Well , hi everybody . Welcome to the first OSTA update of 2025 . We've got a lot of good stuff to talk about . Come on in . Well , hi everybody . I'm Bill Bateman , part of the team at the Oregon State Tenants Association , or OSTA as we like to call it , and this is our first update for 2025 . There's a lot going on .
Speaker 1I promised you good information as soon as I got it . We've put the lights away , we've cleaned up the holiday debris and we're back on the road making things happen . The first good news we had is that the House bill has an official number . It's HB 3054 , house Bill 3054 . That's going to be introduced by Representative Pam Marsh and her hardworking team up there in Salem and that's going to happen in the first session . So we're very excited about that .
Speaker 1More good news , and I'm really tickled about this here in the Medford area , ms Buffy Pollack of the Rogue Valley Times contacted me really thanks to your letters and your outreach , and put together a very nice article all about HB 3054 and the problems we in manufactured home communities and floating home communities are facing , and I've included the link in the login for this podcast . It's an excellent article . I'm very , very appreciative of the Rove Valley Times doing such an in-depth piece . There's an online section , which is where you'll be directed . Today is the 5th , it's Sunday , the 5th of January , and that paper is also on newsstands today at your favorite retailer location . So you know , refinance the house and go ahead and pick up a copy . Yes , there's a little bit of me in there , but there's also a lot of information about you folks , the folks who wrote , the folks who have reached out , the folks who have testified . So if you have reached out to the Rogue Valley Times , they are listening . There's a very good story and it talks about the problems and issues we're facing . Very good coverage . Thank you very much . Rogue Valley Times and Ms Buffy Pollack Great work .
Speaker 1What else is going on ? Well , we promised you when we got into January that we would have a seminar . It's looking like it's going to be on the 10th . There'll be more information as we go . That'll be coming out both text and email , but it's going to feature Matthew Johnson . He's on the OSTA board and he is an attorney Now , as he likes to preface this . He's on the OSTA board and he is an attorney Now as he likes to preface this . He's not an OSTA attorney , but he is on the OSTA board and he is a practicing attorney , and my other guest is going to be Mr Ken Pryor , who's the program coordinator , the Home Ownership Division of Oregon Housing and Community Services , and we're going to talk about some really interesting issues , kind of , first of all , forming your tenants association , getting that tenants association going , getting it moving , how to do it .
Speaker 1There's three different types of official tenant organizations and a couple of informal ways to do it as well . You don't have to spend hours and hours and thousands and thousands of dollars . It doesn't cost you anything and it is giving you a lot of power in solving problems . So the first part we'll be discussing forming your tenants association and the other is what to look for if mediation fails . If mediation fails , what next ? So we'll be putting a link up in the next OSTA update with information on that meeting . We're looking around the 10th of January and it's probably going to be 11 o'clock . In fact I'm sure of the time it's going to be 11 . Everybody's got such busy schedules , especially after the first of the year . We're just kind of trying to nail it down , put it together . But if that's something you're interested in , keep checking in . We'll get information out as soon as we can and we will record it . So if you can't join us for the live presentation , it'll be posted on the OSTA website and I'm sure Oregon Housing and Community Service will make the link available . We'll share the link with them so you'll both have an opportunity . Both organizations are going to give you the opportunity to see that at a later time if you can't sit down and watch it live with us . So those are the three big issues . House Bill 3054 is officially named and rolling forward , an excellent article in the Road Valley Times and , by golly , our first Zoom meeting of the year .
Speaker 1I do need to say that the Zoom meetings last year that we did in connection with the survey are credited with getting a lot of people involved . Also , I need to make sure that we've thanked the tenants themselves . We had one group at a park . Five women got together and made over 500 phone calls to get people aware of the survey . That's the kind of stuff , folks , we can't do it without you , and you have done an excellent job . Thank you , thank you , thank you . That does also illustrate to the people watching how important this is . This is not one or two people who are unhappy about something . This is hundreds of people who are having serious problems . We did post the survey results . They're on the website . They have been used in that article . Okay , so the top three things on my list we've talked about .
Speaker 1Next , what's happening next ? I promised you we'd be holding Zoom meetings . Those are happening . We're going to be working at , by the way . Be holding Zoom meetings those are happening , we're going to be working at . By the way , the Zoom meetings oh my gosh were very helpful in getting the survey put together . They were part of it . Also , part of it was you , you the listener , you the people responding . I had one group of volunteers at a senior park . Five women got together and made over 500 phone calls and I can't stress how impressive that is enough . Thank you , ladies . If I thought it was appropriate , I'd thank you by name , but I don't think anybody wants to really go on the record . But yes , god bless you . You did a wonderful job and that's the kind of power that we need to harness . You have done a wonderful thing and we're going to be harnessing that kind of power .
Speaker 1I'm approaching the county commissioners in Jackson County and urge you to do the same in your county , to reach out and get a proclamation issued for February . February is Senior Independence Month , senior Independent Living Month , I think , is the exact title . And , oh my gosh , what could be a better idea than not getting evicted and having your home taken away from you due to excessive fees and charges ? So I'm working on putting together a proclamation . It's not hard , it doesn't cost anything and as I get mine written , I will share it on the OSTA website and you'll have an opportunity to modify it for your community and approach your county commissioners and if they do , great , and if they don't , that's pretty significant . We'll talk about those who do and we'll talk about those who don't and try and get to the bottom of why . Maybe even look at the city level , if you have like . I'm going to approach the city of Medford and the city of Ashland and ask if they could probably issue a proclamation as well . Again , it costs nothing , it's a little typing , it's some wordsmithing . We'll share some samples . If you've got some samples of ideas you'd like to share , please , my address is there in the login for the podcast and we'll put them up on the website . We want you to be able to be a part of the process . So that's what's happening .
Speaker 1We're also going to be looking at trying to get people together . It's not financially practical to get a bus and put everybody up overnight to go to Salem when the testimony happens . But if you're in the area , if you can carpool in and attend , we've got some very good ideas to make our presence known in a very positive and very proactive way for the testimony . And if you've never done that , if you've never been part of going to our state capitol , it's definitely worth the effort . They make it hard to park . They make it hard to find things . That's not by intent , that's just the fact . The building's older than I am and you got to navigate through labyrinths to find stuff , but it's worth going Again . That's the plan for the next couple of months . We're going to use January to get proclamations and build local awareness . We're going to continue the positive attitude we have and the positive support we're showing .
Speaker 1Thank you all . I can't do this alone . I'm just one of us . It's the old you can blow out one cannibal , but you can't blow out a fire , and we're going to be the fire that catches the attention to the senior financial crisis ahead . Okay , there will be more podcasts coming up . They'll be shorter , but they will be more frequent so we can be current and up to date . Keep talking to each other , keep working in teams and in pairs . Document , don't be afraid to take video . Be the power for change . We'll talk to you next time . Until then , this is Bill Bateman , oregon State Tenants Association , wishing you a very good day , stay warm , stay healthy and stay dry . The preceding program was a presentation of Retired Guy Productions .