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The Columbian Garden Club is hosting its Plant Sale on Saturday, April 27, 2024 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Corbett Fire Hall, 36930 E. Historic Columbia River Highway, Corbett.  Please note new open hours. Treasures from members' gardens include: perennials, shrubs, natives, and specialty items.  Proceeds from the Sale benefit Club civic landscape projects, educational programs and a horticulture scholarship. Free parking behind the Fire Station and limited on-street parking.  Please note that we will be following current Covid guidelines. See also attached flyer.  Thanks for your support!

More here:
https://www.corbettoregon.com/columbian-garden-club/

Select here for all details: https://www.cpchs.org/2024-6th-annual-tea/

[Safety Meeting notes]

NEMCCA

(Northeast Multnomah County Community Association)

Safety Meeting notes

March 6, 2024

 

Corbett Fire Department: D. Redfield

Things have been fairly busy.  There were around 70 calls in January, 40 in February and 120 to date.

The new equipment has started to arrive, the rescue rig is here and now the department is waiting for the box to arrive.  The rig will be put together in house which reduces costs.  This new system will have all responders facing forward and in seat belts. It is also four wheel drive which will help with bad weather calls.  Its just safer all around for our volunteers.

The State water tender should be here anytime.  Currently we're being told its in Salem but there hasn't been a release date yet.  This rig will have the State Fire Marshal logo on it, along with Corbett fire.

On the bond front, permits have been turned in for Springdale and we're working on Station 62 permitting.

 

United State Forest Service: N. Brodie

The new Deputy Forest Supervisor is here, Nicolas Granum comes to us from FEMA and is a local, having grown up in Portland and now living in Hood River.  Looking forward to introducing him to the group.

Sasquatch Shuttle will be starting soon and will be managing the parking lot across from the Lodge.

 

Grange: C. Mitas

There are 175 Granges in Oregon with an average membership of 25 people.  Corbett has a much larger membership with over 175 members.  However, all of the subscription dues have to go to the State, rather than having some of the funds stay in the Community to assist on projects locally.  You could say Corbett is supporting the Granges across Oregon!

The Grange will be bringing back the Helping Hands Senior Lunches.  The first lunch will be March 25, 2024.

The State Fire Marshal stopped by, for the first time in 50 years, and the Grange has come in to compliance.

 

MCSO: Deputy Kaiser

There was an eviction on Bell, two stolen vehicles were recovered.  You may see a couple of people walking around the area, the department is aware of them and you don't need to call them in.

MCSO has been partnering with other agencies regarding retail theft and stolen vehicles.  The agencies work as a pod on differing issues and this is just one of the many programs they are doing right now.

The car at the bottom of Corbett Hill has been getting a lot of calls. This is a situation where the person refused help, did not want to get medical help even after speaking with a doctor remotely, and family members that were contacted did not want to come out.  You can not force people to get treatment so the agencies did what they could for her, the car has been roped off.

 

MCSO SAR: Sgt Gerkman

Sgt Gerkman is also the liaison to Multnomah County Emergency Management and they are at the meeting to set up a Public Meeting with the Community to discuss evacuations in our area.  This meeting will discuss the different evacuation zones, and the what, why, where of the zones.  The team will be there for feedback from the community.

Also being addressed will be the levels of evacuation, what you are supposed to do at each level of evacuation and how communication will be happening during any event.  This will be focused on wildfire events.

The meeting will be April 18, 2024 at the Corbett Fire Hall Station 62.  It will begin at 6:30.

 

Springdale Job Corp: S. Closser

The transition of management has been completed and the new team, Career Services Development, has been amazing.  The center has 80 students on center and they only way to increase the students they can help is with non-residents, which they know isn't as successful, but there just aren't anymore beds until the dorms are repaired.

With the new management they have been hiring like crazy!  Better pay has led to people wanting to work at the center, 20 people were hired in the prior two weeks, staff moral is up, student moral is up, and in general things are looking up.

Happy to add their maintenance man is also returning.

 

Community Patrol: R. Cannon

Nothing to report.  Things are going along just fine.

 

Multnomah County Roads: E. Johnson

After a break of five years the County has filled the vegetation specialist position.  With that the crews will be looking at Knieriem, Hurlburt and Troutdale Road for vegetation clearing.  (Discussion:  the survey crews have done the staking on Stark Street and you can see that in some areas, the County road right of way barely leaves room for the ditches. The majority of the trees that people are concerned about are on private property and the County can not just remove these trees.  The County will be contacting the property owners and having discussion regarding tree removal, risks to not removing, etc.  Regarding slides, most of the vegetation will come back naturally and the ferns on that side should be able to hold the bank once established.

In addition there will be around 270 trees removed on the Stark and Kerslake Roads.)

The drop in Louden next to Mannthey will require a dig out to fix, as will the issue on Siedl.  The ditch across Larch at the second mile marker will need to wait until the other two issues are resolved.

County roads was unable to get to Latourell due to lack of access on the Old Scenic Highway.  (Discussion:  Corbett fire is preparing to plow the road to allow access to the area if ODOT is unable to keep the road open.)

Brower, Howard and Pounder are being looked at for fixing.  (Discussion:  One mother is apparently bringing her student out to Larch due to the bad road conditions for the bus.)

With the recent weather activity there have been more trees down and the freezing and thawing was perfect weather for pothole creation.  A submittal has been made to FEMA for funding to help "return roads to previous, better conditions".  (Discussion:  this could mean a variety of options and will be discussed more once it is known if the money will be coming in.)

Kudos to PGE crews for all their hard work with tree removal and clean up.  The County can not touch the roads until the lines are cleared, and with the PGE crews being so busy they are aware some roads stayed closed for a little longer than people expected.  Please respect the road closures.  (Discussion: lack of real time road closures and openings.  The County is lagging behind the locals when it comes to getting out information.  The staff member who keeps these situations updated will be reaching out to various agencies, community members, perhaps come to the next Safety meeting, to find out a faster way to communicate.  The County is aware its an issue and is working on a solution.)

The PGE closure of Louden was done without notifying the County, so they could not issue a road closure notice.  Calls will be made to PGE.

For those who live on Gordon Creek.  A consultant has been out to look at the slide area at the switchbacks.  The risk of a catastrophic slide is small and they are looking at risk mitigation following the report.

 

Corbett Water District: H. McGivney

The District Manager is at the Oregon Association of Water Utilities meeting and is unable to attend today.

The district is collating the information from the storm and it is not too late to fill out the questionnaire so please fill it out if you haven't yet.

The debriefing on the storm held on February 20, 2024 was well attended.

A committee is being formed regarding communicating with the community, how, how often and what goes out is being considered.  Another committee will address how to respond to future events.

There will be a rate hearing on Thursday the 14th, it will be in person at the fire hall or on zoom.  (A new process to register for the zoom meetings is being put in place to avoid what happened at the last meeting.  Sorry to those who were exposed to the activity, there has been some learning on how to stop/shut down zoom attendees should it happen again. Follow the link on the public portion of the agenda or contact Heather by email to register.)

Budget meetings will be March 27 and April 11.  Public comment will not be taken on the first meeting, but will on the April 11th meeting.

Budget documents will be available on website by March 20th.

A Federal grant is being applied for a GIS (geographic information system) that will locate pipes and appurtenances, create a better Master Plan and a prioritized list.

 

ODOT: T. Lingley

Summer congestion mitigation will look a lot like last year's with a flagger and timed use permits for parking at the I-84 parking lot.

Sasquatch Shuttle will begin charging for the parking lot across from Multnomah Falls at the end of March.  The shuttle service is not affiliated with the Forest Service or ODOT, the lot is owned by the Railroad company and is under lease.

The viaduct projects have started on the Scenic Highway and people are out every day right now. They are doing the sounding on the concrete and are being mobilized.  The viaduct will be Closed in October with the turn around at Wahkeena and the parking lot at Multnomah Falls.

The crews are no longer doing 24 hour shifts and are back to doing day shift hours.  They are doing more work on I-84 at that is the priority route, but will be getting to the Old Scenic Highway in the next month or two.

 

Oregon Parks and Rec Department: D. Spangler

Things are going well.  There was a break in at the Vista House that resulted in minimal damage.  The cash donation box had been recently emptied and they only got the foreign currency that was in the box.  The other item they took was the candy, everything but the Skittles.  Security is being shored up.  It was on the list of projects that were being done, but has been moved up following this incident.

The first three seasonal workers have come on board this week, and they are opening up facilities for the summer.  Memaloose opening on March 13, Viento and Ainsworth on March 22nd.

Latourell Falls has the lower falls area open, they are waiting for bridge materials so the upper falls will remained closed for another month.  Some of you may have seen the bridges being flown in.  Its looking great.

2/7/2024

Northeast Multnomah County Community Assoc.

(NEMCCA)


Oregon Parks and Rec Dept: J. Starr
OPRD is busy assessing the damage from the recent snow and ice storm. They expect to see some branches and trees down, its where they land that is concerning.  They escaped relatively unscathed with one water line break and one cracked valve.

