March 12, 2024 Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

March 12, 2024, 7:00 PM

Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Avenue SE

Members Present

Sherry Chilcutt (President), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Karen Clemens (CNA Representative), Jim Rioux, Cheryl Bayle, Nathan Allan

1) Approval of the Minutes

The February 13 minutes were approved as submitted.

2) Treasurer Report

$ 636.25 – MONEY MOVER
$ 965.13 – SAVINGS – MAIN
$1,309.28 – NEIGHBORHOOD SIGNS
$ 554.00 – LEGION WAY TREES
$ 411.00 – COMMUNITY BEAUTIFICATION
$3,875.66 – Total Available

3) 2024 RNA Grant Status; Banner and Mural discussion

Sherry would like us to consider working with Olympia’s Poet Laureate.

It looks like the ENA’s RNA grant request will be approved. The mural is still in the works. Also, $1000 is available for designing and printing two large reusable banners. Abigail has offered to help with the design.

4) Madison Closure discussion

Jim & Karen attended the Court hearing. April 25th is the new deadline but more work remains to be done to avoid school closures.

5) Clothing Swap Debriefing

Several Board members helped out at the event. The timing prior to the church rummage sale was good. The next time we will need to promote it more.

6) CNA Report 

Karen reported on issues discussed at the March 11th CNA meeting.

Karen Messmer spoke in opposition to new drive-through restaurants on Plum Street.

There is a meeting on the rental registry ordinance tomorrow.

The Capital Mall Triangle plan is still in progress. Comments on the Draft EIS are closed. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on April 1st and deliberate on April 15th.

Staff described improvements to the City’s development tracking map. Jim R. offered to walk us through a tutorial on a convenient Saturday.

Larry Dzieza previously offered to do a tutorial on the sidewalk app for the ENA. Karen said she will ask him.

Olympia’s Site Plan Review Committee heard a proposal for a 12-cottage housing project at 1937 7th Avenue on February 28th. We would like to invite Paul Horton and the property owners to an informal meeting to talk about the sidewalks on this part of 7th Avenue. “JOLT” published an article about the proposal on February 29. Here’s a link:

https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/olympia-committee-reviews-proposed-cottage-community-project-in-citys-eastside,14746?

7) Lions Club Event Rods and Reels Moved to June 8th

Sherry reserved the shelter. We will do hamburgers and hot dogs.

8) Lions Club presentation

Jim S. did a PowerPoint presentation for the Lions Club on March 5th. President Brad Archibald said the Lions are interested in working with the ENA on future projects such as ‘Rods and Reels.’ Several Lions indicated they are anxious to share information on the history of Lions Park and the Eastside.

9) Proposed Calendar of Activities Dates for block parties and Picnic

The block parties will be on July 13th from 4 to 7:00.

The annual picnic will be held on August 11th. This year we will plan to combine the picnic with a kid’s day. Jim R. will check to see if the shelter is available.

Abigale emailed that she had posted preliminary dates for 2024 events on the website’s calendar page. Roger said he could consider moving the talent show to September.

10) Digital Photo Archive

Nathan indicated the only account we have is for president@ and the President could share a folder which we would be able to add photos to. Another option would be to upload photos to the ENA website.

11) New Bridge offer of financial support.

Nathan reached out to Pastor John Cardona about putting up holiday snowflakes on Central Street. If it works out we could include funding for this in our next grant proposal. Sherry said she will contact them and offer to help if no one else wants to.

12) Other items of interest

Jim S. reported that the Olympia will receive a $117,800 grant to develop an Urban Forest Management Plan.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30.

February 13, 2024 Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

February 13, 2024, 7:00 PM

Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Avenue SE

Members Present

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

Guest: Sara Finkle

Sherry passed around a “neighborhood welcome letter” drafted by Mark Fouch. Sara suggested adding information such as where to go and what to do on the Eastside. Nathan agreed to do a Google Maps mock-up.

