Safety Meeting Notes

Safety Meeting Notes
Northeast Multnomah County Community Association
NEMCCA
May 7, 2025

Corbett School District: D. Fialkiewicz
School year wraps up on May 30th, that will be a half day getting out at 12:30, please be aware as traffic patterns will be different.
As you are aware there has been a posting on the local facebook page, the school is doing its own investigation into the accusations. They are working with Vice Chair Leah Fredericks and will come out with a statement once their investigation is concluded.
Rhiannon Young has been named as one of the finalist for the On-Point teacher of the year. The winner will be announced at the end of the month.
There has been a great partnership with the Springdale Job Corp, also with Menucha. Thank you.
The first electric bus has arrived. This bus was obtained with a grant from PGE and a rebate from the EPA. The original grant was for two buses, but the EPA rebates are gone so they will need to a different source of funds. These buses did not cost the school or the community any money.

Historical Society: M. Fruend
There will be an Open House and auction on August 23, 2025. There is no information yet on if they are looking for donations but that will be shared out later.
Interior work is on-going.

Friends of the Sandy River Delta: B. Adams
The Friends have purchased $3,900 in 3/4 minus gravel for work on the trails to get them ready for the summer. Thank you to the volunteer who mowed all the trails and didn't charge anything! The members donate a lot of time and personal money to keeping the organization together and it is greatly appreciated.
Restrooms need pumped. The Friends are being told all of the supplies are being run/approved through the GSA and that includes pumping. Right now they are being told there may only be one pumping of the toilets.
Intake from fees at the Delta run around $45,000 a year but this has not been translating to services at that location.
For example, dog bags to pick up after your dog at the park are almost out and are part of the supplies needed to be approved through the GSA. Estimation is that will be $1,500 for a year. That isn't a large amount for the Forest Service, but its a large portion of the SRD budget. To make sure the bags will be available the Friends will be purchasing three months of supplies. (The Friends operate on donations and volunteers, their annual donations run close to $4,000 and the majority of that goes to gravel purchase.)
Information that came in Thursday: Please let everyone know 30 rolls of dog bags have shown up at the Delta, and the restroom will be pumped today.

Multnomah County Transportation: E. Nilenders
Transit is looking to get out information their Dial a Ride program. This program is free to those who use it and is open to all but will prioritize the elderly and disabled. The ride needs to be arranged three days in advance and they can take you shopping, to medical appointments, etc. If you are able to ride transit the program will take you to the nearest transit hub or to your destination, whichever is closer. If you are unable to ride transit they will deliver you to the requested location. (The airport was discussed, looks like you can get delivered to the closest transit hub that will take you to the airport.)
This program has been in effect since 2020 but the implementation was impacted by Covid. Eve has presented at the Senior lunch at the Grange.
The agency is looking to add a couple shopping shuttles a month to the area and want to know what people would like to see on the schedule. A central location will be arranged for the shuttle pick up if you want to use the shopping option.
(Follow up after the meeting showed these locations as places of interest: Chase Bank, OnPoint ,Oregonians Credit Union, Umpqua Bank, BofA, Legacy Mount Hood, Fred Meyer, Walgreens, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Kohl’s, BiMart, Natural Grocers, Coastal ,Winco, Harbor Freight, Walmart ,Medical Center,EyeHealth NW.
Overall observations: 257th & Stark was the biggest location requested, Travel for medical appointments and banking is important. Interest in travel to Washington for recreational)
You can go to the website to give input: https://multco.us/info/rural-shopping-shuttle
For those who may be driving an elderly neighbor to appointments or to shop, there is a program called Ride Together and you can be reimbursed for your expenses. Contact Eve for more information: eve.nilenders@multco.us

Mt Hood Community College: D. McKeel
Busy getting out the vote for the bond, (5/20/25). Their students have been working hard to get the word out and she will be meeting with students today May 7. (The Board meets twice a year with their students.) The college believes they have been on point with their message and thank you to everyone who has been supportive of their efforts.
Last Saturday the college celebrated 50 years of Head Start at their event center. They celebrate it every year, but this year was a major milestone.
The college has received the 2025 Exemplary CEO/Board Relationship Award from the American Association of Community Colleges, highlighting its strong leadership and partnership with the board.
The student art exhibit began May 5, 2025 and will run until May 29, 2025. The opening reception will be May 8 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.
Ms. McKeel will be presenting scholarships at the Corbett graduation the end of this month. The college has raised over $250,000 for scholarships to their students.

