T he P ortland O bserver • S eptember 27, 1995
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Adapt A Home Program Presented Award
Multnomah County’s Adapt-
A-Home program earned an award
of excellence this week at the Na­
tional Association o f County and
Community Economic Develop­
ment Conference.
Multnomah County Depart­
ment of Community and Family
Services staff members Janet
Hawkins and Karen Jones Whittle
were scheduled to accept the honor
at the conference in Salt Lake City
on behalf o f the local county and
community partnership program.
“Adapt-A-Home is at the fore-
ffont of providing accessible hous­
ing for people with disabilities.
The program com bines the
best elem ents o f the federal Fair
Housing Act with the financial back­
ing needed for making houses and
apartments accessible,” said Lolenzo
Poe, Multnomah County Department
Director o f Community and Family
Services.
Adapt-A-Home offers grants up
to $2,000 to be used to make rental
and owner-occupied housing units
adaptable to persons with disabili­
ties by installing ramps, fitting bath-
mandatory training session in the late
fall and begin meeting to hear peti­
tions to reduce assessed valuation on
January 8,1996. The Board o f Equal­
ization panel is made up o f three
members. Due to the large volume of
appeals received, three panels are
normally convened. The panels meet
Monday through Friday until April
15, 1996. Because of the enormous
time commitment, the County offers
Board members a per d iem of $ 84.00
for each full day o f work.
rooms with grab bars and widening
doorways. The program’s intent is
to increase the number o f accessible
housing units to enable disabled
persons to live independently in
society.
According to Janet Hawkins,
contract manager for Adapt-A-
Home, last year this provided assis­
tance to 41 housing units in east
Multnomah County and Gresham.
For more information on Adapt-A-
Home, contact Derorah Wright or
Brenda Jose at Unlimited Choices,
Inc., at (503) 234-6167.
University of Oregon residence
halls are as popular as ever this fall.
Mike Eyster, director o f University
Housing, says approximately 3,250
students will be residing in campus
housing. UO residence halls opened
with a record 3,300 students in the
fall of 1994.
“We feel very fortunate to be
full,” said Mike Eyster, director of
University Housing. “It means that
students like what we have to offer
and that we can keep costs down
because we operate more efficiently
when we’re full.”
In order to accommodate the
students, university housing set up
temporary space in several of the its
residence halls and rented 62 motel
rooms on Franklin Boulevard. Stu­
dents
in temporary housing will be
• Educator in the Finance or Busi­
assigned
rooms as they become avail­
ness Area
able.
There
are approximately 100
• Banking Experience (loan officer,
additional
students
on a housing
etc.)
Qualifications for appoint­
ment to the Board of Equalization
include one or more of the follow­
ing credentials:
• Must be a Resident of Multnomah
County
• Real Estate Experience (broker,
property appraiser, ect.)
• Title Experience
• CPA or Economist
• Attorney with Experience in prop­
erty Litigation
• Property Management
• Tax preparer
• Homeowner
• Past Board of Equalization member
Those interested may contact:
• Delma Farrell, County Chair
Beverly Stein’s Office: 1120 SW
5th, Room 1515; Portland, Oregon
97204; Tel. (503) 248-3953; FAX
(503) 248-3093
• Sherrill Rudolph, Board of
Equalization: 2 115 SE Morrison, I st
Floor; Portland, Oregon 97214; Tel.
(503) 248-5241; FAX (503) 306-
5504
A pplications Are Due By
10/5/95.
Katz Releases Results Of Public ■
Building Security Task Force Review
Mayor Vera Katz released the
results of the “Public Building Secu­
rity Task Force” she convened this
April, in the wake of the bombing
tragedy at the Oklahoma City federal
building.
“I initiated this review to try to
prevent Porltanders from ever facing
horrors like the ones we saw in the
OklahomaCity bombing. I wanted to
let them know that we are doing
everything we can to ensure our build­
ings are as safe and secure as reason­
ably possible,” said Katz. “This re­
port -- the result of four months of the
Task Force’s extensive and detailed
investigation -- is the first step in
making Portland public buildings
safer.”
The Task force broke the review
into two sections: the first recom­
mends measures to improve the se-
curity of public buildings in general,
and the second provides a security
assessment of the vulnerability of
each of the public service buildings.
The first section was released;
the second will remain confidential
¡as allowed under public records law
•ORS 192.501(19) because of their
sensitive security nature.
!
