1) Big week for Overlook Mural project
2) All Portland athletic fields closed
3) Help cleanup Overlook
4) Show off your garden
5) OKNA general meeting (Tuesday, March 15)
6) Help PBOT locate bike share stations
7) How clean should the Willamette River be? (Survey)
1) Big week for Overlook Mural project
The planned Overlook Mural continues to move forward. This week Miller Paint generously donated $1,500 worth of paint towards the project, and organizers held the second meeting of the Youth Artist Team.
The youth team met at the Rain Agency, which hosted the work meeting in their Pearl District space, to begin the creative process of designing the Overlook Mural.
Follow updates of the Youth Team’s progress online.
The mural project will be completed in late summer.  It will beautify the Overlook neighborhood, spotlighting our history and many beautiful green spaces.
Learn more about this exciting Overlook project.
2) All Portland athletic fields closed
Portland Parks & Recreation has closed all city-owned athletic and ballfields until at least Friday, March 18 due to safety concerns and saturated conditions related to continued rain. This closure impacts grass fields at PP&R sites and events that PP&R had permitted at Portland Public Schools facilities. On Thursday, PP&R will re-evaluate the grass fields and make a determination if the closures need to be extended, with user safety in mind. The citywide closure does NOT impact synthetic turf fields, which are designed for all-weather play.
Sustained rains and wet conditions across the city have left many PP&R athletic fields with standing water, mud, slippery turf and other poor conditions that could impact athletes’ safety. The heavy and seemingly unending rain has also hampered the ability for PP&R maintenance crews to care for the fields. Turf experts stressed the importance of preserving the grass at this time of the year, noting that damage inflicted now will be much harder to repair later in the year when more people are expected to use the fields.
All people who have been granted permits for events on athletic and ball fields will have their money refunded. Fields will also be closed for drop-in use.
Now that the sun is finally breaking out with some regularity, it’s time for some spring cleaning. The Overlook Neighborhood Livability Team gathers once a month for two hours to remove graffiti and clean up trash in our neighborhood. If you’d like to volunteer to make Overlook a better place for everyone, email graffiti@overlookneighborhood.org.
The team was out last week:
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East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District seeks hosts and volunteers for the 2016 Naturescaped Yards Tour on Saturday, May 14.
Hosting your yard is a fun way to share your gardening experience with other natural gardening fans. They are looking for a variety of garden sizes and types by do-it-yourselfers who have incorporated native plants, naturescaping concepts, and stormwater features into their landscape. If your yard is young, a work in progress, or only part of it is ready to show, that’s great! To apply to be a host, fill out our online questionnaire here. If your garden is selected as a potential stop on the tour, our Yard Tour Organizer Angela will contact you in late March to schedule a visit to your yard. Questionnaires must be submitted by Sunday, March 20th.
Volunteering on Yard Tour day is a great way to connect with other gardening enthusiasts. Organizers need help with day of tour preparations, greeting visitors, and post-tour clean up. Morning and afternoon shifts are approximately 3 ½ hours. If you are interested in joining the fun, click here and our Yard Tour Coordinator will contact you with additional details.
For more information, contact Angela at 503-935-5371 or angela@emswcd.org.
5) OKNA general meeting (Tuesday, March 15)
Join your neighbors on Tuesday to learn about what’s happening in Overlook Neighborhood. The March general meeting will focus on volunteer opportunities and ways residents can help from home. Meet the experts and learn about the barriers to opening shelter services and about the capacity of non-profits to assist the increasing homeless population in North Portland.
We will collect clothing and other donations for Transition Projects. For a list of items in high demand and other information, click on the image to the right.
OKNA General Meeting (agenda)
Tuesday, March 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Kaiser Town Hall Building (3704 N Interstate Ave.)
6) Help PBOT locate bike share stations
BIKETOWN is coming to Portland in July. Help Portland’s Bike Share program figure out where to locate stations for its initial rollout. Several possibilities are in Overlook along N Interstate Avenue. If you think the neighborhood should have better coverage, use the comments to tell planners.
An interactive online map is available. The map offers approximately 300 options for bike share station locations. Visitors to the map can view all the proposed station locations within the initial service area and provide comments.
Planners also will host a series of five public open houses. All members of the community are invited to comment online or participate in the following open houses.
Open House Dates and Locations:
- March 15 (Tuesday) – 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Hosford Middle School Cafeteria, 2303 SE 28th Place
- March 17 (Thursday) – Noon to 2:00 p.m., City Hall, Lovejoy Room, 1221 SW 4th Ave.
- March 30 (Wednesday) – 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Portland Building, 2nd Floor Rm C, 1120 SW 5th Ave.
- April 5 (Tuesday) – 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., Metropolitan Learning Center, 233 NW Glisan St.
- April 7 (Thursday) – 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Immaculate Heart Church, 2926 N Williams Ave.
7) How clean should the Willamette River be? (Survey)
The City of Portland is looking for your views on the Portland Harbor Superfund site.
Next month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will announce a proposed plan to clean up the Portland Harbor Superfund site in the Willamette River north of downtown Portland, a process that will affect all Portlanders.
Once the proposed plan is released, the city will submit a formal response. In preparation for that response, the city wants to hear from you. Please take a moment to share and your priorities and values for the cleanup of the Portland Harbor site through an online survey at Oregon’s Kitchen Table.
This anonymous survey, developed with the help of key stakeholders, is your opportunity to share what you value most about the cleanup. The survey will be open through March 31. After it closes, responses will be compiled by Oregon’s Kitchen Table, and results will be shared with the community later this spring.
If you can’t take the online survey, you can call Sarah Giles at 503-725-5248 to request a hard copy to fill out and return. The survey is available in five languages.
After the survey closes, the public will also be able to participate in EPA’s public comment period this spring. EPA’s record of decision, the final cleanup plan, is expected this December.