August is Picnic Time!

The Eastside Neighborhood Association is proud to host this summer tradition at Lions Park. Neighborhood businesses donate food, people bring potluck…there are games and music and best of all, there is friendship and conversation. DON’T MISS IT! 4p.m. to 7 p.m. at Lions Park Shelter.

FREE> Rods ‘N Reels Event – June 8th Noon – 4 pm at Lions Park

Proudly co-sponsored by Rod n Reels, the Eastside Neighborhood Association, and the Olympia Lions Club, this event promises a reel good time for the whole family!

  • Exciting Fishing Demos
  •  Expert Tips and Techniques
  • Interactive Workshops
  • Free Rods and Reels
  •  And much, much more!
  • Including delicious refreshments, and FREE hotdogs! 

Whether you’re a seasoned angler or just dipping your toes into the world of fishing, this event is perfect for anglers of all ages and skill levels.

Mark your calendars and be sure to join us on June 8th at the Pavilion located in Lions Park  for an unforgettable afternoon! 

Eastside Snowflake Project

We are partnering with New Bridge Community Church and the Swantown Inn Bed & Breakfast to build more giant snowflakes for along Central Street. New Bridge has their on the corner of Central and 10th, as you can see pictured here.

Giant Snowflake

Nathan Allan, ENA Board Member and Innkeeper at the Swantown Inn is championing lighting up Central Street for the holidays.

The church has loosely made an offer to help with the lights, with one of their members who built the original snowflake willing to help us replicate and improve on the original.

If you are at all interested in attending a workshop and helping to build at least a couple more, please reach out to Nathan via email at [email protected], or he is also creating a Facebook Event for an informational session on November 16th at 10am at the Swantown Inn’s Grand Victorian Ballroom.

September 11, 2024 Draft Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

September 11, 2024, 7:00 PM

1613 Union Avenue SE

Members Present

Sherry Chilcutt (President), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Karen Clemens (CNA Representative), Nathan Allan, Abigail Twombly, Cheryl Bale

1) Approval of the minutes

The August 7th meeting minutes were approved.

2) Mural Celebration Report

The celebration was described as “fantastic.” About 30 people attended including the artist and many children. The homeowners were pleased and the Olympia Beekeepers presence was appreciated.

3) Harvest Festival Oct. 12th 1-4 PM

Tim Smyth has offered to bring apples.

It was suggested we ask each person to bring about a 5-gallon bucket of apples.

If too many people show up at the same time we may need to assign them a time so they don’t have to wait.

Jim will contact Parks staff about a water source for cleaning apples and cleanup.

Karen has a list of people who have indicated they are willing to help.

Jim and Karen will work with Abigail to promote the event.

Following the September 11th Board meeting it was pointed out the Board had not approved expending funds to support the upcoming Fall Festival event. Therefore, six Board members agreed via email to expend up to $100 on incidentals for the event.

4) Armory Naming  

Jim described voting for a new name for the Olympia Armory on the City’s Engage Olympia page. Voting is open until September 27.  

5) CNA Report

The CNA met on September 9. Discussion topics included:

Missing Middle – now referred to “Middle Housing” after the 2023-24 Legislative session.  

Budget – the 2025 preliminary budget process has been underway for roughly five months and is nearing the beginning of the Council stage of the process.

Sidewalks survey – the contract is about 25% completed. The CNA’s app is still important as local information may identify higher priority projects.

Olympia Airport – there has been considerable discussion on noise, pollution and other impacts of increasing air traffic.

Community connections – the importance of community connections in countering loneliness is being recognized, particularly since the pandemic.

6) Annual Meeting

Food security was mentioned as a possible topic with Chris Hyde, the Souper Sunday guy, as a potential speaker. We discussed inviting comedian Sam Miller and decided to look into the possibility of paying him to perform next year. Other ideas were to invite someone from the City such as Mayor Payne, Councilmember Clark, or Kim Kondrat to talk about housing. The item was continued until the October meeting at which time we will decide on who we want to invite. The time for the annual meeting is tentatively set for 6:30 PM Wednesday November 6 at the Swantown Inn, with time to socialize at 6:00.

7) Plum Street Village Report  

Nathan and Sherry toured new buildings at Plum Street Village and met the new managers.

8) Utility Commission report

Sherry described on-going discussions by the Utility Commission about the City’s utility tax.

9) Other

Nathan mentioned a Madison school PTO auction on Dec. 7. The Board agreed to partner with the PTO to promote the event. He also proposed having the Inn sponsor ENA events.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.

August 7, 2024 Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

August 7, 2024, 7:00 PM

Swantown Inn

Members Present

Sherry Chilcutt (President), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Jim Rioux (Treasurer) Karen Clemens (CNA Representative), Nathan Allan, Abigail Twombly, Cheryl Bale

1) Approval of the minutes

The June 12th meeting minutes were approved as amended.

There wasn’t a quorum for the July meeting.

2) Treasurer Report

Jim R. noted our miscellaneous savings accounts have been combined into one general savings account as discussed at the June 12th meeting.

Checking    $618.35

Savings   $3,241.32

Total         $3,859.67

3) Annual Picnic

Board members discussed food and table service for the potluck, and who will provide which items. Several people said they will bring games.

4) Harvest Festival Oct. 12th 1-4 PM

Abigail has arranged for live music.

Games such as cornhole will be available.  

Sherry will not be there but Hank will be available to transport the apple press. Jim S. said he can help load and set up the press.

Sherry suggested some people come early for setup, and others stay late for cleanup.

We may want to talk to the Parks people about hosing off the tables and floor in the shelter.

Jim S. will work with Abigail to write up an announcement and make posters. We will also want to post “rules” for apple pressing, such as suggesting people bring only one 5-gallon bucket of apples along with re-usable glass containers.

5) How do we make Fir and 10th safer?

Someone near this intersection asked if the ENA could help facilitate safety improvements. The problem is people are driving too fast on Fir Street plus limited sight distance. One suggestion is to ask the City to close the street for a day and paint a mandala in the intersection.

Sherry will reply to the neighbor and suggest they contact the City.

6) CNA Report

Jim R. attended the July CNA meeting. There was a discussion about the South Capital RNA and their efforts to reduce speeding on Capital Way.

Tim Smith reported on the many pending permit applications.

The CNA discussed the City’s budget, the Council retreat, and the proposed quarterly forum.

7) City Sidewalk inventory

There has not been a lot of input into the sidewalk app recently.

The City is doing a separate inventory with a focus on downtown sidewalks.

8) Mural Update

The Eastside Street mural is progressing nicely.

9) Hold off on electing a VP until our annual meeting?

The Board agreed to hold off electing a new vice president until the annual meeting.

We agreed to include a discussion about the annual meeting date, guest speakers and so forth at our September meeting.

10) New Courthouse location

A County subcommittee has been meeting to discuss their building and space needs. This would be a good topic to bring up at the annual meeting. For contact information see the website: https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/board-county-commissioners/courthouse-and-regional-administrative-buildings-project

The meeting adjourned at 8:20 PM.