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Our Neighborhood Association meets
the first Wednesday of Every Month, 6:30 pm,
at Mt. Scott Community Center- 5530 Southeast 72nd Avenue
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Quick Links:
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Future of Foster Road
A note from Bill Jackson of Meadows Group Realty:
"My neighborhood mission is to facilitate the economic redevelopment of the lower Foster road commercial corridor. By identifying the types of businesses and services residents would like to see and communicating that information to property owners, developers, lenders and city officials, it is possible to create new jobs and businesses, stimulate sustainable redevelopment and enhance livability".
Bill has been attending MSANA meetings for the last few months and would like to hear from neighborhood residents: What kind of businesses and services would you like to see move into our neighborhood on Foster Rd? What are the values you want these businesses to represent? Small businesses? Sustainable? Family friendly? Affordable? Something else? Please email Bill at bill@urbanpdxrealestate.com to weigh in on the future of our community!
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Greetings!
We're excited to introduce our first newsletter; we hope you find the contents informative and fun. Our goal is that this newsletter will fuel neighborhood participation and connection, so if you know people who live nearby that aren't connected with the neighborhood association please forward this email on to them! Do you have a story that illustrates why Mt. Scott-Arleta is a great place to live? A tidbit of neighborhood history to share? An event you would like publicized? An idea of what kinds of articles would be of interest to you in future newsletters? If so, please send an email to lisa anne ross at abritelight@riuseup.net Your contribution is greatly appreciated!
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Neighborhood Happenings
Southeast Easter Egg Hunt
Saturday, April 23rd | 10:30am sharp! | Mt. Scott Park
This annual event, which has taken place for years Woodstock Park is moving over to our neighborhood this year as we co-sponsor the event with the Woodstock Neighborhood Association. The Easter Bunny will be on site rain or shine, and we will be collecting canned goods for the Oregon Food Bank. Three cans are recommended though not required for entry. Come out with your little ones and enjoy the hunt! And if you're looking to get more involved volunteer slots are still available to to help stuff plastic eggs, prep the park on the morning of the hunt and stay around to help clean up. Contact Alyssa Agee at alyssaagee@gmail.com if you'd like to help. |
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Neighborhood Project
Our Happy Block Installs a Native Plant Garden
Project located between 80th and 82nd Ave along SE Martins Street on Calvary Lutheran Church's property
Volunteers gathered to create a new Native Plant Learning Garden on their block. Our Happy Block received a grant from East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District to fund the project. The garden is still in construction...Reynolds School is working on informational plaques so that visitors can learn the names of plants. Future Our Happy Block projects include: depaving 4,300 square feet of parking-lot asphalt then planting native plants; rain gardens to capture all the parking lot stormwater runoff; small neighborhood orchard; 50-foot x 20-foot mural and a neighborhood party! - Read about Our Happy Block's project here (Neighborhood Notes Article)
- Our Happy Block Coalition's Blog
- Contact Terah Beth to learn how you can improve the livability on your block
 | | Native Plant Garden Video |
by Terah Beth B Varga
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Neighborhood Association Board Elections
Board Elections are coming up!
May 4th | 6:30 pm | Mt. Scott Community Center
For more information on how to join the MSANA Board, please contact Alyssa Agee at alyssaagee@gmail.com
The neighborhood association board is comprised of a number of roles that have been established to serve the community as a whole. For someone interested in getting to know the Mt. Scott-Arleta neighborhood and it's residents better, a number of the roles explained below would be excellent opportunities to get involved.
Being on the board of the neighborhood association generally requires a 4-6 hours a month, more if you are on a sub-committee. The MSANA meets once a month for two hours and generally hosts one to two events per quarter, including selling concessions at Family Nights at the Mt. Scott Community Center or planning a Movie in the Park during the summer months. Below are brief descriptions of the current board positions to be filled in the May elections.
The roles of Chair and Vice-Chair provide direction for the association. They facilitate both general and board meetings, set the agenda and have the opportunity to welcome and follow up with new neighbors who attend the neighborhood association.
The Secretary provides organizational skills to the board at large. Specifically, the Secretary takes meeting minutes, disburses them to the neighborhood and then provides SE Uplift a copy. In the MSANA the Secretary is also the Chair of the Communications Subcommittee and as such oversees the communications budget and various outreach projects. This is a great role for any one who wants to help the NA gain more exposure and encourage increased participation. It's also an opportunity to discover what the neighborhood is interested in and what kinds of activities the NA can either provide or support.