OPRD is on boarding their seasonal staff hires

Latourell Falls trail improvements are on-going.  The trail stairs have been poured to the upper landing, the landing will be poured later.

Benson State Park parking lot will be re-paved this year, no date of work at this time.  The Agency put out State wide a request for the parking lots in the worst shape and Benson was a winner.  They will also be doing ADA improvements with the re-paving.

Vista House update: SHPO is working with a historic planner to see what all needs done on the building, including what a full rehabilitation will look like for cost.  There isn't the money to do all the work at once, so SHPO will be assessing what needs done first, and what can be done now for improvements that won't need to be removed later during a major restoration.  Once they get all the information they will be able to go out to different agencies to make requests for funds.

 

Corbett Water District: A. Linden

Never wanted to be an emergency worker, but the experience was also a positive one as there were a lot of good relationships made.  Thank you to Multnomah County roads for helping get their rigs back on the road, also to Oregon Health Authority, MultCo Emergency Management Services and Troutdale Water for their help.

There will be the first After Action Report on February 20, 2024 at 6:30, to be held at the fire hall. This will be in place of the regular board meeting (moved to a later date) and will be in-person, via Zoom or live streamed on the Corbett Water Department facebook page.  Due to limited space attending remotely would be best.

Thank you to NEMCCA for the letter they sent to Representative Helfrich.  It will help with funding and grants. (Sent November 2, 2023)

There will be a questionnaire posted on the Corbett Water District website for the Corbett Water District customers on 2/8/24 regarding the recent storm.  The answers to the questions or comments will be included in the After Action Presentation.  This is for customers of the District, including the school, fire department, etc.

(Discussion: will this be shared out to Corbett Area so people know its there, or will they have to go to the website to find it?  This was unknown as the questionnaire wasn't ready and would be posted after the DM had left for SDAO training.)

 

Corbett Fire Department: D. Redfield & R. Wunsch

During the past month CFD responded to 70 calls, including one to rescue a dog that had slid 150 feet down a hill and couldn't get out, towing an ambulance off the bottom of Corbett Hill, and a delivery truck off the top of Corbett Hill.  Not sure how they managed to get that far up the hill, but they were delivering Oxygen to a community member.  Volunteers ran the oxygen out to the home.

The Water Tender is getting closer!  The hoses for it have been picked up, and the State has said they are releasing them so we should be seeing it within the month.

The Rescue Class rig is in town and will be picked up and delivered within the week.

Recruit classes are going well!  The recruits had two training days during the bad weather and did well.

CFD is still doing Community CPR classes, the two youngest individuals to take the class were ten and a half and twelve, both did very well.  If you are interested in taking a class, or putting a group together for a class, please reach out to Duane at cpr@corbettfire.com.

With the power out during this last storm people were finding alternate ways to heat their homes and outbuildings.  There were two residential fires and two outbuildings that had fires.  Three were related to the cold weather, the fourth one is still under investigation.

Bond update: we are submitting the application to the County this week for Station 61 (Springdale).  After that is submitted we'll have a better idea of when construction will begin.

While a lot went well during this winter event, there were a couple of things that didn't go so well, changes will be made.

Some of the volunteers were unable to get out of their homes, they will be given the means to get out.

The Old Scenic Highway and the town of Latourell were isolated due to the change in snowplowing and maintenance on ODOT's part.  We knew it was coming but had one call that took hours to get out to due to the road conditions.  CFD will be notifying ODOT and MultCo roads that they will be plowing so they can have access to those who need help.  The conditions for first responders were not acceptable for protecting the community.

(Chief Wunsch and Kent Kalsch with ODOT did speak and Kent did investigate the situation.  They are working together.  MultCo Roads was unable to make the meeting and notified NEMCCA they will be at the March meeting.)

Agencies need to communicate with each other!  The fire department was never notified that some of the hydrants weren't working.  CFD will be re-working some of the rigs to add coverage, as it was mentioned above, there were four fires during the storm and having water to fight fires, and knowing what isn't available for the Department to use, is important.

 

Springdale Job Corp: R. Morris  S. Closser

The Center took a hit (for instance, one pipe had 23 leaks)  and where the damage from last year wasn't repaired, it just added another layer of damage.  The National Office will be out to evaluate but right now repairs are going out of the Emergency fund $20,000 at a time.

Brian Aho came out to break up the ice on the driveway as cars were parked at the bottom of the entryway and it was to the point no one could get in or out.

Rich's Tree service quoted $20,000 to take the trees off the fences, the Job Corp will be having maintenance do the work so funds can be spent on getting the students needs met.

The Center Director made the call to not evacuate the students, and then they ended up without power for a few days.  They were using generator but they were old and it was challenging for the 82 students on campus.

The new contract with Corner Systems Development begins on February 15, 2024 and the contract with the current provider ends on the 29th.  There is some overlap for training.  The new contractor will come in and do clean up, revamp the processes and get the campus where it needs to be to focus on student development.  Then a new five year contract will be awarded.

(Discussion:  We're they getting new generators for the Center?  There are two "new" generators that are on Center that are ten years old.  They used to be fired up and checked yearly, but they have never been used. After having them inspected one will be moved to the kitchen and one to the Wellness building.)

 

U.S. Forest Service: J. Daker

Like everyone else they have been busy dealing with the ice and snow.

Trails are open, except for the back country where the Eagle Creek fire was, those are still closed.  Keep in mind, just because the trail is open doesn't mean you should take it.  Look at the weather, the trail conditions, and make changes in your plans if either of these things change.

(Discussion:  There is a large gravel pile and some logs stuck under the highway bridge at Multnomah Falls.  Any plans to clean that up?  ODOT had crews out looking at bridge damage, they will contact USFS to see what needs done.)

 

FireWise: R. Uleners

Thank you to the Community for all the hours they put in, Corbett was again recognized as a FireWise Community in 2023.

On May 4, 2024 there will be another Community Preparedness Day.  This will be a home assessment tour and people can see what they can/need to do to make their homes FireWise. The time will be determined.

The Chipper Day was very successful and will be repeated this year in Mid-June.  The time and date will be determined later, so watch for more information.  There may also be two locations this year as people coming in from Aims had quite a distance to haul brush.

(Congratulations to the FireWise Team!)

 

Community Patrol: R. Cannon R. Uleners

Things are going smoother with the traffic patrols now with the reduction in students at the main campus.  We are having a problem with someone parking at the exit blocking the buses when they are trying to turn.  Looking for ways to mitigate the situation.

CP assisted with the warming shelter during the storm.  They had some people come in, picking up water and beds, but there were no charging stations available and that was something people needed.  Also, it was difficult providing water for people to flush toilets and water animals when all they had was the 16 ounce bottles.

(Discussion:  There was a trailer parked at the Corbett Water District that wasn't shared out with agencies and those getting out information and no one aware of it until after the trailer was removed. It had 1,000 one gallon collapsed storage containers that could have been filled with water for toilets, animals, etc.  (CP was not aware of it at all.) There was also a generator in trailer for use.  The water to fill the containers could have come from spigot at the water district, which is on the back side of the building.  CWD mentioned that the District office has never lost water and going forward they plan on having that spigot available for people to use during boil water notices.  There was also discussion that the warming shelter wasn't set up in advance by MCEMS, that information about the shelter didn't get out in a timely manner, and that the second day didn't get publicized at all.  No one knew it was there.  There was a desire for plans to be put in place in advance, better communication by MCEMS and sharing between those who have supplies with those trying to get supplies out to the community.)

 

Oregon State Police: Lt. Huskey

ODOT and OSP were in constant communication during this last weather event (five or six times a day), trouble shooting with each other and Multnomah County Roads.

There were 69 crashes last month that were responded to, also 296 routine stops.

Staffing is running at 62% and they have been assisting Portland Police with drug enforcement.  It has been a very good partnership, but they find they are repeatedly arresting the same people for drug dealing, and they are back on the streets before the paperwork is completed.  (Discussion: Changes to Ballot Measure 110, what the situation is regarding fentanyl, lack of teeth in the current situation to get people into rehab.)

There is a stolen vehicle saturation once a month in Portland.  Depending on the agency there have been changes in policy to allow pursuit of stolen vehicles, as studies have determined that stolen vehicles are being used in other crimes.  Gresham and similar agencies are now allowing their officers to pursue, depending on the situation and resources.

There is a black chevy tahoe that has been caught on RING stealing Amazon packages.  License plate 298 NVL. Please report if seen.

OSP reporting link: https://www.oregon.gov/osp/Pages/Uniform-Crime-Reporting-Data.aspx

MultCo reporting link: https://mcso.us/site/quick-access/mcso-public-crimes-dashboard

(Thank you Roel for sending the two links.)

 

Mt Hood Community College Board of Education: D. McKeel

The college was closed during the storm, and some trees came down but no significant damage so the parking lots were empty.

