September 11, 2024 Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

September 11, 2024, 7:00 PM

1613 Union Avenue SE

Members Present

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

1) Approval of the minutes

The August 7th meeting minutes were approved.

2) Mural Celebration Report

The celebration was described as “fantastic.” About 30 people attended including the artist and many children. The homeowners were pleased and the Olympia Beekeepers presence was appreciated.

3) Harvest Festival Oct. 12th 1-4 PM

Tim Smyth has offered to bring apples.

It was suggested we ask each person to bring about a 5-gallon bucket of apples.

If too many people show up at the same time we may need to assign them a time so they don’t have to wait.

Jim will contact Parks staff about a water source for cleaning apples and cleanup.

Karen has a list of people who have indicated they are willing to help.

Jim and Karen will work with Abigail to promote the event.

Following the September 11th Board meeting it was pointed out the Board had not approved expending funds to support the upcoming Fall Festival event. Therefore, six Board members agreed via email to expend up to $100 on incidentals for the event.

4) Armory Naming  

Jim described voting for a new name for the Olympia Armory on the City’s Engage Olympia page. Voting is open until September 27.  

5) CNA Report

The CNA met on September 9. Discussion topics included:

Missing Middle – now referred to “Middle Housing” after the 2023-24 Legislative session.  

Budget – the 2025 preliminary budget process has been underway for roughly five months and is nearing the beginning of the Council stage of the process.

Sidewalks survey – the contract is about 25% completed. The CNA’s app is still important as local information may identify higher priority projects.

Olympia Airport – there has been considerable discussion on noise, pollution and other impacts of increasing air traffic.

Community connections – the importance of community connections in countering loneliness is being recognized, particularly since the pandemic.

6) Annual Meeting

Food security was mentioned as a possible topic with Chris Hyde, the Souper Sunday guy, as a potential speaker. We discussed inviting comedian Sam Miller and decided to look into the possibility of paying him to perform next year. Other ideas were to invite someone from the City such as Mayor Payne, Councilmember Clark, or Kim Kondrat to talk about housing. The item was continued until the October meeting at which time we will decide on who we want to invite. The time for the annual meeting is tentatively set for 6:30 PM Wednesday November 6 at the Swantown Inn, with time to socialize at 6:00.

7) Plum Street Village Report  

Nathan and Sherry toured new buildings at Plum Street Village and met the new managers.

8) Utility Commission report

Sherry described on-going discussions by the Utility Commission about the City’s utility tax.

9) Other

Nathan mentioned a Madison school PTO auction on Dec. 7. The Board agreed to partner with the PTO to promote the event. He also proposed having the Inn sponsor ENA events.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30 PM.

August 7, 2024 Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

August 7, 2024, 7:00 PM

Swantown Inn

Members Present

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

1) Approval of the minutes

The June 12th meeting minutes were approved as amended.

There wasn’t a quorum for the July meeting.

2) Treasurer Report

Jim R. noted our miscellaneous savings accounts have been combined into one general savings account as discussed at the June 12th meeting.

Checking    $618.35

Savings   $3,241.32

Total         $3,859.67

3) Annual Picnic

Board members discussed food and table service for the potluck, and who will provide which items. Several people said they will bring games.

4) Harvest Festival Oct. 12th 1-4 PM

Abigail has arranged for live music.

Games such as cornhole will be available.  

Sherry will not be there but Hank will be available to transport the apple press. Jim S. said he can help load and set up the press.

Sherry suggested some people come early for setup, and others stay late for cleanup.

We may want to talk to the Parks people about hosing off the tables and floor in the shelter.

Jim S. will work with Abigail to write up an announcement and make posters. We will also want to post “rules” for apple pressing, such as suggesting people bring only one 5-gallon bucket of apples along with re-usable glass containers.

5) How do we make Fir and 10th safer?

Someone near this intersection asked if the ENA could help facilitate safety improvements. The problem is people are driving too fast on Fir Street plus limited sight distance. One suggestion is to ask the City to close the street for a day and paint a mandala in the intersection.

Sherry will reply to the neighbor and suggest they contact the City.

6) CNA Report

Jim R. attended the July CNA meeting. There was a discussion about the South Capital RNA and their efforts to reduce speeding on Capital Way.

Tim Smith reported on the many pending permit applications.

The CNA discussed the City’s budget, the Council retreat, and the proposed quarterly forum.

7) City Sidewalk inventory

There has not been a lot of input into the sidewalk app recently.

The City is doing a separate inventory with a focus on downtown sidewalks.

8) Mural Update

The Eastside Street mural is progressing nicely.

