Don’t forget to review the three “concept plans” for the park (pieces of which can be mixed and match into an ultimate final draft, based on public comment). Click here to view the concept plans online (they take awhile to load), or visit Lents Commons to see them in person.

You have until 5 p.m. Sept. 15 (note extended deadline) to complete the survey, which can be found here. You can also pick up or drop off a survey at Lents Commons.

Here are some of the prizes we’ll be awarding to participants:

Grand Prize: $50 Cinemark/Eastport Cinemas gift card (Courtesy Lents Neighborhood Association)

Other prizes:

• Gift cards to Reser’s outlet store (Courtesy Parks)
• One $20 Fred Meyer gift card (Courtesy LNA)
• Two $10 gift certificates to Lents Commons (Courtesy LNA)
• And whatever else Parks can donate (maybe some pool passes or something?)

Get those surveys completed! Winners will be announced at the LNA Annual Meeting in September.

Concepts for the master plan can be viewed here, or at Lents Commons, 9201 SE Foster Road.

The survey can be found at http://tinyurl.com/TalkLentsPark

Comments are due by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8.

Elections: Nominations are due in August for the Lents Neighborhood Association Board. For information, contact Nomination Committee Chair Clint Lenard at clint@ilovelents.com.

These positions are up for a vote in 2010:

• Chair (Special election, one year term)
• Vice Chair
• Secretary
• Treasurer
• Public Safety
• At-Large
• At-Large/Education

Below are the approved revisions to the LNA bylaws. Sections stricken from the old bylaws appear [with strikethru font] and sections added to the bylaws appear bold and italicized.

Article VII, Section 3

Terms of office are two years and [are staggered between even and odd years] shall begin as specified in Section 8. If a Board member has been elected for two consecutive terms, they may not [run for] nominate themselves for that position for a third consecutive term, but may [be elected to] nominate themselves for another Board position. Said Board member may run for a previous position after a one-term hiatus. [Members wishing to run for additional consecutive terms may run with the approval of the general membership.]

A member may run for a third consecutive term in a Board position if,

Article VII, Section 8

1. Chair: The Chair is the President of the Lents Neighborhood Association, and shall preside at all board meetings and all membership meetings, and shall perform such duties as the Board and the membership from time to time authorizes. The Chair shall represent the position of the Board and the interests of the LNA. The Chair may also share certain duties with the Vice Chair with approval of the Board. This position shall be up for election in odd-numbered years.
2. Vice Chair: The Vice Chair shall perform the duties of the Chair in his/her absence, and as authorized by the bylaws or regulations of the Board. This position shall be up for election in even-numbered years.
3. Secretary: The Secretary shall record and maintain minutes of membership and board meetings, assist the Chair with correspondence, and maintain the non-financial files of the LNA. The Secretary will maintain a list of Board members and their terms. This position shall be up for election in even-numbered years.
4. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall have charge of all funds belonging to the LNA and shall receive, deposit and disburse funds for the LNA in a bank or financial institution in such manner as designated by the Board. The Treasurer shall make financial reports as directed by the Board. This position shall be up for election in even-numbered years.
5. Land Use Chair: The Land Use Chair shall represent the Land Use Committee on the Board, be responsible for all land use issues, and will act as the LNA’s representative in the community on land use issues. The Land Use Committee is a standing committee, and shall have the authority to make determinations on land use decisions on behalf of the LNA. This position shall be up for election in odd-numbered years.
6. Transportation Chair: The Transportation Chair shall represent the Transportation Committee on the Board, will be responsible for all transportation issues, and will act as the LNA’s representative in the community on transportation issues. This position shall be up for election in odd-numbered years.
7. Public Safety Chair: The Public Safety Chair shall represent the Public Safety Committee on the Board, will develop crime prevention and safety related programs, and will act as the LNA’s representative in the community on public safety issues. This position shall be up for election in even-numbered years.
8. One at-large seat will be up for election in even-numbered years; two at-large seats will be up for election in odd-numbered years.

Click here view the agenda for the July 27, 2010 Lents Neighborhood Association general meeting. (PDF format)

Earlier this year, an LNA task force sent Walmart a list of requests for the expansion project, requests designed to help the store integrate into the neighborhood.