1) Approval of the Minutes

The January 9th minutes were approved as submitted.

2) Treasurer Report

$ 636.25 – CHECKING

$ 965.01 – SAVINGS

$1,309.12 – NEIGHBORHOOD SIGNS

$ 553.93 – LEGION WAY TREES

$ 410.93 – COMMUNITY BEAUTIFICATION

$3,875.24 – Total Available

It was proposed to add Jim Rioux to all ENA bank accounts and remove Brian Brannies. The Board agreed unanimously.

3) 2024 RNA Grant Status

Karen reported on the RNA grants currently being reviewed by the City, and passed around a list of 2024 neighborhood grant requests.

There was a general discussion about an Eastside Street mural, including ideas for potential artists and sidewalk safety.

4) Madison Closure

Nathan talked about the February 12th OSD Work Session, ‘OSD For All,’ $10 million budget surplus, and OSD Administration’s share of the budget.

A lot depends on the school levee.

Sara described an ‘OSD For All’ initiative asking people to go door to door and talk to their neighbors.

5) Clothing Swap

Sara passed out flyers; suggested locations include Ralphs, Madison school, Lions park and the Eastside Coop. Sandwich boards should be out a week ahead of time. The information will be posted on ‘Facebook’ and ‘Buy Nothing.’

Volunteers agreed to begin setting up at 10 AM, or to be available until 2 PM.

Sherry will let people know they can drop off donated clothing on her porch.

The Board discussed how best to thank FUMCO, such as a thank you card or a donation. Sara & Abigail will be meeting at the church tomorrow.

6) CNA Report 

Robert Vanderpool attended as the City Council representative.

Tim Smith talked about the condo project on the lot behind Olympia Supply, and a 162-unit project on Devoe Street.

Karen talked about the Nottingham Community Association’s ‘Harvest Heritage’ event.

The CNA is working on ‘value’ & ‘vision’ statements for the MOU.

They are also working to set up quarterly forums with the Council.

Larry Dzieza offered to come to come to a monthly meeting and walk us through the sidewalk condition app.

Sherry described the new rental unit inspection process.

Sara asked if it would be possible to coordinate sidewalk repairs with the City.

Karen asked if anyone is interested in reviewing Comprehensive Plan chapters. Sherry said she reviewed the Utilities chapter.

7) Lions Club Event May 11th or 18th

The Board had several questions about this event such as what would be expected of the ENA. Sherry said she will follow up with her contact.

8) Free Board training through the Nonprofit Association of Washington (NAWA)

Sherry indicated she will be attending this workshop on February 27th.  https://nonprofitwa.org/event/hoquiam-the-powerful-process-of-building-budgets/

9) Proposed Calendar of Activities

There was a general discussion of upcoming events, all of which are very tentative. Possible events are a ‘Pollinator training event,’ a ‘Garden tour’ and another ‘Meet up’ at Beerwerks. We talked about how to get the word out concerning events and ideas on how to update the events calendar on the ENA website.

10) By-law rewriting

Sherry explained the need to bring the ENA By-laws into compliance with the Washington Handbook for Nonprofits:

https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/2022-Nonprofit-Handbook.pdf

We will be able to get into the by-laws after the NAWA training.

11) New Bridge offer of financial support

The Board discussed the possibility of a financial collaboration with New Bridge. At this time, we do not have any specific ideas, but we talked generally about projects which are beyond the ENA’s financial capacity. A couple of examples are the northeast neighborhood tree lights and a “snowflake” project which could also be a fund raiser.

Nathan suggested a project to improve a piece of City-owned land across from the Inn on Central Street which could be used for block parties. It was suggested someone talk to Paul Simmons at Olympia Parks.

Other topics

Jim S. talked about the January 12 meeting of the Armory Partner selection committee. The committee reviewed statements of qualifications submitted by eight nonprofit organizations and agreed all eight were qualified. The next step involves negotiating leases with each organization in order to determine their specific space needs, including shared spaces.

