Sellwood Moreland Improvement League

JUNE 2024 SMILE Newsletter

Attempt to stay with SE Uplift thwarted

 

President Dugan announced that despite the near-unanimous votes of the four Southeast neighborhoods which had been scheduled to leave Southeast Uplift’s purview to be shifted to a Southwest coalition to stay with Southeast Uplift, and despite the city having an established and published process to accomplish this which all four involved neighborhoods had successfully completed, the city has now decided to deny it.

 

Apparently there is no way to appeal this decision, despite the fact that the choice of Coalition to be represented by has no relationship at all to the arbitrary assignment of the four neighborhoods to the west-side District 4 for voting for City Council candidates, which is based on population proportions. Had this move by the four neighborhoods been approved, all four City Coalitions would have received similar funding amounts per neighborhood, thus increasing the equity of the city’s new funding model; now the District 4 coalition will receive the same funding as the other three but will have way more neighborhood associations to spread it across. That fact was disregarded as well. The four neighborhoods – SMILE, ENA, Reed, and the Portland portion of Ardenwald – are all quite disappointed by this arbitrary city decision, which assigns each to a coalition in an entirely different part of the city.

 

 

Cut-through traffic in Sellwood still a major concern

 

Grant Huling arose, as Chair of the SMILE Transportation Committee, at the June SMILE General Meeting, to give an overview of PBOT’s Traffic Safety Assessment of S.E. 13th from Tenino to Knapp. The new assessment started with a SMILE petition, and SMILE’s elevated traffic concerns about S.E. 13th. The assessment is underway, and has been expanded to S.E. 17th Avenue near Linn Street. A second ticket has been opened for S.E. Milwaukie Avenue in north Westmoreland, where S.E. Milwaukie Avenue is accessed from McLoughlin Boulevard, near the Willamette Center owned by Multnomah County, and operated in service to homeless individuals by Transition Projects. Of concern is limited bike and sidewalk access in the vicinity.

Huling returned to the matter of the chronic problem of cut-through traffic in Sellwood, by motorists seeking to circumvent the Tacoma Street rush hour traffic backup to and from the Sellwood Bridge, resulting in much cut-through traffic on parallel residential streets.  The city has added speed bumps to address this problem, but it is still an issue. The long-planned Phase II study is needed to seek solutions for this chronic problem. S.E. 17th was mentioned as a concern from speeding motorists, and options were discussed.

 

 

2024 Board Members and Officers in place

 

The SMILE General Meeting for May took place on Wednesday, May 1st, 7:30-9 p.m., at SMILE Station, at S.E. 13th and Tenino (one block south of Tacoma Street), in Sellwood.  SMILE Station’s January ice-storm repairs are completed, and meetings are again being held there.

 

The May General Meeting mainly focused on the annual SMILE Board election. At least four two-year at-large Board seats were up for election or re-election, and four one-year Officer seats as well. The election was again overseen by the Southeast Neighborhood Coalition, Southeast Uplift.

At the conclusion of the SMILE Board Election process it supervised and counted the vote for, Southeast Uplift announced that all four SMILE officer positions were won again by those seeking re-election.

 

In the at-large Board Member election, all four incumbents were re-elected for a two-year term.  In the competition for the remaining partial Board seat term – to complete the second half of a two-year term of a Board Member who resigned in the middle of the term – the fifth-highest vote-getter in the election among those competing to join the SMILE Board turned out to be Jason Sturgill, so he was elected to the Board for one year until the May election in 2025, at which time he will have the same opportunity as any Board Member to run for re-election to a full two-year term.

 

SMILE President David Dugan personally contacted the several other candidates for these positions, thanked them for their candidacy, and urged them to get involved in SMILE – perhaps by joining one or more committees; certainly by attending SMILE meetings, and assisting in SMILE events and projects.  All are encouraged to consider running again for a Board seat next May, when there will be at least four at-large Board positions open, and all four officer positions as well.

 

Those who live in, work in, or own property in, either Sellwood or Westmoreland are automatically considered “members of SMILE” (unless they specifically don’t want to be, for some reason; there is no card to carry or dues to pay) – but only SMILE members can vote on motions in General Meetings, and only SMILE members can run for seats on the SMILE Board each May.

