting social time to start 6:15 and end 6:30pm. This would encourage folks to help set-up the chairs and tables and socialize at the same time.

PZ suggests that once every quarter, it might be fun for the WNA board meeting to be at one of the Woodlawn neighborhood businesses. Good Neighbor has offered to let us meet there in May. We will bring speakers and mikes so we can project. Sam will investigate the possible use of the Ps & Qs patio for our July WNA meeting.

Next agenda will reflect social time happening a bit later in the hour before board business.

Vice Chair Updates – Joy

Joy rearranged Google Drive to make more logical sense. She also wants to create orientation pieces to help new folks. We need list of contacts and names, how-tos, who checks and responds to e-mails, website. We might want to revisit switching from biz to non-profit. And to set up separate Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer and Secretary e-mails. Joy will be coming up with a list of questions to develop an orientation for new board members and other volunteers.

Treasurer’s Report – Melissa

Venmo is still a hot mess. Can’t use it anymore. Reached out to Ansel to shut down the Venmo if possible. Need phone number attached to charity account. Have to shut down the old Venmo and then start a new one.

2025 taxes and other necessary compliance stuff has all been reported to NECN. Question: What is the official way of handling cash donations?

Melissa applied for the annual NECN Communications Grant. Melissa talked to them and we should get the $1000.

PZ still needs to get to the bank and make changes to the Farmers Market accounts including a one-time visit to do docusign at Beneficial Bank.

$1880.69 is our current WNA bank balance. Dave is owed $145 for Easter Egg event.

If anyone has fundraising ideas, send them PZ’s way. Creative ones and regular donations. A call-to-action in the next newsletter. Can we do an Amazon wish list?

Farmer’s Market Finance Update – Keith

PZ gave this update above.

Land Use and Transportation Report – Anjala

Crosswalk has magically appeared on NE 15^th and NE Morgan. Great news!

City accepted the about the tree/property appeal on NE Liberty. This is a major win for the neighborhood because of James and crew.

Guthrie, University of Oregon grad student has created a how-to document about how to start a hybrid WNA meeting. Thanks, Guthrie!

Exploration of possible parking on MLK is under discussion.

NECN Updates – Anjala

NECN folks have recently stepped up. Folks who want to save Lloyd Center and appealed city decision to demolish it. Fast fundraising from Save Lloyd is currently happening.

Secretary’s Report – Nancy

Nancy will be working to transfer official records and files to Joy’s newly organized shared Google drive. Thanks, Joy, for taking over this task and cleaning up our folders.

Outreach and Community Engagement Report – Linde

Mail Chimp has attracted bot signups. It would be good to pay for a more premium Mail Chimp. $45 a month for the options. Melissa will investigate other options.

May 2026 meeting –

List next months/future topics here

Fundraising. In-kind donations.

When do we start planning for NNO/POP? Who wants to chair the event? Free permit from Party On Portland for this event. Need to fundraise for this event.