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Chronicle & Chief THE COLUMBIA COUNTY
Wednesday, August 28, 2024 | Columbia County, Oregon
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Issues bubbling up at Broadleaf
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Broadleaf Arbor on the day of the grand opening. WILL LOHRE Country Media, Inc.
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he Broadleaf Arbor housing community in St. Helens hosted its grand opening this summer, and while the event marked the celebration of the end of the development phase, there have been issues at the complex as management, tenants, and the community at large adjust to the new project. Broadleaf Arbor has 239 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments for households earning up to 60 percent of the area’s median income. (In Columbia County, that amounts to an annual household income of about $70,800 for a family of four.) There are also people supported by projectbased or tenant-based vouchers or agency referrals from CCMH or the Community Action Team. Speaking with Community Development Partners CEO Eric Paine at the grand opening on July 16, he said that the event marked the celebration of the finishing of the development phase and the start of the permanent operations and community. The event featured local leaders and project partners speaking to a gathered crowd. Paine said there is still some “dust needing to settle” as residents get to know their neighbors and their new environment. When asked whether he and the developers had heard concerns from residents or if the project had growing pains, Paine said that with a project this size, there are always challenges.
“There’s different levels of services and programming and connections to resources that different families need. I think that’s the main thing in this beginning phase is everybody just moved in together and is getting to know one another, and it’s a large community, so you have over 500 residents here,” Paine said. “There’s definitely been some instances of relying on first responders when there’s crime or lease violations.” Paine said that Guardian Management (who manage the property) can enforce some lease violations, but that if there’s criminal activity, the community relies on first responders to handle those issues. While the community is still in its budding stage, residents have raised issues about safety in the community. Hearing from residents According to Guardian Management Director of Marketing and Communications Kim Gaube, Broadleaf Arbor houses approximately 550-600 people, depending on occupancy. Speaking to residents at the grand opening, concerns were raised about the living conditions in their new community. Kristina Diaz moved in May, and at the grand opening, she said that things have been “rocky” since moving in. Diaz and other residents said there have been issues creating connections as some people don’t adhere to the rules of the new community. Another resident said there’s been
“a lot of drama,” including many visits from first responders and law enforcement. Diaz said the grand opening was “interesting” because it didn’t tell the full story of what residents have been going through. “It’s interesting they did a full event and everything, and try and make us look like a nice little community and everything, which don’t get me wrong, it’s a very nice community, it can be a very nice community, but it’s just the people,” Diaz said. “They don’t get along with each other, they don’t respect each other. Management, I feel like they can do better, they’re just matching energy, they’re not being professional.” Residents Autumn Davis and Devonna Marsh, who will be referred to as Devonna Robideau in this article, are two residents who have felt fed up with the situation at Broadleaf Arbor. Davis disrupted the grand opening as part of a protest that some residents planned to “tell them what really goes on here.” Davis was escorted back to her apartment building for yelling during the guest speaker portion of the grand opening. “I was going to bring awareness to the people that we don’t get to talk to, that we don’t get to see. The police activity, the crime activity, the domestic violence, there’s a lot of child neglect, there’s a lot of drug traffic,” Davis said. “These are things we’re all calling and reporting on, but it’s just a lot, and they’re overworked. I was going to ask if they were aware of all these things.”
