Commentary
A taxing injustice
If you are homeowners like us, you recently received your tax bill. If you are like me, you open the envelope with trepidation. The contents this year did not disappoint, trepidation-wise.
Our October surprise is $6741.69.
Hold that figure in your head. A day or so before this little packet of joy arrived in the mail, I happened on a story in the New York Times about "What $600,000 will buy in...." It's a real estate advertising series. Each weekly installment compares what you can buy in three locales for a particular amount of money. As fate would have it, this story included a property in Portland's East Side neighborhood of Piedmont. The house there is listed for $599,000. There's no way on earth that our Hillsdale rancher is worth anywhere near that. Zillow, the web site that estimates real estate values, puts our property at $465,401. And what will the new owner of the Piedmont house pay in taxes? According to the ad $3339. In other words we will pay $3,400 MORE in taxes on our Hillsdale property although it is worth roughly $134,000 LESS than the Piedmont real estate. First, let me say that although I swallow hard paying $6741.69 in taxes, I do so willingly though reluctantly. After all, I usually vote for the additional levies etc. And "The City that Works" generally does. What drives me up the wall is knowing that folks with more valuable property pay thousands less in taxes each and every year. This strikes me as unjust. It sounds richly deserving of a plank in a reformer's political platform. Are our elected representatives paying attention? A little history is necessary here. This injustice exists because back in the 1990s Oregon voters, without considering the consequences, passed measures 5, 47 and 50. The initiatives froze the tax basis on real estate in time. The measures didn't allow for market changes of the kind we have seen. Strange things can happen in 20 years. Real estate prices in places like Piedmont have far outpaced the increases in values here. Hence the perverse and unfair tax situation described above. The result? We on the West Side are carrying an undue share of the tax burden in the Rose City. Of the many consequences, consider two. When we list our houses for sale, potential buyers look at the tax bill. Many, justifiably will balk unless we price our houses lower to offset our tax handicap. So in addition to paying more in taxes, we get clipped by discounting our homes when it comes time to sell them. The City of Portland is losing tax revenue on East Side properties that should be taxed at the same rate we are. Homeowners there, after all, are receiving the same City services. And the City Council is constantly complaining of a lack of funds. I recently shared my story with a friend in San Francisco who said our situation sounds a lot like California's. But there's a difference in California, and that difference suggests a solution here. In California, when a property is sold, the assessment is changed to reflect the sales price of the property at the current time of sales. If we reassessed here, current Eastside property owners would continue to enjoy their low tax rates on the East Side, but it would vanish when the next owners open their October surprises. Fair is fair. Rick Seifert
Editor/Publisher
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Hillsdale Main Street trims plans, lets director go
Hillsdale Main Street, faced with lagging contributions and an uncertain financial future, has been forced to lay off its Executive Director.
 Megan Braunsten, who had been on the job for 2 1/2 years, put in her last day on Friday, Oct. 18. Stephanie Parks, a Vista worker at Main Street, who began work at the end of August, was also laid off.
The board plans to replace Braunsten with a part-time program director, who will work out of the Main Street office in the Sunset Office Building, 1509 SW Sunset Boulevard.
Hillsdale Main Street, part of a nation-wide economic redevelopment program, is overseen by the Portland Redevelopment Commission (PDC). Its operating budget of $80,000 is paid for with approximately $30,000 from the City of Portland and $50,000 in local contributions. The City also contributes $25,000 to Town Center improvements that require a match from businesses. An additional $3,000 from the city goes to promotions.
The Hillsdale Community Foundation initiated the program here, and the foundation's board has served as the Main Street board since the program's inception in the Summer of 2010.
Dwindling financial support
Initially, major contributors pledged to support Hillsdale Main Street for three years. But now, in the program's fourth year, the support has diminished, said HCF/Main Street board member Michael Reunert.
Reunert and fellow board member Josh Kadish praised Braunsten's service, particularly as a spokesperson for the program. In a statement, the board thanked her "for her dedication, passion, and enthusiasm for the Hillsdale community."
Under her stewardship the Hillsdale business community saw major improvements including street plantings and bright orange pots, banners, a Hillsdale logo, an enlarged parking lot in front of the post office, two murals, and storefront improvements.
Hillsdale Main Street also hosted the annual SpringFest Health Fair, Movies in the Park, "Wine about Winter," and the Paella fund-raising dinner. SpringFest and the Paella dinner will continue.
Kadish said, "The place feels livelier, more vibrant, more robust than it did four years ago."
The Paella dinner, which was postponed because of stormy weather, will be held Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Multnomah Arts Center. Tickets can be purchased on line at Hillsdalemainstreet.org. Part of the proceeds support Neighborhood House, the local social service agency based in Multnomah Village.
Proud of volunteer recruitment
Braunsten said she was particularly proud of involving more
than 300 volunteers from the community.
