Category: Our Next Meeting

The last 2018 meeting for Friends of Wilshire Park was held on Wednesday, December 4th at 7:00 pm. In attendence were Gary Hancock, Georgina Head, John Sandie, Al Ellis, Oren Bernstein and Peter Mogielnicki were present.  The initial discussion focused on a Mission and Vision statement but it was concluded that since we have readily available fiscal agents with Central Northeast Neighborhood coalition, Northeast Coalition of Neighbors, or the Portland Parks Foundation, it was not necessary to go through the complex process of becoming an independent 501(3)c organization and therefore unnecessary to agree on Mission or Vision statements at this point. The primary purpose of Friends of Wilshire Park remains to make improvements to the park that preserve and enhance its lovely character as a pleasant neighborhood park.

There was some discussion of dog park improvement which recognized that a group of the local community had met the previous week to focus on the dog park and that they seemed to be making some good progress and FWP was generally excited to see that project getting some traction.

The remainder of the meeting was devoted to playground issues. The recent addition of previously planned new toddler equipment was gratefully acknowledged. The replacement of one of the rotting structures with a new play piece will go a long way to providing a place for children to play safely while the group works on replacing the rest of the equipment. There was significant interest in continuing to work towards improving the playground. The discussion focused on two possible paths:

1. Begin to fund-raise with the goal of acquiring additional new playground equipment (Gary has catalogs of equipment and planned to review them for potential pieces ).   This path has the benefit that it is well defined and straightforward.
2. Add natural elements to the playground.   This would be quite inexpensive (e.g. logs and boulders which would function  as climbing and balancing features, and double as adult seating.) A conceptual drawing of a sandbox improvement was reviewed.

There was also a discussion of a longer term vision for the playground – turning it into a “world class playground”.  There was a consensus that that should remain a long term aspiration, but a smaller focused project with good bang for the buck would be the right next step to focus on now. The broken merry-go-round was discussed  but no action steps emerged.

Tiffney Townsend was unable to attend but reported through Gary her conversation with Director of Northeast Parks Maintenance Mike Grosso about the feasibility of improving adult seating in the vicinity of the playground by strategically placing several community-funded boulders in the area.  Mr. Grosso’s initial response was a positive one but shortly thereafter Tiffney received the following e-mail:

We won’t be able to implement any new improvements until the entire scope of the project is reviewed by PP&R.  We have estimates and play themes for the potential toddler area. The Friends were going to determine how much money they can raise for that toddler area project.  Jessie Bond was the main PP&R contact, but she has moved on to a different job. I copied her manager, Jennifer Yocom, who can provide us with an interim contact until Jessie’s position is filled.

These ideas for including a nature play element would first need to be reviewed for compatibility and space requirements with the existing traditional play equipment.  Estimates would be needed for any potential nature play project and additional funding commitments from the Friends.

Let’s first find out from Jennifer where we are at presently in the overall process and go from there.

The meeting ended with a plan for Gary Hancock and Oren Bernstein to meet with Mike Grosso to clarify his note and explore ways to move forward. Others in attendance will explore other routes toward playground improvement.

The next meeting of Friends of Wilshire Park will take place on Wednesday, September 19, 2018, at 7:00 pm at Bethany Lutheran Church, which is located at 4330 NE 37th Avenue, just at the northeast corner of Wilshire Park.

We’ll be discussing the planting schedule for the new NatureSpace as well as discussing how to organize our growing list of volunteers. We’ll also set a date for repainting the lettering on the signposts around the dog park and repairing the hutch that holds dog waste bags.

This meeting will be very important for anyone interested in improving the children’s play area. Portland Parks and Recreation has come up with some bond money to replace one piece of the toddler equipment, but there are no funds to replace the remainder of the pieces, so it’s up to us to get the job done. We’ll be discussing fundraising efforts, setting a time frame for our efforts, and going over our range of options. Any Friends with experience in grant writing, fundraising, or just a passion for the idea that little children need good outdoor places to play is invited to join in the discussion.

