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

ch**********@co.us | 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.