2010 Hillsdale News FLAG
IssueTopIssue #143
Posted May 1, 2015    
Also in This Issue
* Hillsdale's Hawkins joins Food Front board
* A heron lands in Hillsdale, permanently
* Transit corridor plan presentation at Wilson
* Ice cream to return to Hillsdale

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Plan B for Hillsdale Food Front  

Olympia TypewriterAs of May 2016, one year from now, the lease for the Hillsdale Food Front store runs out, and the Food Front board and the Wardin Family owners of the building will have to decide whether to renew it.

The store has reportedly struggled since its opening more than six years ago, though a change in financial reporting may show Hillsdale Food Front is in better shape than originally thought.

The Food Front organization as a whole has been operating in crisis mode since worker dissatisfaction went public last October.

Some progress

In recent weeks, Food Front has made some positive steps forward. The recent addition of Dave Hawkins of Hillsdale to the board was one of them. Hawkins understands the need to have owners more involved and to build staff morale.

Whether he can bring the remaining three members of the board along is, at best, a question mark.

The patronage numbers, as reported by Hillsdale store manager John Conlin, are improving for the Hillsdale store. (For more on these developments, see the accompanying story.) The signs in Hillsdale are promising although the improvement needs to continue.

In short, more folks in Hillsdale are beginning to understand the "added value" to having a cooperative, customer-owned grocery store here.

Without Food Front as their anchor, several businesses in the Town Center could be adrift.

Synergies with OnPoint

Moreover, there's a real chance for building synergies between Food Front and the new OnPoint Credit Union branch, due to open in June. Both operate under the same principles of customer/owner-governance.

That said, the current Food Front board is still dominated by members who often seem disconnected from owners and defensive. They talk about the need for owner involvement but, intentionally or not, act in ways that discourage it.

Board meetings are run in a manner that is incomprehensible, much of the business is conducted in behind-closed-door executive sessions, decisions are made by consent agendas that are predetermined and hidden from members, board discussion at open sessions is often inaudible to others, time allowed for owner comment is limited and the board doesn't respond to direct questions because it has decided that it needs to speak with "one voice." In effect, the board has imposed a gag rule on its members.

Then there is the near-absolute control the board exerts on board membership. In essence, unless you have the time to collect more than 1100 signatures from owners, your access to having your name on the ballot is controlled by the board. HERE is the link to the by-laws. Scroll down to Section 6.3 and you will get the picture.

Meanwhile, three excellent candidates from Hillsdale have applied to be appointed to the board until the elections this fall. If they haven't yet been rejected formally, so far they are being left in the cold.

They are Ted Coonfield, Eamon Molloy and Jett Black-Maertz. Molloy recently put his application for appointment on hold but may run in September's board election - if, that is, the board allows him on the ballot.

Finally there is the uncertain state of Food Front's NW Thurman Street store, which is anticipating stiff competition from a new New Seasons store set to open this summer just four blocks away.

Autonomy in Hillsdale

In light of all of the above, this community needs to ready a Plan B in case Food Front finds itself in an an untenable position here next May. It will take community planning and effort to ready Plan B so it can be implemented when the lease nears time for renewal.

I suggest that Hawkins, Coonfield, Molloy and Black-Maertz, along with others, start meeting to pull this contingency plan together. Members of a business development committee left over from the Hillsdale Main Street era should join them.

Certainly the owners of the building, Wardin Investments, would welcome a Hillsdale effort and, at some point, would join the discussion.

There's no reason to be tethered to larger Food Front problems, which seem to center on the Thurman store where worker dissatisfaction is leading to union organizing. The last thing we need in Hillsdale is another "player" in the mix. If workers are dissatisfied here, we should directly address their concerns. For dozens, if not hundreds, of us, Food Front workers here have become friends.

At the very least, under Plan B, the Hillsdale store should be autonomous in its operation and governance from the larger Food Front organization if it proves unsustainable. Store branding should be changed so that the store presents itself as the "Hillsdale Cooperative Grocery" with the tag line "Your Store, Your Values."

