Category: Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

May 10, 2023, 7:00 to 8:30 PM

1613 Union Ave SE

Present: Sherry Chilcutt (President/Treasurer), Roger Horn (Vice President), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Karen Clemens (CNA Representative), Abigail Twombly, Cheryl Bayle

Agenda:

1) Approval of minutes

The April minutes were approved with revisions by Roger and Karen.

2) Treasurer Report

Checking $571.57

Savings $963.96

Neighborhood Signs $1307.79

Trees $153.56

Neighborhood Beautification $410.36

Total $3,407.24

3) Neighborhood Grant Application

We should know if our request is approved by June 1. The CNA is asking the City to increase the available funds.

4) Utility Committee

Sherry could not attend the recent in-person meeting because she was out of town.

5) Beerwerks

The event was a success despite the inclement weather. Some of those who attended were new to the neighborhood. Abigail suggested publishing pictures from future events.

6) Upcoming events

The Board continued its discussion of events planned for the rest of the year including:

• June – Abigail will look for a date and time for another get-together at Beerwerks.
• July – Block parties are tentatively scheduled for Saturday July 8, from 4 to 7 PM.
• August – The Annual picnic is tentatively scheduled for Saturday August 12, from 4 to 6 PM.
  • Jim Rioux is scheduling the Lions Park shelter
  • We need to ask Nathan if he is willing to contact Big Tom’s about food donations
  • We hope to have RNA grant funds to buy a BBQ grill
  • We will try to find someone to play live music
• September – Winterize your garden or other garden-related event.
• October – The Talent Show will be held from 2:30 to 4:30 or 3 to 5 on Saturday, October 7.
  • The Armory might work as venue; there is a $116 fee.
  • Roger wants to rent a stage for performers.
  • Roger will contact Melissa Allen about performers from NE neighborhoods.
  • Roger is continuing to look for performers.

7) CNA Report

• New residential parking regulations are going to Council, possibly on May 16.
• The Downtown Improvement District is starting up again; focusing on safety & beautification.
• The Comprehensive Plan update process is underway via a May 10 webinar.
• The CNA continues to work on updating its MOU.
• A new tiny house development is being planned on Franz Anderson Road SE, just north of I-5.
• The Council recently held Executive Board elections. Karen is now the program and events coordinator for the CNA.
• The Council has explored using schools for RNA meetings & events.

8) Sprayground dedication

Sherry will ask Parks for an update.

9) Other  

Jim S. talked to Dan Rydholm earlier today about electronic communications, including:

• Formatting routine posts
• Creating a binder to maintain up-to-date copies of social media accounts, passwords, membership, email lists, and so forth
• Adding digital policies to the bylaws
• Redesigning the ENA website

Dan has a wealth of knowledge and experience which he is willing to share. He can help Board members learn how to improve our electronic communications but, given a new full time job, he will not be able to do it for us.

The Board discussed other tasks we may want to include in future work plans, including:

• Updating the bylaws
• Updating the subarea plan

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.

ENA Board Meeting

April 12, 2023, 7-8:30 PM

1613 Union Ave SE

Present: Sherry Chilcutt (President/Treasurer), Roger Horn (Vice President), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Karen Clemens (CNA Representative), Abigail Twombly

Agenda:

1) Approval of minutes:

The March minutes were approved as amended.

2) Treasurer Report:

Checking $571.57

Savings $963.89

Neighborhood Signs $1307.71

Trees $153.54

Neighborhood Beautification $410.32

Total $3,407.03

3) Emergency Management Meeting March 27^th

Board members agreed it was a very worthwhile event. Cherie Carey, Thurston County Emergency Management Coordinator, made an excellent presentation and was very engaging. About 20 people attended.

The Board discussed possibly following up with a “Map Your Neighborhood” meeting or “What to do in a year” training.  

4) April Event Advertising:

The event at Beerwerks, April 19 from 3 to 6 PM, is intended to catch people after work; no pressure, just show up. Abigail offered to bring chips and dip. There is good handicapped access to the tent where we will be.

Sherry will post the event on FaceBook. Jim S. or Nathan will post on the ENA website and Nextdoor. Abigail will make sure a sign is posted in front of Beerwerks.

5) May event:

The Board discussed holding a garden-related event in May, including coordinating with other groups such as Master Gardeners, Thurston County Food Bank, Kiwanis Food Bank Garden, GRuB, Olympia Community Garden (1401 13^th Avenue SE).  We also discussed organizing a garden tour and gleaning for food bank later in the year.

It was decided to delay the May event to allow more time to plan and connect with other groups.

