ENA Board Meeting

January 15, 2026 7:00 PM

Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Ave SE

Minutes

Board members present:

Karen Sweeney (Vice president & CNA representative), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Jim Rioux (Treasurer), Nathan Allan, Therese Vogel, Cheryl Bayle, Abigail Twombly

1) Approval of Minutes

The November minutes were approved as submitted.

2) Treasurer Report

Jim R. reported the following account balances:

Checking  $3,441.13

Savings    $1,950.43

Total       $5,391.56

In response to a question about the ENA’s 2025 grant funds, Jim reported that about twelve hundred dollars of grant funds were unspent.

3) CNA report

Karen reported on the following topics from the January 15^th CNA meeting:

• The committee reviewing the NMG program has scheduled a community forum January 24 from 3:00 to 5:00 at City Hall
• Paul Berendt, the new Councilmember, talked about his positions on multiple issues
• Clark Gillman will continue as the Council’s representative to the CNA
• The Harm Reduction Center on Franklin Street is getting a lot of attention
• Homelessness continues to be a serious problem
• Speeding is another major issue
• The CNA reelected most of its current slate of officers with the exception of president; Larry Dzieza is stepping down and currently there is no replacement

4) Upcoming events

The Board discussed arrangements for the January 20^th annual meeting:

• The meeting is scheduled from 6:00 to 8:00, however people may arrive by 5:30 so we will have informal social time prior to serving dinner
• Sherry will start the formal meeting whenever the time is right
• Terese said Sherry talked to Josh about providing live music; Jim R. said there is no  money to pay for it; Nathan said he can provide background music
• Nathan will set up the ballroom for 30, and can accommodate more if needed
• Terese, Karen, Cheryl and Abigail said they will bring deserts
• Abigail passed out signs (which should go up tomorrow)
• Abigail will post the meeting announcement on the website and Facebook; Nathan will send it to the email list
• The first item on the agenda will be the election of Board members
• Officers will be elected at our February 10^th meeting

The meeting ended at 7:50 PM

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 22^nd 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 10^th CNA meeting:

• Current development projects
• Airport master plan environmental review
• Eastside Street recycling drop off site
• New City Hall parking needed due to pending sale of old City Hall
• 2026 NMG review meeting with Brittany Gillia; the CNA subcommittee will also be meeting at 3:00 PM Sunday upstairs at Bayview.
• The Council has signaled they will be taking a closer look at multi-family tax exemptions (MFTE) for new downtown apartment buildings. For background, here’s a link to a guest editorial by Jim Lazar – https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/thurston-county-has-plenty-of-market-rate-apartments,18828?

4) Upcoming events

• Holiday Snowflake workshop Nov. 14^th
• Madison PTO fundraiser on Nov. 22^nd  at Swantown
• Neighborhood Member Appreciation event 5:30 PM Wednesday December 3^rd at Swantown

6) November newsletter topics

• Madison School & Legion Way tree event
• Food pantry at New bridge, Sundays Noon to 1:00
• Saint Michaels expansion and traffic impacts

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 8^th 

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 20^th.

11) Madison fundraiser

The Madison PTO fundraiser will be held November 22^nd  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