Community

When: Sun, Apr 24, 2022 1PM-5PM

Where: Rockwood Market Hall
Get Map!

The People's Market at Rockwood hosted by Play Grow Learn will showcase goods from vendors of all cultures. Produce and homemade goods from local Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) producers and growers will be featured, as well as:

• Healers who specialize in food and herb wellness
• Healthy services
• Farm-to-table meals and snacks
• Local organizations led by or serving BIPOC communities
• Double dollars offered on fresh produce items with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program/Electronic Benefit Transfer (SNAP/EBT).

During the cooler months, the market will operate inside the Rockwood Market Hall. During the warmer months, it will extend outdoors into the public plaza and will feature nearly 40 vendors.

Get there

• MAX: the Rockwood Market Hall is located just south of the Rockwood / East 188th MAX stop and is accessible on foot from both SE 185th and SE 187th avenues.
• Bus: a half block north of the TriMet Line 20, SE 187th and Stark bus stop.
• Drive: street parking is available nearby and parking is available in the Sunrise Center parking lot located just east of the 187th and Burnside intersection at 18901 E. Burnside St.

For more information, contact Germaine Flentroy, Market Coordinator, at 503-719-1821 or gflentroypgl@gmail.com.

Spring Meeting Notice When: Mon Mar 14, 2022 7PM-8:30PM Where: Online meeting via Zoom (Zoom Link Coming Soon) (New to Zoom? Go to https://zoom.us/join) Dial-in Zoom +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 864 2480 4501 Passcode: 061657

Neighborhood Meeting, Everyone's Invited

Join Your Neighbors. Get involved. Make a difference!

Save the date
Be sure to save Monday Mar 14th at 7PM for the Wilkes East Neighborhood 2022 Spring Meeting.

Agenda

• Downtown Rockwood update.
     Emily Bower, City of Gresham
• NE 172nd Avenue concerns.
  Clackamas to Columbia Project (181st Ave).
     Chris Strong, City of Gresham
     Transportation Division Manager
• Q & A
• Neighborhood news and more

Who should attend?
Participation is open to all residents who live, own property or a business, organization, church or government agency within our boundaries

Be Part Of Your Community. Plan To Attend.

Watch for these red & white Meeting Signs the week before our meeting. The signs were purchased with assistance of the City of Gresham Neighborhood Grant Program, and with volunteer hours to set them out and retrieve them. Signs Now NW also made a generous contribution to this project.

Mark your calendar. See you there!

Questions or comments?
Contact Wilkes East Neighborhood by email at info@wilkeseastna.org, or by postal mail to: Wilkes East Neighborhood, 17104 NE Oregon St, Portland Oregon 97230

NE 172nd Avenue at NE Clackamas St, Gresham, Oregon

By Sheena Raab
Wilkes East Resident

Neighbors have been increasingly aware of the on-going high speed traffic on NE 172nd Avenue, as well as cars cutting through cross streets such as Wasco, Pacific, and Oregon. In the past, efforts have been made by past WENA councils to address the issues with the City of Gresham. Traffic measures have been put into place such as the speed advisory signs that flash during school hours. The fact remains that many of us, including myself, are concerned for pedestrian safety in our neighborhood, especially after a sedan crashed into the school yard of H.B. Lee Middle School this past fall.

On January 10, 2021, Chris Strong, Transportation Manager of the City of Gresham and Stacy Talus, Vice Principal of H.B. Lee Middle School joined the WENA board meeting to discuss concerns and options. Mr. Strong advised those present that more information would need to be gathered and a discussion would need to be opened with the Fire Department and City Emergency Services which use NE 172nd as an emergency route for call outs. He stated he would have his team collect traffic data to determine the average speed on the street to see if the current situation would meet the criteria for consideration to install any additional traffic calming measures, such as speed humps.

We are hopeful that Mr. Strong will be able to provide an updated report on his team’s findings and advise us of the next steps our community can take.

Please join us for our March Neighborhood Association Meeting to continue the discussion on our shared concerns and possible solutions.

