In an audit that casts a critical eye on the mismanagement of a historic North Portland landmark, the City of Portland's Auditor's Office has identified a series of issues with the handling of the Historic Kenton Firehouse by the Civic Life Bureau. Following the release of the damaging report on March 13, Civic Life has acknowledged the audit's findings and vows to take corrective action, as reported by the City of Portland, Oregon.
With the hopes to swiftly remedy the situation, Civic Life has agreed to fully cooperate and to immediately pursue the recommendations put forward by the auditor. "Civic Life agrees with the Auditor's recommendations about management of the Historic Kenton Firehouse and is already pursuing the options to remedy the situation outlined in the report," the bureau stated, per the City of Portland, Oregon. Due to high levels of staff and leadership turnover, the current staff find themselves grappling with scant knowledge about prior arrangements between the bureau and the nonprofit North Portland Community Works (NPCW). Rental activities at the firehouse were halted in 2020 due to the pandemic, and erstwhile attempts to re-establish policy and procedure in 2022 were met with limited success.
Former interim director Michael Montoya took steps last year to cease all rental activities and commenced corrective measures. NPCW's executive director, Tom Griffin-Valade, was approached for documentation regarding past arrangements, though these discussions did not lead to any valuable recovery of context or understanding. Moreover, staff consultations with Facilities revealed Civic Life's lack of authority to act as a landlord, prompting the then-acting Director T.J. McHugh to consider transferring the firehouse to a bureau with landowning capabilities. Negotiations with Parks and Facilities bureaus ultimately did not result in a transfer of ownership.
Now under the Mayor's portfolio as of 2024, Civic Life is striving to forge ahead with a Memorandum of Understanding in collaboration with Facilities, which will delineate clear policies and procedures. Despite previous misconceptions about its authority, Civic Life had prudently earmarked $30,000 for maintenance costs in the FY 2022-23 budget. These funds were carried into the FY 2023-24 Adopted Budget for future asset management purposes. In a hopeful tone, Civic Life has expressed confidence that it will "satisfy the Auditors Office’s recommendations and be able to provide the community with access to the Historic Kenton Firehouse," according to the City of Portland, Oregon.
