Representing the Eastside Neighborhood of Olympia, Washington
Our Annual Meeting is this coming Tuesday the 20th at 6pm. A soup dinner will be provided and we will have a fantastic speaker, Trudy Soucoup of Homes First. Did you know Homes First owns multiple homes in our neighborhood? To hear more about their mission, see what the ENA has planned for 2026 and vote on the 2026 board (or even volunteer to join it!), please join us at the Swantown Inn, in their Grand Victorian Ballroom.
ENA Board Meeting
November 11, 2025 7:00 PM
Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Ave SE
Draft Minutes
Board members present:
Sherry Chilcutt (President), Karen Sweeney (CNA representative), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Jim Rioux (Treasurer), Nathan Allan, Therese Vogel, Cheryl Bayle
Guest: Josh Henderson
1) Approval of October 22nd Minutes
The October 22nd minutes were approved as submitted.
2) Treasurer Report
Jim R. reported the following account balances:
Checking $487.74
Savings $1,950.05
Total $2,437.79
The Board discussed the 2025 Neighborhood Matching Grant (NMG), the amount spent, and amounts yet to spend. We were reminded to keep track of hours for events, including volunteers and Madison school teachers.
3) CNA report
Karen reported on the following topics from the November 10th CNA meeting:
4) Upcoming events
6) November newsletter topics
7) $1-2K grant for free outdoor music
It was decided not to pursue at this time.
8) Veterans day celebration at Madison and Legion Way street tree Nov 8th
Attendees described the event, the music and the presentations as inspirational and a tribute to veterans and Olympia. The food was great too.
9) Annual meeting
The Board discussed potential invitees and agreed on a tentative time and date, 5:30 PM on January 20th.
11) Madison fundraiser
The Madison PTO fundraiser will be held November 22nd at the Swantown Inn. Those with signs should get them out early.
12) Automating membership renewal requests
Sherry reported the ENA will need a $99 system upgrade to send renewal emails automatically. A motion to that effect was moved, seconded and approved unanimously.
The meeting ended at 8:08 PM
ENA Board Meeting
October 22, 2025 7:00 PM
Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Ave SE
Minutes
Board members present:
Sherry Chilcutt (President), Karen Sweeney (CNA representative), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Jim Rioux (Treasurer), Nathan Allan, Abigail Twombly, Therese Vogel, Cheryl Bayle, Dan Rydholm
The September minutes were approved with one correction.
2. Treasurer’s report
Jim R. reported the following account balances:
Checking $512.54
Savings $1,949.86
Total $2,462.40
The neighborhood grant manager prefers we turn in receipts in chunks.
3. CNA report
Karen reported that Rhonda Larson-Kramer made a presentation on airport expansion to the South Capital NA, and is available to talk to other RNAs.
She and Jim S. met w. Brittany Gillia and others at City Hall last Thursday regarding the NMG program. Peter Guttchen had asked them to look at how the program could be improved. Peter is organizing a committee to continue working on this.
Clark Gillman talked about the current rules for neighborhood commercial uses and why they are problematic.
Tim Smith presented a long list of projects in his development report, including the Briggs Village grocery store amendment which will be going to the Council in early 2026.
There was also a discussion about Tribal development on the old City Hall site, and what that may entail for the recycle center, City Hall parking, and the other current uses.
The City’s budget deficit could result in a reduction of 35 FTEs and they are looking at increasing the tax levy.
4. Board recruitment
Sherry has recruited people in the past and the annual meeting is a good time to encourage people to get involved. Election of officers will occur at the annual meeting in January.
5. Upcoming events – Holiday Snowflakes
We talked about the materials needed to make snowflakes, the cost, and when to schedule the workshop. Nathan said he will check with Madison principal Domenico Spatola-Knoll about holding the event at the school. If they are interested, we would likely work with Marissa Smith and the PTO.
We were reminded to keep track of volunteer hours.
The Board was supportive and Sherry said she will review the grant application.
6. Veterans day celebration at Madison school
Cheryl described the event planned for November 8th from 2-4 PM. Legion Way will be closed. For more information see:
7. Annual meeting
January 20 was suggested as a possible date for the meeting. We may want to invite a guest speaker such as Olympia’s poet laureate or Michael from Big Toms.
8. Winter events
The Board discussed previous winter events and upcoming events such as Avanti’s haunted school and “Trunk or Treat” events at Madison school and the Methodist church.
9. Madison fundraiser
Swantown will be hosting a Madison PTO fund raiser on Nov. 22.
10. Automating membership renewal requests
Sherry asked if we are able to do this. It was generally agreed we could and should, but we need a membership committee to decide how to proceed. The Board further discussed the need to maintain our social media displays and to archive pictures from ENA events. It was agreed we also need a communications person to post events on the website, Facebook, Jolt, etcetera. Dan suggested we use the best systems rather than the cheapest.
The meeting ended at 8:30 PM