The report said that, “Portland is
by no means immune from seeming­
ly random acts of terrorism, such as
¡the Oklahoma City bombing. And
like any large city, Portland also fac­
ies increasing instances of theft, van­
dalism, harassment, and assault.. The
isecurity counter-measures discussed
below will assist in the preparation.”
I
“We have a responsibility, not
only to our 5,000-or-so employees,
but to the public as well, to make it
¡possible for them to come to their
jobs or take care of business and both
feel and be safe,” said Katz.
Katz said she would use the re-
port to determine necessary expendi-
tures in preparing the next two-year
city budget. “Some of the recom­
mendations I will work to put into
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effect immediately,” said Katz, “oth­
ers we will wait to include in the next
budget cycle, and others will be im­
plemented on a more long-term ba-
SIS.
Among some of the security
enhancement possibilities listed in
the report:
• Grouping agencies with simi­
lar security risks and needs in com­
mon buildings;
• Removing traffic and parking
access from the areas around vulner­
able or high-risk buildings, in order
to make it more difficult to park and
detonate car/truck bombs;
• Erecting barriers -- pop-up,
removable, steel, or concrete;
• Installing surveillance camer­
as - both active and non-recorded or
dummy cameras;
• Limiting delivery areas to a
single guarded location;
• Removing landscaping like
bushes, hedges and shrubs that could
conceal a bomb;
• Restricting access after hours
and, for agencies that occupy one
floor, restricting public access to a
single reception area;
• Adding mylar film to windows,
which would prevent injuries from
flying shards of shattered glass;
• Placing a highly visible uni­
formed security presence near en­
trances and exits and implementing
roving patrols;
• Requiring employees to wear
photo-identification badges;
Dad’s
Savvies
• Creating a coordinated securi­
ty response plan.
Some of the provisions would
obviously be more costly than oth­
ers, however, Katz said some of the
provisions, such as the photo-ID
badges, could be instituted in both a
cost-effective and timely manner.
The Task Force Facilitator, Fire
Bureau DivisionChiefGeorge Hous­
ton, said another vital part to enhanc­
ing security that they strongly rec­
ommended was starting security
awareness training for employees.
“People should learn to be aware
of others who maybe don’t belong in
the building after hours, and for sus­
picious cars and trucks left parked in
front o f the buildings too long,” said
houston. He also recommended that
employees be taught emergency pro­
cedures for what to do in situations
like receiving a bomb threat, person­
al security.
Gary Sussman of the US Attor­
ney’s Office and Portland Police
Bureau Lt. Cliff Jensen co-chaired
the threat-assessm ent/security
counter-measures group. The team
to assess current bui Iding vulnerabil­
ities was co-chaired by Ray Kerridge,
Bureau o f Buildings, and Bill Young
from General Services/Facilities.
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waiting list.
“We use temporary housing be­
cause it al lows us to accommodate as
many students as possible who want
to live on-campus,” said Eyster. “Ev­
ery year, the majority o f the students
are placed in permanent housing with­
in the first couple o f weeks and ev­
eryone has rooms by the end of fall
term.”
Two additional resident assis­
tants were hired to work with stu­
dents placed in the motel spaces.
Eyster pointed out that students in
temporary housing must follow uni­
versity housing policies and will re­
ceive the same services as those in
the residence halls.
“Students choose to live on-cam­
pus because it is low-cost and conve­
nient,” said Eyster. “With temporary
housing, we provide that same sense
ofcommunity, convenience and cost-
effectiveness.”
Residence halls also provide
other advantages, according to
Eyster. He said research indicated
that students living in campus hous­
ing are more likely to succeed aca­
demically and to develop stronger
ties to campus life than their counter­
parts living in other types o f housing.
University housing has plans to in­
crease this advantage for students
during this school year.
“The physical additions o f cable
and the Internet in some o f the halls
will be a welcome change for stu­
dents,” said Eyster. “These additions,
combined with our renewed effort to
integrate the residence halls into the
academic environment, should help
residents achieve even more success
in their studies.”
Projected fall 1995 enrollment
is 17,000 students. In fall 1994, the
University ofOregon enrolled 16,681
students.
Housing and Urban Develop­
ment (HUD) Secretary Henry G.
Cisneros has briefed leading civil
rights advocates on pending legisla­
tion that would remove the Depart­
ment’s authority to investigate in­
stances of illegal housing discrimi­
nation.