Background information on each of the nonprofits is described in a January 24 Olympian article:

https://www.theolympian.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article284643070.html

The meeting adjourned at 8:30.

January 9, 2024 Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

January 9, 2024, 7:00 PM

Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Avenue SE

Members Present

Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Karen Clemens (CNA Representative), Abigail Twombly, Nathan Allan, Jim Rioux, Cheryl Bayle

Sherry Chilcutt (President) – absent due to accident

Guests

Stephanie Goedecke, Sara Finkle, Sara’s friend.

1) Approval of the minutes

The December 13, 2023 meeting minutes were approved as submitted.

2) Treasurer Report

$ 767.58 Checking

$ 964.88 Savings

$1,308.95 Neighborhood Signs

$ 553.86 Trees

$ 410.86 Neighborhood Beautification

$4,006.13 Total

3) 2024 RNA Grant – Final thoughts

These are the three items the Board agreed to include in our 2024 grant application:

  1. Food in support of block parties.
  2. One or two reusable banners
  3. Eastside Street mural

A suggestion was made that we have a contributions jar for events.

Jim R. will contact Sherry about helping with the grant application.

4) Madison Closure discussion

Karen reported on the December 14 School Board meeting when they made the recommendation to close schools following a 90-day review period.

Also discussed were inadequate special education funding, faulty regionalization and the levy cap.

Jim R. suggested contacting ‘OSD for all’ and offering to help. https://www.osdforall.com/

There is a community meeting scheduled at Madison School on February 26 at 6:00 PM, and the School Board is having work sessions and regular meetings at Knox Administration Center on January 29 and February 12.

5) Upcoming Board work day

We previously scheduled a work day on January 20. Due to conflicts, we will need to reschedule, probably sometime in February.

6) CNA Report – JOLT Article

Karen talked about a letter she wrote describing the City’s neighborhoods and the CNA. It was published in JOLT on January 2. https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/olympias-neighborhood-associations-offer-many-benefits-to-residents,13466?

Tim Smith met with Jay Burney and two Council members concerning diversity language in the MOU.

The CNA continues to try and arrange quarterly meetings with the Council.

A $10K increase in RNA grant funding is in the works. This is on top of the current $13K.

The SE annexation is still on hold.

There was some discussion about the City encouraging drive-through businesses on Plum Street and downtown.

The sidewalk survey app is intended to help the City determine how best to spend the additional funds.

7) Frederick Street stormwater

Jim R. wrote an email letter about the need to improve stormwater drainage near Frederick & 9th.

Stephanie said after talking to Public Works she bought gravel to fill in the holes.

Fixing the problem may require rebuilding the street, including rain gardens or other design solutions.

8) Neighborhood Watch program

Stephanie described on-going problems with juveniles and minor crimes. She asked about a neighborhood watch program to look out for neighboring properties.

Nathan described his experience with Neighborhood Watch, getting neighbors to sign up, electing a captain etc.

Stephanie would like to see a campaign to reach out to kids and teach them not to do crimes such as breaking into houses and pranking.

Suggested ideas included Boy Scouts, block parties, art programs, a ‘good neighbor day,’ and friendly reminder signs with positive messages from your neighborhood association.

The Police Department’s Block Watch program recommends scheduling an initial informational meeting with our Community Programs Officer, Rebekah Ziesemer. More information and Rebekah’s contact information can be found at:

https://www.olympiawa.gov/services/police_department/block_watch.php

9) Support hosting students/pages for legislative session

Cheryl said they have hosted pages in the past.

Jim S. said he would check into the requirements. The discussion was deferred until the February meeting.

10) Proposed Calendar of Activities

Abigail wants to mix up our 2024 events a little so, for example, people have more opportunities to talk to each other.

It was suggested we make the annual picnic a “kids day in the park” or an “ENA fun day” with an ice cream truck, bouncy house, etc.

