It’s time to show up for Madison and McKenny schools in a big way!

Public hearings are scheduled to be held by the district in the gymnasiums of the schools proposed for closure:

Monday, February 26th, 6:00 pm at Madison Elementary School;
Thursday, February 29th, 6:00 pm at Margaret McKenny Elementary School

Whether or not you have a close tie to either school, your presence will be have a positive impact for the Eastside Neighborhood.

For Madison: Sign up online between 8:00 am Friday, Feb. 23rd – 4:00 pm Sunday, Feb. 25th OR in person/via Zoom the night of the hearing. If prompted, indicate you are part of the Madison community.  

For McKenny: Sign up online between 8:00 am Monday Feb. 26th – 4:00 pm Wednesday, Feb. 28th OR in person/via Zoom the night of the hearing. If prompted, indicate you are part of the McKenny community. 

We hope to see you there! At the meeting, we will have materials for you about the school closure proposal. Bring signs, wear Madison and McKenny gear, and show your support. The district has not yet coordinated child care so please, consider this a family-friendly event!

Please reach out with any questions you have and let me know if you’ll be in attendance.  [email protected]

And lastly, please reach out within your circles to spread the word !

Thanks so much! Miriam Hathaway
Madison parent and OSD4ALL volunteer

Coming in February

We’re looking for neighbors and friends to join in a CLOTHING SWAP coming on Feb. 24th! The event will take place at the First United Methodist Church of Olympia , 1224 Legion Way SE. (More info. will follow next week.) In the meantime, start gathering your give-aways for all ages, sizes and genders! Clothes should be clean and in good condition.

Annual Meeting-Open to the Public

November 15, 7:00 p.m. at the Swantown Inn Please join us as we look back on past accomplishments and events and plan for the upcoming year. There will be a slideshow highlighting what your Eastside Neighborhood Association has been part of in the past and a call for ideas from the neighborhood for future projects. Olympia Homeless Coordinator, Kim Kondrat, will be a guest speaker.
…plus Refreshments

Let your voice be heard.

Don’t miss this years’ Talent Show! October 14, 2023

The Eastside Neighborhood Association is sponsoring a free, family-friendly variety show that will be held on October 14th from 3-5 p.m. at the Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Ave. SE in Olympia. People of all ages are welcome to attend. In addition to performances, the event will include an intermission with refreshments, and a chance to get to know one another in a friendly social setting.

Our goal is to include a wide variety of performances that will appeal to people of all ages. It is not a competition, just an afternoon of entertainment. The show will include performances such as poetry, singing, guitar, story-telling and piano.

We expect it to be a fun event, and hope you bring your friends!

If you have questions, or would like to be one of the performers at the event, contact Roger Horn at [email protected].

Picnic time! August 12th, from 4-7 p.m.

This year’s picnic is at Lion’s Park, Aug 12, from 4-7 p.m.

The Annual Summer Picnic has been held at Lion’s Park by the ENA for as long as any current board members can remember (so at least 20+ years, if you can confirm earlier please let us know!). It is sometimes a small affair, and other years larger with organized activities (We apply for Neighborhood Block Grants but do not always receive them).  It always includes a main dish (burgers or hotdogs) provided by the ENA, with neighbors bringing side dishes and desserts. Various local businesses, such as Eastside Big Tom’sRalphs Thriftway and the Eastside Olympia Food Co-op usually donate items as well.

If you are interested in supporting the neighborhood in this event, here are things we need;

VOLUNTEERS: help is needed both ahead of the date and at the event. We’re especially looking for cooks! Ideally, we have two people at any one time prepping, cooking and serving.

FOOD!: Bring a dish or some chips or whatever you can contribute. 🙂

Contact us if you’re interested in any of these opportunities!

Draft Meeting Minutes – February 13, 2024

ENA Board Meeting February 13, 2024, 7:00 PM

Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Avenue SE

Members Present

Sherry Chilcutt (President), Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Karen Clemens (CNA Representative), Abigail Twombly, Nathan Allan, Jim Rioux, Cheryl Bayle Guest: Sara Finkle

Sherry passed around a “neighborhood welcome letter” drafted by Mark Fouch. Sara suggested adding information such as where to go and what to do on the Eastside. Nathan agreed to do a Google Maps mock-up.