Grange: S. Grigsby
Thank you to the fire department for letting the Grange use the reader board, it really helps to get word out about their events.
Currently there is a message regarding the Plant Share that will be happening on May 10, 2025 from 10-2. Bring your starts or extras in and swap for plants you don't have or want more of. Do not bring in invasive plants please.
It was a good Meet and Greet of the school board candidates and the contested Water District position.
Senior Lunches are held at the Grange on the last Monday of the month. This month it will fall on Memorial Day (5/26) and they will be offering Memorial Day food. It will be open to Everyone this month, not just Seniors.
The State Grange Convention will be held at the school from June 21, 2025 to June 26, 2025. (Thank you Derek for all your help.) There will be approximately 175 Grange Members attending from all over the State. Part of the events will include an Ag Tour (two small buses, five or six farms in the area), and some contest.
Contests are open to members and non-members with registration beginning in June. All contests are open to members and non-members. Each contestant can have on one entry per category: Baked Goods, Preserved Foods, Crafts, Textiles. Fill out the form that can be found here
https://orgrange.org/res/info/awards/OSG_Awards_GWA.pdf
There will be a blood drive at the Grange on August 15, 2025, it may be a mix of drop in and appointment, more to come.

Menucha: C. McHill & D. Vasen
There will be a work party Saturday May 10 from 10-3. Volunteers will be fed! Email Debbie at hello@menucha.org if you have any questions.
Flower walk will be May 17 from 1-3. No pre-registration necessary, just check in at the greenhouse for maps and then wander where you will.
Sunday 6/29 there is an Open House from 11-3. This will be an Annual event. Come down, see the grounds, bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the time. Ice Cream will be provided.
Menucha is working with PGE to get a grant for electric vehicles. They are in the running. Thank you Derek for your help.
There is a Survivor Path being installed with art for visitors to walk and enjoy. The path will be open June 1 to thank donors and will be ready for everyone by Open House time.
Lots of programs are coming up.
Menucha is partnering with Write around Portland (https://www.writearound.org/)
Bluegrass in the Gorge will be May 29- June 1 with a Bluegrass Concert on May 31st at the Grange. https://menucha.org/programs/bluegrass Cost is $20 for non-Grange members, $10 for Grange members and starts at 7 pm.

Multnomah County Emergency Management Services: L. Lledgerwood-Eberlein
The hot, dry weather is here and the forecast is for greater fire potential. EMS is getting ready for fire response.
The Genasys system for fire evacuation is getting closer to being on board with hopes it will be ready to use this year. (https://genasys.com/wildfires/)
Lydia is available for community outreach. That includes meeting with groups for preparedness presentation, training, print materials, or a tabling event. You can request any of these trainings at: https://multco.us/info/operations-division-staff
Evacuation route presentation is approximately 90 minutes, trainings take longer. NEMCCA will work to coordinate a presentation.

American Red Cross: R. Gutierrez
National Sound the Alarm campaign is in effect right now. You can reach out to have the Red Cross come in and install free smoke alarms in your home. They will also help draw up escape plans with you and offer you fire safety tips. Volunteers are needed to help implement this program. (https://www.redcross.org/sound-the-alarm.html)
The Red Cross is also available to help with Wildfire Prevention and Mitigation. The Red Cross is available to come to your property, walk the exterior and give you ideas on how to provide defensible space, and then come in and do the interior with smoke alarms.
Sign up at www.redcross.org/local/Oregon
The Red Cross would also like to reach out to student communities and Spanish speaking communities. If you know of a community that would benefit from this, please reach out to Rafael at: rafael.gutierrezbara@redcross.org
Volunteers are also needed for evacuations, deployments and assistance with sheltering facilities if you, or anyone you know, are interested in volunteering.

Firewise: R. Uleners
Corbett is being recognized as a Firewise Community for the third year now.
In July there will be a chipper day, exact date and time to follow.
If you are working on your property please put in your hours! This helps us to maintain our Firewise designation and helps get grants (like the chipper) and might help with our fire rating through the fire department.
Hours can be logged at: https://www.corbettfirewise.org/
Activities that count toward hours are anything you do to reduce fire potential. (Examples include: removing pine needles and leaf litter from roof and gutters, replaced vinyl gutters with metal gutters, ignition-resistant exterior improvements, installing screening on vents, flammable items removed from under decks and porches, inspect roof and replace missing shingles, installation of hardscaping, replacing combustible mulches with stone/gravel options, tree and shrub removal, raking and removal of pine needles, leaves, ground litter/debris, tree trimming/limbing, moving firewood, lawn and native grass maintenance.)