Sara suggested a clothing swap, possibly in February, where people would bring clothes they don’t want, and volunteers would sort and give them away for a few hours. We would need volunteers to publicize, provide refreshments, and handle donations. We could also leverage the ‘Buy Nothing’ group. Sara agreed to reach out to John, the pastor at New Bridge, to see if they are interested, and email the Board. We would need to have flyers by the February 13 Board meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 8:45.

December 13, 2023 Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

December 13, 2023, 7:00 PM

Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Avenue SE

Members Present

Sherry Chilcutt (President), Roger Horn (Vice President), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Karen Clemens (CNA Representative), Abigail Twombly, Nathan Allan, Jim Rioux, Cheryl Bayle

Guest: Sara Finkle

1) Approval of the minutes

The November 8 meeting minutes were approved as submitted.

2) Treasurer Report

Checking $748.66

Savings $964.75

Neighborhood Signs $1308.78

Trees $553.79

Neighborhood Beautification $410.79

Total $3,988.77

3) RNA Grant Wrap-up

Several things we thought we would do we weren’t able to do, but we were able to put the funding to good uses. We were also able to use a lot of donated materials and time rather than paying for it.

4) ENA Officer election

Sherry agreed to continue as President. It was so moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

Jim R. agreed to be the new Treasurer. It was so moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

Jim S. agreed to continue as Secretary. It was so moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

Roger agreed to continue as Vice President. It was so moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

Karen agreed to continue as the CNA representative. Jim R. agreed to be alternate CNA representative.

5) RNA Grant ideas

The Board discussed grant ideas for 2024, including:

  • Funds to cover mailing a newsletter to our updated mailing list
  • A neighborhood magazine modeled on the one produced by the South Capital Neighborhood
  • A neighborhood walking map to update or replace the 1996 Eastside Neighborhood Brochure & Historic Walking Tour map on the City’s website.

After discussion, the Board decided to pursue the following grants:

1. A mural on Eastside Street, possibly at 1306 Eastside

2. Funding to buy food for 2024 block parties

3. One or two reusable event banners

The City’s RNA grant schedule is:

  • Application deadline: January 15, 2024
  • Grant review team: February 2024
  • Council review & approval: March 2024
  • Contracts signed: March 2024
  • Project completion: December 31, 2024
  • Final reports: December 31, 2024

6) CNA Report 

Karen reported no council person attended the December 11 meeting.

The annual RNA renewal request was sent recently.

Mike Ruth, TESC, is working on the 2nd alpha version of the sidewalk condition survey app.

Tim Smith reported there are about 50 development projects in review.

After Council review the draft MOU was bumped back to the City Manager.

The Urban Farms program is proceeding. Seattle had a similar program associated with earthquake preparedness about 10 years ago.

7) Meeting Dates

The Board agreed to change meeting dates for the 1st quarter of the year due to a member’s conflict; the January, February and March meetings will be held at 7PM on the second Tuesday of the month.

8) Photo Storage

A past President dropped off ENA historic photos at Sherry’s house. She will bring them to the next meeting in hopes we can put names to faces.

Nathan suggested a number of options; we could:

  • Use a Google drive folder tied to the president’s gmail address.
  • Use WordPress and it’s media file storage
  • Use Facebook’s album/photo feature.

Whichever we do, it should be easy to access and use so people will use it.

9) Other

A resident at 429 Fredrickson Street SE reportedly has a lake in front of her house and asked for help contacting the City about maintenance. Neighbors are currently buying and spreading their own gravel, which pushes stormwater onto their neighbors’ property.

Jim R. recommended sending a letter to the City. He volunteered to draft a letter for Sherry to sign.

10) The Board considered planning a board work day in January to meet up and work on the website, map out media responsibilities, and anything else that routinely falls through the cracks. (tentatively 10AM, Saturday January 20, at Swantown)

11) By-laws

Updates will be posted on the website by Sherry and Roger.