Face it: "Food Front" is a meaningless throw-away name.

Inclusion; not exclusion

Member/owners, and yes, the press, Hillsdale leaders, like those mentioned above and others, should be in charge and involve the community actively in promoting and supporting the Hillsdale store.

Portland has other neighborhood grocery cooperatives that can serve as a model.

Yes, some complex legal issues may need to be addressed, but Hillsdale has never had a shortage of attorneys willing to provide assistance pro bono. They've done it before and I'm certain they will do it again.

If financing is needed, it can be found - through expanded and enhanced ownership, a possible temporary franchise or rental agreement with Food Front, and/or a low-interest loan from OnPoint, which has its own stake in Food Front's success.

As noted at the outset, I hope none of the above is necessary, but it is better to be prepared than to be surprised if Food Front next year decides to shutter the Hillsdale store.

Finally this editor/publisher would be happy to help lay the groundwork for a Plan B. I'm sure many of the 800 readers of The Hillsdale News would also join the effort.

As always, your comments are invited.

Rick Seifert
Editor

Correction

An article in issue #142 listed the location of the March meeting of the Food Front board as being the "Hyatt Express Hotel" on NW Vaughn Street. The site of the meeting was the Holiday Inn Express on Vaughn.

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This dated photo shows that the 3.5 acres for sale include more than the rental business. Note: "Capital" should be spelled "Capitol." 
Boom on Barbur?
Barbur Rentals Property for sale
 

Barbur Rentals' property is for sale for $10 million.

The rental business has been at its Barbur Boulevard location since opening in 1957, that's more than 65 years of renting out everything from garden tillers to wine glasses, from jackhammers to wedding tents.

If the strategically located property in the southwest corner of Hillsdale sells, the convenient rental source will likely end.

The listing with LandAndFarm Realtors can be seen HERE.

The property, at 8205 Barbur Boulevard and Capitol Hill Road, is directly across the street from the new Safeway store, which is to the south. It is also across from the Golden Touch Restaurant, which is on the east side of Barbur. The restaurant's owners are planning a major development there. Plans include a Natural Grocers Store and multiple apartment units.

Efforts to reach Barbur Rental's owner, Scott Edwards, were unsuccessful, but an employee said there are no current plans to move the business to a new site if the property sells.

The property is listed at 3.5 acres with residential and commercial potential.

The listing includes a link to the "Barbur Concept Plan" which calls for improvements to Barbur Boulevard.

Barbur might also be a major segment in the Southwest Transit Corridor plan, which is slowly taking shape. (See story below.)
Food Front names Hillsdale's Hawkins to its board

Hillsdale resident Dave Hawkins has been added to the board of the Food Front Cooperative Grocery, roiled in recent months by public staff dissatisfaction and unmet financial targets.

Dave Hawkins brings "customer experience" skills to the board.
Hawkins, who has an MBA from the University of Oregon, is a consultant to businesses who "want to improve their customer experiences at every touch point," and to build brand and customer loyalty.

During the past 20 years, before starting his consultancy, Incite CX, Hawkins worked at ZIBA Design, Umpua Bank and Huntington Bank in Ohio on "customer experience," or "CX."

Food Front has two stores, one in NW Portland and one in Hillsdale. The NW flagship store on NW Thurman is bracing for stiff competition as New Seasons prepares to open a store just four blocks away this summer.

The Hillsdale Store is the "anchor" for the HIllsdale Shopping Center on the south side of Capitol Highway in the Hillsdale Town Center. Many merchants in the Center see the success of the Hillsdale Food Front as being vital to their success.

Hawkins echoed that feeling. "The biggest reason I'm doing this is that I care what happens in Hillsdale and believe that Food Front is a critical anchor in the Hillsdale commercial center."

