Neighborhood Meeting Minutes – December 2022

ENA Board Meeting
Dec 24, 2022
7:00 PM
1613 Union Ave SE

Attendees: Roger Horn, Sherry Chilcutt, Jim Sweeney, Karen Lang Sweeney, Abigail Atwombly, Cheryl Bayle

Approval of the minutes:

No minutes available from Annual meeting.

Treasurer Report:

Checking $699.40
Savings $963.62
Neighborhood signs $1307.39
Legion Way Trees $153.46
Community Beautification $410.17
Grand total $3534.04

Annual General Meeting Report, Nov. 30 th

About 20 people came. There was significant snow that evening which lowered attendance. We have email addresses that need to be entered into our new system. We will hold this item till Nathan returns and we can quiz him. Jim Sweeney will send thank you email to Angel Nava and Stephanie Johnson.

Mailing address

List Still in progress. Cheryl would love to get her hands on the large map that Jim Rioux has to help her identify address associated with vacant parcels.

Oly Lightstravaganza report

Doing a great job with outdoor events. Several more events coming.

Winter Walkabout

Instead of our traditional walkabout, we might ask people to pick the top 3 holiday displays and let us know. We will award a prize to the top 3. We are going to skip the mapping exercise this year due to a lack of energy. Roger will write a blurb and post it on the website. We will give $30 gift cards to Big Toms or Left Bank. Roger will write a blurb on Saturday and Sherry will put it on Nextdoor. People will be invited to email Roger with their picks.

Email List Issues

Jim Rioux is not getting all the board emails, through google groups. We will commit to adding Jim’s personal email in our communications forever.

RNA grant blurb finished?

Roger and Sherry will work on that and get it sent in by end of year.

Land use & env committee-Neighborhood center

Dec.15th Jim Sweeney is available for online attending and keeping us in the loop to see where we are with the neighborhood center.

Mail chimp – vs website

Where do new emails get added? Hold for future meeting.

New Board members and looking to elections.

Abigail will join the board. Dave Groves was ill tonight and will attend a future meeting. Roger has agreed to continue as Vice President, Jim Sweeney was voted in as secretary and Sherry will continue her dual role as Treasurer/President.

Looking towards 2023

What projects are we considering?

Neighborhood Meeting Minutes – October 2022

ENA Board Meeting
10/13/2022
7:00 PM
Swantown Inn

Attendees: Sherry Chilcutt, Roger Horn, Cheryl Bayle, Nathan Allen, Jim Rioux

Treasurer Report

Checking $996.18
Savings $963.48
Signs $1307.26
Trees $153.42
Beautification $410.09
Total $3800.37

All grant requirements are done except narrative about the project.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes approved with edits from Roger.

CNA Report

None CNA representative was not in attendance.

Talent Show – Salvation Army

Roger shared latest version of banner. B&B Sign Company agreed to requested changes.

Roger shared questions for talent. The board agreed to send the questions.

Roger has seven acts. He would like three more. Nathan suggested reaching out to the City’s poet laureate. Roger asked about talent outside of neighborhood. All agreed that would be OK.

Roger’s dance group leader suggested SambaOlyWa.

Sherry and Cheryl will make snacks.

Roger asked if Hank would serve as MC. Sherry said yes.

Roger asked if Hank would know of others that could perform. Sherry will ask.

Roger shared a draft program. Roger asked for help with the brochure. Nathan offered to help after Monday.

Sherry asked about what kind of Covid precautions we should take? Roger suggested buying masks and making them available to attendees.

Address List

Jim showed a map of the neighborhood zones he created. Jim shred printed copies of the database broken out by zones.

Nathan asked that we come up with key so that people checking the homes know what to put into the database. Jim will come up with a key based on what Sherry already started and then upload the database to google docs and share the file with everyone on the board

Membership Programs (Move to 3)

Nathan reviewed the recommendation from Jim R. The board agreed with the recommendation.

Nathan already paid for the license. $320 for two memberships. ENA portion would be $160.

Nathan will confirm cost and request approval for reimbursement at next meeting.

General Meeting – November 3, 5-8 pm.

Sherry location is at Armory. Charge $84.

