Re: Hillside Board comment on Hillside Center

[Peter Stark]

As a follow up to Ginger's comments below, I learned yesterday that the city will use the 6% cut for parks - which is to say Hillside is definitely on the cut list.  One suggestion made yesterday is to push parks to remove Hillside from the 6% but leave it on the 8%.  It may be politically easier to make that type of change than remove it altogether.  Peter.

On Jan 12, 2012, at 10:35 PM, Ginger Burke wrote:

Begin forwarded message:

From: Ginger Burke <cgb...@easystreet.net>

Date: January 12, 2012 10:35:05 PM PST

Subject: Fwd: Hillside Board comment on Hillside Center

Neighbors,

Tonight I attended the Lincoln High School meeting regarding the future of Lincoln.  There were many present, including one of our City Commissioners.  Lyndsay Levy (Westover) and I had a discussion with this Commissioner and our clear takeaway was that MORE LETTERS ARE NEEDED!! 

Hillside Neighborhood Association has drafted and submitted a letter opposing the closure of Hillside Community Center.   It is attached for your review.

I also drafted an email and have attached it.  I should add that I know him so you don't think I'm crazy for calling him Nick. :)  Feel free to plagiarize any part of it freely.

 

If you would like to see Hillside remain open for all the programming it provides our community, write Commissioner Fish and let him know your thoughts ASAP.

Ginger

Begin forwarded message:

From: Peter Stark <pts...@gmail.com>

Date: January 9, 2012 2:26:51 PM PST

To: Ni...@portlandoregon.gov, Mike....@portlandoregon.gov

Cc: hills...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Hillside Board comment on Hillside Center

Reply-To: hills...@googlegroups.com

Commissioner Fish and Mr. Abbate,

Attached please find a letter from the Hillside Neighborhood Association opposing the inclusion of the Hillside Center as part of the budget cut process.

Thank you.  Peter.

Peter T Stark, President

HILLSIDE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

503/274-4111

503/274-4409 fax

503/805-4141 cell

<HNA_PP&R_HillsideClosure_20120109_v2.doc>

Good morning Nick!

Ginger Burke, Rowan's mom, hoping to bend your ear for a moment regarding our beloved Hillside Community Center.

As an 11+ year resident of the Hillside neighborhood, parent of two active boys who live on a postage-stamp sized lot and founder/coordinator of a 10 year old 350+ email address neighborhood watch program with an emphasis on neighborhood livability/community, I would be devastated to see our Community Center close.

For many families in our neighborhood it is the heart of our community.  It provides:

1. a place for our children to attend a well-respected and beloved preschool program;
2. a place for our children to participate in athletic leagues (Rowan and Mitch, as well as many of their friends, have participated in the basketball program for years.  If Hillside closed and our nearest option was SWCC, very few, if any, of the currently-enrolled children would participate.);
3. a place for our children to participate in summer camps and afterschool care through the Hillside Hotshots program;
4. a place for our dogs to play and socialize that is far less crowded and muddy than the dog park at Wallace Park;
5. a place for neighborhood holiday celebrations, some of which benefit local charities such as the Sunshine Division (Halloween Carnival, Fall Ice Cream Social, Fourth of July Parade and Picnic);
6. a place for athletic teams to practice where kids can walk to and from home safely (both Rowan and Mitchell's soccer teams have practiced at Hillside for years);
7. a place for residents to play tennis or a pickup game of soccer or ultimate.

Many of the homes in our community do not have adequate yards for children or animals to play.  Hillside IS our backyard. It is the epicenter of our outdoor life when our children are young.  It is enjoyed by many from outside our community as well.

When Hillside was gifted to the city of Portland decades ago by NW Culpepper homeowners, I am certain none of them contemplated it would ever be closed in favor of larger-scale model community centers.  While centers such as SWCC are beautiful state-of-the-art centers that serve many people, they are distant from our community and lack the small-scale charm and sense of neighborhood that make Hillside such an asset to our community.

In this round of budget cuts, the relatively small savings that closure of Hillside Community Center would provide is disproportionately small compared to the gaping hole the closure would leave in the lives of our community's families. PLEASE reconsider this closure and keep Hillside open for the sake of all those whose lives it has touched and will touch in the future.

Thanks very much for your time and consideration!

Kindest regards,
Ginger Burke
2857 NW Westover Rd.