To address a variety of issues facing Food Front, the National Cooperative Grocers Association, has  been brought in to help by providing an acting general manager, Peg Nolan. In mid-April, Holly Jarvis, general manager for 21 years, retired. The board has begun a search for a permanent replacement.

Hawkins' appointment means the Food Front board now has four members. Its by-laws allow it to have as many as nine. To stay on the board beyond September, he will have to be elected by the membership then.

Three or possibly four applicants are waiting to see whether they will be appointed. Among them are three others from Hillsdale. On the list of applicants are Ted Coonfield, a former Food Front board member and a past board president of Neighborhood House.

Eamon Molloy, long-time manager of the Hillsdale Farmer's Market, has asked that his application be put on hold due to personal obligations. He has told the board that he is still interested in being put on the ballot for the September board election.

The most recent applicant, also from Hillsdale, is Jett Black-Maertz, home-ownership support coordinator for Habitat for HumanityPortland Metro/East. She has volunteer and staff management experience and has done community outreach and event planning.

The most important issues facing Food Front are competition, financial difficulties and staff morale, satisfaction and retention, she wrote in her application.

While the Hillsdale Food Front has reportedly struggled financially over its six years here, store manager John Conlin is heartened about recent growth reported in the last year. In an e-mail to the News dated April 25, he reported positive growth numbers in sales, customer count and new owner signups. "Last week saw a sales increase of almost 12 percent over the same week last year with a customer count increase of 396 people.  That breaks down to almost 57 more shoppers per day which is huge for us...We are fortunate to be in a community that cares and is willing and wanting to rally to support the true local grocer of Hillsdale."

Meanwhile, a union organizing drive is underway at both stores. Joyce Sinakhone, an organizer from United Food and Commercial Workers, local 55, in Tigard, said she was not authorized to comment on the effort. Those familiar with the effort have said an estimated 80 percent of the employees at the NW Thurman store have signed authorization cards. No figures were available for the Hillsdale store.

Hawkins said that he sees the three biggest issues facing Food Front as being:
* Industry competition. "Food Front doesn't have the organic/sustainable food business to itself anymore."
* Employee dissatisfaction: "Food Front has to be a place where employees are engaged and inspired to work because they believe in the Coop's  purpose."
* Customer/Member focus: "To win and keep customers, Food Front needs to create and engage with a community of customers and members that see a value in the business beyond product and price."

On the eve of the board's April meeting, NW Examiner editor Allan Classen, whose reporting last fall exposed worker dissatisfaction at Food Front, was advised that he would no longer be allowed to attend board meetings. The board made its decision based on a new policy to strictly enforce a owners-only rule. Classen's wife, Joleen, is an owner/member. In the past, spouses of members have been allowed to attend board meetings.  

To allow Classen to attend future meetings, another owner volunteered to buy him a separate membership.
A permanent perch at Vermont and Bertha 

A Heron for Hillsdale


The "Hillsdale Heron" awaits installation May 21.
It's not everyday that you see a blue heron in Hillsdale, but starting Thursday, May 21, Hillsdale is going to see a lot of one heron in particular.

At a remarkable 12-feet tall, the 200-pound bird will never fly away but will remain on its basalt pedestal at the northeast corner of SW Vermont Street and Bertha Boulevard for a very long time.

That's because the bird is made of stainless steel.

The public sculpture is the brainchild of Hillsdale resident Tiffany Schuster, who has the approval and support of the Hillsdale Community Foundation, the Hillsdale Business Association, the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association and the Rieke Elementary School community.

The sculpture , which is valued at $6000, is the work of Oregon City artist Ben Dye.

The official public unveiling of the sculpture will be at 2:30 p.m. on the 21st.

As part of the unveiling, Rieke will be hosting a "Family Art & Write Night" in the evening from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. and extend Dye's sculpting services to Rieke children and parents.

Recycled toys from home will be repurposed into sculptural art. For more info call (503) 916-5768 to learn how to be part of the art event. Hillsdale residents are also being invited to name the heron through Instagram tag @hillsdalearts.

