Bridgeton N. A. Meeting Minutes
Bridgeton Neighborhood Association Minutes for May 21, 2008
at Columbia School, 716 NE Marine Drive. 20 residents and 4 guests in attendance.
The neighborhood debt has been greatly reduced! Matt announced that we are able
to pay $4,500 to Walter Valenta, Tom Kelly and Alise and Stewart Goforth.
Thanks to everyone for their support (esp. with the concert-silent auction) and
to several big donors.
Walter reported on the tree negotiations. It is almost over and things should be
signed soon. Trees will get marked, cutting permits obtained for cutting to
start in August. They will remove the trees and most of the roots with
machinery-no chemicals. There are plans to widen the levee in several places
(esp. near the school), to beautify around garbage bins, to add sidewalks and
some plazas and to get power lines underground. It is an ambitious project.
Walter is going to work to bring in funds and other contributions. We need at
least three people to volunteer to be on an advisory committee to help allocate
funding and contributions. Thank you, Alise, Tom, and Walter for all of your
hours of tiring work to get to this point.
Elections:
The by laws were changed allowing 15 board members and 15 people were elected to
the board. They are Richard Brown, Karen Jeffers, Julie McKinney, Ann
Neuenschwander, Chrys Pappas, Dustin Pruitt, Debbie Robertson, Elizabeth
Sanders, Leslie Sawyer, Brian Stipak, Kim Swenson, Lynda Taylor, Walter
Valenta, Matt Whitney, and Chuck Wilson.
Officers were elected by the new board members present. They will be Leslie
Sawyer as chair, Karen Jeffers as vice-chair, Chuck Wilson as treasurer, and
Richard Brown as secretary.
Developers from Trammell Crow Residential (Thomas A DiChiara and Sam Rodriguez)
and SERA architect Paul Jeffreys, were present to talk to us about their plans
to build a two hundred unit "upscale" rental complex on the land to the east of
the Columbia Channel condos and to the south of the Blue Frog moorage. They
want a committee of local people to work with them. We need volunteers for that
committee. I have already asked Brian Stipak to be on it. We need people more
people from Bridgeton Road and from the MEWS and other west side condo unit. If
you are interested please let me know.
We will be holding a general meeting on the third Wednesday of June to discuss
our joint and individual responses to the proposed I-5 bridge plans. The CRC
has issued the final official draft impact statement (DEIS) and the 60 day
public comment period has started. The CRC DEIS is available on their web site
www.columbiarivercrossing.org This is very important and we need to be heard.
I want to make special thanks to Matt Whitney for all of the hours he has put
into being chairman of BNA for the last six years. Cherry Ann Kolbenschlag will
be missed on the board. She has put in many hours on committees and worked with
Jim Miller to make the concert a great success. We really appreciate Carol
Emory’s legal advice. We continue to benefit from everyone’s help in making this a great place to live.
Leslie 503-314-2137