In attendance were Barbara Linssen, Julie Bernstein, Oren Bernstein, Eric Rosewall, Reed MacDowell, Mary Jaron Kelly, Mary Collet, Fara Blaszek, Peter Mogielnicki, Nancy Mogielnicki, Tiffney Townsend

Nancy summarized current status of the project. The site plan is almost finalized. We have $9,128 in funds in hand thanks to the Community Watershed Stewardship Program grant. The total estimated project cost will be between $13,180 and $18,180, depending on how much additional fundraising happens.

Barbara Linssen summarized the current status of work with our fiscal agent, Central Northeast Neighbors. We are awaiting final information about crowdsourcing funds and how to correctly handle donation checks. Checks should be made out to Central Northeast Neighbors with a memo noting that the funds are for the NatureSpace account.  Barbara also noted that donations to the project will be tax deductible, and that accountability is required from organizations that issue grants, so we will need to report on how the money was spent and how many volunteer hours and hours of public engagement the project entailed.

Tiffney Townsend reviewed the status of PR materials. She has completed flyers and small handouts summarizing the scope of the project with concept visuals and web addresses for more details. They will be posted at friendsofwilshirepark.org/resources the moment we get the go for fundraising. All of the PR materials can be downloaded and printed at home, or taken to a professional printer. Two versions are available including 8 1/2 by 11 posters suitable for hanging in shop windows and four-to-a-sheet small handouts that could be given to friends and neighbors.

The question of how business donors would be recognized was raised.  Peter was under the impression that parks would not allow signage of this type on Park property but Eric thought some sort of temporary short-term signage would be possible to acknowledge major donors.  In either case, there could be recognition of business donors in the Beaumont-Wilshire and Alameda Neighborhood Newsletters which go to many neighborhood residents.

Mary Jaron Kelly shared her experience with fundraising.   She suggested the potential value of tabling at Fremont Fest on August 4 and offered to sign up volunteers and help Tiffney with PR materials.

Eric Rosewall felt the budget range and flexibility was reasonable and that that supervision of volunteers would not be difficult since the tasks at hand were fairly straightforward.  Eric said a preliminary schedule for work days – soil preparation, constructing hardscape and planting – would be available soon. Eric noted that inkind donations (plants, hardscape materials, refreshments for work crews) could be accommodated but would need to be integrated with the work schedule. Eric also mentioned that the CWSP grant was dispersed on a reimbursement basis meaning that materials would need to be paid for out of a source other than grant money initially and then reimbursed by CWSP through the fiscal agent at a later date.

Mary Collet said that it would be helpful if business donors could be offered the possibility of purchasing specific items.  Eric responded that this might be difficult with regard to financial donations but that if a business wished to donate a product – for example a hardware  store or feed store donating fencing or a nursery donating flats of native plants – this would be possible to accept and integrate into the work and accounting.  Mary also reminded the group that some businesses had employee volunteer work programs and that this could be a source of some of the community volunteer labor.

Fara Blazak has already spread the word to some of the leaders of local Girl Scout troops that they and their Scout troops could expect to participate in planting and other activties when they occur in the fall.  She will also seek volunteer involvement from the Alameda Girl Scout troops.

Everyone was asked to give some thought to businesses and individuals they might approach to donate towards the NatureSpace.  One way of presenting this idea is that the project already has $9125 in grant support but needs matching funds of about this same amount to achieve its full potential. Members of the group listed prominent bankers, realtors, and other businesspeople who would have an interest in improving the neighborhood and may be willing to display our posters or even make a tax-deductible donation.

There were two important concluding notes to everyone helping with the NatureSpace. First, do not begin asking for donations yet as there isn’t anywhere for the money to go and we don’t want enthusiasm to fizzle. As soon as we clarify the details of how we will work with out fiscal sponsor, the PR and informational materials will be released and you can go for it. Secondly, when you intend to contact a specific business, please let Peter know so we can avoid having multiple requests sent to the same business.

Friends of Wilshire Park met on Wednesday, April 23, with 17 Friends and three representatives of the City of Portland in attendance. This was a big meeting for our group, as we were able to speak with officials from Portland Parks and Recreation: Commissioner Amanda Fritz, Community Relations Manager Jennifer Yokum, and Ecologically Sustainable Landscapes Manager Eric Rosewall. The Friends were very grateful for the time these representatives were willing to give after a long day’s work.