Schuster said a portion of the heron sculpture's cost is being donated by Dye and that the rest is being paid for by Paloma Clothing, the Hillsdale Community Foundation, Rieke School (the sculpture will be on school district property) and Dr. Richard Garfinkle.

A veteran promoter of the arts, Schuster has worked for the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts as a public relations writer/media buyer for the last 15 years.

After she moved to Hillsdale in 1997, she began asking: Why can't Hillsdale have the same artistic flair as Lake Oswego?  

When she had children, she became involved in numerous arts projects in the local schools. She scheduled artists-in-residence, held book assemblies and volunteered in "Art Literacy" programs.
 
She said that in September 2014, she had a vision of a Hillsdale outdoor sculpture project and proceeded to investigate grant opportunities and talk to the Hillsdale Community Foundation.
Public Forum at Wilson:
Metro and Corridor Plan


The Southwest Corridor Plan (SWCP) for where and how Hillsdale might be served by mass transit in 15 to 20 years is justifiably drawing a lot of attention.

The next community discussion and presentation by planners will be on Tuesday, May 12, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Wilson High cafeteria.

Among the questions under consideration are:

* Will public officials decide to run a light rail line through a deep tunnel under Hillsdale and up to and under the OHSU campus before the tunnel proceeds downtown?
* Will light rail or large articulated buses with dedicated lanes be chosen and run exclusively down Barbur Boulevard, avoiding the Hillsdale Town Center.
* Will the big buses or light rail trains be routed in a shallow tunnel through the Town Center.

The Metro-organized community forum/update at Wilson is preliminary to a decisive July 13 meeting of elected and transportation officials gathered as the SWCP Steering Committee.

Yet another meeting focused on the planning options will take place at the Hillsdale Alliance meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, at the Watershed Building, Bertha Court and Capitol Highway.

More information about the corridor planning can be found at http://www.oregonmetro.gov/public-projects/southwest-corridor-plan.


Also, Metro has posted an interactive map at http://www.swcorridorplan.org and is inviting public comment from May 5 to 19.

Finally, on June 3, (7 p.m. at St. Barnabas Church, 2201 SW Vermont), members of the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association will be invited to vote on their preferences.

HNA President Mikal Apenes notes that if Hillsdale residents want to have a vote and have not been to an HNA meeting in the past two years, it is important they attend the May meeting, (7 p.m. Wednesday, May 6, at the Watershed building) as well as the June meeting. HNA by-laws require attendance at at least two meetings in the last 24 months to be able to vote. Attendance at the May and June meetings will satisfy this requirement. He reminds those attending to sign in at the meetings.

The entire Southwest Transit Corridor project wouldn't be completed for 15 to 20 years, if then. Details about financing are still unresolved. Also, political opposition could kill the project.

Hillsdale is in the important central section of the routing which would extend from downtown to Tigard and Tualatin.
Briefly:
 
Ice Cream to return to Hillsdale


Not to worry, Hillsdale, you will have your ice cream this summer.

Uri Kushner, who lives in the nearby Maplewood neighborhood and has two children, saw the need for a few good licks when Baskin-Robbins would be demolished to make way for the new Wardin Building.

And so he is opening Dairy Hill Ice Cream no later than June at the site occupied by Indigo Traders until two months ago.

That's just two stores to the west of Food Front, next to Other World Games.

Kushner has extensive experience in food services. From 20ll to recently he supervised the food side of the Cedar Sinai Park that includes the Rose Schnitzer Manor and the Robison Home in Raleigh HIlls.

He also started a coffee shop on SE Division and founded "Jam on Hawthorne," a caf�. He has sold both businesses.

The name, "Dairy Hill" resulted from Kushner's research, which showed that in the decades before the 1950s, the rural Hillsdale Area had been blanketed by dairies. The shopping center where the ice cream parlor will be was once the Fulton Park Dairy.