$ 636.25 – CHECKING
$ 965.01 – SAVINGS
$1,309.12 – NEIGHBORHOOD SIGNS
$ 553.93 – LEGION WAY TREES
$ 410.93 – COMMUNITY BEAUTIFICATION $3,875.24 – Total Available

1) Approval of the Minutes

The January 9th minutes were approved as submitted.

2) Treasurer Report

It was proposed to add Jim Rioux to all ENA bank accounts and remove Brian Brannies. The Board agreed unanimously.

3) 2024 RNA Grant Status

Karen reported on the RNA grants currently being reviewed by the City, and passed around a list of 2024 neighborhood grant requests.
There was a general discussion about an Eastside Street mural, including ideas for potential artists and sidewalk safety.

4) Madison Closure

Nathan talked about the February 12th OSD Work Session, ‘OSD For All,’ $10 million budget surplus, and OSD Administration’s share of the budget.
A lot depends on the school levee.
Sara described an ‘OSD For All’ initiative asking people to go door to door and talk to their neighbors.

5) Clothing Swap

Sara passed out flyers; suggested locations include Ralphs, Madison school, Lions park and the Eastside Coop. Sandwich boards should be out a week ahead of time. The information will be posted on ‘Facebook’ and ‘Buy Nothing.’
Volunteers agreed to begin setting up at 10 AM, or to be available until 2 PM.

Sherry will let people know they can drop off donated clothing on her porch. The Board discussed how best to thank FUMCO, such as a thank you card or a donation. Sara & Abigail will be meeting at the church tomorrow.

6) CNA Report

Robert Vanderpool attended as the City Council representative.
Tim Smith talked about the condo project on the lot behind Olympia Supply, and a 162- unit project on Devoe Street.
Karen talked about the Nottingham Community Association’s ‘Harvest Heritage’ event. The CNA is working on ‘value’ & ‘vision’ statements for the MOU.
They are also working to set up quarterly forums with the Council.
Larry Dzieza offered to come to come to a monthly meeting and walk us through the sidewalk condition app.
Sherry described the new rental unit inspection process.
Sara asked if it would be possible to coordinate sidewalk repairs with the City.
Karen asked if anyone is interested in reviewing Comprehensive Plan chapters. Sherry said she reviewed the Utilities chapter.

7) Lions Club Event May 11th or 18th

The Board had several questions about this event such as what would be expected of the ENA. Sherry said she will follow up with her contact.

8) Free Board training through the Nonprofit Association of Washington (NAWA)
Sherry indicated she will be attending this workshop on February 27th. https://nonprofitwa.org/event/hoquiam-the-powerful-process-of-building-budgets/

9) Proposed Calendar of Activities

There was a general discussion of upcoming events, all of which are very tentative. Possible events are a ‘Pollinator training event,’ a ‘Garden tour’ and another ‘Meet up’ at Beerwerks. We talked about how to get the word out concerning events and ideas on how to update the events calendar on the ENA website.

10) By-law rewriting

Sherry explained the need to bring the ENA By-laws into compliance with the Washington Handbook for Nonprofits: https://www.sos.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/2022-Nonprofit-Handbook.pdf We will be able to get into the by-laws after the NAWA training.

11) New Bridge offer of financial support

The Board discussed the possibility of a financial collaboration with New Bridge. At this time, we do not have any specific ideas, but we talked generally about projects which are beyond the ENA’s financial capacity. A couple of examples are the northeast neighborhood tree lights and a “snowflake” project which could also be a fund raiser. Nathan suggested a project to improve a piece of City-owned land across from the Inn on Central Street which could be used for block parties. It was suggested someone talk to Paul Simmons at Olympia Parks.

Other topics

Jim S. talked about the January 12 meeting of the Armory Partner selection committee. The committee reviewed statements of qualifications submitted by eight nonprofit organizations and agreed all eight were qualified. The next step involves negotiating leases with each organization in order to determine their specific space needs, including shared spaces.