9) Hold off on electing a VP until our annual meeting?

The Board agreed to hold off electing a new vice president until the annual meeting.

We agreed to include a discussion about the annual meeting date, guest speakers and so forth at our September meeting.

10) New Courthouse location

A County subcommittee has been meeting to discuss their building and space needs. This would be a good topic to bring up at the annual meeting. For contact information see the website: https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/departments/board-county-commissioners/courthouse-and-regional-administrative-buildings-project

The meeting adjourned at 8:20 PM.

June 12, 2024 Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

June 12, 2024, 7:00 PM

1613 Union Avenue SE

Members Present

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

Guests

Jonnita Thompson and Terese Vogel

1) Approval of the minutes

The May 8th minutes were approved as submitted.

2) Treasurer Report

Checking                          $636.25

Savings                              965.52

Neighborhood Signs          1,309.78

Legion Way Trees                554.21

Community Beautification     411.21

Total                             $3,876.97

Sherry explained a $388 insurance policy which was triggered by the Rod N Reel event. The policy is effective for one year and covers other events, including painting the mural.

We received $17 in donations at the Rod N Reel event.

A $100 gift certificate was presented to the artist for repainting the mural on Central Street after it was vandalized.

Jim R. proposed consolidating the ENA’s three different savings accounts into one general savings account. It was so moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

3) Rod N Reel event

It was generally agreed the event was a success. There was a good crowd at the Park, the kids had a fun time and we served 100 hot dogs. The Timberline Library booth was a nice addition.

The new banners looked great and the Board thanked Abigail for making that happen.

We will decide later if the ENA wants to sponsor this event next year.

The Board voted unanimously to reimburse Sherry for buying the food.

4) Beerwerks event

This event also brought out a good crowd. All agreed it was a great way to meet people from the neighborhood. There was considerable discussion about having more regular get-togethers. Jonnita talked about events for people who don’t like going to meetings. We discussed having a place or places for regular events. The Swantown Inn was recommended for indoor events, ideally when coffee service is available, and Lions Park for outdoor events. Later we may be able to use meeting space at the Armory. Several people mentioned having speakers such as those at annual meetings. Jim R. & Jonnita agreed to work on speakers and regular meeting places.

5) Block Parties

Two parties are scheduled so far — Lybarger Street & Lions Park. Sherry has a Street Closure Permit for Lybarger.

Karen said she thinks block parties fill a local need which is not met otherwise. She intends to get together with Dan and others to plan a party on McCormick Street next year.

Roger said Adrian is planning a party next year on 5th Avenue.

6) CNA Report 

Karen described Tim Smith’s report on new development proposals. Two West Bay Drive projects are particularly controversial. Also, a 300-unit affordable housing project is planned on the westside, north of SR 101.

Fiber optics cables are being installed underground by Ziply Fiber.

Councilmember Vanderpool attended the Congress for New Urbanism in Cincinnati in May. One topic he mentioned is breaking up large projects into smaller increments.

Larry Dzieza is working to put together a “Sounding Board” on neighborhood issues for the CNA.

Jim R. explained the list of funded sidewalk projects was developed previously based on input from the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. The list is available on the City’s website:

https://www.olympiawa.gov/services/transportation/sidewalk_repair_project.php

Abigail mentioned the Design Review Board recently reviewed a 5-story mixed use building with 87 residential units to be built at 411 Legion Way (Legion and Jefferson).

7) Annual Picnic Change of Date — Saturday August 10th, 4-7 PM

Cheryl asked about music. Sherry suggested a person from the Hat Museum. Jonnita knows a couple of bands, including an Old-timey music band. Karen said other RNAs sometimes pay $500 for entertainment.

8) Mural update

Sherry sent the final design to Lydia and Hank has agreed to power wash the wall.

9) Other items

Tim Smythe is in talks with the Parks Department about planting a tree at the Armory. He may be able to use the ENA funds set aside for trees last year. It’s early for this discussion as the Armory’s exterior design is still fluid.

Sherry mentioned the Utility Advisory Committee would like more transparency on utility bill surcharges and what they’re being used for.  

Jim R. reported the City recently purchased a parcel of land near the Indian Creek wetland as suggested in The Eastside Subarea Plan.

Whitney has an ENA sign which we need to recover.

Sherry reported the Mail Chimp system is not functioning well at present.

10) Armory Historical Sign

Jim S. provided an update on the sign program the Military Department agreed to do. The Department agreed to hold three stakeholder meetings. Two of these were held but the third is on-hold pending consultations with the Tribes.

The meeting adjourned at 8:34 PM.