Category: Neighborhood Newsletter

Sunnyside Neighborhood Community Cares (SNACC) Committee Updates

Last month the SNACC committee reviewed the strategic planning conversation we started at the beginning of the summer. In our June meeting, we did a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis with volunteers. We then revisited the needs assessment results and focused our energy on recruiting more volunteers, with the goal of extending operating hours at the Sunnyside Shower Project and increasing access for guests. 

We held two volunteer orientations in August and 11 new volunteers have since joined us. We hope to continue outreach to gain more volunteer support so that we can open the Sunnyside Shower Project (SSP) for additional days and times since this was the number one need identified in the needs assessment. 

Finally, we’re very excited to announce the art installation Artist Unknown which will be open at the Sunnyside Methodist Church and Community Center (3520 SE Yamhill St) from 5-9 p.m. on September 2nd and 3rd. This art show will feature works by unhoused artists, some of whom have been guests at the SSP. Artists will have works available for purchase and light refreshments will be available. Donations will be accepted and will go toward making long-overdue repairs to church windows. More information about this art show is available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/artist-unknown-tickets-394437612517. The next SNACC meeting will take place on Thursday September 15th from 6:30-8 p.m., location to be determined.

Getting to Know Your Neighbors

When she became the principal of Sunnyside Environmental School (SES) last year, Dr. Eryn Berg says it felt like a homecoming. “I was born on Southeast 53rd St,” says Berg. “And my grandma used to have chickens. So last year when I moved my stuff over to the school and and heard the chickens, I was like, ‘I feel like I’m home.’” A former high school English teacher who also writes poetry, Berg is a huge fan of Sunnyside, the neighborhood, as well (though she currently lives in Roseway). With school starting on August 30th, she has her hands full with meetings and welcoming teachers back to SES but she took the time to speak to us in mid-August. 

What did you do before being principal at SES? 

I’ve been an administrator at PPS for 15 years. Before that I was a high school English teacher at the High School of Telecommunication Arts & Technology in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I used to live in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn.  

Continue reading our full Q&A with Dr. Eryn Berg

Charter Commission Update

Recently, the Portland Charter Commission approved a plan to be voted on in the November election. This will be an opportunity for Portlanders to vote on the form we want our government to take and how our elections will work in the future. The Charter Commission has approved the following items in the measure:

  • City Councilors will no longer manage City Bureaus.
  • The mayor will no longer sit as a member of the City Council, but will have a vote to break ties.
  • The mayor will appoint a City Manager with day-to-day management responsibilities over the city bureaus. The City Manager appointment will be approved by a majority of the Council.
  • The mayor will not have veto authority over the City Council.
  • The City Council will include 12 members elected from four geographic districts, each having three members.
  • A ranked-choice-voting system will be put in place where voters may select multiple candidates running in their home district and order their choices. The top three vote getters will be elected.

The commission, arguing that these reforms work as a whole to increase representation, accountability, and improved governance, decided to place all of these measures into a single Yes/No ballot question.

We will have a member of the Charter Review Commission at our September 8th meeting to present the plan and answer questions from the community. This is an important and complex topic. Please bring your questions! The meeting will take place at SE Uplift, 3534 SE Main St. at 7 p.m.

You can read more at the Charter Commission website, https://www.portland.gov/omf/charter-review-commission.