By Liz Kelly-Campanale
At the October 11 Neighbors West Northwest (NWNW) coalition board meeting, City administrators shared information about the current plan to place the Neighborhood Association support structure under the same umbrella as the city’s homeless services and safety programs, in a new entity called Portland Solutions.
The feedback from those present at the meeting was clear—Neighborhood Association leaders do not feel that it is a good idea to organize the neighborhood program into the same entity as these other programs.
As a neighborhood whose primary concerns are environmental concerns, land use, and traffic safety, I have concerns that those issues would not receive the appropriate level of attention because of the amount of focus on homelessness and safety.
As a coalition, NWNW proposes that the neighborhood program be grouped under the administrator for community and economic development, along with Portland Prosper, which supports the city’s small business program.
Action Alert
NWNW asks that Neighborhood Associations email the five city council members to express that we do not want to be grouped under Portland Solutions. Though the City Council is rushing to make a decision on October 18, prior to publication of this newsletter, the Linnton Neighborhood Association will consider adopting the following letter at our November 1st meeting. We also encourage individuals to email all five City commissioners.
See sample message to City Council: https://tinyurl.com/2nnkh3mt
The City administrators also proposed under the new voter approved city government structure we will be moving from 7 neighborhood coalitions to 4 (one for each of the 4 new city quadrants). It seems likely that NWNW will be taking over all the westside neighborhoods, in addition to 2 on the east side. They have asked each neighborhood to designate someone to serve on a transition committee to draft recommendations on what that will look like. They will start meeting next month.
For more information:
Email message from Office of Commissioner Dan Ryan on restructuring, Sept 25, 2023: https://tinyurl.com/msfpc7aj
Slide deck – City’s Neighborhood Listening Session on Upcoming City Organization Chart, Oct. 2, 2023: https://tinyurl.com/a9ccn25p
Details on NWNW’s board position, Oct 5, 2023: https://tinyurl.com/9xz6e9cr