 

Summer concerts begin in Sellwood & Westmoreland

 

While Portland Parks & Recreation’s Summer Free for All program will present only a single concert in Sellwood – Kris Deelane and the Hurt in Sellwood Park on August 17th at 6:30 p.m. – the SMILE Summer Music Series will be putting on a half-dozen free shows this year. “This summer, we'll have six Saturday evening concerts; three in July starting on July 13, and three in August,” says organizer – and SMILE Board Member – Jim Friscia.

 

SMILE Summer Music Series schedule

Behind the Windermere Building (across from Fetch Coffee and the Sellwood-Moreland Post Office) along S.E. Rural Street at 16th Avenue, except as noted

 

July 13 at 7 p.m. – JT Wise Band ~ Guitar-driven “bluesy roots rock”

July 20 at 7 p.m. – Hank Sinatra ~ Performing some of the greatest songs ever written

July 27 at 7 p.m. – Mbrascatu ~ Bringing a rich fusion of Italian Folk, with the unique musical spirit of Portland

August 3 at 6:30 p.m. – Annette Lowman Quartet ~ Internationally-recognized jazz vocalist

August 4, all afternoon at “Sundae in the Park” in Sellwood Park, there will be two more live performances – by Padam Padam and by Swank Soul

August 10 at 6:30 p.m. – Picante ~ Traditional afro-Cuban music, and a fusion of Latin jazz

August 17 at 6:30 p.m. – in Sellwood Park: Kris Deelane and the Hurt ~ This powerhouse vocalist and her band were featured at the 2024 Waterfront Blues Fest.

August 24 at 6:30 p.m. – Lauren Sheehan & Terry Robb ~ Country blues traditions, from the deep south to the Pacific Northwest

 

SMILE strives to serve everyone in the neighborhood

A message from the President of SMILE: Over the last several months, the SMILE Board had been meeting to create a set of beliefs and values for the organization that will guide all our efforts to engage with, support, and represent, our growing and ever-diverse Sellwood-Westmoreland neighborhood. We are grateful for the guidance and support we received from the Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition in this process. We are proud to share an abridged version of our Beliefs and Values here, and we encourage you to visit us online -- http://www.sellwoodmoreland.org -- to read more.

Inclusion and Representation: At SMILE, we believe a strong and healthy community requires a diversity of voices, particularly in leadership roles, and we believe in representing all voices in our community.

Accountability: At SMILE, we believe that our policies, practices, and procedures should be consistent, transparent, and align with our values. We commit to being flexible and adaptable to community needs.

Equity: At SMILE, we believe in and are committed to being anti-racist. We recognize that our practices may have resulted in excluding some members of our community, and we pledge to learn from and correct our mistakes with humility and honesty.

Connections: We believe SMILE is only as strong as the community we represent, and the partnerships we nurture. We believe in prioritizing accessibility and fostering relationships among all residents to create a cohesive community. At SMILE we provide opportunities for our community to hear from one another and from a variety of perspectives. We commit to facilitating a safe space for respectful dialogue

Empowerment: We believe SMILE's role is to actively serve and inform the neighborhood.

Joy: At SMILE we use talents and resources, and collaborate with our community partners, to create opportunities for joy and celebration.

We hope our Sellwood and Westmoreland neighbors will join with us in these efforts.

Elaine O'Keefe, SMILE Past President

Simon Fulford, SMILE Past President

SMILE is a 501c3 nonprofit

Of the 95 recognized neighborhood associations in Portland, SMILE is one of the few to be authorized by the IRS as a nonprofit 501c3 organization. This means that donations made to SMILE are tax-deductible -- and are very welcome!

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THE 2024-25 SMILE BOARD OFFICERS (1-year terms)

President -- David Dugan

Vice President -- Elizabeth Milner

Treasurer -- Pat Hainley

Secretary -- Eric Norberg

 

AT-LARGE BOARD SEATS (2-year terms):

TERM EXPIRES 2025

Bob Burkholder

Tracy Fisher

Jason Sturgill  (elected in 2024 to complete the term of a member who resigned)

Elaine O'Keefe

TERM EXPIRES 2026

Zack Duffly

Jim Friscia

Grant Huling

Suzanne Kruse