The Board has been focused on doing Community outreach and has been sending two board members and the President to meetings with the Community every month.  They rounded out 2023 at the Corbett School Board in December, and were at the City of Cascade Locks in January.  They will continue to do one meeting a month.

The Board has finished their facilities master plan and are meeting with a consultant about going out for a bond.  The last one was passed in the 1970s, another failed to pass due to needing two/thirds of the voters voting.  Any work done the buildings now is done with grants or out of the maintenance funds.  The bond will not be new buildings, but will repurpose buildings for better use.  MHCC will be doing surveys and reaching out to gather information, right now it appears the bond will be going on November's ballot.

The core bond committee is meeting once a week, the larger bond committee is meeting five times between January and March.

The College is reaching out to alumni, they are having special events for them to participate in (a basketball game is coming up), and other events will be planned.

The Planetarium is open again!  You can find more information on presentations at: https://www.mhcc.edu/planetarium/ or on their facebook page.

The website is being redone to make it more user friendly.

 

ODOT: T. Lingley  K. Kalsch

The Multnomah Falls viaduct work will be starting on February 19, 2024 for five days with the removal of trees. Originally the work that could impact traffic would not be starting until Fall, but the contractor has asked for five days to do some work. There will be lane closures so plan accordingly.  The trees will be hauled out of the west end of the West viaduct.

Bridal Veil Bridge work will begin later this year.  That will be maintenance work and is to be done in conjuncture with the viaduct work.

The summer congestion plan will look a lot like last year's.  There will be a flagger at Multnomah Falls, and the Forest Service will be having time use permits at the exit 31 parking lot.

They are looking into the ebike usage and parking requirements as one of the vendors is going through the conditional use application with the County and wants to have 80 ebikes on the road every day.  ODOT is looking at where this may work as they can't be taking up ROW or other parking spaces.  (Discussion: In the past this has been a topic regarding who can ride an ebike, how old, do they need to have a motorcycle endorsement, regular license, etc.  Depending on the speed ability of the ebike you may need one of these items, or none.  There are no simple answers.)

There are some Congressional funds available to put in a quarter mile path North of Exit 18 to connect the Sandy River Bridge area to the Sandy River Delta.  This will be done to relieve congestion on Jordan Road and construction is expected to start in 2026.  They are currently working on the NSA permit with the County.

Work to replace the I-84 east bound McCord Bridge will begin in 2026.  Work is being done to minimize traffic impacts but with the area is tight and there may be a couple of weekends with full closure.  More on that later.

The level of traffic in our area and on our highways has increased and that lead to the pre-emptive closing of I-84 during the last winter event.  Salt and de-icer can work in some situations, but once it gets down to 15 degrees with the high winds it won't work.  Even when the highway is closed for traffic, the crew (down 1/3 staff right now due to budget cuts) is continuing to operate within the closure like it is open so once conditions change the road can be opened.  The goal is to keep commerce moving, when it is safe to do so.  There are a lot of drifts coming across the highway now that weren't there prior to the Eagle Creek fire, and the wind also affects the roads.  The closure went well, coming just before the rain hit, but then you also end up with trucks thinking they can take the Old Scenic Highway to avoid the closure.  This creates a different set of issues that crews need to address.

There were 10,000 trucks staged at Rafael waiting to move once the highway was opened, and even though chains were required, some won't chain up, even with a $850 citation.  There was a report of one trucker who was given a citation and told to chain up, only to have a reported crash twenty minutes later that involved the same trucker who just waited and then headed off without putting on chains.  Unfortunately that truck was not the only one.  Others who decided you could do "normal" driving speeds with chains, to also suffer bad results. OSP went "door to door" informing truckers to put on chains while in the staging area, and even then some didn't put them on.  When being escorted down I-84 after the highway opened, (at 35) when a report of an unchained truck reached the escort vehicle the lines were stopped until the chains were put on.  That did motivate the rest to make sure they were in compliance. OSP mentioned that tickets were issued by him when he caught a trucker without chains, no warnings.  Truckers know better.

Part of when the highway could be opened was affected by the loss of half the fleet in the first 24 hours due to an accident and other issues with the vehicles.  Its understood that accidents happen.

The sun came out along with warmer weather, but the Old Scenic Highway was closed at Bridal Veil due to lack of sun in some areas that kept ice and snow from melting.  The road closed sign was staffed when resources allowed, and vehicles were towed in the closed area.  ODOT can't plow if vehicles are parked on the road way and blocking the snowplows.  In this case the road was open for residents, but there may be time the road will be closed to them due to safety issues.  Unfortunately someone put a note on the barricade telling Amazon and UPS to drive around and make deliveries.  These signs were removed, those are not allowed vehicles on a closed road.  Don't put those signs up, don't drive around barricades and closed road signs.

Snowplows plow from the center of the road out.  Many do not have reversible blades, the crew does not plow driveways, you need to have your own plan for getting out of your driveway.

Rocks went through the rock fence at the West Viaduct, clean up crews are working to repair the area.

If you are an Agency and want to know when the roads will be closed or opened, you can reach out to Kent and he will add you to the Direct gov.delivery system.  You can receive your notifications by email or text, whichever you prefer. There are over 200 agencies that currently use the system.

There have been questions regarding when the gravel will be removed for bikers, it will be a couple of months.  Look for that happening once Winter is over.

Night crews have been out fixing potholes these past two weeks, with the freezing and the rain new ones will be showing up, but they are out working on them.

(Discussion:  local resident wanted to know why the State isn't maintaining the pull offs and sides of the roads along the Old Highway.  The large potholes are an eyesore, and it could be taken care of with one person and a gravel truck.  Why aren't they doing it?  Lack of funding was explained, Mr. Purvine said he wasn't buying it.  T. Lingley sent the following link after the meeting to share regarding the funding: https://www.oregon.gov/odot/About/Documents/Service-Reductions-R1-Factsheet.pdf

Regarding the not buying the unavailability of funding:

https://www.oregon.gov/odot/about/pages/transportation-funding.aspx

Additional discussion included when making the sides more attractive, you invite parking in no parking areas, and that creates a different set of issues.  )

 

 

 

Sasquatch Shuttle: K. Krumpschmidt

There will be a change this year where parking at the Multnomah Falls parking lot will have a fee. This fee will vary depending on the length of time you intend to stay, with a peak charge of $20.  You can still park at Bridal Veil for $5 and take the shuttle for free to Multnomah Falls to visit for those who don't want to pay for the parking at Multnomah Falls, and reduce the stress of getting there and trying to find parking.

An engineer is being hired to restripe the parking lot (MF) and to make a few changes. All parking will be maintained, along with ADA parking and spots for seven commercial vehicles. Enter here and Exit here signs will be temporarily installed while permanent ones are going through review and the Shuttle will be in constant contact with the Forest Service and OPRD to keep traffic flowing smoothly. Volunteers with the Falls will be separated from the visitor parking and will be with employees, that is still being worked out.

The parking lot will be staffed during hours of operation, they have found that staffing has lead to zero car prowls and would like to see this continue.

The Shuttle Service will begin on weekends starting May, and then going from Memorial Day to Labor Day, possibly longer.  Eventually, in the future, the goal is to have service from Troutdale to Cascade Locks.

Even cars that arrive early will find a simple, easy to use kiosk that will be battery powered, only accept cards and work even when off-line. For those who choose to not pay for parking at Multnomah Falls the car will be booted and the boot will not be removed until paid.  (This will allow the person who returns to still have a vehicle.)  If the vehicle has not been picked up at the end of the day after being booted, it will be towed.

The company has hired a full time social media specialist, and is planning a media day with all local media invited.

Shuttles will run every 30 minutes, but have the ability to move up to 15 if necessary.

 

 

 

 

Come to the Bingo Night on Feb. 16 from 5-8pm at the Grade School MPB! Only $15 per person and includes a meal and 3 bingo cards and more. Aside showing up for the Bingo fundraiser, the 4th of July Planning Committee is asking our community to help pick this year’s Grand Marshall. ” If you have someone you know that you would like to nominate please send a message to the 4th of July Corbett Fun Fest Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/CorbettFunFest .... or send us an email: corbettfunfest1970@gmail.com. Please include a short message about why you think this person should be considered. We will keep nominations open until March 31st. We will then pick the top 5 nominees and post on our facebook page for voting. Thank you!”

Visit the Corbett Hometown 4th of July website here:
https://www.corbetthometown4thofjuly.org/

[Here is a note from Claudia:]

Hello,

I am a Local Coordinator for Claudia a 15 year old exchange student from Spain.
She is currently going to Corbett High School and her current host family can only host her intil Feb. 4th.
If you know anyone in the area who could host her for the remainder of the school year, i would really appreciate it!

