2005-09-20

HIDDEN SPRINGS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION DRAFT MINUTES MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 20, 2005 CALL TO ORDER. The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM at the West Linn Adult Community Center by Acting President, Lynn C. Fox. Other officers in attendance: Charles Lytle, Interim Secretary, Donna Baker, Treasurer. QUORUM DATA. Eligible members in good standing as of the previous meeting: 42. At 10% rounded up to the nearest whole number, the quorum for this meeting was 5. The number of eligible members in good standing in attendance at the start of the meeting was 18, including three new members. Therefore, the meeting stands as an official meeting of the Neighborhood Association. GUEST SPEAKERS. Ken Worcester, Director of Parks and Recreation, City of West Linn Amy Cleary, Clackamas County Dispute Resolution Center MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 16, 2005 MEETING. When the question was placed to approve the July 2005 draft minutes, it was noted from the floor that the draft minutes did not contain the motion and carrying vote to re-institute self-introductions at the beginning of the meetings. The Interim Secretary stated he would insert the missing information and bring the corrected draft August minutes to the October 2005 meeting. TREASURER’S REPORT. Balance as of 8/16/05 = $1,070.17 POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT. HSNA Committee Representative Harvey Schultz reported that the committee approved a letter to be sent by the current chair, Bill Hewitt, to the Mayor and City Council to change the basic structure of the committee. In brief, the letter recommended that: (1) the committee be reduced from its current size of 14 citizen members to 10; (2) the citizen members be chosen by the Mayor and City Council from a general pool of applicants rather than having each neighborhood association nominate a member for consideration. The rationale for the change was to broaden the scope of citizen participation. Although the previous system would technically give the broadest possible base, lack of participation by some of the committee members nominated by the neighborhood associations and the unwillingness of a few of the neighborhood associations to even forward the name of a nominee actually worked against establishing this broad base. The new system would appoint citizens from a pool of those who applied for and expressed a specific interest in the Police Advisory Committee. A discussion ensued during which it was postulated that underneath this altruistic motive lurked an attempt to disenfranchise nominees from neighborhood associations who were at odds with the current administration. TRAFFIC SAFETY COMMITTEE REPORT. No report. OLD BUSINESS. (1) HSNA Acting President Lynn Fox reported that the website WestLinnAlert.org was up and running. The focus of the website is to be an information clearinghouse for the latest news of City actions affecting all West Linn citizens. (2) Jack Simpson reported that he attended the first Planning Department pre-application hearing and thought that the process went really well. Any citizen of West Linn may attend, but active participation is limited to those citizens living in the neighborhood association boundaries within which the application property is situated or living in any neighborhood association whose boundary is adjacent to the affected association. NEW BUSINESS. (1) Because several Association members had previously expressed an interest in an HSNA newsletter, Acting President Fox suggested that members think about size, content, and frequency and then return at the next meeting prepared to discuss details. (2) Acting President Fox also related that members had also asked her about when and how the Association could begin developing a neighborhood plan. She said she would raise the issue with City staff and report back to the membership at the next meeting. HSNA Draft Minutes Meeting of September 16, 2005 Page 2 GUEST SPEAKER KEN WORCESTER. Acting President Lynn Fox introduced the speaker topic by pointing out a large display of color photographs of the greenbelt that runs behind the houses on the south side of Palomino Way. Pictured were structures, piles of wood and building materials, discarded bottles and trash, growths of blackberries, gardens, and even areas where all vegetation had been killed. Mr. Worcester began his talk by explaining that the greenbelts in the Hidden Springs area were originally platted as horse trails, reflecting the original use of the area when it was Hidden Springs Ranch. The greenbelts are all City property and are part of a new, multi-year initiative by the City to clean them up and develop them into fully functional walking trails or paths. The first step in the process will be to notify residents whose yards abut the trails that the City will assist them in cleaning up the trails by providing drop boxes and City and volunteer labor. The initial phase will be voluntary in the hope that residents will see value in having a City-maintained greenbelt trail adjacent to their property. The second phase will be a mailing to the same residents to see if they have in the past encroached upon any greenbelt trails and urge them to remove any structures, stored items such as woodpiles or building materials, etc. The City may decide to create a permit system for gardens, with limits as to size and incursion distance into City property and with the understanding that the City would be the final arbiter in disagreements. Mr. Worcester also explained that the so-called “seven-year rule” in which incursions into or onto public lands become the property of the citizen after seven years is a myth. No such law exists in Oregon. Finally, Mr. Worcester announced that there would be a City-sponsored cleanup of the Palomino Way greenbelt Friday through Sunday, October 21st through the 23rd. The city will supply large dumpsters at each end of the greenbelt, and citizens are urged clean up the greenbelt areas directly adjacent to their property. GUEST SPEAKER AMY CLEARY. Ms. Cleary explained the services of the Clackamas County Dispute Resolution Center, which is focused on mediation and conflict resolution between neighbors and between citizens and local government. Mediation is considered to be a shared problem-solving process in which the Center does not take sides or make judgments in disputes or tell participants what they should do. Mediation services between neighbors is confidential and available at no cost. Center volunteers host the mediations, take notes, facilitate open and constructive dialogue, and provide follow-up and ongoing assistance. She emphasized that Center volunteers will NOT force remedies and that agreements must be made only by the participants. The scope of their services includes: landlord/tenant, employee/employer, consumer/merchant, neighborhood/neighborhood, animal problems, property damage and maintenance, noise, boundary disputes, etc. Their contact number is (503)655-8850. NEXT MEETING DATE TO BE OCTOBER 18, 2005 Motion To Meet In September – Charles Lytle Second To The Motion – Gary Hitesman Vote On The Motion – 8 Yea, 0 Nay, 1 Abstentions ? Motion Carried ADJOURMENT. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 PM by Acting President Lynn C. Fox DRAFT MINUTES RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY C.R. LYTLE