Looking to the future, Reunert and Kadish cited the need for the program to be more focused and to work with a lower overhead. Kadish said that the costs of having a full-time executive director couldn't be sustained.
Hillsdale Main Street's five committees - design, promotion, economic development, sustainability and organization - will continue their work. The design committee will unveil signage design guidelines at the Wed., Nov. 6, Hillsdale Neighborhood Association meeting (7 p.m., St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 2201 Vermont)
Hillsdale Main Street must meet its financial obligation to the City by having $7500 in the bank at the beginning of each quarter. At the PDC, program manager Amy Fleck-Rosete said the changes in Hillsdale haven't changed the PDC's support for the program. "They have a lot of things going on and are keeping up the momentum." She added that some language in the city's grant allows for exceptions for changes. Fleck-Rosete said that discussions with Hillsdale Main Street board chair, Jennifer Klemann, are on-going and that city financial support hadn't been part of them.
Kadish noted that the Hillsdale Community Foundation, Main Street's parent, is a permanent institution whose mission continues to be serving the broader community.
Few businesses and property owners supported the program, Reunert said. Many told board members that they weren't seeing the improvements "resulting in increased revenue at the cash register."
And some community members questioned why they should continue to contribute to a program benefiting business interests. But Kadish said, "If you have a really robust business district, it benefits the community as a whole."
Nor did the recession help attract support from struggling businesses.
Reunert put the changes in the context of "the next phase" for Main Street. "We have had a really good run. That was great. What can we do better going forward? How can we be more more efficient? How can we have the same or greater impact with less overhead?"
The board is not counting on city funding for year five of the program, which begins next July, Reunert said. In budget deliberations last spring, Mayor Charlie Hales initially proposed defunding Main Street programs in Hillsdale and Alberta. A third program, in St. John's was to continue.
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Hillsdale artist's work wins awards, gains wider recognition
Chances are you have seen the work of Hillsdale artist Aimee Erickson and not recognized it as hers.
If you have visited the Multnomah Arts Center in Multnomah Village in the last three
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Airmee Erickson in her studio.
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years, you were greeted, even stunned, by the embracing, lyrical mural, which adorns the entire entry. The organization and design of the multi-walled celebration of the arts is Aimee's handiwork.
The sprawling composition took a year to design and create.
Seven-hundred volunteers participated. Children served as models of fantasy figures. Volunteers wielded Q-tips loaded with paint from clutched Dixie cups. They filled in Aimee's outline. A short video about the mural is HERE.
Patrons of Verde Cocina, Hillsdale's popular restaurant, likely don't
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Erickson likes the way Verde Cocina is washed in summer sunlight.
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know that Erickson decorated the inviting upstairs space. Several of her paintings are displayed there.
Indeed her work - make that her prize-winning work - is literally more recognized in Hood River and Carmel, California, where her plein air oil paintings have won major awards. In Carmel's Art Festival this summer her two entries - entrants were limited to two paintings - won three awards including Best in Show and People's Choice.
At the Columbia Center for the Arts Plein Air competition in Hood River this summer, she won Best in Show.
Aimee paints in her roomy garage-turned studio, which is just up Capitol Highway from Verde Cocina. She holds classes there as well. The garage is a kind of artistic sanctuary although the hush and rush of Capitol Highway traffic is just feet away. An easel, brushes and tubes of oil paints dominate one corner. Paintings are propped up along the walls. A hulking '50s typewriter belonging to her mother presides over another corner. There's even a small section reserved for award ribbons won at art festivals.
She's been painting in the garage next to her cottage for 15 years.
Aimee grew up in Sunnyvale, California, studied in France, and went to Willamette University and Brigham Young. She fell in love with Oregon when her parents would drive from California to Seattle to visit her grandparents. "It was so green. And it had more than one river!" she exclaims.
She's equally exuberant about Hillsdale and the Multnomah Arts Center, where she also teaches.
Ask her about Hillsdale and she's at a loss for words. "It's like the water I swim in," she said with a smile and a shrug.
Press her a bit and she extols Hillsdale for the way it invites her to walk (now that there's a sidewalk on Capitol Highway) and bike. "And it has the best bakery on the West Coast (Baker & Spice) and great food (right down the street at Verde Cocina)."
 A favorite painting (to the left) looks east from the hill near her house toward Wilson and Rieke. "I love how the buildings capture the light," she says.
A striking picture is a light-infused portrait of the east hallway of the Arts Center (below). The hallway leads to the studio room where she has taught. "I would see it every day. The floor reflecting morning light like water." She celebrates the building for being a place where "a true community finds joy in creative expression." 
Her talents and energies extend beyond her canvases. She's leading an effort to thin the thicket of underbrush from the green space across from Verde Cocina. One day the Red Electric Trail will pass through the site.