There was discussion about speakers. It was decided to invite parks staff to discuss progress on the Armory and art installation near the neighborhood. Nathan explained Community Solar program and suggested we reach out to them to speak.

Jim will facilitate nomination of new board members.

Sherry will reach out to area churches to see if they have interest in participating as board members.

Sherry mentioned that Zoom has a transcription tool that we may want to use to capture meeting notes.

Neighborhood Meeting Minutes – September 2022

ENA Board Meeting
9/15/2022
7:00 PM
Swantown Inn

Attendees: Sherry Chilcutt, Roger Horn, Cheryl Bayle, Nathan Allen, Jim Rioux, Jim Sweeney,

Treasurer Report

Checking $759.55
Savings $963.27
Signs $1306.91
Trees $153.36
Beautification $409.97

There may be an invoice from the mural project that was double paid. We may need to reconcile with the City. At this time the City says we are ok.

Homes First is trying to raise $500 to start work on five houses. Sherry will keep in touch with them and see if they need ENA support.

Taxes have been filed. Sherry will change our tax status to a non-political non-profit. This will make us eligible for significant cost savings that political non-profits are not eligible for.

CNA Report

Sherry had some concern about the fact that we were unable to back up Karen for the last CNA meeting. The consensus was that this will likely be rare and its OK if ENA is not in attendance once in a while.

The board discussed the City’s proposal for a Regional Fire Authority. The significant increase in property tax with no clear benefit to Olympia citizens was frustrating.

Talent Show – Salvation Army

Roger has three acts for sure and one more poet will be asked. He wondered if we should we ask for others from the northeast or any other neighborhoods? Jim Sweeney suggested downtown.

Nathan suggested reaching out to the ODA.

Sherry will check in with Andy a professional trumpeter.

Nathan suggested putting up a flier in capital guitar.

Roger has a few other leads he will contact including reaching out to Avanti high school. The date and time is set for Saturday October 22, 3-5 pm.

Address List

Jim R was successful in splitting the data so that we can sort by street name. He will try to do some further breakdown to group houses into zones.

Member List Status and Levels Discussion

The board decided to form a small group to come up with a proposal. The group will consist of Dan, Jim R, and Nathan.

Nathan reminded the board that the basic reason for the change is to have a database of active people in the neighborhood. Our current system can’t do that for us. The intent is to encourage donations but not require it. The business level will give us a way to promote neighborhood businesses.

November General Meeting

Sherry asked what date worked better for everyone, November 3rd, or 9th. Roger pointed out that we had already set the date for November 3rd. The board decided to stick with November 3rd.

There was some discussion about the location. Newbridge and the Armory were mentioned. The Armory seemed a better choice. Sherry will contact Stephanie about the Armory.

We will plan to start at 5:30 pm with snacks and start the meeting at 6:00 pm.

The board discussed the following topics for an agenda. Nathan pointed out that we should pick something that will bring people out and we need to give people a positive reason to attend.

  • Nathan– Quince St. village
  • Jim Sweeney – Citywide homeless plan.
  • Jim R -Lions Park improvements and other parks issue
  • Jim S – Emergency Management
  • Sherry -City events

Jim reminded the board that we will need to nominate new board members so that we can choose officers in January.

Nathan agreed to contact old officers to see if they have interest.

Jim R will send message to e-mail list from last annual meeting.

Art Crossing Meeting at the Armory

How can we best support attendance?

The meeting is scheduled September 29 at 6:30 am.

Sherry is looking for messaging to get people to attend. Jim will help Sherry write something.

Jim will get pictures of artwork that the chosen artist created to Nathan.

3900 Boulevard Rd Meeting at ORLA

Jim Sweeney shared that people from LiHi spoke well about homeless community in Olympia.

Roger said that he also attended and didn’t hear any opposition. Some important issues were highlighted.

Sherry said the issues raised were traffic and stormwater.

The concerns from people from the Newcastle neighborhood were parking, flooding, transportation, access to LBA, and loss of open space.

Interpretive Sign at Armory – $50,000 Contract

Jim S volunteered to serve on the committee that will give input on the content and design of the sign.

Sherry mentioned that the Armory received $1 million grant for Heritage Capital Project Grant.