Celebrating that history, Kushner will buy his ice cream from Alpenrose Dairy, the last surviving dairy operation in the area.

He says that Dairy Hill Ice Cream will be a "traditional" ice cream store with nothing exotic beyond "custom-made" ice cream sandwiches.

He simply wants it to fill the ice cream void left by Baskin-Robbins and to create a community/family oriented gathering place.


Credit Union plans to open in mid-June

OnPoint Credit Union hopes to open its new Hillsdale branch in the new Wardin Building in mid-June barring no construction delays, said Tory McVay, senior vice president for Retail Delivery.

The new building is located at 6361 SW Capitol Highway,

McVay said the credit union is planning several incentives to attract new members including:
    *    Waiving membership fees
    *    $250 off closing costs on a first mortgage
    *    $175 off closing costs on a home equity line of credit
    *    0.25% off standard consumer loan rates
    *    0.25% increase on standard CD rates
 
The branch, OnPoint's 26th, will have ten full-time employees including a financial advisor, mortgage loan officer and business relationship manager.

The branch's hours will be Monday-Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Fridays, 9 a.m.to 6 p.m.. and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.


SuperSunday in Hillsdale: Health Fair, Art Fair, Solar Expo and start of Summer Market

On Sunday, May 3, the Hillsdale Farmers Market starts its Summer season of being open every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This first Sunday also features the Springfest Health and Wellness Fair, the Rieke Art Fair and the Hillsdale Solar Coalition Expo.

Fourth Annual Springfest Health & Wellness Fair, 10 a.m. to  2 p.m,. parking lot of Bowman's Pharmacy and The Portland Ballet. Seventeen health or health-related groups will have booths.

Rieke Art Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rieke Elementary School. Art from dozens of local, professional artists, and craftwork by fourth and fifth graders. Hour-long crafts classes for kids, $15. Proceeds go to the Rieke PTA. Food from Taco Pedaler and Pronto Pups as well as Sesame Donuts, Einstein Bagels and others.
 
The Hillsdale Solar Coalition Expo, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in tent to the west of the Farmers Market, is a one-stop opportunity to purchase solar panels and talk to installers. Part of the proceeds will be contributed to Hillsdale's three public schools. For more on the solar event go to  http://www.hillsdalesolar.com/home.html. The coalition has 21 sponsors among Hillsdale businesses and organizations. For a complete list go HERE.
 

Oak & Olive off to a fast start

Manager and co-owner Maria Rosengreen prepares for another busy day.
On Friday, April 24, the new Oak & Olive "flexible eatery/deli" was launched with a "soft opening."

If the packed house in the new Wardin Building was "soft," you have to wonder what "hard" is.

After the first weekend, manager and co-owner Maria Rosengreen said the support for the new business at 6363 SW Capitol Highway was great.

The Italian fare clearly fills a niche in Hillsdale, now known for its numerous and diverse culinary pfferomgs.

Rosengreen and Jeff Berback, another co-owner, moved to the Bridlemile neighborhood more than a year ago and sensed something was missing in Hillsdale's offerings.

So "Oak &  Olive" has stepped in with pasta, soups, sandwiches, wood-fired pizza, salads, call-in orders, take-out Italian deli items and basic retail ingredients such as tomatoes, olive oil, pasta and wine.

"It has a mainly Italian influence," Rosengreen says. That's reflected in the "Olive" part of the name and in the pizza oven. White Oak accents the interior.

Oak & Olive seats 30 customers inside and, in warm weather, 10 outside.

Berback and Rosengreen, owners with Ehren Kruger, are veteran restaurateurs. They have owned and operated Masu Sushi downtown at 406 SW 13th for ten years.

Years ago, Maria got a start in food service with Dave Barber when he opened Three Square Grill in the Hillsdale Shopping Center.