Here is a note from Claudia:
I'm Claudia, a 15 years old girl. I'm a little bit shy at first but only at the first moment, I'm very responsible, and organized, boastful, calm,... In my free time I like to hang out with my friends, we go shopping to the mall, or to have a coffee or something, we really like to make plans together, but sometimes we only go to talk in a park and sit there during the afternoon, but it's also fun. Every week I do it two times per week. I swim and once a week I do violin class. I like other sports and hobbies like: skiing, paddle tennis, going to the beach, shopping, cooking, art, travel and more things. I'm not really sure about what I want to do after school but maybe I will do something about business administration and economy.

http://www.ciee.org/hostapply

Sophie Grimes

Thank you Victoria Purvine and NEMCCA for sharing these notes from the meeting!

NEMCCA Safety Meeting Notes

Northeast Multnomah County Community Association

1/3/2024

 

OSP: Lt Huskey

 Patrol staffing is still running around 65%. I have 2 that will be going solo soon, but that means I will lose two to our Drug Enforcement Section.  I have 3 more in the Academy. 2023 proud moment:

The Portland Area Command was the leader in our Fatal 5 statistics for the state. (Speed, Occupant Safety, Lane Usage, Intoxicated drivers, Distracted Driving) Fatal 5 are the category of traffic violations that cause death on our highways. This office was responsible for 415 DUII arrests. I am super proud of my folks, they work really hard.

 

Corbett Water District: A. Linden

Our biggest news was fixing a leak on Hurlburt that has plagued us for almost a year.

If the board and budget committee agree I plan on hiring 2 temporary field workers, this summer. I hope to hire local youths who are interested in the water industry. There are lots of opportunities for a great career as well as college funding if they are interested.

I am looking for a volunteer to help me coordinate volunteers. If you know anyone who is local and likes to organize people - have them get in touch. We have almost 10 volunteers and I'd like to get organized with policy and a program.

I am wondering if anyone has a good contact for the Job core?

(closser.sandra@jobcorps.org)

Lastly, I asked about road work classes last month and was able to find some information on the ODOT website - I haven't heard back from the contact form I submitted, but am hoping that is due to the holidaze.

 

ODOT: T. Lingley & K. Kalsch

The Multnomah Falls Viaduct project is going forward and you'll be seeing contractors out doing some prep, but work that will be impacting traffic won't be seen until September or October.  The West Viaduct will be completely close October through May (to cars, bikes, walkers) with a turn around at Wahkeena.

This is going to be a major project and there will be a lot of public outreach to make sure the message gets out.

Terra Lingley had a two hour meeting with OPB and there was a segment heard on the radio on January 2, 2024.  It was a very thorough interview and went well.

(Notes will be updated when a link is available.)

Dabney Springs is still being discussed, currently regarding what it would take to move it and if its even feasible. (More discussion under ORPD).

Bridal Veil Bridge (East of Bridal Veil) is going to be having maintenance work done on it this year, the plan is to have the work done during the West Viaduct work, so sometime in September or October.  The Bridge had some rebar movement during its original pour and some of the rebar had worked to the surface.  Work was done on it during the 1970's but this work now needs and update.  The rebar will be treated and covered, the bridge will be pressure washed and cleaned. This will require scaffolding set up under and around the bridge. This portion of the road will not be completely shut down for work, but it will be going to one lane and you should plan on a 15-20 minute delay during travels.

The Historic Columbia River Highway Advisory Committee will be meeting next on March 21, 2024, location to be determined.  (There is still a position available on the Board if anyone is interested. Please contact Terra Lingley for more information: terra.m.lingley@odot.oregon.gov)

The Summer Congestion plan is expected to look a lot like last year's plan with the entrance and exists staying the same.  There may be some operational changes, but the basics should remain.  It is expected that time use permits will be issued again in the parking lot at exit 31.

Mitchell Point grand opening is being readied and is expected to happen in April or May.  This could be a progressive opening due to limited space with walkers one day, bikers another, etc.

General Fund dollars have been shifted by the Governor to ODOT but this can't be approved by the vote until the end of February.  Right now it won't make any difference if the weather event discussed right now happens this coming week, or even this year as there is a current staff reduction and if it was possible to bring people on right now, they wouldn't have enough time to be trained and up to speed for this season.  Staff is down three people in the Gorge area and the districts are moving staff around to help cover each other's areas where the need is greatest.

Right now mowing is being done during the daytime hours from Latourell to the Vista House, evenings with dry weather we could see some pothole patching.

Question regarding tolls?  Governor has said to delay implementing tolls until 2026.  This is impacting work that had been planned, including adding a third lane on I-5 to ease traffic.  There has also been some requests for further studies on the impact the tolls will have on neighboring streets when people take the side streets instead of the highway.  The tolls will not be with toll booths, but rather cars will have transponders and if you don't have one there will be a picture taken of the license plates and a bill will be sent to the vehicle owner.  The copy of an email with additional information on tolling will be at the end of the notes for those who would like to read them.

 

 

Emergency Management Systems: C. Voss

This is budget and grant season and the fact is, the more activity in the area with things like fire, the more money is available for grants.  So, if you have some projects that will do hazard mitigation, there may be a grant available for you.  Firewise might have some grants available, there is going to be some discussion. Also possible grants available for ODOT regarding mudslide mitigation.

EMS will be looking at fire evacuation zones and redoing them for the entire County. They found different zones aren't matching up between Counties and there could be multiple levels of evacuation in a neighboring County that doesn't meet our County's zones, this is one of the items they will be considering when they meet.

There will be public meetings on this subject in the near future.

 

 

 

 

Firewise: T. Kurkinen

Corbett not only met, but exceeded the required hours needed in hazard mitigation and risk reduction  this year to remain a Firewise Community.

They are looking for an Action Team of Volunteers to help those who are unable to do the risk reduction around their homes.  Please contact Tim if you are interested: tim@menucha.org

 

Oregon Parks and Rec Department:  D. Spangler

The Department is working with OHA to determine if it is even possible to get the water certified prior to finding out if its feasible to move the water under the road and over to Dabney.  There is concern over the high nitrate levels, the fact the spring boxes don't meet standards and would have to be changed, and the significant road block when it comes to the fact OPRD doesn't own the water rights and would need to work with the Department of State Lands to see if they can obtain the rights.  Studies will be continuing, along with public information being shared.

The Vista House is leaking.  It has leaked since it was built, but has continued to worsen every year.  The engineers have been studying possible mitigation avenues to pull the water away from the skylights, but the problem is more than a heavy caulking will resolve.  There are no easy fixes, and no real options available for under $100,000.  The engineers are looking at what it would cost of a full mitigation effort, while doing what can be done for the next 2-4 years to get by.  This project is going to be bigger than can be paid for by Oregon State Parks and funding will need to come from outside the regular budget cycle.  The last update and work done on the building was funded through the America the Beautiful grant and they probably wont' qualify for another grant.  In that case there will need to be funds brought in by the Feds, private grants, etc.  Another option would be to have the work divided up into several smaller chunks and get it done under the biennium budget over several budget cycles.  Once they have a better idea of just what kind of money is being discussed they can narrow down the discussion.  The plus is that the Executive Team is looking at getting the work done and things are in motion.  The work would require the closing of the building and Parks would be working closely with Friends of the Vista House regarding the shutdown. There is no time table for the work, the engineers are taking 2023-2025 to narrow down the true cost.  There is a project manager dedicated to this work.

Latourell Trail is closed for two to three more weeks, then will be open or closed depending on the Bridge work. Two bridges were flown in and placed recently, handrails for the bridges will be redone and the gravel leading up to and along the sides will be part of the work.  The next phase of work will have a closure from Guy Talbot to Latourell Falls.

(Discussion regarding recent firing of guns at the park - with the changes to the Women's Forum being stalled the Department is looking at installing gates to close the park.  Deferring additional information to MCSO.

Also discussion regarding a dead tree at the entrance to the Women's Forum that is concerning locals.  ODOT and OPRD will look at the situation.)

 

 

Multnomah County Sheriff's Office: Deputy Kaiser

There were reports of shoots being fired by residents in the area.  It was a case of shots being fired into the air, multiple rounds.  Deputies responded and stopped a person of interest.

The incident where a vehicle crashed into a power pole by Yoshida's is an on-going investigation.  The truck hit the pole and it is understood the power was out for several community members for over five hours.  The vehicle was stolen and the investigation is on-going.

MCSO was on the double homicide in Boring with the suspect ending their life in Clackamas County. It was a tragedy and at this time is still an on-going investigation.

Lt Stewart wants the Community to know he will be out in the area and is working on getting more patrols out to the Vista House and along the Old Scenic Highway.  He recognizes there are certain hours when the highway is being used as a speedway and will be working to mitigate the situation.  If you're a local and get caught speeding, don't expect any special treatment!

There have been some illegal dumps on Chamberlain.  One investigation appears to be a bear getting into the garbage across the road and bringing it "home" to spread around and search.  The other appears to be an individual who is purchasing beer and tossing the cans out along the road.  Discussion was, NEMCCA can use any and all donation of money to help cover their costs, but it would be nicer to not have to be picking up the cans to get it.

Discussion on body cams mentioned they are currently stalled on implementing, it is unclear why but it could be budget.