The Board continued the discussion of events planned for the rest of the year including:

• June – Big Tom’s
• July – Block parties (July 8, 4-7PM)
• August – Annual picnic (Sat. Aug. 12, 4-6PM)
• Sept. – “Winterize your garden” or another garden-related event
• October – Talent show (Sat. Oct. 7)

Note that all dates & times are tentative. Please review and bring your ideas to the next meeting May 10^th.

6) Utility Committee Report:

Sherry reported on her first Utility Advisory Committee meeting. The committee discussed the effect annexations have, such as the City needing to purchase more trash cans. Also, the EPA has mandated surveying water pipes to identify potential lead contamination in older houses and new standards for PFAS — substances often associated with firefighting foam. The Committee is concerned with equity issues.

7) CNA Report:

Karen briefed the Board on CNA issues including:

• The Martin Way/Pacific Avenue Crossing Gateway public art project.
• The East Bay RNA’s oyster seed planting program.
• Clark Gilman talked about the new parking ordinance.
• Larry & Melissa are working with the City on a new MOU.
• Using school buildings for RNA meetings.
• RNA Grant funds: more funds have been requested than are available.
• A quarterly forum between the CNA and the Council.

Tim Smith described pending projects including: Unity Commons Phase II, an apartment project on Union & Jefferson, an apartment building near the Westside Lanes bowling alley, a tiny house project on Franz Anderson Road SE.

Karen volunteered to fill a new social activities resource position.

8) AT&T Towers:

A new 120-foot tall cell tower will be constructed in the parking area near the Elks Lodge on 4^th Avenue. There were concerns about the public notice for such a visible project, the apparent lack of design review, and the Hearing Examiner’s approval.

ENA Board Meeting

March 15, 2023, 7-8:30 PM

1613 Union Ave SE

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

Agenda:

1) Approval of the minutes:

February 14, 2023 minutes were approved as submitted.

2) Treasurer Report:

Checking – $552.45

Savings – $963.82

Neighborhood Signs – $1307.63

Legion Way Trees – $153.52

Community Beautification $410.28

Total $3387.70

3) Emergency Management Meeting March 27^th:

The meeting will be held at the Swantown Inn starting at 6:30 PM. The presentation should take about an hour. We expect 10 to 30 people. Nathan will provide coffee; Jim and Karen will bring cold drinks, and Sherry may bring brownies.

Jim R. said he would post a blurb on NextDoor and Nathan will post on Facebook. Signs should go up this weekend. Nathan will use a PDF version of the sign on his TV at the meeting.

Here is the presenter’s description:

Here is an overview of what I plan to cover:

Learning about hazards where you work, play, and live will help you, your household, workplace, and community get prepared.  Thurston County is at high risk for a major earthquake and flooding just to name a couple.  Knowing what could happen is important, depending on where you are in Thurston County

Having a disaster plan gives you peace of mind when an emergency happens.

You may be on your own for at least two weeks when a disaster happens. But, it is possible that a major earthquake could leave residents on their own for a month or more. The first step is to build a 2 weeks ready kit at home.  

Best regards, 

Cherie Carey

Emergency Management Coordinator

Thurston County, Washington

9521 Tilley Rd. S. – Olympia, WA  98512

Phone: 360-867-2827 | Cell: 360-239-1282

[email protected] | www.thurstoncountywa.gov/em

Facebook.com/ThurstonEM

Twitter.com/ThurstonEM

4) ENA Event Calendar and Talent Show timing:

Roger prefers to hold the talent show in October.

We may have to drop the educational event or family/cider event in September if there is too much happening around the same time.

Some of these events will require grant funding.

Nathan recalled previous garden tours were popular.

5) RNA Grant ideas; Fall harvest fest?

Sherry will prepare a grant application to support planned community events including purchasing a cider press, a portable barbeque, ice cream maker, pumpkins and carving tools, and hiring a band.

6) Discuss April Event Location and possible dates:

Abigail tried to contact Left Bank about an event in April but they were apparently not interested. However, Northwest Beerwerks said we could use either their tent or a small room. The Board agreed to aim for 3 to 6:00 PM on Wednesday April 19.

7) CNA Report:

Karen described a presentation by Jolt’s Danny Stusser about promoting neighborhood information. As a subscriber, we could contribute information, and the CNA could have its own space. The CNA is looking for people to help with communications, to explain for example, “what is the CNA?”

The League of Women Voters of Thurston County is holding a Regional Fire Authority Forum on March 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM prior to the April 25 special election. Registration is not required. Following is a link to an article on the Jolt website with more information about the meeting.