(12) Abigail suggested drafting a 2024 calendar of events.

She, Cheryl & Sarah will work on it, and attempt to digitize a version so it can be shared on-line.

(13) Jim R. reported he has started work on the Fones Road project. He can do a presentation in the next couple of weeks.

(14) Jim S. reported he will be attending the first meeting of the Armory Partners selection committee tomorrow.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30.

November 8, 2023 Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

November 8, 2023, 7:00 PM

Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Avenue SE

Members Present

Sherry Chilcutt (President), Roger Horn (Vice President), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Karen Clemens (CNA Representative), Abigail Twombly, Nathan Allan, Jim Rioux (remotely)

Agenda

1) Approval of minutes

The October 11, 2023 Board meeting minutes were approved with minor corrections as suggested by Roger and Jim R.

2) Treasurer Report

Checking $653.16

Savings $964.62

Neighborhood Signs $1308.62

Trees $153.72

Neighborhood Beautification $410.72

Total $3,490.84

Sherry made a $200 donation to the tree fund for the cider press. One of the previous owners would like to see a tree planted at the Armory.

3) Annual Meeting 11-15-23

Someone will need to check-in with Kim to make sure she can attend.

Jim S. will do an “Eastside Events” slide presentation.

Abigail handed out inserts for the sandwich board signs.

Nathan said he will provide coffee.

Karen will follow-up with others providing food.

4) ENA Officers continuing 

Sherry will continue as President.

Roger agreed to continue as Vice-President

Jim Rioux agreed to be Treasurer

Jim Sweeney agreed to stay on as Secretary.

Karen agreed to continue as CNA representative.

Jim R. suggested we review the By-Laws to determine if they need to be updated.

5) RNA Grant ideas and wrap-up of 2023 grant

Sherry is working on a final report and needs to have an accounting of the hours we spent working on grant projects. New RNA grant requests are due January 15. The Board agreed to consider new grant requests at their December meeting.

6) CNA Report

City Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CNA 

Karen emailed a summary of the Council’s October 17 meeting. She described the process CNA’s representatives went through to develop a draft MOU with the City Manager, and questions and concerns individual Councilpersons expressed at the meeting. She is working with other CNA members to draft speaking points to educate the Council so they will better understand and support the City’s neighborhoods program. The CNA is lobbying for the City to increase RNA grant funding.

7) Sidewalk committee report 

Jim S. described an October 12 Zoom meeting of the CNA sidewalks subcommittee. They are currently following-up on ideas from the meeting.

8) Ongoing Tree removal in Lions Park

The Board discussed a recent tree removal near the Lions Park shelter. Jim R. is familiar with the situation and said it was removed because it was determined to be a hazard tree. The Board expressed an interest in making sure trees that have to be removed are replaced.

9) Winter Holiday Event?

The Swantown Inn is planning to have a Santa Claus-themed event. After discussion, the consensus was that ENA events recognize all seasonal holidays, similar to “light celebrations” in many schools.

10) Other topics

Jim S. mentioned attending an open house on the Capital Mall Triangle plan on October 25. The comment period on the Draft EIS is closed but the Subarea Plan is still a work in progress.

Nathan reported our website cost is going up. It’s scheduled for renewal on Dec. 13 (3 years @ $9.99 per month). Nathan can move it to his Word Press server which he has already paid for and he is willing to work with Luke Bowerman to take care of it.

Sherry moved and Cheryl seconded moving the website to Nathan’s server. The motion was approved unanimously. Board members expressed high appreciation to Nathan for his work on the ENA website, and for hosting the 2023 Talent Show.

Roger asked the members about the October 14, 2023 Eastside Talent Show. It included 10 performers, and 48 people attended. ENA members said it would be okay to do another talent show next October. Nathan suggested adding comedians or dancers.

The meeting adjourned at 8:15.