Board Minutes July 2023

Weds, July 12, 2023 6:30-8:30 pm

1. Introductions and Call Meeting to Order

Members of the South Capitol Neighborhood Association (SCNA) in attendance:

John Saunders, President

Addie Spencer, Treasurer

Sue Hedrick, Secretary

At-large members: Emily Tilger and Howard Goldberg

2. Presentation and discussion with a representative of the Olympia Fire Department – Officer David Frost

Officer Frost said he serves as a fire prevention and public education officer. In addition to responding to residential and commercial fires, Olympia firefighters also put out brush fires, board up vacant commercial buildings, pump out flooded basements, and assist the elderly.  A majority of what they do is provide emergency medical care for heart attacks, strokes, and home and motor vehicle accidents. He said that many of the calls they now respond to are for overdoses. They used to happen once a month but now occur as often as three times a day.

Officer Frost gave a description of the four stations, units and personnel and what they can and cannot do. He said that when they are responding to calls, they maintain situational awareness, paying attention to everything going on around them while they work, whether it is performing CPR or rescuing people from a burning house.

To prevent or escape fires, Officer Frost recommended installing smoke detectors- particularly in bedrooms, to have an escape plan to a fixed place and practice it, have a fire escape ladder on upper floors or an extension ladder outside where it can be easily accessed, and fire extinguishers on hand – particularly in the kitchen – and know how to use them. 

Most fire extinguishers are good for about six years.  The date is often imprinted on the bottom.  It’s best to turn them over to test the contents once in awhile. If the contents do not drop in an obvious way, they should be replaced. For an electrical fire, turn the power off before using a fire extinguisher to prevent being electrocuted.  For a grease fire, dump baking soda or put a lid on it to extinguish the flames.

Officer Frost said that smoke is the main killer in fires, not flames. Keep doors shut at night tol keep a fire from spreading through a house and give more time to escape.  Stay low to avoid the smoke, and if the door is hot to the touch, don’t open it. 

Call 911 for fire or medical emergencies.  When calling in, be as descriptive as possible and identify landmarks so the responders can find the location as quickly as possible. 

John Saunders asked about fire department funding. Officer Frost said funding is a problem.  The city’s population has grown but staff has not increased to accommodate the growth.  They are hiring entry-level positions and Officer Frost asked if anyone knows people who might be interested in this line of work to tell them about it so they can apply. He explained the exams and requirements and said the starting pay is about $90,000 per year.

John also asked about houses  in the South Capitol neighborhood being very close together and wondered whether that poses a problem for firefighters. Officer Frost said not really because there are a lot of hydrants in the neighborhood and because there is a station nearby, it doesn’t take crews long to respond. The outlying areas are more difficult since there are only four stations – they could really use two more stations, particularly on the westside since it is the fastest growing area, to reach neighborhoods faster.  

The four stations are:

Station 1 – Eastside Street near downtown

Station 2 – Kenyon Street on the westside

Station 3 – 22nd Avenue near Boulevard Road

Station 4 – Stoll Road near Lilly Road

Officer Frost distributed safety brochures and offered free smoke detectors and firefighter hats for kids. The board members thanked him for coming to the meeting and sharing valuable information and safety tips.

3. Minutes of the June 14, 2023 meeting 

Since there wasn’t a quorum, those present suggested that board members review the June minutes and vote via email to approve or disapprove them. John said he would send an email to the board members, requesting they do this.  Subsequently, seven board members voted by email to approve the minutes of the June meeting as presented.

4. Committee Reports
   • Treasurer – Addie Spencer
     Addie sent out a written report prior to the meeting – see below.
   • Communications – Emily Tilger
     Those present discussed putting together a neighborhood event to be held on August 26th.  Emily will schedule a planning meeting sometime after July 24th for those willing to help.
   • Legislative Campus Modernization project – John Saunders
     John sent out a written report prior to the meeting – see below.

5. The meeting ended at 8:20 pm.

Next meeting – Weds, Aug 9, 2023, 6:30 pm,  location to be determined

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Written Reports

Treasurer’s Report – July 5, 2023

 Twin Star account balances: 

Business Prime Savings $20

Innovator Checking $2,822.44

Recent income:

PayPal $0

Checks $0

Cash $0

Recent expenses:

Google Gsuite $13.14 each month

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Legislative Campus Modernization (LCM) workgroup report submitted for the July 12, 2023, SCNA Board meeting by John Saunders.

This report covers activities during June 2023.

• Major construction projects have begun and will continue over the next few years. 
• Major construction of the replacement Newhouse Building is underway..
• Visitor parking and the pedestrian bridge at the Visitor’s Center is closed.
• Detailed design of the O’Brien building renovation is underway.
• Detailed design of the renovated and expanded Pritchard Building is underway.  
• Over the next few years, these large projects will cause some disruption, especially to the adjacent areas. SCNA will monitor these projects.  

The Workgroup submitted comments on the Pritchard Building SEPA Determination of Non-Significance.  Our comments focused primarily on the design of the proposed addition,  the amount of surface parking, building design, and the closure of Water Street. DES will provide its response to all comments by the end of July.

The Workgroup reviewed three dimensional models of the Pritchard Building renovation and additions during June.  We emphasized concerns about size of the extension, the service entrance near Sylvester St., the need for a sense of separation from the stacks, parking, the southern gateway, the need for retractable bollards at Water St and 15th as opposed to a permanent barrier, and a soft landscape transition to the neighborhood. We were comfortable with the direction they are moving with the window designs and their references to the importance of honoring the Olmsted landscape design principles and adherence to a comprehensive LCM landscape plan.

SCNA continues to advocate for a landscaping plan with less surface parking, more tall trees and understory to create human scale for the large Newhouse replacement building, a softer transition to the neighborhood, and a southern gateway entrance to the Capitol Campus that keeps Water Street open to bikes, pedestrians, and autos.

Anyone can  now sign up for weekly updates by email from the DES project team by sending a request to:  DESLCM@des.wa.gov.

Meetings continue:

The workgroup attended an LCM Stakeholder meeting on June 22.  Everyone is invited to attend these meetings.  Send a request to DESLCM@des.wa.gov.  The next Stakeholder meeting is July 20th at 3:30 pm.

The SCNA workgroup also continues to support the Friends of the Capitol Campus.