All financial matters are the responsibility of the Treasurer. This role requires familiarity with basic accounting principles as this board member receives and distributes NA funds, tracks expenditures and reports to the board on a monthly basis.
The board has a Past Chair position who serves as a mentor and guide to the current Chair and Vice-Chair; a representative to the neighborhood coalition SE Uplift; and various At-Large members based on the interests of the neighborhood.
Currently the MSANA is looking for an someone interested in land-use issues and the Lents Urban Renewal corridor to serve as an At-Large board member. If you are interested in that position, or in creating an At-Large position to reflect your interests in revitalizing our neighborhood, please speak up!
by Alyssa Agee
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Welcome to the Neighborhood!
Yo Mama's Cafe
6504 SE Foster Road | (503) 432-8313
www.yomamascafe.com Hours:
M-F: 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM
Sat: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Sun: 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
Opened in March by owner Alicia Dahlan, a single mom of two kids and veteran of the coffee shop business, this friendly cafe is a delightful addition to the neighborhood. Clean, well decorated and comfy, it feels destined to become a favorite hangout for its lucky neighbors. Stumptown is the featured coffee, with a full selection of options in small, med and large (no confusing nicknames for sizes!) According to a recent visitor, "the Mocha was excellent." For tea lovers, they feature a nice selection of Tao of Tea loose teas, served in appropriate Chinese tea ware.
Light breakfast fare includes a variety of bagels with toppings (generous cream cheese!), breakfast sandwiches and a granola/yogurt/berry combo. Lunch offerings feature soup and sandwiches, and Yo Mama's manager Candace described plans for a pita plate and some amazing panini sandwiches in the near future. Kids will find PB&J on the menu, along with apples and other kid-friendly snacks. Small pastry case is always ready to provide a snack with the drink of your choice - with a few gluten free options included.
For techies, there is free wifi and ample outlets for electronic devices, especially in the booths. Everything about this place says we are here to make you comfortable and we aim to be your new favorite coffee shop, but the real show stopper is the KIDS PLAY ROOM! Enter through a kid-sized door and prepare to be enchanted by the giant sized leaves hanging overhead, the cool toys and the chalk wall. You will definitely have time for a re-fill or two before the kids are ready to leave.
Note: The Cafe's webpage mentions being part of the Foster-Powell neighborhood, and while we are perfectly willing to share, the Cafe is in the Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood!
Review by Phyllis Shelton |
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Neighborhood Happenings
Annual Neighborhood Cleanup
Saturday, May 7th | 9am to 2:30pm | Arleta Elementary School
(SE Raymond St between 64th and 66th Avenue)
Come to the annual Neighborhood Cleanup, sponsored by the Mt. Scott-Arleta and Foster-Powell Neighborhood Associations. If you haven't been to this before, it's held on the Arleta School blacktop and it's a fabulous opportunity to get rid of bulky waste you didn't know what to do with (broken furniture, old appliances, scrap wood, large discards, etc) as well as block foam, bike parts and tires. We will have lots of 30-yard dumpsters and areas for recycling everything that we can possible recycle. Prices vary from about $8 for a car load to $15-20 for a truck load and up to $25 for a super large load. All proceeds go to support neighborhood events such as National Night Out and Movie in the Park.
If you would like to volunteer to hand out flyers door-to-door in a small area or help unoad vehicles for a few hours at the event, you can bring a load of stuff to get rid of for free. Plus event volunteers are well fed throughout the day! It's a great way to meet neighbors, get involved with the community and feel good about getting so much junk out of the area.
For more information, or to volunteer, call Shawna at 503-771-3104
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Neighborhood Project
Join the Arleta Triangle Project!
 | | Arleta Triangle |
If you've ever walked or driven through the intersection of SE 72nd & Woodstock Boulevard, you probably noticed an unusual street pattern. A wide, sweeping curved road creates a triangular island of land. On that space are trees and plants as well as a decorative wall with a canopy. If you're like me, you probably went through this intersection frequently and occasionally wondered, "Who is in charge of this space?" The answer is: you are.
A little bit o' history: Streetcars can't make 90-degree turns, so an island was constructed for the Mt. Scott streetcar, which used that sweeping curve in the road until 1936 when many of Portland's streetcars disappeared in favor of gas-powered automobiles. At that time, the City of Portland acquired responsibility over the island and a neighborhood plan from 1996 assigned maintenance of the triangle to the Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Association. Most of us living in the neighborhood didn't know we had any stake in what happened on that island, but in spring 2005 a group of neighbors met at a neighborhood association meeting and decided found they were empowered to transform it into something new.
