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Minutes
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2026
Time: 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Skylands Annual Meeting
Minutes - FINAL
Location: Oswego Hall B, LORAC Campus 17525 Stafford Rd Lake Oswego, OR 97034
Agenda:
7:30 – 8:15 p.m. Skylands Neighborhood Association Annual Meeting
Topics include:
- Introduction of new officer candidates:
- Melissa Benson – Treasurer / Secretary
- Josh Stolpe – Vice President
Followed by voting on these positions and current Treasurer / Secretary moving to President position.
- Chris Durkee will provided an overview of the upcoming May bond measure
- to replace the South Shore Fire Station, which serves our SNA community
- Treasurer’s report
- Annual Resident Contribution overview
8:15 – 8:30 PM
Wrap-up and spillover time for additional questions or discussion
Meeting Recap:
Fire Department Staffing and Certification: Chris Durkeel detailed that the local fire department has 44 firefighter paramedics, emphasizing that virtually all firefighters in Lake Oswego are licensed paramedics,which is the highest medical certification outside of a hospital. The Southshore station handles approximately1,400 calls annually and houses a Wildlands brush truck, which can quickly respond to brush fires usingonboard water and accessing areas a traditional fire engine cannot. The Southshore station is one of the first station responders that support Skylands.
Response Times and Cardiac Arrest Survival Rates: Response times for critical, high-acuity calls in Lake Oswego average less than six minutes, which is faster than the county standard of eight minutes or less. Due to the quick response time and the fact that two teams (sixparamedics) respond to cardiac arrest calls, the survival rate from cardiac arrest in Lake Oswego is nearly twice the national average. Chris stressed that maintaining this high survival rate depends on having four functioning stations
Need for Fire Station Replacement: The current Southshore station, built in 1971, is not earthquake sustainable and would fail during a major earthquake. All four stations serve the entire city, and the dynamic nature of calls, along with the geographic barriers like the lake and a freight line, necessitate having two stations on the south side of the city. The station has also outlived its expected life and has inadequate facilities, including a shared bathroom designed in 1971 that is unsuitable for the four female firefighterscurrently employed.
Evaluation of Station Options: A task force, formed in October 2024, evaluated several options for the Southshore station, including abandonment, relocation, and subcontracting to Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue(TVF&R). Abandonment or subcontracting were deemed unacceptable because they would result in unacceptable response times, loss of county funding, and negatively impact cardiac arrest recovery statistics.
Remodeling was dismissed as financially impractical due to the necessary seismic rehabilitation of the unreinforced hollow concrete block structure, which would cost millions.
Decision to Rebuild at Current Site: After evaluating 140 different locations in the southeast corner of town, the current site was determined to be the optimum location based on land acquisition cost and response times. The conclusion is that the station must be replaced. The new station design addresses modern safety and operational needs, including decontamination facilities to protect firefighters from cancer-causing carcinogens.
Details and Funding for the New Station: The new two-story station will feature four apparatus bays, eight individual bunk rooms, and pull-through access to eliminate the hazard of backing up traffic on Southshore. The rough budget estimate for the project is
$20.6 million, which will be presented as a bond on the May ballot. Because the city is legally prevented from advocating for the bond, a community-led and community-funded citizens committee was formed to inform thecommunity and advocate for a "yes" vote on bond measure 36-35.
Temporary Service Plan and Skylands' Support: During the construction period, fire service will be uninterrupted, as a temporary fire station (likely a Quonset hut) will be erected next door to house full-time staff and equipment. Although the majority of Skylands residents are not in the city of Lake Oswego and can not vote on the bond, the provision of a robust fire service for the area at little cost to them makes the project beneficial. Following thepresentation, there was a discussion about having the neighborhood association endorse the project. DaveFarrell signed that the majority of the room were in favor of supporting the bond even though a number of our houses reside in unincorporated Clackamas County meaning we can’t vote on the bond measure.
Treasurer's Report Summary: Dave Farrell led us the treasurer's report for the period starting in January 2025showed that the organization brought in more money than it spent, with most income coming from residentdonations. The organization maintains two accounts with Chase: a general fund and a road maintenance fund.Specific donations allocated for past annexation activities are tracked separately to ensure they are used only for future defense against annexation.
Election of Officers and Mission Overview: Two new officer candidates, Melissa Benson and Josh Stolpe,were introduced. A quorum of 25 residents was present, and the proposed slate of officers was elected: DaveFarrell to President, Josh Stolpe to Vice President, and Melissa Benson to Secretary Treasurer. The Skylands Neighborhood Association's (SNA) mission is to maintain the unique character of the neighborhood, foster community, and act as a liaison for public policy and land use information.
SNA Structure and Non-Profit Status: The SNA is a voluntary, non-salaried board that represents resident interests and provides forums for discussion; they do not enforce CCNRs, handle private property disputes, oract as a Homeowners Association (HOA). The SNA operates as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, which allows them to advocate to the city and county, but contributions are not tax-deductible because they are not a charitable organization. The SNA is currently working to resolve federal non-profit status issues related to exceeding the $50,000 donation limit during the road maintenance period. SNA is recognized by the State of Oregon as having non-profit status.
Skylands Demographics and Governance: Skylands is composed of five subdivisions dating back to 1950. The neighborhood includes 84 homes in unincorporated Clackamas County and roughly 22 homes in the city of Lake Oswego. The SNA is recognized by the county and city as a Community Planning Organization (CPO), which serves as an advisory board.
Annexation and Community Debate: Annexation is a sensitive topic that can bring up strong, occasionally varying opinions, and residents generally prefer to keep the topic dormant. We discussed the topic generally , so SNA residents were educated on the topic of pros/cons in and around annexation. The SNA is not interested in revisiting the annexation topic at this time.
Encouraging Annual Donations: The SNA encourages an optional annual donation of $250 per household, which can be made via Zelle or check payable to Skylands Neighborhood Association sent to address: 17903 Upper Cherry Lane, Lake Oswego, OR 97034. These donations cover community events, legal/tax obligations, and unforeseen events.
Consistency in annual contributions would allow the SNA to accrue funds for future needs, such as road replacement, which is projected to cost over $720,000 in 20 years time. The organization previously had higher contribution rates before the focus shifted to fundraising for the road project. There was an ask of the SNA board to make it easier for residents to contribute annually.
A bit of History of Skylands Neighborhood. Dave Farrell walked us through a bit of history around the neighborhood leading up to and following the official Skylands 1 development back in the early 1950’s. The slides will be made available on the SNA website.
Creating a Sense of Community. A huge thank you to the Almeida family on Skyland Circle for painting the beautiful rocks and placing them throughout the neighborhood. SNA has purchased 4 acrylic paint pen kits for the neighborhood residents to use to paint and place even more rocks. It’s a nice way of bringing a bit of joy to residents who regularly walk throughout the neighborhood. These kits are available to borrow and return. 2kits are placed in the Newspaper slot of the mailbox at 1460 Skylands Drive and another 2 kits in the Little Free Library at 18020 Skyland Cir. Neighbors are encouraged to use these.
Meeting Adjournment: Dave Farrell officially concluded the meeting by thanking all of the past and present board members and area reps for their volunteer support of the Skylands Neighborhood Association.