NE 172nd Ave Summary Comparison courtesy of the City of Gresham,Transportation Division:

Congressman Earl Blumenaur and Gresham Mayor Travis Stovall tour Downtown Rockwood in 2021

By Emily Bower, Executive Director, City of Gresham

In 2003, Gresham voters approved the establishment of the Rockwood-West Gresham Urban Renewal Area authorizing the investment of $92 million into a 1,211 acre area in West Gresham. However, the urban renewal area will expire in 2023. This would leave approximately $37 million unutilized dollars due to delays from the Great Recession in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Gresham proposes extending the urban renewal district to 2029. The extra six years would allow the City to invest approximately $37 million in new projects and to continue funding projects in the Rockwood-West Gresham Renewal area. To date, urban renewal has brought in new development, businesses, schools, after-school youth programs, helped with storefront grants and apartment restoration. With a little more time, imagine the projects that could be tackled in the future – using money that is already set aside.

Urban renewal does not increase your property taxes.

How it works:

• It dedicates funds to an identified neighborhood so a city’s urban renewal agency can focus on improving the area.
• It is often used to provide infrastructure to help spur economic development.
• Urban renewal changes how the existing taxes paid on a property are divided out amongst different taxing districts like the City and Multnomah County.

• As public and private investment stimulates growth in the district and the value of properties improve, money becomes available to use on the projects.
• Urban renewal in Gresham can provide funding for projects sooner.

Boys and Girls Club, Rockwood ribbon cutting. Funded through Rockwood West-Gresham Renewal Plan. Photo: City of Gresham

For more information on this effort go to: https://greshamoregon.gov/Urban-Renewal/

Construction progress, Rockwood Market Hall. Photo: City of Gresham

By Emily Bower, Executive Director, City of Gresham

Following the opening of The Lumen Building in 2021, this Spring the City of Gresham and the Gresham Redevelopment Commission is excited to announce the opening of The Downtown Rockwood Market Hall.

The Market Hall will be a 39,000-square-foot indoor marketplace and will feature local, fresh and ethnic food alongside handmade, artisanal goods. There will be micro-restaurants and micro-retail stores, ethnic groceries, a commissary kitchen for rent with cold storage, and office space. The Market Hall plans for a soft opening in March with an open air pop-up market hosted by The People’s Market.

Diverse vendors of all cultures will be showcasing their goods during this market. Visit peoplesmarketrockwood.org for more information. A formal grand opening will follow in early May. The Market Hall is already 80% occupied with tenants. Space remains available for market grocers, a coffee shop and office tenants.

Oregon Tradeswomen building completed 2020. Photo: City of Gresham

Learn more about leasing opportunities at downtownrockwood.com or email info@downtownrockwood.com.

Spring 2022 Newsletter "Diversity, Harmony, Community - Together 'WE' can make a difference!”

Read it now!

Spring 2022 Newsletter Inside This Issue: Speeding on NE 172nd Ave Meet Gresham’s City Manager Wilkes East Land-Use Update Proposed Urban Renewal Extension Gresham Charter Review Committee

Download your copy here. (includes active web links)

Newsletters are a regular publication of the Wilkes East Neighborhood Association. They are hand-delivered to over 1,500 residences and businesses in our area 3 times per year, timed to correspond with our general meetings.

View archive   |   Policy & Ad Rates

Get Your Green On! Volunteers Needed When: Sat Nov 20, 2021 9:30AM-12PM Where: Nadaka Nature Park 17615 NE Glisan St Gresham, OR Get Map!

Volunteer!
Come lend a hand to restore a healthy habitat at Nadaka Nature Park with the City of Gresham's Annual No Ivy Day Saturday, November 20th at 9 AM! We will be removing English Ivy and other invasive plants from the 10 acre forested portion of the park and planting new native plants!

Parking in St. Aiden’s Church lot adjacent to the park.

• Arrive 9:15 to 9:30
• 9:30 to 10 am: Introductions, instructions and safety training
• 10 am to Noon: Ivy removal/sword fern planting

*Twenty volunteers needed *Masks must be worn *Bring gloves if you have them, water bottle, sturdy shoes, rain gear

We provide: tools, extra gloves, extra masks, sanitizer

RSVP: Keri.Handaly@GreshamOregon.gov.

More Info
For more information email Keri.Handaly@GreshamOregon.gov.

Fall Meeting Notice When: Mon Nov 08, 2021 7PM-8:30PM Where: Online meeting via Zoom Click here to Join Meeting (New to Zoom? Go to https://zoom.us/join) Dial-in Zoom +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) Meeting ID: 864 2480 4501 Passcode: 061657

Neighborhood Meeting, Everyone's Invited

Join Your Neighbors. Get involved. Make a difference!

