Our Town: Beaverton Night Market | Community Vision Survey | Block Grants (Building a Better Beaverton)

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Beaverton Night Market Moves to New Location in Downtown

The Beaverton Night Market will be back in person this summer in a new location! The market will take shape this year on the streets of downtown Beaverton at Southwest 1st Street and Southwest Tucker Avenue on two back-to-back days, Friday, Aug. 13 and Saturday, Aug. 14. In addition to vendors, performers and designated food courts, this year’s Beaverton Night Market features an exciting collaboration with the La Strada dei Pastelli Chalk Art Festival. Two of the festival’s sites will be within the market area and feature live artists and performers during the hours of the market so attendees can experience both events when they visit.

Now that state restrictions have been lifted, the Beaverton Night Market will no longer require limited entry.

For more information, visit www.BeavertonOregon.gov/nightmarket.

Help with the Community Vision Update: Take the Survey!

The Visioning Advisory Committee (VAC) presented its plan for an update to the city’s current Community Vision at the Mar. 30 City Council meeting. The VAC are the primary authors and accountability partners for the plan, which also includes input from community members and various partners.

The group is gearing up for a 2021 update, which will review, and possibly update, the previously identified community goals and the 104 current action items. The current goals of the Community Vision are:

Build Community
Create a Vibrant Downtown
Improve Mobility
Expand Public Services
Enhance Livability

What do you think should be priorities? A survey will be available later this month at www.BeavertonOregon.gov/vision.

“The current Visioning board is energized and enthusiastic about getting started on this update,” said VAC City Council Liaison Mark Fagin. “I hope all members of our community will take a few minutes to add their thoughts about our city and help shape the future of Beaverton.”

During the City Council presentation, VAC members shared a tentative plan that would include an 18-month process consisting of outreach to community members, surveys, virtual and live events, and other participation.

Goals include a focus on intentional outreach to traditionally underrepresented groups, being responsive to the changing needs of the community, and developing a final product that will be useful for the City Council and staff.

Social Services Funding Grants Support Nonprofits

The Beaverton City Council approved recommendations by the Social Services Funding Committee (SSFC) to award $311,500 in grants to 24 organizations for their work to address social service needs in Beaverton. Applicants had to demonstrate how their work responds to priority needs, including homelessness/housing, affordable afterschool and educational programming, and health. In total, 32 organizations applied, requesting $503,492 in support.

The amount of funding for Funding Grants is calculated on a per capita basis, currently at $3.10 per capita. This is an increase from $2.75 per capita in fiscal year 2020-2021 (approximately $275,000). Prior to that increase, the funding had been set at $2.10 per capita (approximately $200,000) since fiscal year 2009-2010.

The SSFC has continued to hear from nonprofits about the great need in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic and included questions about pandemic response and innovative services in this year’s application and process. Among the recipients of this year’s grants are three organizations funded for the first time through this process:

Beaverton Resource Center, which is a central hub for families and individuals experiencing poverty in Beaverton to find help from social service providers;
College Possible, which provides college access and success programming to historically underserved students at Aloha High School; and
Re-Inventing Social Enterprise, which provides rent/bill assistance, organizes mutual aid, and helps clients navigate institutions such as the Department Social Services Funding Grants Support Nonprofits of Human Services, Department of Motor Vehicles, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

For a complete list of grantees, visit www.BeavertonOregon.gov/socialservices. For questions about the grant process, contact Megan Cohen at 503-526-2584 or mcohen@BeavertonOregon.gov.

Community Development Block Grants Support Local Organizations

The city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program received its annual entitlement award in the amount $720,749 in July. Grants will be given in three areas: Public Services, Homeownership/Rehabilitation and Microenterprise for a total of 13 awards.

Public Service grants were awarded to agencies serving families and children. These include shelter services for teens, partnering unaccompanied youth wanting to finish high school with volunteer host families, children’s court advocates and affordable housing resident services. New this year, is a program offered by Community Action that seeks to reduce the number of households evicted from their homes by leveraging the collective expertise and resources of Oregon Law Center, Community Action, and tenant advocacy partners.

Homeownership/Rehabilitation grants were given for direct assistance in purchasing homes through a partnership with Proud Ground, as well as critical rehab and Americans with Disabilities Act adaptions for low-income homeowners who need urgent repairs made to their homes but cannot afford them.

Microenterprise grants were awarded to two agencies, Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon (MESO) and LatinoBuilt. These agencies help minority-owned micro businesses expand their economic opportunities and start/retain their own small businesses. LatinoBuilt, whose focus is on construction trades, is new this year. LatinoBuilt’s goal is holistic and will provide no-cost web design training, marketing and promotion assistance, English classes, financial coaching and access to low-interest loans. Given city goals related to Oregon’s Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID) these programs are well timed. COBID participation, which was formerly referred to as Minority, Women, Emerging Small Business and Disabled Veterans, is required in all projects undertaken by and for the city. A good faith effort must be demonstrated when contracting and purchasing with the city.

For additional information on the city’s COBID requirements, visit www.BeavertonOregon.gov/beavertonequityprocurementprogram.

Contact Kathy Anderson Peoples with the Community Development Department at kpeoples@BeavertonOregon.gov for more information about the CDBG Program. To find recent CDBG-related information you can also visit www.BeavertonOregon.gov/beavertonactionplan.