Background information on each of the nonprofits is described in a January 24 Olympian article:

https://www.theolympian.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article284643070.html

The meeting adjourned at 8:30.

January 9, 2024 Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

January 9, 2024, 7:00 PM

Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Avenue SE

Members Present

Jim Sweeney (Secretary), Karen Clemens (CNA Representative), Abigail Twombly, Nathan Allan, Jim Rioux, Cheryl Bayle

Sherry Chilcutt (President) – absent due to accident

Guests

Stephanie Goedecke, Sara Finkle, Sara’s friend.

1) Approval of the minutes

The December 13, 2023 meeting minutes were approved as submitted.

2) Treasurer Report

$ 767.58 Checking

$ 964.88 Savings

$1,308.95 Neighborhood Signs

$ 553.86 Trees

$ 410.86 Neighborhood Beautification

$4,006.13 Total

3) 2024 RNA Grant – Final thoughts

These are the three items the Board agreed to include in our 2024 grant application:

  1. Food in support of block parties.
  2. One or two reusable banners
  3. Eastside Street mural

A suggestion was made that we have a contributions jar for events.

Jim R. will contact Sherry about helping with the grant application.

4) Madison Closure discussion

Karen reported on the December 14 School Board meeting when they made the recommendation to close schools following a 90-day review period.

Also discussed were inadequate special education funding, faulty regionalization and the levy cap.

Jim R. suggested contacting ‘OSD for all’ and offering to help. https://www.osdforall.com/

There is a community meeting scheduled at Madison School on February 26 at 6:00 PM, and the School Board is having work sessions and regular meetings at Knox Administration Center on January 29 and February 12.

5) Upcoming Board work day

We previously scheduled a work day on January 20. Due to conflicts, we will need to reschedule, probably sometime in February.

6) CNA Report – JOLT Article

Karen talked about a letter she wrote describing the City’s neighborhoods and the CNA. It was published in JOLT on January 2. https://www.thejoltnews.com/stories/olympias-neighborhood-associations-offer-many-benefits-to-residents,13466?

Tim Smith met with Jay Burney and two Council members concerning diversity language in the MOU.

The CNA continues to try and arrange quarterly meetings with the Council.

A $10K increase in RNA grant funding is in the works. This is on top of the current $13K.

The SE annexation is still on hold.

There was some discussion about the City encouraging drive-through businesses on Plum Street and downtown.

The sidewalk survey app is intended to help the City determine how best to spend the additional funds.

7) Frederick Street stormwater

Jim R. wrote an email letter about the need to improve stormwater drainage near Frederick & 9th.

Stephanie said after talking to Public Works she bought gravel to fill in the holes.

Fixing the problem may require rebuilding the street, including rain gardens or other design solutions.

8) Neighborhood Watch program

Stephanie described on-going problems with juveniles and minor crimes. She asked about a neighborhood watch program to look out for neighboring properties.

Nathan described his experience with Neighborhood Watch, getting neighbors to sign up, electing a captain etc.

Stephanie would like to see a campaign to reach out to kids and teach them not to do crimes such as breaking into houses and pranking.

Suggested ideas included Boy Scouts, block parties, art programs, a ‘good neighbor day,’ and friendly reminder signs with positive messages from your neighborhood association.

The Police Department’s Block Watch program recommends scheduling an initial informational meeting with our Community Programs Officer, Rebekah Ziesemer. More information and Rebekah’s contact information can be found at:

https://www.olympiawa.gov/services/police_department/block_watch.php

9) Support hosting students/pages for legislative session

Cheryl said they have hosted pages in the past.

Jim S. said he would check into the requirements. The discussion was deferred until the February meeting.

10) Proposed Calendar of Activities

Abigail wants to mix up our 2024 events a little so, for example, people have more opportunities to talk to each other.

It was suggested we make the annual picnic a “kids day in the park” or an “ENA fun day” with an ice cream truck, bouncy house, etc.