Save the date
Be sure to save Monday Nov 8th at 7PM for the Wilkes East Neighborhood 2021 Fall Meeting.

Agenda

• Kevin Dahlgren, City of Gresham, Homeless Services
• Mary Ann "Miki" Herman, New CEO of Ablertina Kerr
• Election of Officers
• Q & A
• Neighborhood news and more

Who should attend?
Participation is open to all residents who live, own property or a business, organization, church or government agency within our boundaries

Be Part Of Your Community. Plan To Attend.

Watch for these red & white Meeting Signs the week before our meeting. The signs were purchased with assistance of the City of Gresham Neighborhood Grant Program, and with volunteer hours to set them out and retrieve them. Signs Now NW also made a generous contribution to this project.

Mark your calendar. See you there!

Questions or comments?
Contact Wilkes East Neighborhood by email at info@wilkeseastna.org, or by postal mail to: Wilkes East Neighborhood, 17104 NE Oregon St, Portland Oregon 97230

A weather update from WENA's in-house meteorologist, Garret Hartung:

As you might have heard by now, or seen on your favorite weather app/source, it’s gonna get hot this weekend. For the past several days, forecast models have been painting a dire picture for the PNW. An anomalously strong ridge of high pressure is looking to park itself over the Pacific Northwest over the weekend, paving the way for temperatures to meet or exceed records for the month of June, and potentially making a run at the hottest temperatures ever recorded in our region. For reference the highest temperature recorded in June for Portland is 102F, with the all time high temperature record being 107F. After Monday, temperatures look to calm down a bit and get back into the lower 90’s, but it will remain very dry.

So how hot will it actually get?
NWS Portland (at the time I’m writing this) is going with high temperatures at PDX of 104 for Saturday, 108 for Sunday, and 103 for Monday. Temperatures at night will be warm as well providing little relief, with some places failing to dip below 75. To me, these seem like good values to make your plans off of. However there is the a fair amount of potential for it to be even hotter. Should things line up perfectly (thermal trough parked in perfect place, offshore/downslope flow, no high clouds or smoke) there is the potential for Portland to exceed 108 and possibly even 110!

“Ok it’s gonna get hot like it usually does in the summer, why should I care?”
While tornadoes, hurricanes, and other violent forms of weather often take the top news headlines, a relatively silent killed lurks under blue skies and sunshine. According to the CDC over 650 people each year die from exposure to extreme heat and the medical complications that come with it.

Click to enlarge

Here in the PNW, many are not blessed with air conditioning. This weekend will be brutal to outright dangerous for those without it. Even potentially deadly to our more vulnerable populations. On top of that, this event is happening right before the 4th of July holiday, with dry conditions persisting throughout the week leading up to it. This is setting the stage for downright scary fire conditions. There is also some concern regarding lightning in the coming week in our higher terrain. Bottom line is that this heatwave can be deadly in itself, and will likely lead to prime conditions for fires.

Some recommendations:

• Check on friends, neighbors, family, especially those who don’t have AC and/or are particularly vulnerable to excessive heat
• Do not leave pets, children, or really anything you really care about in your car. Temperatures inside can reach deadly levels within minutes in this kind of heat.
• Avoid staying outside for long periods of time. If you have to, bring a lot of water and use shade frequently. Wear loose fitting lightly colored clothes.
• Stay hydrated, drink lots of water and not too many sugary, caffeinated, and/or alcoholic beverages.
• Even if you have AC, have a backup plan in case of power outages.
• Know the signs of heat stroke and heat exhaustion. It can save someone's life. See www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat for more information.
• Reconsider stocking up on fireworks for 4th of July. I personally don’t think it’s worth the fire risk, even in the city. The fire danger could get to the point where counties ban them due to the risk of fire.
• If you live in a fire zone, have a plan if a fire breaks out near by.
• Be kind to each other. Heat like this is stressful and a lot of people will be struggling to get some sleep during this period.

Stay safe and stay smart my friends!

Free Hands-On Event When: Tue, May 11, 2021 6PM-7:30PM Where: Gresham Japanese Garden Main City Park Get Map!

Join members of the Friends of the Gresham Japanese Garden for a free class in the greenhouse. Learn about native host plants for butterflies and how to create a pollinator yard.

Register for Pollinators for Your Yard

All classes and workshops follow COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines. Masks are required.

Learn more about the Gresham Japanese Garden or email info@GreshamJapaneseGarden.com.