MultCo Roads: T. Kunter
Vegetation control is being done now, you may have seen the mowers out in your area. The two new machines for mowing/ditching have arrived and will make ditching easier as it can be done by one person.
Spraying will be starting, this is the first time they have been out in four years and they are working with the vegetation specialist to get the work done with the least amount of chemicals.
Owner maintained segments. This is a program offered by the County and if you are registered a sign will be placed to show where the county will stop and start the road care. Everyone is welcome to apply, but there are requirements and you must do the work yourself. https://multco.us/info/owner-vegetation-maintenance-agreement
The County crews have been doing a lot of ditching in the Gordon Creek/Trout Creek area ahead of the PGE crews undergrounding the power lines. This will establish the placement and depth of the ditches so PGE can be sure to get their lines deep enough there won't be concern about exposing the lines when doing maintenance ditching later.
This work has gotten the vegetation back from the roads and you can now see the fog line on Trout Creek Road.
Surface work will be happening on Howard sometime between July 30 and August 30. This will be where the road has been ground and other spots that have been noticed when doing inspections.
Patching on Larch is being scheduled due to the road being heavily traveled with the log trucks. Gordon Creek and Hurlburt will be worked on, some areas with breakdown but not all the way to potholes may receive an overlay.
Clara Smith and Reed will be having grind in place done this year similar to what happened on Howard Road. The goal is to have the paving done this year but if that can't happen they will come back next year to finish.
Pounder is on the schedule for next year.
The sinkholes on Mershon have been fixed.
There has been a lot of dumping in our area and the crew tries to get out as quickly as possible to clean them up as one dump site tends to bring in more dumping. Thank you to Dave Mysinger for all the work he does with picking up litter. (Dumping tends to be locals.)
There have been a lot of vehicles, boats and items such as basketball hoops in the County road right of way and this is impeding the work the County is trying to do. Do not leave items in the road right of way, if you do your area may be skipped, or if the machinery hits something and is damaged you may get stuck with a large repair bill.
Driveway culverts: There has been several driveways with water running off them and coming on to the County road. It is the responsibility of the property owner to make sure water does not come on to the road, and if you do not have a culvert, or if it is plugged, you either need to install/clean it, or contact the County regarding having them put one in when they are working in the area. This may be the less expensive way to have the work done.
Signs have been installed at Lampert/Seidl where cars have been going through the guardrail and ending up in the pasture. The guardrail has been removed. Stop signs and dead end signs have been added.
Roads is hiring seasonal workers - go to Multco jobs, and maintenance workers. There are nine openings for maintenance and four seasonal. https://multco.us/programs/jobs
County Roads would like to come out to community events, please let them know if there is anything planned.

Springdale Job Corp: R. Morris & B. Schindeldecker
There is a new work based learning coordinator who is getting up to speed so there may be a short lag in responding to request.
The Job Corp is planning on being in the 4th of July parade again this year. They haven't heard from the 4th of July committee but they won't be allowing any staging on the property this year, if someone can let them know. (Mentioned MCSO also hasn't heard from them.)
Looking for pharmacy tech partners if anyone knows of possible partnerships. Really would like to have them get hands on experience before they leave the center.
Asplundh has been housing their equipment on site and are doing some clean up in exchange for space. Its been a win/win.

Sasquatch Shuttle: K. Krumpschmidt
They have started running the double decker buses, look for them on the roads.
The Waterfall Loop is $79 for adults, $59 for children and includes a $20 credit per ticket to the Fork Food Carts or the Sasquatch Adventure store in Fairview.
You can still purchase a $5 round trip day pass for the Multnomah Falls Park and Ride.

