2019 Rosemont Summit Neighborhood Association Annual Report

Neighborhood Association –

Rosemont Summit Neighborhood Association

Group Leadership –

• Abby Farber, President
• Vice President – Vacant
• William Ramirez, Secretary
• Stephanie Scott, Treasurer

Meeting Times, Dates & Location –

We meet once a month, every month, on the first Thursday of each month from 7:00 – 8:30 PM (unless rescheduled due to holidays.) Our meetings take place at the West Linn Adult Activity Center.

We had 12 business meetings in 2019, and one special meeting on a Saturday in April – we were experimenting with holding meetings on a weekend. All our minutes and agendas are posted on our web page that is part of the City’s web site.

2019 Accomplishments –

• Parks and Beautification

1. Sahallie Illahee Park – Major invasive species removal, barking the paths. Gave feedback to Parks Department on design of new play area. Left to be done – planting, grand opening of the playground. Ibach Nature Park – ditto!
2. Wilderness Park – we are supporting Susan Tarvin and Bill Wilkens who have adopted Wilderness Park. We’ve provided money to pay for supplies for clean-ups and participated in some.
3. We provided the Rosemont Heights HOA with funds to plant at the entrances to their neighborhood.

• Communication

1. Sent postcards to all residents of RS neighborhood about what we do.
2. Started a Facebook page, regular posting on that, other FB pages and Nextdoor Regular outreach to NAP, other NA’s.
3. Expanded our MailChimp mailing list from about 50 to 95 subscribers. We send at least one (usually more) newsletters to subscribers each month.

• Neighborhood Signs

1. Under the leadership of John Walker, we have located 2 spots for signs iD’ing the neighborhood. We’ll have a design competition in January and get them installed – the City has agreed to pay for 2.

• Governance and Leadership

1. David Baker stepped down after several years of great service as well as the other officers (we hold elections every 2 years) 3 new officers were elected at the May meeting – Bill Ramirez, Secretary, and Stephanie Scott, Treasurer, and Abby Farber, President.  We need a Vice President.
2. We updated our bylaws and passed them.
3. Our President has attend the Neighborhood Association President’s group regularly, and is now serving as Secretary of that group.

• Land Use Planning

1. We kept up-to-date on various land use issues – Stafford Basin, others
2. Shannon Lane – we had TWO presentations on land use at the Shannon Lane development; both attended by the builder/owner. The meetings were quite cordial We approved a resolution and informed the Planning commission of our desires about a proposed trail in the area. Since that time no further development has occurred.
3. We also attended a preliminary land use meeting (involving a change in a lot line) on Haverhill.

• Public Safety

1. Judy Weichmann of the WL Public Safety Advisory board made a presentation about Map Your Neighborhood.

• Community Education and Involvement

1. The West Linn Lake Oswego Village group (Christine Kennedy) made a presentation about the village movement which allows people to remain living in their homes as they age.
2. We donated $100 to the Lions Club to honor First Responders at the Old-Time Fair. The City Manager made a presentation about their role in City Government.
3. We hosted a non-partisan presentation about the School Bond
4. We collected the most toys of any NA for a toy drive.
5. We heard from members who had attended other meetings, including about the Waterfront Project, Streetscapes Improvement, City Council meetings and other events.

2019 Challenges –

1. Membership – we average about 10 people per meeting; that number has increased from about 5-6 per meeting at the start of the year, so on the one hand, that’s a plus….but on the other hand 10 is pretty low. We will continue our goal of reaching out to more residents and offering events/speakers that attract a wider base. We’d also like to attract more new residents, as well as residents with school-age children.
2. Vacancy – We don’t have a Vice President – which hasn’t stopped us from doing things, but in case the President has to miss a meeting it would be good to have back-up.

2020 Goals –

We held a goal-setting session as part of our December meeting – members agreed on the following goals (listed below, not in order of any importance)

1. Public Transportation – We’d like to work with any appropriate group to advocate for better public transportation service in our neighborhood – especially getting access to the 35 bus “downhill.” We also want to support the plan for installing a light at Pimlico and Route 43.
2. Community Garden – We’d like to explore establishing a community garden in our neighborhood, similar to what Robinwood has. We’ll see if we can do a flower or butterfly garden….or even add in fruits and veggies.  Location – TBD.
3. Sustainability (Environment) – We’ll invite speakers from the Sustainability Advisory Group and others to see what we can do to promote good environmental practices in RS.
4. Community Education on Social Services – we want to educate our members about how to access social services in West Linn, as well as what groups provide those services.  Perhaps we’ll create a “What Do I do When….” Guidebook – maybe couple that with a Disaster Preparedness checklist.
5. Parks and Neighborhood Beautification: We’ll continue our work on Sahallie Illahee Park and Ibach Nature Preserve. We’ll also look for opportunities for beautification at street intersections – planting, removal of ivy, etc. These efforts do attract a lot of residents as well as service organizations (Scouts, WLHS Honor Society, etc. via SOLVE.)
6. Emergency/Disaster Preparedness: We will continue to encourage residents to start Map Your Neighborhood efforts with their neighbors. We’ll also look at the program that the organization CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) offers. Ready/gov.cert We’ll also consider compiling a binder of resources.
7. Community Education about Local Government – Many of our residents are not well informed about various branches of government, as well as “who does what.” We’ve got the City Council, City Staff, Metro, Tri-Met, the County Commissioners, the Water Authority….and probably others. We’ll set up speakers to help educate residents.
8. Neighborhood Signs – We’ll finish this project, by holding a design competition for our logo, and working with the City to install the signs. Once they are installed, they’ll be a great place for us to plant with flowers.
9. Afterschool Activities for Teens – We’ll conduct a survey to see what activities are already available – and see what suggestions we can propose to the Parks Department and/or other groups to make sure our younger residents have activities after school.

Any additional feedback to share with the City Council?

We appreciate when Council members attend our meetings – you are always welcome. It would be great if at least one Councilor could attend each of our meetings. Perhaps the five of you could split these up among yourselves. I think it’s important for our residents to know that you are listening to us beyond reading this report.

2019 Use of Funds –

All expenditures were approved via resolutions passed at NA meetings.

2020 Potential Use of Funds –

1. Parks beautification – The NA has approved the sponsorship of a commemorative park bench at Sahallie Illahee Park that will honor Ken Worcester.  Cost - $1,000
2. Playground Opening Event – The NA will be involved in planning the celebration of the opening of the new playground at Sahallie Illahee Park. We intend to use funds to help pay for refreshments, signs, and other items that are not in the Parks Department budget.
3. Other – we have numerous goals for 2020 (see goals section) all of which may incur expenses – printing materials, providing plants, equipment and snacks/refreshments for parks projects and other events.

   For example, if we print a guide to West Linn social services and another for disaster planning for distribution to our neighbors, or fund neighborhood emergency kits for Map Your Neighborhood, we can fund these efforts. We also want to continue to support efforts such as the Lions Club and other neighborhood HoAs in beautifying their areas. We’re also going to do much more outreach to the community – perhaps with more events that have food and activities.