June 2013
NEWS
The Southwest Portland Post • 3
Commissioner Fritz visits neighborhood, comments on Portland budget cuts
SOUTH PORTLAND
By Lee Perlman
The Southwest Portland Post
Commissioner Amanda Fritz vis-
ited the South Portland Neighbor-
hood Association last month. As
might have been expected Mayor
Charlie Hales’ just-released budget
was a major topic of conversation.
In general, Fritz supported Hales’
choices. While regretting the loss
of the Neighborhood Small Grants
program, she was relieved that the
budget ax did not fall so heavily
this year on the Portland Office
of Neighborhood Involvement
and coalitions such as Southwest
Neighborhoods, Inc.
“After years of losing fingers
and toes, it’s nice that we won’t be
chopping off arms and legs,” Fritz
said of the relatively small cuts to
the program.
Fritz also supported Hales’ plans
for cuts to the Fire and Police bu-
reaus, saying, “We can’t balance
the budget without” cutting these
major bureaus. She also supported
Hales’ specific plans.
Hales suggested using smaller
vehicles and crews, rather than
fire trucks, to respond to medical
emergencies, which make up a
large portion of Fire Bureau calls.
With regard to the police, Fritz
said, “I think the time for the
mounted patrol is past.” This is a
popular feature of the force that
has survived past budget cuts, but
critics say the patrol is expensive to
maintain, and does not offer signifi-
cant advantages, other than public
relations, to other types of patrol.
Fritz did take issue with an-
other Hales proposal: to transfer
the Noise Control Office from the
Bureau of Development Services
to ONI.
Fritz compared this to former
City Commissioner Randy Leon-
ard’s abortive effort to transform
neighborhood offices into provid-
ers of government services, rather
than the supports for grass roots
activism that they currently are.
“ONI is not about services or
enforcement,” she said. “This is
clearly not core to ONI’s mission.”
Regarding SUN Schools and
other youth-related programs,
Fritz said that Hales and County
Commission Chair Jeff Cogan
are discussing which jurisdiction
should fund what services, and
that some services may fall through
the cracks. “I don’t care who funds
them; I just want them funded,”
she said.
In a related matter, Fritz and
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South Portland members discussed
the Southwest Corridor Plan pro-
cess, and expressed similar con-
cerns and dissatisfactions with it.
The Plan is examining the cre-
ation of “high capacity transit”
– either a light rail or “bus rapid
transit” route – extending from
downtown as far south as Sher-
wood along Southwest Barbur
Boulevard or adjacent streets.
Metro is in charge of the project,
and critics have complained that it
is proceeding too fast with insuf-
ficient time for public input.
For instance, planners have iden-
tified 47 public improvement proj-
ects that might be undertaken as
part of this process and are accept-
ing public comment about these,
but the projects were culled from
a much larger list without public
input.
When some residents expressed
confusion about the current state
of the process, Fritz said, “You’re a
really invested neighborhood, and
the fact that you don’t know what’s
going on is a concern to me.”
Told that Metro planners may
narrow the list of potential options
by July, she said, “It’s hard to be-
lieve that we need to make a deci-
sion by July. A lot of planners went
to planning school – they decide
among themselves what’s best for
City Commissioner Amanda Fritz
us, and we’re all supposed to say,
‘Isn’t that lovely.’”
Fritz, originally from Leeds, Eng-
land, said she had recently gotten
lost in the area and had done an
“accidental walking tour” of South
Portland.
“It’s like old London,” Fritz said.
“It’s a great old neighborhood
that’s had a lot of things done to it.
This is a really stalwart neighbor-
hood. Thank you for all the work
you do.”