March General Meeting Minutes

Meeting Date:

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Meeting type:

General

PHAN General Meeting Minutes

3/23/10

The meeting was called to order by President Carol Williams at 7:14 pm.
Present: Carol / AJ / Andi / Becky
Absent: Eric / John / Stephanie
Guests:
Officer Botitus and Cadet Jose
Patty Brost – Oregon Lung Association
Don Francis – EcoTech

The January General Meeting minutes were approved as read.

Treasurer’s Report - John
Due to a family emergency, John was unable to attend tonight’s meeting to provide the Treasurer’s Report.

Guest Speakers
Officer Botitus w/ Cadet Jose – Portland Police Officers
Officer Botitus reviewed recent crime statistics for Parkrose Heights. For detailed information on current statistics, neighbors can call City of Portland Information and Referral, 503-823-4000 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays. Residents can also look up information online at http://www.portlandonline.com/Police/crimestats/.

Officer Botitus also addressed neighbor concerns including:

Theft from autos

Do not leave valuables such as GPS equipment, purses, etc, unattended in vehicles

Response to calls in neighborhood

When officers are actively responding to an incident in the neighborhood, residents are advised to remain in their homes. Coming outside to find out what is going on puts everyone’s safety at risk. Residents can call the East Precinct @ 503-823-1400 to get current information about what police are responding to in the area.
If multiple police are responding to a call, they may be searching the area for a suspect. If a resident sees or hears someone in their yard, they should call 911. This information might help police track the direction the suspect is going.

Missing items

Missing items should be reported even if the exact time the disappearance occurred is not known. This helps the police compile more accurate crime statistics, which affects the number of officers assigned to an area. It also provides leverage if the resident chooses to file an insurance claim.
Reports should be filed during daytime business hours if possible. Residents can self-report low level crimes using an online form found at

http://www.portlandonline.com/police/.

Elections
A motion passed to reelect incumbents Carol Williams - President, John Stockem - Treasure, and Eric Worley – Planning and Zoning.
Jim Murphy is interested in becoming a member-at-large. He will attend the next board meeting to get a better idea of what a member-at-large does.

Radon in Our Neighborhoods
Patty Brost – American Lung Association in Oregon
Don Francis – EcoTech
Patty and Don gave a timely presentation explaining

what radon is
where radon comes from
how to test for radon
how to fix a home with a radon problem.

Both Patty and Don have lost a family member to lung cancer. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers in the U.S. Radon is an invisible, odorless and tasteless gas, with no immediate health symptoms, that comes from the breakdown of uranium inside the earth. Nearly half of Northeast Portland homes have indoor radon levels above the Environmental Protection Agency recommended action level. The American Lung Association and the EPA recommend that every home be tested for radon. Previously tested homes should be retested if they have been remodeled or weatherized. Testing for radon is easy and inexpensive (current cost appxly $14.) For more information on testing and associated government regulations, including the requirement to report known radon levels when a home is sold, go to www.lungoregon.org/air/Radon.html and/or http://epa.gov/radon/

Radon gas can be prevented from entering homes through the installation of a home radon mitigation system (current cost $1400 ~ $2100.) Learn more about EcoTech and radon mitigation at www.oregonradon.com and http://ecotechllc.com/radon.htm

The meeting adjourned at 8:21 pm.

Next Board Meeting – April 20, 2010 @ 7pm

Next General Meeting – June 22, 2010 @ 7pm

Unless otherwise noted, all meetings held at:

Parkrose Heights United Methodist Church / NE 111th and Knott

Respectfully submitted by: Becky Hartsfield, PHAN Recording Secretary