The Walmart presentation is scheduled at 8 p.m. July 27 at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 8835 SE Woodstock.

The transportation bureau is preparing to conduct a design evaluation of the bike lanes on Holgate, and we would like to hear from you — drivers, cyclists, pedestrians and business owners — about what works and what doesn’t work well.

The bike lanes have a long history:

In the 1980s, Holgate was widened from 3 to 5 lanes to accommodate expected growth spurred by a Holgate exit on Interstate 205. That traffic never came, and Holgate has traffic volumes similar to other 3-lane streets in Portland.

In 2008, a Powellhurst-Gilbert Neighborhood Association board member suggested Holgate should have a bike lane. Both the P-G and Lents associations endorsed the plan, and in 2009, the transportation bureau re-striped Holgate with the buffered bike lane.

For more information on the bike lanes, click here. An action alert by a cycling advocacy organization can be found here. KATU aired a story earlier this year with the opinions of some bike lane opponents.

If you cannot attend the meeting, e-mail comments to Jeff Smith at jeff.smith@pdxtrans.org or call 503-823-7083.

Ramona Street Fair 2010 is July 18, with food, drinks, music, vendors and more!

The street fair is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 18 on Ramona Festival Street, between 92nd Avenue and the I-205 Mixed-Use Path.

Also on Sunday is the Lents International Farmers Market and the Eastside Sunday Parkways.

Free secure bicycle parking in the old Iron Works parking lot (off the I-205 Path and Foster Road)

(L) – Lents Local business

Food & Drink Vendors:

• Ararat Bakery and Restaurant
• Coyote’s Catering – with beer/wine
• Domo Dogs
• (L) El Pato Feliz
• (L) Lents Commons
• Pyro Pizza
• Potato Champion
• Personal Touch Catering

Vendors/information booths: 

Event Sponsors

• Kickdown Records
• (L) Lents Creative
• (L) Lents Neighborhood Association

Others:

• Above the Fold – jewelry
• Animal Aid
• Cadaverous Lovely – accessories
• (L) Green Lents Initiative
• Hannah – art
• House of Six Cats – art
• Just 2 Moms – children’s toys
• Leah & Crystal – art
• (L) Lents Grocery
• Little Fancies
• N&B Naturals – natural cosmetics
• OneStop Sustainability Shop
• Oregon Progressive Party
• Portland Development Commission
• Portland Parks / City Nature
• Scentsy – candles
• (L ) Tha Shop
• (L) The Village Free School
• (L) Trillium Artisans

The Lents Neighborhood Association is excited about this year’s Ramona Street Fair, despite the city making a last-minute change to the route for Sunday Parkways.

The second annual Ramona Street Fair is scheduled for 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. July 18 on Ramona Street, between 92nd Avenue and the I-205 Multi-Use Path/Lents Town Center MAX Station.

The event features food, music, craft vendors and information booths. It also links the I-205 path — which is open for cyclists and pedestrians — to the Lents International Farmers Market and the Lents Town Center commercial district.

Originally, the event was planned to provide pedestrians and cyclists on the Sunday Parkways’ southern loop with an attractive connection to the Lents Town Center. The route changed because the Portland Parks Department’s reconstruction of the Springwater Trail is incomplete and the Portland Bureau of Transportation, which organizes the parkways, was unaware of the ongoing trail work.

The Lents Neighborhood Association, which is organizing the event, is hopeful cyclists will venture off the remaining loop to visit the Lents Town Center’s businesses, farmers market and street fair.

About Lents

This historic neighborhood of southeast Portland is a thriving, diverse community. Centered around the intersection of Foster Road and 92nd Avenue, Lents is home to more than 20,000 people enjoying the community’s parks, town center and a wildlife refuge. With the Springwater Corridor, the MAX Green Line, Foster Road and Interstate 205, Lents is the crossroads of the eastside.

The Lents Neighborhood Association will be hosting Ramona Street Fair on July 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help set up and clean up, monitor events and assist as necessary. You don’t need to work the whole day.

Contact nick@ilovelents.com to volunteer.

Sunday Parkways could bring as many as 20,000 people to Lents on July 18. If you can’t commit to Ramona Street Fair, contact Neal Armstrong at Neal@GoodSportPromotion.com to volunteer for Sunday Parkways.