There have been some changes with the Community Patrol and it needs to be acknowledged just how much they do for the community and mentioned that there is the awareness that CP has been feeling a bit neglected this past year.  There were some changes that had to be addressed due to accreditation requirements by the State but CP is very hard working and very good at what they do. Thank you.

(Discussion:  MCSO is going in to budget talks right now.  Regarding if the CRO is on the budget or the chopping block it seems like its always in the "iffy" category.  The Community would like to see this as a funded position.)

 

Corbett School District: D. Fialkiewicz

On December 11, 2023 CSD received a bomb threat that came through at 10:53 in the morning.  The email was sent to the Superintendent at 10:57, and the call to 911 was made at 10:58.  The call was answered at 11 - students and faculty were already being evacuated.  By 11:10 everyone had been evacuated from the buildings and MCSO began arriving at 11:15.  It was suggested by the CRO that the students be moved to the Corbett Community Church and Todd Williams, the Transportation Director, worked quickly and effectively to get the drivers in and the buses moving.  Thanks to the work of Todd the kids were all at the church by noon.  Thank you to the Corbett Community Church for letting the students evacuate to their location, thank you to Community Patrol for coming out and helping at the church, thank you to the parents and staff for the organized and calm checking out of the students as they were picked up.  This isn't something you practice for, and the process went seamlessly as could be.   

Staff and agencies met the next day for debriefing and the kids were back on campus the next day.  The School sent a cleaning crew from ServPro to clean up after they had been there.

(Discussion: Why was the location of pick-up released to the media?  Parents were notified directly by the district on where to pick up their student.  The Superintendent did not release any information to the media until after the last student was picked up. If any information went out to the media prior to that last pick up that did not come from the District.

Doesn't the release of the pick up location make it possible for that area to now be targeted?  The District has several locations they can evacuate the students to, and those locations are not revealed.  There have been requests for evacuation plans to be released to the public but the District will not do it for that reason.

Corbett Middle School (it is not called Woodard Middle School) has had its ribbon cutting and will be open for students after break.  Hopefully everyone who wanted to had an opportunity to tour the school.  There were comments made about how good the school looks and concerns that there were a lot of frills in the building.  Be assured this is not true, it just is brand new so it looks good. (Comment from a resident who had toured the building that he did not see frills and the job was very well done.)

One of the accessory buildings at the new campus is being looked at for the administrative offices, but right now they will be staying in their current location.

 

Forest Service: E. Monje & N. Brodie

Efeydi's last day will be January 7, 2024, she will be going back to work at the Timberline Job Corp.  (Comment- she has been a wonderful person to work with, all of the volunteers have really enjoyed working with her and she will be missed.)

The Wildland crews will be doing burn piles weather depending, and one will be at the Sandy River Delta.  It was necessary to drop a large Oak last year due to disease and that pile will be one of the fires.

The Emerald Ash Borer is a beetle that is devastating to the ash tree.  It has been found in a nursery in Forest Grove and traps have been set in the Sandy River Delta to monitor for movement into the area. Check the Oregon Invasive Species Council if you suspect a beetle is doing damage.  (https://www.oregoninvasivespeciescouncil.org/)

There has been some illegal trail building going on in our area, one area noted being lower Larch.  It is one thing to clear a tree or debris off a trail that you walk in your neighborhood, it is illegal to cut a trail into virgin forest.  Enforcement will be getting sent out to stop this work.

There are no major trail closures right now.  There was a decent size landslide above the switchbacks on the Larch trail (441) above the bridge.  Most likely work will not start on the trail repair until Spring.

 

Community Patrol: R. Cannon

The communication from the school was outstanding during the recent bomb threat.  The families were wonderful and kept things flowing during pick up, all very positive.  Not sure how things will look once school opens up again as they have not been asked to be at the middle school, traffic should be greatly reduced at the main campus.

Thank you to Malcolm and Kathy Freund for all the work they have been doing with the Water Department and helping them with their flagging.

(Discussion: The signage for the new school has not come through.  This has been a two year project and it would be nice to have the signs up and the speed reduced prior to school opening on Monday.  It was suggested that the District email the involved agencies and include AskODOT as ODOT has to approve school zone signs.)

 

Historical Society: M. Freund

Things are moving along gradually.  They are working on the railing around the deck, which is being constructed from rail road rails that came off the mountain at Palmer Mill.  The verticals to hold the rails came from the Bull Run Power House at the Sandy River.

 

Notes regarding tolling

 

SALEM -- The Oregon Transportation Commission met Tuesday, Dec. 12 for a meeting to discuss the Oregon Toll Program and ODOT's Strategic Action Plan. The commission decided to advance key elements of the low-income toll program and a report requested by Gov. Tina Kotek.

 

Low-Income Toll Program on Track to Set National Precedent

There are more than 300 toll programs in the United States, and Oregon will be the first in the nation to have a low-income toll program on day one of operations. This program will serve low-income travelers who cannot change their travel schedules or who travel frequently on the interstates. Importantly, the program will balance impacts to other travelers while still achieving overall program goals to reduce traffic congestion and raise revenue for transportation improvements.

The commission approved several elements to advance the low-income toll program and a draft set of administrative rules for public feedback in 2024. The drafts were developed following more than a year of study and input from two advisory committees and thousands of public comments.

 

Key commitments include:

Provide customers living in Oregon or Washington whose household income is up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level at least a 50% discount on tolls.

Analyze whether additional discounts for households earning up to 400% of the Federal Poverty Level can be offered and still meet the toll program's congestion management, revenue, safety, and equity goals.

Exempt members of specified federally recognized tribes and tribal government vehicles from paying tolls, in recognition of their sovereignty and to provide access to historic lands. Extending this to a number of tribal governments, beyond what had been guaranteed in federal treaties, would be a first in the nation.

Exempt public transit, military, and emergency response vehicles.

The draft rules will be published in 2024 for public review and comment following legal review. In addition to discounts and exemptions, the draft rules cover the toll rate-setting process, toll payment compliance, and maintaining customer privacy and enrollment. Final adoption is expected in mid-2024.

 

 

Commission Approves Toll Report for Governor Kotek

The commission also approved the submittal of a tolling implementation report requested by Governor Kotek. The report summarizes past actions and the sequence of steps ahead to address concerns related to equitable benefits, diversion onto local streets from the interstates, allocation of net revenue generated from tolls, and ongoing transparency and accountability.

Commission members emphasized the need to address the concerns of the region without taking tolling off the table. "When you look at what's left to be done, there is a lot of room in here for comments, discussion, a thoughtful process," said Commissioner Jeff Baker about the report.

The commission's next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 24, 2024, in Salem. Sign up to receive automatic emails about the commission and its work on the website.

 

 

Thanks Victoria Purvine of NEMCCA for putting these notes together!


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NEMCCA
Safety Notes
December 6, 2023

Historical Society:  December 12 will be the annual potluck starting at 6:30.  This will be at the fire department and ham will be provided.  A short board meeting will be held at 6.

Citizens Patrol:  The Toy Drive a couple weeks ago was a great success.  The crew collected over 1,200 toys at Fred Meyer, Kohls and Walmart locations.  Toys will be distributed at the Wood Village Baptist Church off Arata road on Sunday, December 10 from 9-12.  If you are interested in helping with any of these events please reach out to one of the CP members.
Flagging at the school is going well, getting well drenched this past week. 
PSA: There are a lot of GHOST CARS out in the morning.  These cars can't be seen by others until they put on their brakes. 
(Discussion:  When are headlights required? Anytime between sunset and sunrise. When it's raining, snowing, sleeting or hailing -think wipers. Any time when visibility less than 500 feet.  Also, when you have your running lights on these are only for the front of the car, nothing is showing on the back end.  Please, for safety of all, use your lights.)

Corbett Fire:  The volunteers are busy wrapping gifts for the Christmas Chicken to distribute to two local families.  The Christmas Chicken will be out doing the Fill the Boot to help make this happen so if you see the Chicken, any help is appreciated. 
There is a Holiday Event at the Grange on Saturday, Dec 9, and the Fire Engine will be taking Santa to the Grange, leaving the station around 11 a.m.
The Fire Department partnered with NEMCCA for the Tree Lighting and Bonfire on the 2nd. It was a very good turn out and we look forward to doing it again next year.
The new water tender may be with us earlier than expected. Originally it wasn't planned on arriving before Spring, but now it looks like we may see it by mid-January.  The tender is part of a grant given by the Fire Marshal's Office and will be white with the Corbett Fire information on it, as will the OSF Marshal insignia.  It will be housed at the new building in Springdale once that is completed. 
(Discussion:  There will be a new building in Springdale that will be rated for earthquake, and a new building Corbett. Most of the rigs will go to the new building, and a couple of the bays in the existing building will be closed off for other uses.  Pictures of the buildings were shared)
The department has been notified from Ford that they will be starting to build the new rescue unit after the first of the year.
Its been pretty quiet on calls.

