"I will be recommending to the governor that the Sharff Army Reserve Center continue as a military facility."
Paul Evans, military policy advisor to governor Ted Kulongoski
Paul Evans has been, "working with the Oregon Military Department to sustain the Sharff Center and reduce future costs for the Oregon National Guard and its training.” Would we Oregonians and members of the Oregon National Guard expect anything different or anything less from the governor's military policy advisor? Of course not. Evan's is on the right track. At the appropriate time governor Kulongoski will surely take Paul's sound advice and, as commander in chief of the Oregon National Guard, Ted Kulongoski will publicly stand up for his troops.
I have been working closely with the Oregon National Guard leadership as the civilian leader of the campaign in support of the Oregon National Guard from the beginning of this process. Below are two letters which lay out all the necessary, relevant, compelling and unassailable arguments in support of the Oregon National Guard owning and occupying the decommissioned Sharff Army Reserve Center.
Some Department of Defense decision maker sitting in a remote office at the Pentagon made a big mistake when instead of transferring ownership of the Sharff Army Reserve Center to the Oregon National Guard, which is in serious need of such a facility, chose to go thorough a complicated disposition process of this property involving a required preference for public housing and completely ignoring, in military parlance, the facts on the ground.
The Sharff Army Reserve Center is located in the Portsmouth neighborhood which has the highest total number and the second highest percentage of public housing clients of any neighborhood in Multnomah county, indeed, in any neighborhood in Oregon. Any public official or agency that would choose to add even one more public housing client to my Portsmouth neighborhood would be violating the public's overwhelming support for a policy of equitable distribution of public housing as well as ignoring Portland's Bureau of Housing and Community Development's published public housing location policy which is:
1. Maximize housing choice, especially for low-income people who have traditionally been limited in the location of housing that they could afford;
2. Discourage the concentration of low- or no- income households in any one area of the city;
3. Encourage the creation of additional housing resources for low-income households integrated throughout the community.
On June 15, 2001 senators Wyden and Smith as well as representatives Blumenauer, Wu, Hooley, DeFazio and Walden signed a letter asking HUD for 30 million dollars to rebuild Oregon's largest public housing compound, Columbia Villa. Today, as it has in the past, even before all the public housing spaces are built and occupied, New Columbia requires an on site police presence. Three Portland police officers work full time in New Columbia to keep order. If asked, knowledgeable officers from North Precinct will tell you that twice that number are needed. Local real estate agents have told me that a growing number of home owners in New Columbia, who have owned their homes for less than a year want out but are having trouble selling.
Oregon's congressional delegation OWES the Portsmouth neighborhood, North Portland and those members of the Oregon National Guard who have been or may be sent into harms way.
Soon I will ask senators Wyden and Smith as well as representatives Blumenauer, Wu, Hooley, DeFazio and Walden to sign a letter to HUD and the Department of the Army stating that they will not support any additional federal dollars spent for public housing in the Portsmouth neighborhood and that the Oregon National Guard should be given ownership of the decommissioned Sharff Army Reserve Center.
PDC staff have organized an open house at the Sharff Army Reserve Center for Monday September 17th from 6:30 to 8 PM. I intend to be there. However, it should be noted that the major arguments are already on the table and this gathering is merely a requirement of the process unlikely to have any significance whatsoever. PDC staff and BHCD staff will make a recommendation to the Portland City Council not the PDC commissioners. The Portland city council can accept, change and reject any or all of their recommendations before passing them on to HUD and the Department of the Army. There is no reason for any candidate for US Senate - Steve Novick and Jeff Merkley - and any member of Portland's city council and any candidate for mayor of Portland and its city council - Nick Fish?, Amanda Fritz? - to wait a moment longer to speak out on this issue. If you want to be an elected leader than show the voters that you are a leader not a follower by speaking out on this issue - now.
Keep this in mind. The U.S. Army can, at any time, choose to transfer ownership of the Sharff Army Reserve Center to the Oregon National Guard. I and others are working on this path.
Choosing the National Guard option makes a statement against the discredited and abhorrent public policy of unlimited neighborhood concentration of public housing and for the best option on the table. I urge every Oregonian to join me in support of a public policy of equitable distribution of public housing and the Oregon National Guard.
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2-8-07
Dear Governor Kulongoski et. al.:
The North Portland Business Association supports the Oregon National Guard's request to own and occupy the recently decommissioned Sharff Army Reserve Center in North Portland. The arguments in favor of this decision are as follows:
1. Oregon National Guard ownership of these facilities will sustain the historical use of property that the Reserve Component of the Army has been a continual tenant since the 1950's.
2. The Oregon National Guard can move into these facilities "as is" and take advantage of existing weapons storage vaults, intrusion detection systems, storage areas, maintenance facilities, and administrative areas that have been designed and constructed to meet the Army's needs.
