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April 2023 Newsletter

9 people stand in front of a truck filled with ivy

RNA General Membership Meeting


Thursday, April 13, 2023, 6:00 - 7:15 p.m.

Hybrid Public Meeting


In Person: Linfield University, Building 2. Park in any unmarked space.

Zoom: https://bit.ly/russellmeeting2023

It’s the same every month!


Prologis Letter

If you live in Russell and its adjacent neighborhoods, you’ve been hearing about the Prologis Warehouse replacing the old K-Mart on NE 122nd. The Parkrose School Board, Parkrose Neighborhood Association and Argay Neighborhood Association are sending letters to city representatives requesting a moratorium on development of logistics warehouses over 250,000 square feet in East Portland in order to allow more time to review community concerns about diesel particulate air pollution, traffic congestion, and the jobs created by large warehouses. Russell Neighborhood Association will spend a portion of our meeting reviewing a draft of our own letter.

Neighborhood Emergency Team

We will also hear from a Russell neighbor on how you can get involved in our Neighborhood Emergency Team (NET). Currently the Russell team is so small that we are a part of the Argay Parkrose NET which means that in the event of a disaster, our meeting location for supplies is on the other side of I-84.


Join Us!
As always, our neighborhood meetings are also a chance to meet your neighbors and learn more about community events and activities. Two board member positions are current vacant. If you are interested in supporting your neighborhood association, please consider joining as a board member. You may email us or self-nominate at our upcoming meeting.

John Luby Park Restoration Projects

A large group of people stand in a Douglas Fir forested park. Some are holding gardening tools.

Thank you to all who have participated in our recent John Luby Park restoration events. In February, community members from all over Portland joined Russell neighborhood residents and elementary school children to plant a Nature Patch in John Luby Park. The Nature Patch is made up of a pallet of Douglas Fir forest understory plants such as Snowberry, Sword Fern, Oregon Grape, Salal, Vine Maple, and Ocean Spray.


In March, we hosted the final ivy removal event of the winter season. A small, but mighty group of volunteers overfilled the Portland Parks & Recreation truck with pesky ivy. The removal of the ivy will allow native plants to thrive. The area of the park overrun with ivy is also home to native species such as Douglas Fir trees, Snowberry, and Trillium.


Missed these events, but still want to help out? We will continue to need the help of eager volunteers to weed the Nature Patch over the summer. The ivy removal season will begin again in October with No Ivy Day.

Upcoming Events

  • East Portland Neighborhood Bike Fair on April 14 at Ventura Park Elementary: Sunday Parkways will offer free Learn-to-Ride activities for children and adults, bike repair, and safety education. They’ll have a fleet of bikes on site that people can borrow to participate in the activities. Their goal is to help people interested in biking to take that next step to get rolling.

Community Feedback Requested

  • The Office of Civic Life is requesting feedback from the community on a pilot program to test Gunshot Detection Technology (GDT) being implemented by the City of Portland. For more information and to fill out the survey, click here.


  • Oregon DEQ is proposing to renew the solid waste material recovery facility permit for Environmentally Conscious Recycling’s (ECR’s) facility located at 12409 NE San Rafael St. in Portland. The full public notice, draft permit and DEQ's evaluation report is available here.


    DEQ has scheduled a virtual public hearing for April 27, 2023 at 6 p.m. and will accept written public comment on the draft permit until 5 p.m. on Monday, May 1, 2023. Register for this Zoom webinar here.

April Meeting Agenda

6:00 p.m. Introductions of Attendees

6:05 p.m. Neighbor Open Floor

6:15 p.m. Agenda Items

  • Board vote: Last meeting’s minutes

  • Review letter from Russell Neighborhood Association about the proposed Prologis development to be sent to City Council. Discussion, vote.

  • Neighborhood Emergency Team (Elizabeth)

  • Board election (2 positions open)


7:00 p.m. Closing


All meetings are public and open to all.

About Russell NA

Email: Russellneighborhood@gmail.com