ENA Board Meeting Minutes
April 14, 2021
Virtual Meeting
Attendees: Sherry Chilcutt, Cheryl Bayle, Chris Knight, Roger Horn, Jim Rioux, Jim Sweeney, John Leavitt (OPD)
Neighborhood Officer
Officer John Leavitt shared some information about himself and his new position. in the neighborhood liaison position. John is relatively new to the position and he is looking forward to being a resource for the neighborhood.
He is available Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm. John shared his email with the group. jl******@ci.us
John asked if there were and issues he could help with.
Sherry mentioned the rash of catalytic converter thefts and that there was a recent fire at a home that she thought had some drug activity.
John mentioned that there was a lot of bicycle theft and asked if we could get the word out to register your bicycle and take pictures.
Jim Sweeney mentioned the lack of signs and crosswalks around Lions Park. John said he would talk to the City Transportation Department,
Cheryl said that traffic on 11th was becoming a problem.
Treasurer’s Report
Checking $663.36
Savings $1,062.19
Signs $1,305.48
Trees $153.06
Neighborhood Beautification $409.37
Removal of Infected Tees
Roger provided an update on efforts to remove the diseased trees in the neighborhood. To get the required permit, no power tools can be used. Removal will need to be accomplished entirely with hand tools.
Tim Smyth will be back in May. We will schedule work when he gets back.
Roger sent a map of the tree locations to Michelle Bently. He will fill out the permit application when we are ready to go.
Approval of March Minutes
The board approve the March minutes.
CNA Report
Jim Rioux provided a summary of the topics covered at the April 12 meeting of the CNA
Short Term Rentals
- City staff provided an update of the staff recommendation for Short Term Rental regulations.
- This will go to the Planning Commission on April 19.
- Some concerns were expressed about parking, and the allowance of up to 10 people per unit. There is still a lot of anxiety in the CNA about potential party houses that become nuisances for neighbors. Jim noted that there was nothing in the recommendation to address density of STR’s in one neighborhood.
Presentation from Tye Menser
- Tye shared that interested in meeting with the CNA when he heard about it from Council Member Yến Huỳnh.
- Tye has a strong focus on criminal justice and programs to keep people out of the court system.
- He recognizes the need for the County to step up to homeless problem. He discussed how Carpenter Rd. site was killed by citizen objections.
CNA MOU Update
- The current MOU is expiring.
- Larry is scheduling discussions to see how to be more effective with Council and City staff.
RNA Grants
- Lydia reported that $23,0000 is available and she has applications for up to $29,000.
- Lydia will contact recipients soon
- Her plan is to go to Council early May and sign contracts before the end of May.
Mural Update
Sherry provided an update of the mural project.
- If we accept the NMG we will not be able to use volunteers under 18 years old.
- Sherry would prefer to reject the grant. A key piece of this project was youth involvement.
- The activities are very low risk.
Missing Sidewalks Update
Roger reported that we are still working with ONNA. The coordination with property owners and the City will makes this a relatively long process.
Coffee Shop at Swantown Inn
Nathan has opened the coffee window. He is advertising on facebook.
Armory
Jim Sweeney spoke with Marygrace. State funding looks good. The City is also pursuing a grant through Maryland Strickland’s office. Marygrace indicated that Paul Simmons had the lead for that effort.
Jim Rioux will contact Paul to see if he has more information on that grant.
The online petition had received over 2600 signatures to date.
The City has a survey on the Engage Olympia site. There is also a lot of good information available on that site.
Eastside Art Crossing
Jim Sweeney reported that things are moving forward nicely. He has pictures of the totems that he will share with the board.
For the Good of the Order
Sherry mentioned that there were some comments from people that wanted more input on mural on artist. Lesson learned for next time.
Jim Sweeny asked that we start thinking about how to hold an in-person meetings now that vaccines are rolling out.
Jim Rioux suggested we reach out Yến Huỳnh to set up an informal meet and greet. The board agreed with this idea.