Jennifer Yokum expressed thanks to the Friends for their enthusiasm and willingness to volunteer, explaining that Portland’s parks are greatly enhanced by work done during more than 500,000 volunteer hours every year. Commissioner Fritz was able to provide an overview of the situation with Portland’s parks at present. There are over 200 parks in the city, with about $400 million dollars in maintenance needs and another $400 million in improvement needs. During the recession, cuts to the parks budget were deep, and although we are now in recovery from that period, there is a lot to do. The city has chosen at this time to focus on the problem of homelessness as its key issue, as well as cost recovery and financial sustainability.

All of this means that the parks budget is limited, and there isn’t any money or staff time to give to Wilshire Park. The city is midway through an equity plan, in which all parks funds are devoted to geographic and racial equity. There are large areas of Portland, particularly in the east, where there were no parks at all, so the city decided to devote its entire budget for improvements to these areas. An impressive facility went in recently at Luuwit View Park, with a sculpture garden, play area, off-leash dog area, community garden, teen area, amphitheater, picnic grounds, and plenty of green space. These projects were built to serve the thousands of families that didn’t have any park at all, but the bottom line is that Wilshire Park will receive no funds or staff time for planning projects from the city, and our group is on its own if we want to see anything happen in our neighborhood. There is a possibility that some of the children’s play area equipment may be improved soon, and this may open a small window of opportunity to fundraise to allow for even more improvements to be tacked on.

This is challenging information to hear, but members in attendance at the meeting made the case for why their park deserves a little attention. As a large, flat space in the heart of Northeast Portland, it serves a fairly diverse population as it connects more and less affluent neighborhoods, and its varied facilities make it a big draw. The play area is the only one for miles with play equipment suitable for toddlers, although this equipment is over 25 years old and beginning to decay.

After the meeting, the city representatives were kind enough to walk over from Bethany Lutheran Church to the play area to see the state of the children’s equipment and provide further advice on the best way to work with the city, raise funds, and implement improvement projects. For now, the most likely scenario is that any large project will need to be entirely funded by our group.

Friends of Wilshire Park will meet again soon. Please subscribe to our newsletter for updates and information about meetings and projects. We will soon be putting out information about our NatureSpace project, which will bring a sustainable native landscape to a disused area of Wilshire Park. We also have ideas about simple projects to improve the jogging trail and dog park, so volunteers should get their work gloves ready.

Hi, Friends! It’s time for our next meeting. We do apologize for the late date of scheduling, but lining up busy schedules was difficult. However, we managed it and our next meeting will be held Wednesday, May 23 at 7:00 pm at Bethany Lutheran Church at the corner of NE 37th and Skidmore.

City Commissioner Amanda Fritz and Portland Parks and Recreation Community Relations Manager Jennifer Yocom will attend, making this a particularly important meeting for our organization. We are looking forward to a good discussion and better understanding of what options are available to us as we partner with Portland Parks and Recreation on improvements to Wilshire Park. We appreciate their attendance, as it shows faith in us as a fledgling organization, so we hope that as many Friends of Wilshire Park can turn out as possible.

Please help us spread the word! Let your neighbors know and invite them to come. We need all kinds of helping hands to  participate as we continue to maintain and improve Wilshire Park as a very special place in the heart of our community.

28 Neighbors from Alameda, Concordia, and Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhoods came together on Monday, March 19 to form the Friends of Wilshire Park, a grassroots organization dedicated to caring for and improving Wilshire Park.

Yvonne Boisvert, Vice President of the Friends of Peninsula Park Rose Garden, spoke to the group, describing the ways their organization had found success and providing valuable advice on how to get off the ground as a new community group. She recommended finding a motto that clearly defined the group’s purpose and starting with a small, well-defined, attainable project and using that as a springboard for larger successes.

The members broke into discussion groups to share ideas and goals for the children’s play equipment, the off-leash dog area, the jogging track, and native habitat enhancement. After coming back together as a large group, the meeting adjourned with a challenge for members to spread the word to friends and neighbors who enjoy Wilshire Park that they now have a chance to get involved in its improvement.

The group’s next meeting will take place on Wednesday, April 25 at 7:00 pm at Bethany Lutheran Church, located at 4330 NE 37th Avenue, Portland. All members of the public interested in making improvements to Wilshire Park are welcome.