One more space to fill in new building

After the leasing of the old Indigo Traders site to Dairy Hill Ice Cream, Ardys Braidwood, who manages Wardin Investments for herself and two brothers, currently has one remaining  "hole" to fill.

It's the third, space at the east end of the new Wardin Building.

She says she is getting closer to finding the "right fit" for the space. Wardin Investments owns approximately half of the retail space in the Town Center, including the Hillsdale Shopping Center.

The new building at 6361 SW Capitol Highway, now houses the Oak & Olive Italian bistro and soon will be home to an OnPoint Credit Union branch.
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Date Book         
 
Saturday, May 2

SWNI/SOLV Neighborhood clean-up 
and recycling
 
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Portland Christian Center, 5700 SW Dosch Road. This twice-a-year event is your chance to recycle and to help clean up the neighborhood. For more information go to http://swni.org/node/5900 

 

Saturday, May 2

 

Litter-pickers join SOLV clean-up   

This month, the "Usual Suspects" litter pickers will meet at 9 a.m. at the Portland Christian Center, 5700 SW Dosch Road to pitch in with neighborhood clean-up. See above. Un-named suspects (like you?) are invited to join in the fun. 

 

Saturday, May 2

  

 Seismic Retrofitting

 

2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Hillsdale Branch Library. The basics of how to install a seismic retrofit, whether it's something you think you'd like to do yourself, or you just want to understand the basic principles. Topics covered will include the goal of a seismic retrofit, basic load calculations, earthquake insurance, and what features to avoid in your next home purchase. Registration required; register online, in the library or by calling (503) 988-5234.

   

Sunday, May 3
 
SuperSunday in Hillsdale

Rieke Art Fair, Hillsdale Solar Coalition Expo, Health and Wellness Fair, first day of the Farmers Market summer season. See story above for times and locations. 

Wednesday, May 6

'Volunteer of the Year' and speeding on HNA agenda

7 p.m., The Watershed building, 6388 SW Capitol Highway. Monthly Hillsdale Neighborhood Association Meeting: Nominations for Hillsdale's Volunteer of the Year will be considered. Ways to discourage speeding on local streets discussed. Updates regarding our schools, transportation, land Use, parks and trails.

See story above about the Southwest Corridor Plan and  eligibility requirements for voting. Recommendations regarding the Southwest Corridor Plan will on the agenda for the June 3 meeting.

Thursday, May 7

Andean Trails presentation

6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Hillsdale Branch Library.
"Caminos del Ande: Andean Trails" A representation of the Andean world from the pre-Columbian times to colonial era, full of music and dances inspired by the Quechua culture of the ancient Inca Empire, oral traditions and folkloric representations of the Inca empire.

Saturday, May 9

Annual F�te Locale benefit 
for Neighborhood House
 
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at the Multnomah Athletic Club, 1849 SW Salmon. Tickets $125. Purchase tickets on-line HERE or phone (503) 246-1663 x2118

Saturday, May 9

SW Trails' six-mile walk includes Terwilliger in loop

9:00 a.m. Meet behind the Wilson High bleachers  (Sunset Blvd. and Capitol Highway) Bring a snack and water and dress for the weather.  Well behaved dogs are allowed.  They must be on leash.

For more information, or to volunteer to lead a future walk in your neighborhood, contact Sharon Fekety at [email protected]. Sponsored by SW Trails and the Hillsdale Neighborhood Association.

Tuesday, May 12

Hillsdale Transit Options Forum


6 p.m to 7 p.m. in the Wilson High cafeteria. A community forum to discuss more details about how the Southwest Transit Corridor Planning decisions could affect Hillsdale. The meeting is preliminary to a critical, decisive July 13 meeting of elected and transportation officials gathered as the SWCP Steering Committee.

 

Wednesday, May 20 

Alliance ponders Transit Corridor 
 
7 p.m., The Watershed meeting room, Bertha Court and Capitol Highway. A further chance to discuss SW Transit Corridor options before the SWCP steering committee meeting July 13.
 
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