Portland leaders call for new city council to keep working for safer Albina park

Sunday 15th December 2024 07:29 AM

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Portland’s current city council unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday encouraging the incoming administration to continue working to make the neighborhood around a problem park in Albina safer.

“We have seen a lot of progress but the work is not done,” outgoing mayor Ted Wheeler said during Wednesday’s city council meeting. “When the torch is handed off the new council needs to keep this at the top of mind.”

Dawson Park has earned a reputation for being unsafe and its problems have spilled out to the surrounding neighborhood, according to people who live in the area.

“There are shootings on the regular, drug dealing happening with impunity,” said one man. “My wife and I had people doing drugs on our porch and we felt scared to even shoo them away in fear of violence.”

Meanwhile, the nearby Arc-en-Ciel Montessori School has spent $26,000 to increase security. The school is working to add more fences and cameras around their property which is right across the street from the park.

School administrators said they have also stopped bringing their students to the playground in Dawson Park.

But these neighbors said on Wednesday that they have noticed a positive change.

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“We haven’t had a shooting in a while,” a neighbor said. “But, sometimes we go six months without one. So, fingers crossed. We almost don’t want to mention it out of fear of jinxing it.”

So far, the city of Portland has added tree lights to the park, hosted multiple community events, increased patrols by foot and bicycle police officers, and contracted cleaners to pick up any hazardous debris.

The city council resolution passed on Wednesday calls for the new administration to continue this work. But the resolution is merely a reminder and doesn’t have any policy change or budget requirements attached to it.

“I’d like to make sure the new administration sees this as a very important priority as it has been done by this administration now,” said the pastor of Vancouver Street First Baptist Church, Dr. J.W. Matt Hennessee.

Dr. Hennessee has been a pastor at the church right down the street from Dawson Park for the last 20 years and he has seen the park at its worst.

“We have witnessed people dying in the park,” Dr. Hennessee said. “Some people no longer bring their children to the park anymore because they don’t feel safe.”

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Working with the city and other community leaders, Dr. Hennessee has helped organize community events such as ‘I am Dawson Park’ and other outreach programs. Now, Dr. Hennessee also said he has seen an improvement.

“I walk my dog in the park because I just think it is important for me to not only say what needs to be done but also do my part to show that I feel safe,” Dr. Hennessee said. “And for us to continue to work on this.”

Dr. Hennessee said he applauds the city council for passing this resolution because he does not want this work to stop just because Portland has a new mayor and a new city council.

“Our goal is to make it so there can be safety and security for people who go there every day, as well as for families, and the young people who go there from the Montessori school,” Dr. Hennessee said. “I believe we can create that balance.”