Corbett Water District:  The District will be closed during the week of Christmas. 
The field crew will begin new work hours, working Monday through Thursday from 7:30 to 5:00, then every other Friday they will also be working.  This is being done to cut down on overtime.
The CWD office will be closed on December 12 in the afternoon as everyone will be taking a CPR class, taught by Duane Redfield.
There will be a public meeting on January 4 regarding the Watershed Risk Plan.  Pizza will be provided.
The crew has been busy replacing water service lines, there have been several broken ones lately and they are staying busy. The PowerMull has been resurrected to assist with the work.
If you were to compare the crew today with the one from two years ago, there would only be one person still here.  Right now the crew is almost all female, (one male) and its working out great. 
Fall 2024 the EPA is requiring an inventory of all lines regarding lead components.  There may be an option to show a portion of the lines based on total inventory, but there will be an ask to homeowners for line information.

ODOT:  The next advisory committee meeting for the Historic Highway will be December 7 at the Sheriff's Office in Troutdale off Kendall. 
The Multnomah Falls Viaduct contract was awarded on November 11 and work is expected to start after the first of the year.
There will be a grand opening for the completed Mitchell Point Tunnel, time and date to be determined.
The 2024 Traffic Mitigation plan at Multnomah Falls is in discussion. There is no final plan right now, but expect to see permits being required in the I-84 parking lot, a flagger at the cross walk, and the private owner across from the lodge will be doing active management on their property.
(Discussion:  The are 22 trains a day that go through the Gorge, and that means in front of the Lodge too.  With the flooding and limits on what can be done regarding permanent walls, there are barricades in place to keep people safe.  Don't go around barricades. Don't climb over barricades.  DO keep on the paths laid out for you to travel, it's for your safety, vehicle safety and the safety of those working in the area.)
ODOT will be getting 19 million Statewide to help with the current shortfall, but don't expect to see any changes in the recently estimated level of services.  Equipment has been sold, staff has been reduced and will need to be hired and trained, and that can be done immediately.  The money may not make a difference for this Winter season.
Geologist will be out surveying the area of the Old Highway that continues to drop just passed Larch Mountain Road. 
(Discussion:  Is it safe for big trucks to go over, specifically fire engines?  This is what the geologist will be determining.  There is an on-going issue with the road sinking, and then when the paving and repairs are done the weight increases, which adds to the sinking, and it becomes a cycle. There is discussion of a viaduct being put in, and when the road was originally built there was a bridge in that location but with the angle of the hill and the make up of the hill drilling can be difficult and the bridge did not survive.  This is an issue ODOT has to address in any repair at this time.  Ultimately the repair is expected to cost upwards of ten million, so for now the fix and repair approach is being used as long as it is safe.  Closing that road and sending people up over Columbia until a repair can be done would take a collaboration with the State and County.)

Forest Service:  Bike parking at Multnomah Falls is being looked at, one permit has been turned in to the County from the Dodson area. The trail crews are addressing the landslides that have been happening with the heavy rains.  Landslides in the burn areas are expected to be an issue for the next twenty years.  (Landslides or damage, such as trees down across the trails, slough of trail, wash out, etc.)
Winter Seasonal Workers have been brought on, this is a first for the Forest Service and has been something that has been needed as a lot of the trail repair needs done during the winter months.  There are two temporaries now and they are expected to stay until April when the Summer Seasonal Workers start.
There is a new element being looked at when it comes to the Forest Service. The HVRA is an acronym for Highly Valued Resource Asset and is being used to prioritize resources during a fire or other major event. Where does the FS put their resources to protect these assets based on available staff and equipment.
A larger effort will be going in to maintaining the trails at Thousand Acres.  Some of the trails need to be elevated for safety and usage and the Forest Service will be engaging with Friends of the Sandy River Delta regarding the trails.
There are several jobs available with the Forest Service at this time: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/crgnsa/about-forest/jobs/?cid=fseprd522110
(Discussion:  Pay station on Larch.  This one only takes cash, and there were several people at the parking lot recently that only had debit cards.  What is the plan to make sure they are getting their parking permits accessible to everyone in a world where not everyone carries cash, or only carries larger bills?  Putting up a scan code was mentioned but further discussion brought up that scammers have been putting up their own codes and then taking the money that people believe they are paying to the providing agency.  In addition, a caution was made regarding buying gift cards.  Make Sure the code bar hasn't been scratched off because once you put money on that card the scammer gets it directly into their account and the person you are gifting the card to received nothing.)

MultCo Roads:  All apprentices are on board.  They have started interviewing for a Vegetation Specialist and hope to have the position filled by the end of the month. 
Larch has been closed for the year. (Brief discussion- the post in the center of the road has always been there.  They take it out during the summer season but this year they had to leave it for the paving project.)
They have entered budget season for next year and part of the discussion is more paving work in the rural areas.  Not overlays, but real paving.  They know its an issue out here and are looking at ways to address the problems.
The mower is currently down but will be back up soon and they will be back out mowing weather permitting.  They have been working first where they have received the most comments of concern.  Will get to the rest as they can.
Haines road has a mess going on.  It appears that a company is putting in utilities and have been in the ditch, filling it in and making the water and mud run across the road.  This situation is being turned in to the person who issues the permits for work in the road right of way and they should be out next week to investigate. 

MCSO: Working with the folks at the bottom of Corbett Hill.  They are in touch with the HOPE team.
Information shared on headlight usage. (posted above)
MCSO is ticketing those who continue to park in the No Parking Zones.
(Discussion:  What about people who park on private property, or those who put up signs saying no parking but its on a fence along the road? How do you know where the ROW is?  The County or State (depending on the road) has a 40 or 50 feet Right of Way, and the road does not fall dead center of that right of way.  Don't take a measurement from the center line and think you're in the clear, you may be on someone's property, or someone's property may be in the ROW.  If you go to MultCo Sail you can find a property and take a measurement across the ROW and then click on the aerial and get a fairly accurate idea of where the property line is located.  If you need a very specific idea you need to bring in a surveyor.  Some roads in the County are completely out of the ROW, for instance, Donahue on Larch is nowhere close to the designated area.  CWD mentioned water meters are supposed to be in the ROW as this came up during the discussion.)

NEMCCA:  Litter Patrols are continuing along Corbett Hill and Chamberlain.  Jack Garrison is recruiting for additional help to expand the clean up, contact him if you are interested.
The Tree Lighting and Bonfire was December 2nd and while the bonfire did not take off as desired (and despite the best efforts of all involved) everyone had a good time.  There will be a return to collecting pallets for fire starter for next year.  Video at: https://www.facebook.com/100070147935101/videos/1425511428040190
The public meeting with Senator Bonham, RSD Amelia Porterfield and Policy Advisor for the Chair Hayden Miller was well attended, had a lot of questions and comments, and answers are coming in from various agencies and are being posted on the NEMCCA facebook page. 
NEMCCA and the Fire Department are doing a PSA regarding DUIIs, please stay safe this holiday season.

OPRD: We are fully into winter operations and moving forward with projects.
Latourell Trail bridges are almost complete. Park will open in mid-December till early January. Then close again for the second phase of putting in steps.
Women’s Forum project has been paused but some lot line work will continue.
No more to report on Dabney spring. Still at same point.

[Safety NotesNovember 1, 2023]

Safety Notes
November 1, 2023

Thank you to Victoria Purvine and NEMCCA for taking notes!

Historical Society:  Progress is being made to get the septic permit signed off.  With the requirement for an Authorization Notice to be updated, the drop boxes and drain lines needed to be found.  The first line was discovered to be under the fill for the museum and there was questions on the usability of the remaining lines.  EMS was hired to camera the lines, and after a brief snag on each line due to blockage, the three remaining lines were okayed for use.  
One of the boxes was found to be a distribution box and had to be changed to a drop box, this was successfully done and documented.  Paperwork has been turned in for a Certificate of Satisfaction and the only items left remaining are proving the three septic tanks that were removed were properly decommissioned.  This may require a waiver of decommission depending on pictures, documents, records.  We are waiting on the person who removed the tanks to fill out the paperwork.

Fire District:  The Training Academy has begun with eight new recruits.  They will be training twice a week, Monday evening with all the crew, and again on Wednesday evening with the academy.  Training will be for six months and after one year they will be rated as Fire Fighter 1.  
The District is working on the bond items:  meeting with ODOT (which went well), Land Use planning, permitting, and plans.  One of the new items you will see that was approved with the bond is the new rescue vehicle that should be in district in the next six months, depending on how the automotive strike affects production.  The old oil tank in Springdale is still being worked on for removal and there is one more at the main station that will need removed once the conex boxes are moved.  
If you are interested in learning CPR or taking other life safety classes please sign up at the fire station or contact Duane Redfield for information.  The District will be offering classes at a low cost to the community, and you'll be learning on the new mannequins that will monitor efficiency and correct your technique as you learn.