Neighborhood Meeting Minutes – August 2022

ENA Board Meeting, Swantown Inn, 8/10/22

Attendees: Sherry Chilcutt, Roger Horn, Cheryle Bayle, Nathan Allen, Jim Rioux, Jim Sweeney, Karen Sweeney, Anna Stussah

Treasury Reports

There were three new memberships this month. Nathan mentioned that he wanted to discuss the new system for membership email.

  • Checking $759.55
  • Savings $963.27
  • Signs $1306.91
  • Trees $153.36
  • Beautification $409.97

Minutes Approval

Minutes for the July meeting were approved.

Picnic Report

  • Sherry asked for receipts, but everyone that contributed said they were willing to cover their costs.
  • Sherry mentioned that she made a point of talking with everyone that attended.
  • Overall, everyone felt it was a good and successful event.
  • Most of the food that was brought was eaten and we didn’t run out.

CNA Report

Karen provided a brief update on the following items that were discussed at the August CNA meeting:

  • City council is looking at housing code changes to increase renter protection. Some of the ideas being discussed include rent increase notification requirements, limits on pet damage deposits and move in fees, and requirements that would allow renters to pay fees in installments.
  • There was a presentation on the proposed Regional Fire Authority:
    • The idea is to combine Tumwater and Olympia into a separate entity for fire protection.
    • One of the benefits mentioned would be shorter response time.
    • The proposal would require a property tax increase.
    • They expect the issue to on the ballot soon.
    • A calculator will be available on the City’s web site to see what the increase will be an individual property owner.
    • There is a virtual town hall scheduled for Monday, August 15 at 6:00 pm.
  • Dave Marty discussed using a Neighborhood Grant to develop and support a web site program. The idea is to come up with a host that all neighborhoods could use so that they do not have to spend their own money on a web site. It would also provide a consistent format and look for all RNA’s.

Tim Smith provided an update for CPD:

  • The city is working on a project to build workforce housing at the former mitigation site on Franklin St. More information can be found on the City’s web site.
  • The city currently has 324 building permits in process. He anticipates they will see approximately 714/yr for the next five years to meet expected growth.
  • The Ecosystem Alliance is taking the West Bay Yards developer to court over SEPA violations.
  • The Capital Mall Triangle process continues to move forward.
  • The 3900 Boulevard Road project has a public meeting schedule for September 14.
  • Cari Hornbein gave an update on the Neighborhood Centers project:
    • Karen asked about how to get one in the Eastside Neighborhood but got no response.
    • Roger mentioned that he attended the public meeting that was held on the westside. He was able to talk with Cari and Mike Reid. He was not clear on next steps.
    • Nathan thought that a meeting with Jay may be what we need to do.
    • Roger also suggested a meeting with Leonard.

Talent Show

Roger has been talking with the Director of Salvation Army. Roger suggested moving the event to October 15.

The northeast neighborhoods do not want to participate so we will need to find people from the Eastside Neighborhood to take part in the show.

Member Address list

Sherry complied the two lists that she had. We need to verify that all of the addresses on the list are valid.

Jim offered to try to organize the list to make it easier to verify different sections of the neighborhood.

Rebuilding Together

Sherry and Hank attended a meeting of this county wide organization. The intent is to invest about $5000 into houses that need repair, then use volunteers to actually do the work.

Sherry would like to establish an ENA crew for houses in the Eastside neighborhood.

Web Site Update

Nathan demonstrated the website he found that he feels we should migrate to. The primary benefit is the ability to pull member data, our current host does not have that capability.

One major change is that we need to determine four discreet member levels, as opposed to our current sliding scale. The board asked Nathan to propose the levels and we can then vote on via email.

Neighborhood Meeting Minutes – July 2022

ENA Board Meeting, Swantown Inn

Attendees: Sherry Chilcutt, Roger Horn, Cheryle Bayle, Nathan Allan, Jim Rioux, Jim Sweeney, Karen
Sweeney, Dan Rydholm