3. The multimillion dollar refurbishment that was done to the primary facility in 2003-2004 brings the facility to a "Green" status per the Army's Installation Status Report (ISR) standards. This is to say that the facility complies with Army standards and is in overall good condition. These improvements were accomplished with 100% federal funding from the Department of Defense Military Construction budget.
4. The Oregon National Guard soldiers that would move into this facility would be coming from facilities that have been coded "Red" by the same Army ISR standards. This is to say that the facilities are dysfunctional and in overall poor condition by Army definition. The old facilities that would be vacated by the Oregon National Guard, would save state budget dollars for infrastructure operations, maintenance, and repair.
5. Some of the National Guard soldiers in our state still assemble and train in an armory that was constructed in 1911 and a large part of their facility inventory was constructed in the 1950's. Oregon National Guard ownership of Sharff Hall would provide an opportunity for the National Guard to permanently save millions of dollars in state funded deferred maintenance projects in other outdated facilities.
6. The Oregon National Guard has three similar maintenance buildings in the Portland area as to that which is located behind the primary facility at Sharff Hall. The ONG maintenance facilities in the Portland area vary in age from the mid 1950's to the early 1970's and are all coded as not meeting Army standards and dysfunctional per the Army's ISR report. The multimillion dollar maintenance facility at Sharff Hall was constructed in 2003 and can easily accommodate the mission of one of these outdated ONG facilities, again reducing the National Guard's back-log of maintenance and repair projects.
In addition, the Oregon National Guard has sent large numbers of our fellow Oregonians into harm's way in far away places. Many of whom did not and will not return. NPBA recognizes the debt to our fellow Oregonians who serve in the Oregon National Guard and our responsibility to help provide them with the best facilities to do their job.
The North Portland Business Association opposes the Army Reserve's prioritization of the Sharff Army Reserve Center for homeless public housing. The Sharff ARC is located in the Portsmouth neighborhood of North Portland. Portsmouth has the highest total number and the second highest percentage of public housing clients of all the 117 neighborhoods in Multnomah county. Any use of the Sharff ARC for public housing advances and gives unwarranted credibility to the long discredited and abhorrent public housing policy of unlimited concentration of public housing clients in any neighborhood in Multnomah county. The NPBA supports equitable distribution of public housing and unequivocally opposes a public policy of unlimited neighborhood concentration of public housing.
Portland Planning Bureau staff research revealed during the St. Johns/Lombard Plan process that a high concentration of low income residents in the survey area produced a demographic which discouraged certain businesses from locating in the area. Neighborhoods without sufficient buying power discourage potential middle class business development. The NPBA strongly supports equitable distribution of mixed income families for the neighborhoods that it serves.
Sincerely,
Steve Weir
President, North Portland Business Association
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March 19, 2007
Governor Kulongoski,
The American Legion St. Johns Post #98 supports the use of the recently decommissioned Sharff Army Reserve Center in North Portland for future Oregon National Guard ownership and occupancy, rather than its priority consideration for “homeless service providers” as stated in the PDC’s public notice.
This property only recently underwent a multimillion dollar refurbishment to the primary facility in 2003-2004 bringing the facility to a "Green" status per the Army's Installation Status Report (ISR) standards. The Oregon National Guard can move into these facilities "as is" and take advantage of existing weapons storage vaults, intrusion detection systems, storage areas, maintenance facilities, and administrative areas that have been designed and constructed to meet the Army's needs.
As experienced by some of our Legionnaires, many of Oregon’s military facilities are dysfunctional and in overall poor condition due to age and the lack of renovation over the years, the Oregon National Guard included. A move to Sharff Hall for one of the Oregon National Guard maintenance units would provide them with an updated facility without undertaking a costly renovation to one of their existing facilities.
Oregon National Guard ownership of these facilities will sustain the historical use of the property which has had continual tenancy by the Reserve Component of the Army since the 1950's. In addition, the smaller building at the facility--the maintenance structure--was recently named for Brandon S. Tobler who was killed in Iraq in 2003 (Tobler worked in the building at one time). Not only is it objectionable to eliminate historical property, the closure of military facilities during wartime doesn’t make economic or practical sense. Part of our “Support the Troops” stance MUST include the provision of adequate training facilities.
It’s been publicized that “first and foremost” consideration for the Sharff location will be given to homeless agencies. The Portsmouth neighborhood already has the highest total number and the second highest percentage of public housing clients of all the 117 neighborhoods in Multnomah county. The St. Johns Post #98 of the American Legion unequivocally opposes the apparent public policy of unlimited neighborhood concentration of public housing and instead supports the equitable distribution of such public housing. Increased density lends itself to an increase in crime rate. North Portland has seen a drop in crime rates in recent years, so much so that a reduction in its supervisory law enforcement officers is currently under consideration. Now is NOT the time to threaten that low crime rate by increasing density with yet another public housing project.
Sincerely,
Gerald Caldwell, Commander
St. Johns Post #98 of the American Legion