For Robideau, she said that law enforcement is fed up but said that part of the issue relates to management. Robideau said that many of the residents are scared to speak out because of fear of losing their housing. One of the big concerns for Robideau and Davis is the dangers the community presents to their children. Robideau and Davis said that it is not infrequent to see kids getting bullied in the community common areas or on the playground. “A big thing here is some of these parents allow their older children to bully the younger handicapped children, so they can’t even go outside and play, because their parents are afraid they’re going to get hurt,” Robideau said. “And parents will sit up on the balcony and watch their kids bullying other children and laugh about it. This is every single day.” They also talked about tenants using drugs in full view of kids and issues like tires getting slashed in the parking lot. Robideau moved in more than a year ago with the first round of tenants, and though it seemed “OK” at first, issues soon presented themselves. “This place could be great. When we first looked into this place, they were talking about the intergenerational connections, the kids activities, the community activities, and the cooking classes, and all this,” Robideau said. “But they don’t engage the community enough. There’s zero managerial presence.” One solution they have posed is
for management to support a more permanent law enforcement presence at the complex. Robideau said that management had sent a notice that they were going to hire an on-site security guard, but it has not materialized. Speaking for Guardian Management, Gaube said they hear concerns ranging broadly, including subjects like noise disturbances and needed repairs. “When notified, we prioritize safety issues, and our team works to address valid concerns and find reasonable and achievable solutions,” Gaube said. “We have been working with project partners to organize upcoming resident meetings to help build community and address resident concerns to the best of our ability.” Burden on emergency services According to St. Helens Communications Officer Crystal King, law enforcement responded to calls at Broadleaf Arbor more than two times a day in 2024. The following is a breakdown of the calls for service for the St. Helens Police Department at Broadleaf Arbor provided by King: • Total (2023-present): 1,017 • Total (2023): 531 • Total (2024 to-date): 486 • Average (2023-present): 1.759/ day – 53.526/month See ISSUES, Page A6
Family in need of support after fire WILL LOHRE
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isaster struck the home of Jared and McKenna Beardsley on Aug. 20, as a fire forced them to evacuate their home, and they escaped with their son, James and family dog. Firefighters were able to quickly contain the fire and limit the damage; however, within 24 hours, something very out of the ordinary happened, according to Scappoose Fire Chief Jeff Pricher. A second fire broke out at the Beardsley’s house, located at the 5000 block of E.M. Watts Road, luckily with no one at home, as the Beardsleys were staying at Jared’s mother’s house. Pricher said having two fires at the same location within such a short span is something that he has seldom seen. “The fire district is disappointed that we had to return to the same location for yet another fire, because
that’s not normal,” Pricher said. “I can only think of [something like this] happening once or twice in the 12 years I’ve been here.” Pricher said this only happens in very specific circumstances in his experience, and as the district waits for the results of an investigation into the fires at the Beardsley house, he can not offer specifics. “It’s important to understand that the first fire definitely had something to do with the second fire, we just don’t know what yet. Because to the best of our understanding, the first fire was put out,” Pricher said. “We utilize a systematic process for determining whether or not a fire is out. Two of those key factors are we make sure we wait until certain decision points are met.” One of the points is using gas detectors to ensure there are no fumes or “significant off-gassing” that occurs that can cause another
COURTESY PHOTO FROM REBUILD HOPE FOR THE BEARDSLEY FAMILY GOFUNDME
Jared, McKenna, and James Beardsley.
St. Helens pro maintains perfect start See FAMILY, Page A5
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COURTESY PHOTO
Haidon Allen and his team after winning his second pro fight.
IN THIS ISSUE Police Reports .............. A3 Opinion .......................... A4 Obituaries ...................... A5 Market ............................ A6 Public Notices ............ A7-9 Crossword .................... A10 Sports .......................... A10
7 DAY FORECAST
or the second time in as many fights, St. Helens professional boxer Haidon “Ippo” Allen has walked away victorious, starting his career with a 2-0 record after winning his second bout on Aug. 17. Allen won his fight against Bryce Wyatt in four rounds by unanimous decision. It’s been four months since his professional boxing debut, and though he’s just getting started, Allen came into this fight with a different approach. In his first fight, Allen said he was cautious in his approach, hitting his opponent quickly but never overcommitting to avoid giving up an opportunity to be countered. This time, Allen wanted to capitalize on
the openings he saw. “If I can touch him with my jab, then I can touch him with my right. I started actually seeing it and changing my elevation, and I just waited for him to open up. Right when I saw a big shot, I rolled underneath and went to the body. It started just flowing,” Allen said. “Working with my team and my coach, we really gameplanned it all.” The fight was a unanimous decision in Allen’s favor, and part of his success during the fight came from landing more of the big shots he was aiming for. While he wanted to look for opportunities for the KO, Allen said his main goal was not to get hit himself. Working with his coach, See PRO, Page A10
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