At the MAC, she will be singing a solo at the Friday, Nov. 1 Vaudeville show. And, of course her paintings will be on exhibit at the instructors' art show in the newly renovated MAC gallery. The show officially opens at a reception Friday, Nov. 1, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Her work can also be seen until Nov. 3 at a solo exhibit at the First Presbyterian Church 1200 SW Alder Street. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The exhibit features portraits of the women who work at Baker & Spice and Verde Cocina.
The portraits can be viewed on Erickson's blog, Paint Trail.
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Too steep for ADA
Stephens Creek Nature Park gets a new trail
Hikers visiting the four-acre Stephens Creek Nature Park, marked by a kiosk on Bertha Boulevard at SW Chestnut Drive, now have a new, albeit short, trail, to amble along. But the new trail has one short-coming - for the disabled.  | |
The new trail invites autumn strolls.
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The path was originally intended to provide access under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) but despite a course that avoids steps, the slope of the new trail falls short of ADA guidelines, said Allison Rouse, project manager with the Bureau of Parks and Recreation. Don Baack, president of SWTrails, which pushed for the construction of the trail in order to provide ADA accessibility, said he is considering asking parks to make the new trail ADA compliant. He noted that none of Portland's parks in Hillsdale are ADA accessible. The trail had a total cost of $140,000 including trail design, permitting, management, and construction. Of that amount, construction was $38,000. The 520-foot-long trail was built entirely with funding from the natural areas program of METRO, the tri-county regional government. Final signage and a bench have yet to be installed. A date for the formal dedication has yet to be named. The trail leads to a stream-spanning, volunteer-built boardwalk called the Raz-Baack crossing.
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Inferno destroys Westwood house,
cause under investigation
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Plantings survived the flames.
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A raging fire gutted a home on Westwood Drive but firefighters managed to contain it, protecting homes on either side of the house on the quiet residential street. No one was injured.
The house at 707 SW Westwood Drive was an inferno when firefighters from Hillsdale's Engine Company arrived shortly after receiving an alarm at 10:49 p.m.
Lieutenant Lorin McPherson said that when crews arrived, "A wall of fire was coming out the front picture window." The fire crew had to batter down a wall before they could enter the house. "The upstairs was a fiery wave," McPherson said, adding that flames had engulfed every room but the kitchen
According to city records, the home's owner is Katherine Lesch, who was reportedly at home when the fire broke out. She was not available for comment.
Portland Fire and Rescue reported that the fire was contained after 20 minutes but neighbors reported that crews returned to the scene at 4 a.m. when a hot spot reignited.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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Date Book
Wednesday, Oct. 30
BES Meeting on Fanno Creek Headwaters project
7 p.m. Watershed Building, 6380 SW Capitol Highway. Discussion of a Bureau of Environmental Services storm-water pipe replacement project at the headwaters of Fanno Creek. The project, scheduled for next summer, would result in the permanent closure of an unused, eroded block-long portion of SW 21st at Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway.
Saturday, Nov. 2
SWNI Annual Fall Clean-up
9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Portland Christian Center parking lot, 5700 Dosch Rd. Accepting scrap metal, bulky wastes, yard debris, old furniture, large appliances...and donations for charity. Also, litter patrols organized by SOLV and SWNI. Patrols leave from the parking lot at 9 a.m.
Saturday, Nov. 2Usual Suspects join SOLV patrol
Usual Suspects clean-up crew join in with SOLV litter patrols. See above item.
Wednesday Nov. 6
HNA meeting features sign guidelines
7 p.m., St. Barnabas Church, 2201 SW Vermont. The topic will be Main Street's new signage guidelines for the Hillsdale's Town Center
Saturday, Nov. 9
4-Ts (trolley, train, tram & trail) hike
9 a.m., Meet behind the bleachers at Wilson High School. Leave promptly at 9 in carpool to SW Corbett and Gibbs to start the hike.
The walking distance is about 5 miles with 900 feet elevation gain.
Bring a snack and water, money for Tri-Met ticket and dress for the weather. Service dogs only. For more information, contact Sharon Fekety at fekety@hevanet.com.
Saturday, Nov. 9
Rescheduled Paella Dinner
6 p.m. - 9 p.m., The Multnomah Arts Center. Rescheduled Paella dinner Tickets still available, Go to the Hillsdale Main Street web site. HillsdaleMainStreet.org
Sunday, Nov. 10
In the Bag sale for Wilson Arts
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. O'Connors in Multnomah Village. Silent auction on special items. Free admission and food. More information HERE.
Hillsdale historian to discuss
JFK assassination
Noon, Rm. 2755, Mount Hood Community College. On the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination, Hillsdale resident and MHCC instructor Patrick Casey explains how his research has changed his views about who killed Kennedy. Thursday - Saturday, Dec. 5, 6 & 7
Arts & Crafts sale at Multnomah Center
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Hand-crafted items for sale include ceramics, weaving, jewelry, prints, paintings, wood-working and photography created by more than 40 instructors and talented students of the Multnomah Arts Center.
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