Voter Information Forum, Wednesday, March 29

Planning staff presented new parking requirements to the CNA. After discussing the CNA resolution in favor of delaying the public hearing to allow time for neighborhood engagement, the Board agreed to send a letter of support for the CNA resolution.

8) Sign Readability; Discuss Abigail examples:

After reviewing the draft signs, Board members said they were very pleased with the new format. Abigail will change “meeting” to “class,” have enough copies printed for 10 signs, and email us when they are ready.

9) Nail down/Reaffirm Dates of meetings:

The next Board meeting will be April 12 at 7:00 PM. This will return us to our regular time on the second Wednesday of the month.

Other items: 

School closures – Nathan attended a meeting at Madison School last night about school closures and other ideas to correct the budget shortfall. The school financing situation is a mess. People need to write letters to their representatives.

Nathan will update the ENA website with current Board members and post the tentative event calendar.

ENA Board Meeting

February 14, 2023, 7-8:30 PM

1613 Union Ave SE

Present: Sherry Chilcutt (President/Treasurer), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Jim Rioux, Cheryl Bayle, Abigail Twombly, Karen Clemens

Agenda:

1) Approval of the minutes

January 10, 2023 minutes were approved with Roger’s and Cheryl’s changes. Jim will ask Dan to replace the draft minutes posted on the ENA website with a final version.

2) Treasurer Report

Checking $603.89

Savings   $963.76

Neighborhood Signs $1307.55

Legion Way Trees $153.50

Community Beautification $410.25

Total $3438.95

3) Address List

The address list is complete with the addition of Cheryl’s areas 7 & 10.

4) ENA Event Calendar Sub-group

Cheryl and Abigail distributed copies of a draft 2023 event calendar and explained the concept is to spread more community events throughout the year to avoid conflicting with November and December holidays. The Board discussed several possible events including:

• Emergency preparedness educational event in March. Jim R. will ask Nathan about holding this event at the Swantown Inn. Karen mentioned Sherry Niven is the Thurston County Emergency Management coordinator.
• ENA day at Left Bank in April, to talk to neighbors, hand out newsletters, business cards and so forth. Sherry’s friend Mary suggested holding the event midweek from about 4:30 to 5:45 because the crowds have usually cleared out by this time. After discussion, a start time of 2 to 2:30 was suggested. Abigail and Jim R. volunteered to contact Left Bank. The Swantown Inn is a possible alternative location.
• Family dinner night at Big Toms in June. Sherry is willing to take on this event.
• Block Parties, possibly on July 8.
• Annual picnic on August 5.
• Music on the porch in August.
• Garden-related educational event in September, such as how to winterize your garden.
• Halloween family event in October, with cider pressing and pumpkin carving,possibly in conjunction with New Bridge. It was suggested we could ask the City for a grant to buy 50 pumpkins and accessories.
• Annual meeting in November.
• Favorite house and yard decorations contest in December with electronic voting.

It was suggested we consider moving the Talent Show to May. Cheryl will ask Roger.

All dates are tentative subject to further discussion. When dates are agreed upon Cheryl will update the calendar for posting on the ENA website.

We may also want to make up a poster.

5) RNA Grant ideas

Applications are due March 27.

Jim S. will look into purchasing a cider press and crusher.

6) Gas barbecue

We may want to request funding from the City.

7) CNA Report

Karen talked about the CNA publishing Neighborhood news in the “Jolt.” Other happenings as described by Tim Smith, included:

• The Triangle subarea plan.
• Neighborhood Centers: on hold due to retirement of the principal planner.
• Comp Plan update due in 2025: “Community Visioning” is coming up.
• 26 affordable housing units proposed on Pacific Ave.
• Phase II of Merritt Manor low income housing project (formerly Bailey’s Motor Inn).
• A Walker John multi-use building under construction on Legion.

8) Sign Readability – How can we make it better?

• Karen talked about Wildwood signs.
• Abigail may be able to help. She will do a work-up and send it out for review.
• We could make up a template for the annual meeting and other recurring events, so all we need to change is the date.
• The sandwich signs don’t necessarily need to include our website.
• We’ll continue to look at ideas.

9) CNA Presentation on subarea planning

Jim S. discussed ENA Subarea planning at the February 13 CNA meeting, how we went about it, the Core Team, City staff support and review process. Roger couldn’t be present but provided his comments in writing.

Other items: 

Armory sign committee

Jim S. mentioned the first virtual meeting of the Armory sign committee was held on February 9. Two more meetings are planned. He will email designs for the Board to review as they become available.