The group of neighbors asked the City of Portland to paint a crosswalk across that curved street but were told that a crosswalk would imply that walking across that street was safe, which according to the City, it wasn't. Rather than be discouraged, some in the group thought that making that site more aesthetically pleasing and pedestrian-friendly would bring car traffic speeds down. If drivers expect people walking or biking will be present, they will usually go slower.
It's now six years later, and this place, the Arleta Triangle, is still transforming. A small group of volunteers is working to make it a signature feature of our neighborhood and now is a great time to bring your energy to the project to support our neighborhood.
This spring and summer, several tasks are planned for the site, including maintenance of the decorative wall, building an information kiosk, planting food and other landscaping plants, and basic upkeep.
Work parties and events will be happening every day between May 27th and June 5th, 2011 as part of the Village Building Convergence. Work parties on the site are also planned for every last Saturday of the month through September. Help plant, maintain, or give guidance to the future of this site! Learn more at our blog or on Facebook (search for "Arleta Triangle Project"). If you are interested in lending your time and enthusiasm to this project please come on out to one of our work parties, or email Meghan at laurameg@teleport.com by Meghan Humphreys |
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Portland Eco-District Initiative
Lents EcoDistrict has changed to Foster Green!
Would you like to represent Mt. Scott-Arleta by participating on the
Foster Green steering committee? If so, contact Jalene (info below)
In 2009, the Portland Sustainability Institute, in partnership with the City of Portland, launched the EcoDistricts Initiative as part of the Portland region's broadening commitment to sustainability. The EcoDistricts Initiative is a comprehensive strategy to accelerate sustainable neighborhood development. An EcoDistrict is a neighborhood or district with a broad commitment to accelerate neighborhood-scale sustainability. EcoDistricts commit to achieving ambitious sustainability performance goals, guiding district investments and community action, and tracking the results over time.
What does this mean for Mt. Scott-Arleta? There are currently five EcoDistrict pilots, one of which encompasses the Lents Town Center Urban Renewal Area which in turn includes the portion of Foster Road that runs through Mt. Scott-Arleta.
"It is an exciting time! The name of the Lents EcoDistrict has changed to Foster Green, which signifies the focus on the Foster Road corridor and connection between the neighborhoods in the district." - Jalene Littlejohn, Foster Green EcoDistrict Engagement Coordinator  | | Portland Sustainability Institute introduces EcoDistricts |
Check out other EcoDistrict updates below:
What's been going on?
In January and February, we hosted initial stakeholder engagement sessions. Participants provided helpful feedback about engagement strategies, the name and focus area as well as steering committee structure. Our first steering committee meeting was held last Tuesday at SE Works. The energy in the room was positive and members are looking forward to the work of compiling the vision for the EcoDistrict from stakeholder input. If you are interested in the EcoDistrict steering committee, please contact Jalene Littlejohn.
- April Steering Committee Meeting Thursday, April 21, 2011 | 6:00 - 8:00pm
(contact Jalene for location)
What's next?
Public meetings and presentations:
We are currently planning a series of public events including two community listening sessions, a community visioning workshop as well as a number of presentations at neighborhood meetings and hosted engagement sessions. A calendar of events will be available soon. If you would like to host an engagement session at your home or business or request a presentation at a community meeting, please contact Jalene Littlejohn.
Scheduled presentations:
-Foster Powell Neighborhood Association: May 9, 2011
6:30 p.m. at Sweetness Bakery & Caf� - 3524 SE 52nd
-Lents Neighborhood Association: May 26, 2011
7:00 p.m. at Seventh Day Adventist Church - 8835 SE Woodstock
Youth engagement
Youth are an important piece of the community engagement and visioning process in the Foster Green EcoDistrict. We are developing a number of combined learning and visioning sessions for high school age youth through after school clubs and summer intern programs. To help reinforce the learning experience, we are looking for professionals interested in sharing expertise. The sessions can be individually tailored to a variety of fields like art, business, architecture, design, food, community organizing, etc. Are you interested in sharing your skills and helping youth envision a thriving and sustainable EcoDistrict? Contact Jalene Littlejohn for more information.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you have or input on the process. I look forward to talking to you!
Jalene Littlejohn
Lents Resident & Foster Green EcoDistrict Engagement Coordinator
Jalene31@gmail.com | 917.506.2972 |
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Thanks for reading! We hope your spring is blooming brightly!
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Sincerely,
lisa anne ross & Terah Beth
Mt. Scott-Arleta Neighborhood Association
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