Sara suggested a clothing swap, possibly in February, where people would bring clothes they don’t want, and volunteers would sort and give them away for a few hours. We would need volunteers to publicize, provide refreshments, and handle donations. We could also leverage the ‘Buy Nothing’ group. Sara agreed to reach out to John, the pastor at New Bridge, to see if they are interested, and email the Board. We would need to have flyers by the February 13 Board meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 8:45.

December 13, 2023 Meeting Minutes

ENA Board Meeting

December 13, 2023, 7:00 PM

Swantown Inn, 1431 11th Avenue SE

Members Present

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

Guest: Sara Finkle

1) Approval of the minutes

The November 8 meeting minutes were approved as submitted.

2) Treasurer Report

Checking $748.66

Savings $964.75

Neighborhood Signs $1308.78

Trees $553.79

Neighborhood Beautification $410.79

Total $3,988.77

3) RNA Grant Wrap-up

Several things we thought we would do we weren’t able to do, but we were able to put the funding to good uses. We were also able to use a lot of donated materials and time rather than paying for it.

4) ENA Officer election

Sherry agreed to continue as President. It was so moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

Jim R. agreed to be the new Treasurer. It was so moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

Jim S. agreed to continue as Secretary. It was so moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

Roger agreed to continue as Vice President. It was so moved, seconded and approved unanimously.

Karen agreed to continue as the CNA representative. Jim R. agreed to be alternate CNA representative.

5) RNA Grant ideas

The Board discussed grant ideas for 2024, including:

  • Funds to cover mailing a newsletter to our updated mailing list
  • A neighborhood magazine modeled on the one produced by the South Capital Neighborhood
  • A neighborhood walking map to update or replace the 1996 Eastside Neighborhood Brochure & Historic Walking Tour map on the City’s website.

After discussion, the Board decided to pursue the following grants:

1. A mural on Eastside Street, possibly at 1306 Eastside

2. Funding to buy food for 2024 block parties

3. One or two reusable event banners

The City’s RNA grant schedule is:

  • Application deadline: January 15, 2024
  • Grant review team: February 2024
  • Council review & approval: March 2024
  • Contracts signed: March 2024
  • Project completion: December 31, 2024
  • Final reports: December 31, 2024

6) CNA Report 

Karen reported no council person attended the December 11 meeting.

The annual RNA renewal request was sent recently.

Mike Ruth, TESC, is working on the 2nd alpha version of the sidewalk condition survey app.

Tim Smith reported there are about 50 development projects in review.

After Council review the draft MOU was bumped back to the City Manager.

The Urban Farms program is proceeding. Seattle had a similar program associated with earthquake preparedness about 10 years ago.

7) Meeting Dates

The Board agreed to change meeting dates for the 1st quarter of the year due to a member’s conflict; the January, February and March meetings will be held at 7PM on the second Tuesday of the month.

8) Photo Storage

A past President dropped off ENA historic photos at Sherry’s house. She will bring them to the next meeting in hopes we can put names to faces.

Nathan suggested a number of options; we could:

  • Use a Google drive folder tied to the president’s gmail address.
  • Use WordPress and it’s media file storage
  • Use Facebook’s album/photo feature.

Whichever we do, it should be easy to access and use so people will use it.

9) Other

A resident at 429 Fredrickson Street SE reportedly has a lake in front of her house and asked for help contacting the City about maintenance. Neighbors are currently buying and spreading their own gravel, which pushes stormwater onto their neighbors’ property.

Jim R. recommended sending a letter to the City. He volunteered to draft a letter for Sherry to sign.

10) The Board considered planning a board work day in January to meet up and work on the website, map out media responsibilities, and anything else that routinely falls through the cracks. (tentatively 10AM, Saturday January 20, at Swantown)

11) By-laws

Updates will be posted on the website by Sherry and Roger.

(12) Abigail suggested drafting a 2024 calendar of events.

She, Cheryl & Sarah will work on it, and attempt to digitize a version so it can be shared on-line.

(13) Jim R. reported he has started work on the Fones Road project. He can do a presentation in the next couple of weeks.

(14) Jim S. reported he will be attending the first meeting of the Armory Partners selection committee tomorrow.

The meeting adjourned at 8:30.