January 2014 Board Meeting Minutes

Attendance

• Board Members:  Sherry Chilcutt, Mitch Dennis, Brad Archbold, Nathan Allan, Sandia Slaby, Pat Bayle, Katy & Andrew Beattie, Whitney Bowerman
• Others Present: Teresa Goen-Burgman & Mike Carny

Community Concerns

Teresa Goen-Burgman and Mike Carny attended the board meeting to express a number of concerns they had.

Teresa Goen-Burgman, who manages property adjacent to the Eastside, stated that at a recent Coalition of Neighborhood Associations (CNA) meeting decisions were being made that will affect our neighborhood in ways that we might want to better understand.

Mike Carny, who does not currently live in the Eastside neighborhood but has in the past, added that he opposed the planned annexation of the Medela property into the City of Olympia. City Council recently voted (5-2) to recommend this annexation to the County Commissioners, who have that final say. He encouraged us to advocate for our neighborhood with the City & County. Another example of changes he sees coming to the Eastside is the City’s plan for a cell tower on the 7th Ave water tower.

In discussion of the above presentations, the Board agreed that it would be in the ENA’s interest to be represented regularly at the monthly CNA meetings.

Legion Way Trees

Katy Beattie read a letter she wrote to the Olympia City Council thanking them for their recognition in 2010 of the value of the Legion Way oak trees, and their having set a policy & funded a program to protect, maintain & re-plant (as needed) these heritage trees. Her letter asked that the re-planted specimens be somewhat larger than they have been. Katy and Nathan Allan will collaborate on a presentation of the letter at a City Council meeting in the near future.

Community Garden Update

Sandia reported that the New Bridge Community Church’s management team has voted in support of hosting a community garden site on their property, and to work collaboratively with ENA residents on the project if there is enough interest from ENA residents to gardening there. They have designated $5,000 toward the start-up of the project (for such things as fencing, framing for garden beds, tools & a storage location for them, etc.)  A church member has volunteered to be New Bridge’s liaison for this project. Anyone interested in participating should contact Sandia ([email protected]).

Board Members & Officer Elections

Election of board members and officers occur at the February 19 Annual Meeting and the March Board Meeting, respectively. We clarified which current Board members want to stay on the Board & which officers we need replacements for. Three new board members are needed, for a total of at least 10 and no more than 20 board members, per the ENA by-laws. The President and Vice President officer positions will also be vacant, and will need to be elected at the March board meeting. Board member terms are 2 years, officer terms are 1 year.

February 19 Annual Meeting Agenda

• The importance and role of neighborhood associations in City planning (Stephen Buxbaum, Julie Hankins and a representative from the CNA will be present)
• Legion Way trees
• Update on New Bridge Community Garden project
• Update on Madison Elementary construction
• Board elections

Neighborhood Education Forum

An ENA resident is organizing a forum to discuss the issue of heroin use and drug needles being found in the Eastside. More information will be provided in the coming week.

ENA Member Dues Changes

The ENA will implement online payment for dues in the near future. Nathan suggested Gravity Forms. Whitney will check with Luke regarding finding a less costly or free option. If none is available, the Board approves spending $199 to obtain Gravity Forms.

The Board also approved changing ENA annual dues to come due on January 1 of each year, and to change the amount from $10 annually to a self-determined sliding scale of $10 – $30 (each household can determine what they feel they can afford to contribute). The purpose of a due date is to alleviate the confusion many dues paying residents have of when their payments are due.

Treasurer’s Report

• Checking $180.50
• Savings $528.48
• Neighborhood signs $1295.90
• Legion Way Trees $151.03
• Community Beautification $504.63
• CD unspecified use $1028.13

Newsletter Distribution

Sandia presented the historical newsletter distribution list to this current Board.  This is the list of volunteers, and the routes that they have been distributing. Ruth Middlebrook had established and coordinated the distribution effort for years, through January 2013 (THANK YOU, Ruth!). Sandia recently contacted the listed distributors, updated their interest and availability, and confirmed their routes.  Approximately 2/3 of the households in the ENA are currently covered for newsletter distribution  – there still remain 6 routes for which we need volunteers to distribute newsletters.

Anyone interested in helping with newsletter distribution should contact Sandia at [email protected] or 866-4561.

Meeting Dates for 2014

Meeting dates for 2014 were set and are available on the Calendar.

• Board meetings (3rd Wednesday, 6:30 pm): January 15, March 19, April 16, May 21, June 18, September 17, October 15, November 19, December 17
• Quarterly General Membership meetings: February 19, May 14, October 8
• General Neighborhood Summer Picnic:  Saturday, August 17th  (11 am – 2 pm)

 

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 pm.
Minutes submitted by Sandia Slaby, Secretary