Cisneros informed the group of
the Senate Appropriations Commit­
tee’s approval o f Legislation taking
away HUD’s historic role as the na­
tion’s fair housing enforcer and pre­
venting the Department from attack­
ing “redlining” in the insurance in­
dustry. In addition, Cisneros said,
the bill removes HUD’s oversight
authority -- including fair housing
oversight -- over Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac, the government-spon­
sored housing enterprises.
“These actions would turn back
the clock on civil rights,” Cisneros
said. “Effective enforcement of fun­
damental fair housing rights for all
Americans will be critically under­
mined.”
Cisneros told the group, which
included representatives o f the
NAACP Legal defense Fund, the
Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights, LULAC (League o f United
Latin American Citizens), and the
National Fair Housing Alliance, that
the legislation may be considered by
the full Senate as soon as Tuesday.
September 25.
The provisions have been in­
cluded as part of the overall spending
bill setting HUD’s budget for next
year. Senator Christopher “Kit” Bond
of Missouri chairs the Senate sub­
committee which would remove
HUD’s fair housing enforcement
authority.
HUD has had the administrative
responsibility for enforcing the Fair
Housing Act since it was enacted in
1968. Undercurrent law, the Depart­
ment has the responsibi I ity to receive
and investigate complaints claiming
violation o f the Act, to determine
whether there is reasonable cause to
believe the law has been violated,
and to seek voluntary settlements for
each valid complaint.
Federal law gives HUD the re­
sponsibility to protect Americans
from housing discrimination on the
basis of race, color, sex, religion,
national origin, disability and famil­
ial status. Under the pending legisla­
tion, this enforcement responsibility
would be transferred to the Depart­
ment of Justice.
Cisneros and the civil rights lead­
ers agreed that moving fair housing
enforcement to the Justice Depart­
ment would be a step back. The Jus­
tice Department does not have a na­
tional field office structure capable
of investigating the approximately
10,000 housing complaints HUD
receives annually. In fact, the Justice
Department lacks the administrative
structure to handle the cases HUD
routinely settles without litigation.
The Senate bill would also force
and immediate cessation of HUD's
enforcement of the Fair Housing
Act’s prohibition on property insur­
ance “redlining” -- the practice of
denying insurance of setting unrea­
sonably high standards to provide
insurance in certain minority or cen­
tral city communities.
• F '1,
■
"Redlining is a serious fair hous­
ing problem,” Cisneros said. “If
hom eow ners
and
w ould-be
homeowners in minority neighbor­
hoods are redlined by insurance com­
panies, they are being deprived of
opportunities to build and invest in a
community.”
By enacting the redlining provi­
sion, Cisneros said, the Congress
would force an immediate halt to all
o f HUD’s enforcement activities,
would disrupt countless ongoing le­
gal proceedings and could cause in­
dividual complainants to lose their
right to counsel.
The responsibilities o f the Of­
fice of Federal Housing Enterprise
Oversight (OFHEO) — the sole gov­
ernment office responsible for regu­
lating Fannie Mae (the Federal Na­
tional Mortgage Association) and
Freddie Mac (the Federal Home Loan
Mortgage Corporation) -- would be
transferred to the Department of the
Treasury.
Cisneros said that underthis pro­
posal, the office would lose its au­
thority to work for the benefit o f the
national housing market and increase
the risk associated with the govern­
ment’s implicit guarantee of $1.3
trillion the government-sponsored
housing enterprises' securities.
Secretary Cisneros told the
group that he will fight to assure that
HUD maintains its critical role in
protecting Americans from discrim­
ination, settling disputes before they
reach litigation, and working with
the housing and insurance industries
to achieve voluntary compliance with
our nation’s fair housing laws.
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HUD’s Role Endangered
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The County Is Seeking Citizen Participation
For 1995 Board Of Equalization
Multnomah County wi 11 appoint
twelve or more members to its Board
of Equalization this fall and is look­
ing for citizens who would like to be
considered for appointment. We seek
representatives to apply from each
district, and encourage a good ethnic
representation, diversity o f age
groups and a mixture of men and
women.
The Board of Equalization re­
views appeals of assessed values on
property. Each year, Multnomah
County property owners may appeal
to the Board o f Equalization if they
believe the assessed value of their
property is too high. The Board con­
siders each appeal and arrives at a
decision on the appropriate assessed
value.
Serving on the Board o f Equal­
ization is a demanding and time con­
suming job. Members must attend a
•>.
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