Grange:  On November 3 there will be the Annual pie contest and variety show.  You still have plenty of time to make those pies!  The event will be at the Grange between 6-9.
There is a community involvement film called "Join or Die" that will be shown on Tuesday, November 7 at 6:30.

Corbett Water District:  There was a main line break this morning, the District Manager was out working on that break and would not make the meeting.
There was a meeting with Rockwood Water District and they shared their policy manual and what they charge with CWD.  The Fire Line charge was $29 for Rockwood.

Oregon Parks and Rec Department:  There will be two closures coming up, one that will impact the local area, which is Latourell Trail and trail head.  Parks is meeting with the contractor today and the work will include replacing two bridges and the steps up to the View point. The trail will be closed for about six weeks, most likely until Mid-December.  
Parks is in full Winter operations, seasonal workers are now laid off and the campgrounds will be closed as of today.  
Dabney Springs continues to be a discussion regarding what is feasible to do, and is addressing the concerns that were brought forward at the last Safety meeting.  There is no time line right now for when options may be available to the public.
Parks is continuing to work with the Community on the Women's Forum project. Thank you to all who have contributed to the project, they are still working on the design.
Vista House continues to have a water infiltration problem, one that has been in issue since it was built.  Long and short term solutions are being considered as they are trying to figure out what can be done.
Vista House hours will be going to Winter hours on November 3rd.  They will be Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon from 10-4 depending on weather conditions.
After weeks of trying to get the wind gauge up and working it does appear there has been a fix and you may expect to see readings starting next week.

Springdale Job Corp:  The Department of Labor is changing the contractor for the campus and there may be some changes in leadership, possibly day to day operations.  The current HLS contract will be extended for three months, then a new contractor will be coming in February 2024 for one year to make the necessary changes.  After that year a new five year contract will be put out for consideration.
Currently there are 80 students on campus and new students are coming in every two weeks.  The center would like to be up to full status of 130 students, but the dorms are on hold right now and DOL won't approve more spending on repairs until the new contractor takes over.  
SJC was rated at number 24 two years ago, but satisfaction and ranking has fallen to 97 at this point.  The change in contractors is intended to make the corrections to turn the center back around.

Corbett School District:  The Trunk or Treat was a super successful event and will definitely be something to continue going forward!  The number of kids attending was over 200 and there were around 25 trunks for the kids to visit.  
There has bean a slight delay on the switch gear for the electric at the Woodard campus and  there could be a small delay on closing the project, but they are still on track to open on January 8, 2024.  The only reason they wouldn't make that date is if there is a major weather event that takes PGE off the project to repair power lines.
There has been no update on the school zone signs.
CSD received a grant for $260,000 for electric vehicles and will have a truck and cargo van on campus soon. There will also be two charging stations and these will be available to the public for use when the school is not using them.  This grant was through PGE.
They have applied for another grant with PGE and another entity that would provide three EV buses and more charging stations.  
Congratulations to the Volleyball team! For the first time in ten years they have made the final 8 and will be playing the first seeded team on November 3rd in Eugene.

Multnomah County Roads:  There was discussion with CSD and Roads regarding the school zone signs, also historical signage with Reynolds, the time to process signage with ODOT, where the signs are in the process.  
The Bell Road school zone sign has been made and is waiting to be installed.  That should be going up over the next two weeks.
Staffing: good news, all apprentice positions have been filled!  There are eight new staff members being trained.
Next week you will see flaggers on Gordon Creek.  The County has a contractor doing core samples at approximately 2.5 miles where the trees came down.  The will be looking at the best way to rebuild the bank.  The work will be Mon-Thurs between the hours of 8:00 am to 3:30pm.  Expect delays.
The vegetation specialist position is out for recruitment and should be filled by the end of November.  The brush cutter was down for a couple of days but has returned to work (thanks given for all the clearing we've seen done).  Hazardous tree discussion - best to use seeclickfix for reporting so they can track the process in the system.
Potholes and sinkholes - The drop at mile post two on Larch is being investigated.  They don't know what is causing the drop, it is getting markedly worse, and will need to be dug up.  The pot holes on Woodard are being repaired, there has been 15 ton of cold patch put down on Brower in an attempt to make that road smoother, workers were out this week on Brower.  One of the gravel areas on Chamberlain has been patched, one more needs done.  The sink hole on Seidl is top priority, that will be worked on ahead of others.  
After the most recent hit of the Stark street bridge workers have put up "temporary" barriers.  Rock that was damaged has been moved to be stored in case it can go back, and preliminary talks have started on replacing the bridge.  This most likely means 8-10 years before any work begins, but at least the discussion has been opened.

Citizen's Patrol:  They spent their Halloween at the Vista House making sure all went well.  There was very little traffic this year, the high winds may have helped with the reduction.  The wind has been a challenge at the school with signs not being able to be used due to the wind using them to push the body around.  Thank you to Superintendent Derek for coming out and pitching in when they need help.
People have been great, thank you!

FireWise:  On November 11 and 12 there will be a chipper pilot program operating at the fire station in the back yard area.  This is a project funded by a grant that Firewise received which will be good for three years.  This year will be used to work out the kinks, finding out if people will be able to bring limbs down to the chipper, if there needs to be a collection of limbs, what works best for the community.  After the limbs are chipped the community can come and get the chips to use on their gardens, pathways, etc.  

ODOT:  As we have been warned now for several months, the level of services will be changing on the State roads.  This will be a Statewide issue, but in the Corbett area the roads will be:  I-84 staying at Level A, Troutdale to Larch will drop to Level D, Larch to Ainsworth Level E.  
Gates may be closed to the Interstate if the forecast is for snow and ice, but will reopen as quickly as possible.  Last year pilot cars were used to get traffic moving safely on the highway, with speeds being reduced into the 30s instead of full speed limit, this helped keep traffic flowing and cut down on accidents.
Expect the gates on the Old Scenic Highway to remain closed once I-84 is opened.  It may be a few days before crews can make it to work on the lower level roads, depending on staffing and severity of the storm.  ODOT will be doing what they can, when they can, but its going to be difficult for all, including those working.  The District has lost 25 positions and there will be only 3-4 people available to work at any time, although they will be doing rotating shifts so coverage will be seven days a week.  Things are just going to be different for a while.
With the school at Woodard opening in January there will be an impact on the potholes that remain at Nielsen.  Closing Dabney Springs has made it safer but the water that is working its way to the surface at the stop sign will have more traffic on it and will continue to be a problem.  (Discussion on ways to address this issue, budget limits are a factor).
Crews have been cleaning the gutters on the Old Scenic Highway from Vista House to Ainsworth.
Brush cutting will be done as time and resources allow.  For those who believe their property runs to the fog line, they may be surprised when the brush is cut.  
Historic Columbia River Highway Advisory Committee will be meeting on December 7th from 10-2.  It will be a hybrid meeting, location to be determined.
Congestion mitigation for the upcoming year will look similar to this year with a flagger and the parking lot managed by the lessee.  (A brief power point presentation was given on the most recent data).
The award will be going out on the Viaduct repair.  The East bound Viaduct will be closed Fall 25-Spring 26 with the West bound closed Fall 24-Spring 25.  
https://www.oregon.gov/odot/projects/pages/project-details.aspx?project=17479
McCord Creek Bridge is scheduled to begin replacement Fall of 2025 and will have extended crossover closures onto I-84. There will be a number of days with full closure of I-84, but that will be a couple of years out.
https://www.oregon.gov/odot/projects/pages/project-details.aspx?project=21766
ODOT is submitting for a 51 million dollar grant to complete the final portion of the Historic State Highway Trail, finishing the 73 miles of trail going from Troutdale to The Dalles.  This last segment is expensive as portions will need to be tunneled under the highway, and viaducts will need to be built coming out of the tunnel.  

Forest Service:  The season has ended and the restrooms and campgrounds are being closed for the winter.  For the first time the Forest Service has hired two winter seasonal workers so you will see hosts at two of the FS sites.  You will see work being done at the Sandy River Delta, both in the parking lot with striping and along the trails.   Thank you to the Corbett Fire Department for all the help you have given this year, it is greatly appreciated.

Mt Hood Community College:  The college had their accreditation visit last week, something that is done every five to seven years, and it went very well.  The report will show they have a very good support system for students, and solid strategic planning, while offering some suggestions in the instructional area.  MHCC was noted as a College that Cares, based on interviews with students, who mentioned how welcoming and helpful the staff is, including a young student that talked about how she was ready to quit when one member of the staff stepped up and assisted her in getting her financial packet and kept her in class.  
The college is also remodeling the Pony Soldier to add 75 units of student housing at affordable costs, that is on schedule to open next Spring.
You can learn more about this development at the Gresham Chamber lunch on November 14.
https://business.greshamchamber.org/events/details/learn-at-lunch-11136?calendarMonth=2023-11-01

Oregon Historical Society Levy: this monitors how the levy money is spent and everyone was very impressed with the tour that was taken of the different societies.  They are looking for new members to join the board, contact Chair Vega-Pederson's office if you're interested.

