Mill Park Neighborhood Association

MINUTES FROM MARCH 2026 MILL PARK NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCATION MEETING

The meeting commenced on Thursday, March 26 at 6:31 pm at Gethsemane Lutheran Church.

Board Members in Attendance: Emily Hutsell, Trevor Hopper, Heather Blackwell, Reilly Benton-Collins, Jasmine Stoner, and Lacey Sutton.

Minutes from the previous meeting from February 2026 were read and approved.

Treasurer’s Report: $4599.63

New Business:

Trevor would like to submit a request for the resiliency grant of $600. We discussed the following options: repairing the garden beds and enhancing the soil at the East Portland Community Center, providing swag or other items at the movie night, or offering childcare during meetings.

Jasmine Stoner made a motion to apply for the Resiliency Grant Funding for repairing the garden beds at EPCC and getting glowsticks for our Trunk or Treat event. Jasmine Spruge seconded it. It passed a vote. Gethsemane Church may be able to provide matching funds.

Jasmine Stoner made a motion that Trevor will also be applying for a Portland Parks Foundation grant to cover the $1000 that we need to pay for the movie. Emily seconded it. It passed a vote.

Free For All Event Planning

Parks and Rec will contract a food truck option for a sweet treat, something like shaved ice, ice cream, or donuts. We discussed doing tickets for a free item that we can hand out during the event and Gethsemane may also be able to provide matching funds.

Trevor is working on trying to organize games at the event.

We planned to have cases of water to hand out and get a company to donate it.

We are allowed to have two organizations to have a table. We discussed having Trimet as one of them.

Neighborhood Event Updates

DDHS Latino Student Union is hosting a Town Hall on Immigration to stand in solidarity with immigrant students and families impacted by ICE policies. It is happening on April 10 at 5:00pm at David Douglas PAC 1400 SE 130th Ave.

The annual Gethsemane Church Rummage Sale will be from May 1-3.

There will be a Palm Sunday event for families in the old K-mart building in Gresham on March 29th.

The 82nd Avenue Parade of Roses will be on April 25. There will also be a carnival in the Hong Phat parking lot on April 24 - April 26. For more information about all of the weekend events please visit 82RosesHeartPortland.com

District 1 Budget Coordination Budget review will be on Wednesday, April 1st at NE 122nd Fire Station (4800 NE 122nd) Starting at 6:30pm.

Budget Process & Timeline The coalition met to discuss the upcoming budget cycle. While the District 1 Open House is scheduled for April 13th, it was noted that this date falls three days after the final April 10th deadline for feedback submissions to the Budget Office. Consequently, all community input must be finalized and submitted before the Mayor completes the budget.

Outreach & Feedback Strategy To meet this deadline, the coalition is implementing a neighborhood canvassing system. Each neighborhood will be provided with an account to facilitate early data collection. To maximize reach and community support, neighborhood associations will partner with local mutual aid and community organizations. These collaborations aim to bridge gaps between existing groups and ensure a broader range of neighbor feedback is included in the final submission.

Olena from the Community Investment Trust. They are going to be doing an event on Saturday, May 9th at the CIT building for the registration form with a resource fair. Mill Park could do a table. Starts at 9-2pm.

Meeting Adjourned at 7:51pm

82 Avenue of Roses Parade Roses in the Heart of Portland

Town hall with State Representatives Valderrama and Wise, and State Senator Jama at Ron Russell Middle School.

JANUARY MEETING MINUTES

Meeting commenced on Thursday, January 22 at 6:34 pm at Gethsemane Lutheran Church.

Board Members in Attendance: Emily Hutsell, Trevor Hopper, Heather Blackwell, Reilly Benton-Collins, Jasmine Stoner, and Lacey Sutton.

Minutes from the previous meeting (October 23, 2025) were read and approved.

Treasurer’s Report was: $2457.51

Guests
Emma Jenson (she/they) Community Outreach and Engagement Coordinator representing Portland City Councilor for District 1, Jamie Dunphy. She reiterated it is very important to document situations with ICE. Documenting is key. Emma also mentioned that the county is getting creative on other ways that we can create “private properties” to try and protect vulnerable individuals. Neighbors are welcome to contact Emma at [email protected] or 503-865-6879

New Business:

A neighbor is part of ICE watch at Cherry Park Elementary with 12 volunteers and they do watch at drop-off and pick-up.
It was reiterated that you have the right for free speech and the right to record, but other than that the actions we can do are limited. It is very important to document what is happening.
For more information, check out Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (PIRC)
There are concerns Portland Police doing SWAT training by the parking lot of East Portland Community Center and right by Mill Park School.

Updates from Pastor Sarah from Gethsemane
There are opportunities in having Migra watches if there is interest from others we can get additional watches scheduled.
Friends of Trees is hosting an event on March 7, more details to come in the February meeting
Would like to host workshops in the spring on a variety of nature-scaping and climate

Leech Botanical Garden would like to sign up to be a member because those numbers are important. Gift Membership | Support Leach Botanical Garden

Emily gave an update on the grant of $1500 that we need to spend before the end of January. We decided that a good use of funds would be to invest in a refurbished Chromebook ($300) and an owl camera ($500) so that we can reach a wider audience by having the meetings be virtual. Heather is going to have the logo file improved so that it can be easily used to print signs and other materials to engage the community.

Lacey shared the long-standing issues that the Habitat for Humanity homes that were built on Cherry Blossom. These included a lack of fire access, safety code violations, and a severe lack of parking.
Trevor Hopper shared his plans to have more activities in the neighborhood to connect and get people excited.
Meeting adjourned at 8:01pm

Please shop our neighborhood yard sale this weekend! Use the QR code to see where the sales are or add your own sale!

Come out Tuesday, August 6th from 6pm to 8pm at SE 117th & Market St and join your neighbors for a National night out block party compliments of Mill Park Neighborhood Association and Gethsemane Lutheran Church! Dinner, crafts, a bounce house.. hope to see you all there!!

Please come out on Saturday morning, April 20th and help clean up the neighborhood!! Follow the link below for more info.. 😁

Mill Park Earth Day Clean Up Mill Park Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a neighborhood cleanup along 122nd Ave with the assistance and support of CIT Plaza 122 and Cultivate Initiativates. Advanced Registration: Is required. Please sign up (green button below) ahead of time to guarantee your spot.Meeting Location: Volunte...