March 2026 MNA Meeting Minutes

Montavilla Neighborhood Association 

February Meeting Minutes 

03/09/26

Present Board Members: 

Steph Cleary, President

Kristina Perry, Vice President

Keegan Baurer, Secretary

Sarah Hartzel, Treasurer 

Adam Fiss, SE Uplift Liaison 

Louise Hoff, Member at large

Elisabeth Litster, Member at large

Laura Mulligan, Member at large 

Emily Meneer, Member at Large

Steph called this meeting to order on 03/09/26 at 6:35pm after confirming that a quorum was present. 

Agenda: 

1. Treasurer Report

2. SE Uplift

3. Parks and Gardens

4. Communications Committee

5. Land Use and Transportation 

6. Oak Street Community Action Committee

7. Harrison Community GNA Committee

8. Art Walk Committee

9. Joy Committee

10. Archeology Roadshow

11. Montavilla Farmer’s Market

12. METBA / Rose Parade

13. City Hall Update

14. PEMO

15. Unfinished Business

16. New Business 

Vote to approve February minutes. Motion by Steph. Seconded by Keegan. In favor: 6. Opposed: 0. Motion passes. 

1. Treasurer Report: 

   1. There were minimal updates for the month of February. The new bank account has been opened and the old account will be closed out tomorrow (with funds being transferred as well).

1. SE Uplift:

   1. There were minimal updates for the month of February. SE Uplift hosted a 2025 small grants recap, with MNA getting a shoutout.

1. Parks and Gardens:

   1. Several parks and gardens projects are underway. The committee is still waiting to hear from the school to confirm that an entry gate can be obtained for the arboretum.

1. Communications Committee:

   1. There is an upcoming meet and greet event on 03/25. Steph has ordered 5000 mailers to be distributed to Montavilla residents. There will be pizza at Flying Pizza followed by a viewing of Goonies at the Academy Theater. MNA exceeded the $3000 allotted grant by a few hundred dollars. MNA will use SE Uplift communications grant to cover the difference.

1. Land Use and Transportation: 

   1. Nadim not present at the meeting to provide updates. Adam offered an update on 82nd BAT Lanes. Trimet has announced their decision to pursue business and access transit lanes (bus lanes through the whole seven mile stretch).

1. Oak Street Community Action Committee: 

   1. No major updates offered. Village operations appear to be proceeding without incident. Meetings have been titrated down to a less frequent cadence.

1. Harrison Community GNA Committee: 

   1. The GNA was recently unveiled to the public. Public comments and feedback will be accepted until 03/13 after which signatures will be gathered from the involved parties.

1. Art Walk

   1. The Art Walk Committee is exploring three different options for the event. Partnering with the Mt Tabor Art Walk appears to not be an option due to a lack of response from them. MNA could host an independent art walk on a separate date or Montavilla could have an official presence at Open Studio. The latter happens in October but artist application window closed yesterday. The committee is currently looking into demand and artist needs for this event. They will likely send out a survey or post questions in the newsletter to gather more information.

1. Joy Committee

   1. The current committee focus is on the Montavilla mixer event (see above).

1. Archaeology Roadshow

   1. Event coordinator, Victoria, spoke about the organization. Archaeology Roadshow is a four hour living museum focused on celebrating archaeology and history. The organization collaborates with community partners, counties, tribes and historical societies. Their event this year is on 05/30/26 and will be held at Gateway Discovery Park. The theme of the event is the archaeology of fire and water. The organization is pushing for community connections year. Last year’s event had over 400 visitors. They are interested in MNA hosting a booth that discusses the history of the neighborhood. The deadline for exhibitors is 04/01.

1. Montavilla Farmers Market

   1. The farmer’s market has had their lot for nineteen years but that lot is currently up for sale. The market will likely need to find a new location and is currently searching for a new home. They have sent out a survey for vendor and community input on what is most desired in a new location for the market. A call to action was stated for residents to complete the survey and share any leads on new sites.

1. METBA / Rose Parade

   1. The 82nd Ave Roses Parade will be happening for 20th consecutive year. It is a weekend long event that kicks of on 04/25/26. It will start with some events on Friday, followed by the parade on Saturday, with additional events on Sunday. Oregon Walks is hosting a walk that weekend (may come to Montavilla); route to be determined. They will be bringing back the carnival in the Eastport Plaza parking lot. East Portland Chamber of Commerce is throwing a “food cart frenzy.” There will be a vintage car show after the parade. Tim Marino, newly elected to METBA board, shared that METBA is undergoing a restructuring during the first quarter of 2026 (bylaws, developing a more transparent workflow for communication with the neighborhood, etc.). There will be a pause on new events and they are beginning a conversation of how to use their platform to promote events and increase conversations. They are working on a new website (“MeetMeInMontavilla”) to foster neighborhood conversations while the regular METBA site will function as a directory.

1. City Hall Update:

   1. Per Spencer, the legislation regarding address sex trafficking that was mentioned during last MNA meeting has passed the committee review and be will be heard at the full council meeting on 03/11/26.

1. PEMO Update

   1. Residents can contact Kristina at kristina@montavilla.org with any concerns to be raised at PEMO meetings.

1. Unfinished Business: 

   1. Per Terry, PCC is going on strike this Wednesday (both faculty union and the professional staff). This will be the largest community college strike in the country, with primary concerns being COLA and insurance issues.

1. New Business:

   1. Angelita Morillo coming to speak at an upcoming MNA meeting. Details to be announced.

Steph moved to adjourn the meeting at 07:23pm. Keegan seconded.