NEMCCA: We will be hosting a public meeting with Senator Bonham, Representative Helfrich and Office of the Governor's Regional Solutions Director Amelia Porterfield on November 16 from 6:30 to 8pm at the Corbett Fire Hall.  Chair Vega-Pederson has been invited and we will update the information when her schedule is known.
The Christmas Tree Lighting will be December 2 from 5-8 with the tree turned on at 5:15.  Weather permitting there will be a bonfire, if not we'll have a BBQ for marshmallows. Games will be offered for the children, the Corbett Fire Christmas Chicken will be assisting with the games, and snacks and drinks will be provided. (Donations gladly accepted!)

[October 4, 2023Safety Meeting Notes]

October 4, 2023

Safety Meeting Notes

Thank you to Jack Garrison for taking notes!

Attendance - There were 43 people at the October NEMCCA Information and Safety meeting including both agency representative and community members.


1.  Oregon State Parks and the Oregon Department of Transportation presented an overview briefing on the status of the Dabney spring water source near the intersection of the Historic Highway and SE Nielson Rd.   The water source has currently been diverted for safety concerns and to help address complaints covering the last seven years. These  included parking on and off the right of way, vandalism of no parking and information signs, the mud pit that is formed from cars pulling on and off the road, and a number of vehicle accidents including a serious one last January due to frozen ice from the water running across the road.   These concerns were discussed with State of Oregon representatives in a NEMCCA public meeting held in June and Oregon State Parks and ODOT were directed by the State to address this issues.  As a result the water has been diverted through the culvert under the Historic Highway.  There is an ongoing effort to explore future options; however, no options are currently ready to be presented to the public, and one option may be leave it the way it is currently.

 

There were public concerns expressed over the cutoff of the clean spring water source.   There was a discussion of EPA water quality requirements including recurring testing if this source would be made available once again.  NEMCCA Chair indicated that NEMCCA plans to host another meeting with State of Oregon representatives and that might be an opportunity for the public to discuss this issue; however, at this time there is no public forum working this issue.

 

Stare Parks did offer that free potable water was available at Lewis & Clark and that water is safe to drink.

 

2.  Historical Society Museum - The septic system inspection was scheduled for today, October 4th, but was canceled because the contractor had not uncovered the inspection access for the drop boxes.  An Authorization of Use is being asked for in addition to the minor tank replacement and that is adding to the inspection requirements.

 

3.  Corbett Water District - District is hiring for the Utility Worker One position.  Two technicians left the district last month.   Issues with the PRVs and Fire Hydrants continue. The "black" fire hydrants are still being investigated, but the one at Nielsen and Old Scenic Highway can now be painted to a higher rating.  The district is looking to hire an outside contractor to assist with the hydrants and PRVs as they are short staffed.

The status of the Hurlburt water line was discussed and there is an ongoing effort to fully understand the current status and future requirements.  There was an older 4 inch line that the District is aware has leaks, but there was a new eight inch line put in several years ago that everyone along Hurlburt was to be switched over to in that area.  The District is looking to see who is on the line, who can be moved, where the lines go, and where the valve boxes and PRV vaults are located.

 

4.  Multnomah County Sheriff Office - An incident at Angel's Rest regarding a loss of life was discussed.   There was a discussion regarding cars that have been left unoccupied for long periods of time, how often they are checked on, what Parks can/is doing about checking on these vehicles,  and what  options law enforcement has if  the vehicle is on right of way or in a parking lot.

 

5.  Corbett School District - Progress on the Woodard Campus continues and completion is expected by the end of November.  The district plans to begin operations at the campus on January 8th.   The school zone status is still being worked with County Roads.

 

Pink Out in support of Breast Cancer is being highlighted at all sporting events this week.  Homecoming is planned for October 20th and Parent Training is being offered to the community on October 26th for "Screen Addiction and Social Media" from 6-7pm at the Mental Health Department at the Corbett Commons.  Sign up if you're interested .  A Trunk or Treat Halloween event is planned for the school parking lot on October 31st from 6 - 8 pm.   A brochure was passed around and for more information contact Darcie at 503-504-2386.

 

Here is a link to copy to the school's newsletter:  https://www.smore.com/9hf1j

 

6.  Oregon State Police - Staffing for patrols in our area remains at 62%.   The Governor has directed State Police to assist the City of Portland with drug task force issues.   Recruitment training classes have been accelerated with a combination of more instructors and schedule compression.  The Department is facing manpower issues due to growing number of eligible retirements and gaps in levels of experience.  Options for officer retirement and reemployment are being considered.

 

A question was asked of State Police and MCSO regarding street racing.  Representatives discussed how these groups coordinate their gatherings on social media which makes law enforcement response very difficult.   Also discussed were options to impound vehicles but that typically is a short term solution since all the owner needs to provide is a valid driver license and proof of insurance and can get their car back the next day.  Bottom line - difficult effort.

 

7.  Multnomah Community College - Fall term has started and enrollment has increased.   Two new Board members have joined the Board and a welcome was conducted for students.  A current Board focus item is community outreach.   There is an effort to increase student housing and the old Pony Solider Inn is being rehabbed and will offer 75 units for student housing.

 

MHCC has been recognized as Number 4 for best value and will begin offering a bachelor's degree in cyber security next year.   A recent survey indicated 87% of their students are employed within 6 months of graduation.  The new Dental Hygiene Center is open.   MHCC and Corbett Schools are working toward a partnership to offer the community a selection of classes at the new Woodard campus.

 

8.  Grange - On the 22nd of October from 1-4 pm the Grange will be having their annual used book sale. 

 https://www.columbiagrange267.org/new-events/2023/10/22/used-book-exchange

Drop your books off here:  211 NE 365th Ave, Corbett (on the deck under the eaves), until Saturday, October 21.  We are accepting your lightly used books- the books you know your friends want. Please no text, reference or computer how-to books. Proceeds from this sale will be donated to the Grange Scholarship and Holiday Family Fund.  Questions?  Call Malinda Carlson 971-271-4156

On October 28th Menucha Retreat is hosting a harmonica concert at 6 pm.  And on October 29th from 2-4 pm the Grange is having a community pumpkin carving event.  There was a brief discussion about the Grange Adopt a Road litter patrol effort.    The Grange is working with the Corbett School Key Club in a joint effort.  The Grange paperwork has been completed and they will borrow equipment from NEMCCA until Country Roads gets their equipment.

 

9.  Citizens Patrol - The effort to provide school support is going well and in the morning they have two volunteers working from 7:35 until 8:00 am and in the evenings three volunteers from 3:30 until 4:00 pm.   CP will be supporting the football game this week and providing patrols at Vista House on Halloween to prevent vandalism.

 

10.  Forest Service - Discussion of ongoing personnel changes and planned expansions.   Window for new position applications will be open starting on October 19th through around Thanksgiving.   These will be for seasonal job beginning in the April to May 2024 time period

 

Public use restrictions have been canceled but campgrounds are now closed for the season.   A plan is being developed for work at the Sandy River Delta beginning next Spring.   Ongoing project is under way to relocate the front gate approximately 25 yards down the road from its current position.

 

11.  Multnomah County Roads - Introduction of two new personnel and detailed their recent promotions!  Thanked NEMCCA for the Adopt a Road effort and indicated that new signs will be erected on upper Corbett Hill Road and on Chamberlain.   Brush cutting effort underway and will continue over the winter as weather and equipment allows.  Discussion of several sink / pot holes around the community and efforts to address many of these before winter, they have already used 3400 pounds of patch in potholes and is you've seen a patched hole, it was mostly like MultCo.  The County had been in talks with Gresham regarding repairing the bad area of road on Pounder.  It looks like Gresham will not be available to help so the County will be approaching that section of road with a new method to fix the area.  Please watch for signs that work is being done.

Expecting eight new hires shortly, plus in the future the hiring of a vegetation specialist.   The work order for the school sign on Bell Road is done.  Discussion of the on going Stark Street Bridge inspection -  should be completed on October 5th.

 

12.  Corbett Fire District - District has nine  new recruits and training will begin on October 25th.   On October 14th the district will hold an open house in conjunction with a morning garage sale.  Garage sale will begin at 8:30 and will overlap with the Open House (starting at noon).  Both will wrap up at 3 pm.

During the open house community members will be given an opportunity to sign up for CPR training. There will be differing levels of class from "I just want to know how to do it" to "I want to be certified" and going up to Basic Life Support.  Classes will be determined by the number of interested people.

 

13.  Oregon Department of Transportation - The next Historic Highway Advisory Committee meeting will be on December 7th, location TBD.   The data from the Summer Timed Permit Use has been compiled and will be shared at the November NEMCCA meeting.   Multnomah Falls Viaduct project bids went out in September and the project will start in 2024 with the western viaduct closure.

 

14.  NEMCCA made a request for volunteers to support the on going litter patrol effort.   Contact Dave Mysinger at: bullinthegorge@yahoo.com or Erick Johnson at: erick.johnson@multco.us