Oregon State Parks and Rec: J. Starr
Jami has been named the new Parks Manager, filing the position left vacant by retiring David Spangler. Her prior position is now vacant and they will be recruiting internally to fill.
There were eleven park ranger assistant vacancies, six have been filled with seasonal help, two are tentatively filled and three are still open. One of those is a temp position. Wages is around $20 an hour, but those hired qualify on day one for medical, dental, vacation time and you can vest in PERS if you are in the position for at least six months.
There will be two student positions posting this week for work at Rooster Rock, one for booth attendee and one for working at the front entrance of the office building. With the increase to $10 for a day pass it is expected there will be a higher demand for an annual $30 pass and they are staffing to try and handle that demand. You can purchase on line but they may be delays in processing, so plan accordingly.
Vista House is closed, they are working to alleviate the water infiltration problem and closed the building on April 29 and will reopen on May 22. The property is open to visitors, just not the building.
The budget biennium is coming up and Parks is looking at ADA improvements on the Ainsworth bathroom.
First Saturday of June is State Parks Day. Camping and day use will be free that day. Typically this is done in partnership with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife with free fishing day. Check with ODF&W regarding licensing requirements.
Once the Vista House reopens hours will be 9-5, four days a week. There has been discussion around opening it six days a week depending on volunteers, but that will also depend on if the road is open.

ODOT: T. Lingley and K. Kalsch
Summer congestion has started, to help with mitigation the timed permits are being used at the I-84 parking lot at exit 31. Sasquatch shuttle has the contract for permit checking. There is a two dollar processing fee if you reserve on line, there are tickets available for free for those who want to pick them up at Gateway to the Gorge Mall or at the Cascade Locks Museum.
There is not currently enough money to pay for a crosswalk flagger at Multnomah Falls. The County is still working on their budget so it is unknown if they will have money to contribute, ODOT will know more in June.
West viaduct work is on schedule to be done and is set to open next week. This means the turn around areas will now be open for parking.
Larch Mt land slide is being monitored daily while the contract is put in place. It is estimated to take two months to complete repairs once the project is ready to go, so the road will most likely be closed July and August of 2025. There is an expectation that the same issues being seen at Wakheena will be seen at Larch/Old Scenic Highway once work starts. Be aware there will be NO traffic going through, no vehicles, bikes, pedestrians, emergency responders. There will be a forty foot hole and no one is getting by.
ODOT is aware that with the Wakheena closure people are parking in the travel lanes. This issue has been raised with Law Enforcement.
The Eastbound bridge work at McCord Creek will have minimal impact this year but will have some full closures of I-84 during the 2025-2026 year.
Bridal Veil bridge rehab work is complete.
Sweepers just came through on their way to Latourell. Spraying and mowing will be coming back this way with the expectation to be in Corbett just before the 4th of July.
The budget is tight, construction you see now was already funded and started and is not from the maintenance monies so they are not on hold. Staff is back up to full strength but the dollars for supplies are not available.
Litter patrol on the Old Highway. You can fill out the form for ODOT and get the signs, vests, bags and pick up sticks.

MCSO: Deputy Kaiser
There have been a lot of dumped vehicles lately. Some have been removed, others have had owners contacted to haul out. One on upper Larch was shoved further down the embankment by some individuals which is complicating the removal. If the vehicles are not in the road they may sit for a while before being removed, but if they are in the will be removed immediately. Please email Deputy Kaiser if you see any of these vehicles and if possible send a picture of the plates so he can run for stolen. joe.kaiser@mcso.us
Extra patrols are being done at Vista House when staffing allows. These will be on going over the summer and will be random.
For Everyone's Information: Spinning out tires is considered speed racing and if you do this and are caught your vehicle may be towed.
The manager of the logging operation on Larch has been contacted regarding speed of trucks and patrols are monitoring throughout the hours of operation.
Budget so far is good. MCSO is opening up for some lateral transfers, there are some members in the academy and also have some recruits coming up that are looking good.
Deputy Kaiser is still on patrol rather than CRO and is working with Community Patrol. The group is a lifeline to the community and he really appreciates all they do.

CWD: L. Ronell
District Manager job position is open until May 30, 2025. Information is available on the district website: https://www.corbettwater.com/job-opportunities/
Ana Linden headed up a fundraising for the Springdale Job Corp students to attend the CPAC play. The Community donated around $600 and monies not spent will be given to the Job Corp for future use.
Larch Mt Reservoir, workers are digging out the overflow line, the District is waiting for a response from FEMA regarding funds.
There was a mainline leak last week on Knieriem when a homeowner failed to call Locate prior to digging. Workers had the line fixed in 2.5 hours. The District will be using a new emergency notification system, Everbridge. This will show calls coming from CWD and will use all methods for contact: phone, email, text. (Side note: make sure you've updated all of your contact information with the District if you aren't getting notified.) There is at least one more training session scheduled before implementation but it should be done this month.
For Community members interested in learning more about the District there are tours offered, lead by the utility workers. Please reach out to the office to schedule a tour.
Two story map pdfs will be going up on the website that provides a nice overview of the district.