Belmont Area Business Association

Belmont News

Fireman Santa - 12/21/2007

For the third year in a row Fireman Santa again drew a throng of young admirers and their elders to his historic Belmont Fire station at SE 5th & Belmont.

Some 425 eager devotees showed up on second Sat. in Dec. (12/8). Santa dressed in his red fireman's underwear, black firefighting boots, historic leather fireman's helmet and flowing white beard hosted kids on his ample knees seated in front of a gleaming brass and painted red horse-drawn steam fire wagon from the 1880's. The purpose of Fireman Santa's visit was to promote goodness and cheer along with fire safety to generations young and old along with promoting the Belmont area. Hundreds of dollars were also raised for the center with $5 donations for photos with Santa. Look for him again next Dec. 13, 2008.

Belmont Street Fair - 9/8/2007

The Annual Belmont Street Fair was held Sat. Sept. 8, 2007 and was a huge success - our biggest effort to date drawing several thousand people. Closing Belmont from 334d - 37th (a first) transformed the event swelling attendance, doubling the number of vendors to about 130 and greatly adding to the happy community party atmosphere.

Mark your calendars for the next Belmont Street Fair Sat. Sept. 6. Coordinator will again be John Barker (503) 231-9118.

Annual Meeting - 2/27/07

The BABA annual dinner meeting 2/15 was another gala affair. Upwards of 40 attended and about $750 was raised. Here's a rundown of the highlights:

ELECTIONS: Jim Canright (Canright Systems) Don Porth (Fire House Center) Andrea Woodland (Mon Ami Antiques) were elected to 2 yr board terms. John Barker, on-going president was elected to a 1-year term.

SPEAKER: Metro Commissioner Rex Burkholder discusses the role, goals and challenges facing Metro, our elected regional government. While Metro has no specific plans for main streets, they are very much committed to good planning, transportation and increasing well-designed urban density as opposed to sprawl.

AWARDS: Service awards were presented to out-going board members Trish Trout, Seth Leavens and Kathleen Rose. Belmont Area Improvement Awards went to: Adagio Cafe, Andria Condominiums, Belmont Computers & Red Square Cafe, Belmont Firehouse, Storeybook Properties, Kaiju Cafe, Kinta Restaurant, Koipod Salon, Mon Ami Antiques, Morrison St. Loft Condos, Nine Muses Acoustic Tavern, Noun, Polliwog, St. Cup Cake, Stumptown Coffee Annex and Two Brothers Cafe & Grill.

THANK YOU: for your donations: DINNER: Hoda's Middle Eastern Cuisine, Zupan's Markets, It's a Beautiful Pizza, Kinta, Stumptown Coffee. LOGISTICS: It's a Beautiful Pizza, Pro Sound, Zupan's, The Support Group, Roger Jones, BABA board & volunteers. SILENT AUCTION: Genoa Restaurant, Hoda's, Hollyhock's, Mon Ami Antiques, Profile Theatre, Sally McGee, Salvador Molly's, Tao of Tea, John Barker, Trish Trout

Posted 2/2/07

Grant BABA received a $1000 grant from the City to update our website.

Belmont/Hawthorne Walking Map: Over 100,000 have just been printed and distributed to tourist spots about town. See 'mapclicks.com' for more info. Annual Dues: The annual dues statement has been mailed. You can also go to the "member" tab, print it out and mail it in. We appreciate your support!

Board membership: We continue to look for new talent and energy. Don't be shy to volunteer. The BABA is your business!

ART STROLL: This new event held on a glorious Saturday, Sept.23 featured 24 open studios and galleries on and around Belmont. All were juried and listed on a walking map.

BELMONT STREET FAIR: This annual event Sat. Sept. 9 was another big success. A few thousand folks attended the all-day event enjoying a huge crafts fair, stage and local live music, food booths, special sidewalk, fashion show, fire station open house, business special and of course our trademark Belmont Trolley providing a free shuttle and music to events all up and down Belmont. Fireman Santa: The Belmont Fire Station Santa was mobbed Dec. 9 by hundreds of kids and parents. Over 150 photos were taken and $1250 in donations and sales received to support the center - and Belmont as a family friendly place to be.

PARKING BENEFIT PROGRAM: Use parking meter money to fund local improvements. That's the basic idea behind commissioner Sam Adam's voluntary program. Sam Adams points out:

More than a million more people are expected to squeeze themselves into Portland by 2040. Portland's on-street parking space will not expand to meet the need. Pasadena, California solved the problem years ago by putting parking meters on the street and using the money raised to upgrade the buildings, streets, and streetscape. The idea was highly successful based on a combination of structured, metered, and permitted parking. The Lloyd District did much the same thing - a combination of structured, metered, and permitted parking. It too is successful. It might be possible for main streets like Hawthorne, Belmont and Division to do a smaller version of the same thing. For Belmont, that means looking at parking structures (currently not allowed), permits for residential parking, and meters in some areas. Belmont is willing to listen.