  1. Treasurer Reports
    Sherry delivered the following report via e-mail.
    Checking $759.55
    Savings $963.27
    Signs $1306.91
    Trees $153.36
    Beautification $409.97
    So far this year, we have $255 minus fees in membership revenue.
  2. Minutes Approval
    There were no minutes because the June meeting was primarily focused on reviewing and editing the newsletter content.
  3. Newsletter Mailing Report
    There were a significant number or of returns, Sherry is going through the mailing list we got from the city’s database and comparing it to an older one the that Brian had. She estimates approximately 300 houses were missed. When she is done, she will split up the list and give each of us a portion to verify. We still have some grant left to pay for a follow-up mailing.
  4. Van Camping
    The board discussed the issues of vacant houses and van camping. Dan asked if the association had any policies because someone was car camping for multiple weeks outside his home. The board does not have any policies on this topic. Nathan and Sherry recommended approaching the individual and checking in to see what he may need and request that he respect the rest of the neighbors. Update – the van was towed by the city a few days after the board meeting.
  5. Plum Street Village
    Nathan mentioned that the city’s coordinated entry program is not working very well. The only way to get into a house is through the city and they are not processing requests effectively. He is concerned that the Quince St. mitigation site will have a negative impact on Plum St. He is also concerned the Community Action Committee is not being heard by the city.
  6. Block Party Report
    All four block parties were well attended and overall great events for the neighborhood. We estimated about 30-40 attendees at each event. The McCormick St. party may have gone as high as 50 attendees. The board discussed the need for “Block Party Kit”, or at least a checklist to remind hosts about items like recycling and compost containers, name tags, and sign-up sheets.
  7. Events at Lions Park
    Sherry expressed concern about not being notified when there are events at Lions Park. Dan asked whether someone at the city could put us on a notification list.
  8. Neighborhood Centers
    The city’s consultant is holding a number of in-person and virtual events to hear what people think about their draft report. The report focuses on 12 existing centers. This is a disappointment since we worked directly with the city to get support for new centers in our neighborhood. Jim Sweeney plans to attend at least one of the meetings. Nathan thought that he and Roger should contact Jay Burney directly.
  9. CNA Report
    Karen provided a brief update on the following items that were discussed at the July CNA meeting:
    • The neighborhood grant program had left over money for the first time in many years.The CNA is considering using the neighborhood grants for additional technical support.
    • Discussion continues about creating a common web site that all neighborhoods can use.
    • Clark and Dante are the CNA liaisons at this time.
    • Dante did not attend but Clark provided the following updates:
      • The city is evaluating response times for ambulances<.
      • A regional fire authority is currently under consideration,
      • There will be an Olympia Bicycle Rodeo on July 30 from 11- 2pm.
      • Council approved making Olympia a sanctuary city for reproductive rights.
      • Tim Smith shared that the development permit list is huge.
      • There will be some affordable housing as well as some new businesses.
      • He said that we should expect Olympia to be crowded in the near future.
      • Randy Haines introduced himself as the new emergency response lead. Karen asked about the Neighborhood Mapping program. He was not familiar with the program. Karen will meet with Randy to discuss starting one again.
      • The CNA will discuss the comprehensive plan update at their next meeting.
  10. Annual Picnic
    Shelter reservation is made for August 6th. We should put out signs on August July 30th. Jim R. will send out files for sign inserts. Nathan will check with Tom for hamburger donations, but he is not sure that we’ll be able to receive them.
  11. Fall Events
    Roger shared that he is discussing the talent show with the Salvation Army and the Elks club. The Salvation Army seems like the best location, but the Elk board is meeting tomorrow to discuss our request. Our tentative date is October 8th with the 15th as a backup. The Art Crossing community discussion is scheduled for Sept. 29th at the Armory. Sherry will connect with Stephanie to see what we can do to promote the event.
  12. Rat Control Concerns
    Dan asked about rats in the neighborhood. Everyone acknowledged that rats are a problem throughout Olympia. The best actions are to contact Thurston County Health and do everything you can to try to keep them out of your structures.
  13. Sidewalk Repair Inventory
    Mark Foutch heard that Lacey is getting ready to spend money on sidewalks. This would be a good time to pitch specific sidewalk needs to the city. Everyone agreed that a prioritized inventory of sidewalks needs would be good and should put the 7th Avenue facility high on the list.
  14. New WebSite CMS
    Nathan demonstrated a new web CMS that he is using with the Beekeepers Association. It’s a bit easier to use and has better functionality for collecting dues and maintaining member data. The board agreed to continue looking into the CMS.