ENA Board Meeting
May 12, 2026 7:00 PM
Northwest Beerwerks
Minutes
Board members present:
Karen Sweeney (Vice president & CNA representative), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Jim Rioux (Treasurer), Abigail Twombly, Therese Vogel, Josh Elliott, Cheryl Bayle
1) Approval of April Minutes
The April 14th minutes were approved as submitted.
2) Treasurer’s report
Jim R. reported the following account balances:
Checking $1,662.39
Savings $1,951.18
Total $3,613.57
3) CNA report
Karen reported on the following topics from the May 11th CNA meeting:
- The CNA voted to confirm Justin Stang as the new CNA Chair
- Councilman Gilman talked about hiring the new fire chief
- The City is looking into contracting out garbage and recycling services
This led to a discussion about the wisdom of contracting with a private company for garbage and recycling services. Board members expressed concern about costs and accountability.
- Joyce Philips is retiring from the Planning Department
- Nicole Floyd will be representing the Planning Department at CNA meetings
- The City will be hiring a new Housing Director
- Jasmine Vasavada said the Port of Olympia will hold a work session on the Evergreen College pool closure.
This led to a discussion about opposition to the pool closure. Karen will contact Larry Dzieza about drafting a template letter for RNAs.
4) Neighborhood Matching Grant status
Board members expressed frustration with the grant process. The ENA and the other RNAs all met the City’s March 10 application deadline. The Council approved the grant review team’s recommendation on April 14. We have heard nothing since then. This was the second annual grant cycle for Brittany Gillia who has made some much needed program upgrades, many of which were suggested by the CNA and RNAs, but the process appears to be bogged down in bureaucracy. When contracts are not approved in a timely manner the ENA has to dip into our accounts, or members credit, for project expenses.
Jim R. suggested we communicate our concerns to staff, and Karen volunteered to draft a letter and send it to Jim to review.
The Board discussed the upcoming event schedule and whether or not we need to update any times or dates. Karen volunteered to check with someone in Northeast about Porch Fest.
5) Eastside walking map project update
Jim S. and Josh talked about an Eastside walking map. This is as yet an unfunded project but they are researching other walking maps including “Olympia’s Hidden Histories” and Tom Boucher’s Psyhcogeographic walking maps (available on Etsy).
6) Gateway Art replacement
Jim S. asked Stephanie Johnson about the damaged art project on Pacific and Martin Way. Stephanie said both the large sculpture and the fruit bowl are in the process of replacement, most likely in the next few months or so.
7) Membership recruitment and email list
The Board discussed efforts to update and expand our mailing lists. We agreed to continue this work, focusing on asking people attending events to sign up.
8) Technical stuff
We need to update the ENA Google group email list to delete Abigails old “mindspring” address and add ag******@***il.com.
Please bring up any technical problems you encounter at future meetings.
9) Next meeting will be June 9th
The meeting ended at 8:20 PM
ENA Board Meeting
April 14, 2026 7:00 PM
Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Ave SE
Minutes
Board members present:
Karen Sweeney (Vice president & CNA representative), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Nathan Allan, Abigail Twombly, Therese Vogel, Josh Elliott
1) Approval of March Minutes
The March 10th minutes were approved as submitted, with the addition of Josh to the list of Board members present.
2) CNA report
Karen reported on the following topics from the April 13th CNA meeting:
- Peter Guttchen had to step down from the chairmanship; the CNA will vote on a new chair in May.
- Meetings are on Zoom.
- Max Dejarnatt presented an update on the sidewalk repair program; the City is hiring a dedicated 4-person crew.
- There was a presentation about the Dispute Resolution Center.
- Several CNA members staffed a table at the March 28th ‘No Kings’ rally.
- The City hasn’t yet decided where to move the Japanese Garden; Nathan suggested Madison Scenic Park.
3) RNA grant proposal
Jim S. talked about the neighborhood matching grant program which is on tonight’s Council agenda for approval. Earlier he emailed a staff report and the City’s recommendations.
4) Recruiting new members and rebuilding membership list
The Board previously decided to post signs around the neighborhood asking people to sign up with their email address on the ENA website. Abigail brought 5½” by 8½” signs and she previously emailed the sign if you want to print your own. Karen said she has a laminator if anyone wants to laminate their signs. Suggested locations include utility poles, schools, churches, parks and businesses.
We applied for NMG funds to mail postcards to all Eastside residences. The postcards will include the ENA logo and a QR code link to the website, and it will encourage people to sign up to receive monthly newsletters. Nathan, Abigail and Jim S. volunteered to help draft the postcard.
Nathan suggested posting the flyer on the ENA Facebook page. Josh suggested posting events on Nextdoor as well.
5) Walking map
Jim and Josh will work together to outline walking map ideas for discussion at the next Board meeting.
6) Technical stuff
We discussed how to make it as easy as possible for people to sign up on the ENA website. In response, Nathan was able to create a new post titled “Sign up for the Email Newsletter!” and pin it on the home page. He also updated the 2026 Events calendar.
It was generally agreed that taking a few minutes at the end of the meeting to talk about the website was well worth our time, and that we should continue the practice by adding a “technical stuff” item to the end of future agendas. Board members can then bring up technical issues, the group can discuss and, if feasible, these problems can be fixed quickly and easily.
7) Other
It was suggested we print a large Eastside map or photo and have it mounted so we can display it at the annual picnic.
Sherry will be out of town for most of April and May.
Nathan will be gone from May 9 to May 28.
We will need to find a meeting place for the May 12 Board meeting.
The meeting ended at 8:30 PM