South Capitol Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Minutes
Weds, Oct 11, 2023 6:30-8:30 pm
Lincoln Elementary School library
Introductions and Call Meeting to Order
Members of the South Capitol Neighborhood Association (SCNA) in attendance:
John Saunders, President
Gerry Apple, Vice President
Sue Hedrick, Secretary
Addie Spencer, Treasurer
At-large members: Lorie Hewitt, Emily Tilger, Treacy Duerfeldt and Howard Goldberg
John called the meeting to order and the attendees introduced themselves. In addition to the board members, Valerie Hammett also attended the meeting.
Approval of September Meeting Minutes and Today’s Agenda
Treacy made a motion to approve the September minutes. Emily seconded and the motion was approved.
Three items were added to the October meeting agenda – annual meeting, St. John’s update, and Halloween. Addie moved to approve the agenda as amended, Lorie seconded, and the motion was approved.
Committee Reports
Treasurer – Addie Spencer
Addie sent out a written report prior to the meeting – see report at the end of the minutes.
Addie said there has been an increase in the Google Suite monthly fee. She also noted that next year, the board will need to pay $100 for the yearly post office box rental and a $20 annual non-profit renewal fee to the Washington State Secretary of State’s Office.
Traffic – Gerry Apple
Gerry said that he received a list of 2022 approved neighborhood grant projects provided by the City of Lacey, one of which was for a vehicle speed indicator sign. He was unsure that a $5,000 neighborhood grant would cover the cost, but said he would contact Rebecca Ziesemer, Olympia community programs officer, to see if she might be able to provide more information about where to buy a sign and how much it might cost.
Treacy reported that he received the raw data he requested from the City of Olympia last week. It was captured by the two cords that were stretched across Capitol Way by city staff in August. Treacy said he will look at the raw data soon. He said that city staff come up with a mean average from all of the data, but he thinks we will find that the top 10% is really dangerous speeds.
He said he would like the board to go before the Olympia city council and go on record with its concerns about it. He cautioned that we will have to demonstrate the need and then keep pushing the city to do something about the speeding problem on Capitol Way.
John added that every neighborhood association has this concern about speeding, and the more data we can get, the more it can help convince the city to do something about it.
Those present discussed ways to combat speeders, noting that having a patrol officer pull over speeders and hand out tickets was very effective, but there is a serious officer shortage right now. Gerry mentioned that the speed limit sign that the city loaned to us is booked up with other communities for the next six months.
Howard asked about installing a camera that takes photos and then speeders are ticketed. Treacy said there are problems with that. This question was asked in the June board meeting with Rebekah Ziesemer and Police Officer Alex Watkins in attendance. Officer Watkins responded that they would have to identify the driver and not just the vehicle in order to ticket them.
Noise pollution related to the high speeds was also discussed, and on a related note, Valerie raised a concern about significant noise pollution created by paper shredding trucks parked along Maple Park and gas-powered leaf blowers being used on the east campus. Discussion ensued about what might be done about those, too.
Safety Committee – Howard Goldberg
Howard said he contacted the Olympia Police Department and the Olympia Fire Department but did not receive a call back before the meeting. He said that both are still dealing with staffing issues.
He said he wondered if there might be a way the board could help them hire people. He would like to talk with them about that.
Valerie suggested that perhaps high school students could provide help and do their community service at the same time. Gerry suggested a program might be created at the vocational school on fire safety – students could get credit for it. Treacy said that sharing ideas with the fire department is appropriate and suggested sending them a note.
Communications – Emily Tilger
Emily reported that the neighborhood Facebook page is maintaining its membership and seems to have reached a plateau. She said she will do some posts about Halloween and neighborhood kids trick-or-treating the night before. Valerie asked how we could advertise which houses are safe. Treacy suggested doing a post with advice on what to do. Gerry mentioned that St. John’s Lutheran Church provides hot chocolate and large candy bars to trick-or-treaters on Halloween and wondered if we could support them. Howard asked if there will be any events around this time at the Lord Mansion. He said he’ll contact the manager there and find out.
A more general discussion about board communications with the neighborhood ensued. Addie asked if we are publicizing board meetings. John replied that yes, we are, in three ways: via Facebook, a blog post with a link to the agenda on the SCNA website, and an email sent to the board’s listserv (an email distribution list, which has about 400 interested parties).
This segued into a discussion about another possible way to reach out to the residents of the South Capitol neighborhood. John and Sue discovered a fairly inexpensive way to have the U.S. postal service deliver mail – a flier or postcard – to nearly all of the residents in the South Capitol neighborhood. Every Door Direct Mail One postal route covers all of the residences in the neighborhood in one delivery route with the exception of Columbia, Sylvester and Water Streets. These could be mailed separately to them.
John asked Emily if she could come up with a design that we can tailor for different topics, and she agreed. Sue said this could be very helpful in reaching out to South Capitol neighbors to publicize the SCNA annual membership meeting, which will be held in February 2024.
It was agreed to send the same communication out through the board’s listserv and Facebook, with the same request for people to sign up as members.
Review of South Capitol Neighborhood Association Board Bylaws
Those present reviewed the board bylaws, focusing particularly on Article 2, which defines membership in the South Capitol Neighborhood Association.
Under Article 2, 2.2 Establishment of Membership states, “An eligible individual will qualify for membership by submitting their name, address, and telephone number to the Association.”
2.3 Membership List states, “The Secretary shall keep a list of all the members.” John did some research and it does not appear that an accurate list of members has been kept, so he and Sue have been working to rectify that.
Treacy suggested creating a form to capture members’ information. John responded that he has done just that. Those interested in joining the South Capitol Neighborhood Association can now fill out a form on the website and press a “Join Now” button. They will then be added to a membership list and the board will periodically send updates to this list about association activities throughout the year.
No one is required to pay dues to become a member, but if anyone wants to support the neighborhood association by paying dues, they are welcome to do so. Suggested dues are $15 per year and can be paid by check or via Paypal.
The link to the website page to become a member and/or pay dues is:
https://southcapitolneighborhood.org/join-the-south-capitol-neighborhood-association/
Addie said she will also add names to the new membership list as people send in their dues.
St. John’s Update – Lorie Hewitt
Lorie reached out to Lou MacMillan for an update on St. John’s Lutheran Church.
He replied back that there’s not much news to report on the redevelopment study. They’re currently working with Thomas Architect Studios on new space for the congregation that will likely require a survey of the full congregation later this year. This is only for their church space, not for any other new use under a potential redevelopment.
Lou also reported that things have been moving slowly for several months because of operating budget struggles that ultimately led to a separation agreement with their rector, whose salary was no longer affordable. They now have a part-time interim priest-in-charge, and expect the appointment of a new “developer priest” (for the development of their congregation) as early as January. He thought it likely they will wait until that new priest is on board before they move forward on the redevelopment study. He said he will keep the SCNA board in the loop as things progress.
Legislative Campus Modernization project – John Saunders
John reported there was little to report on the project, which is ongoing. He said they did raise the issue of increased noise once the Newhouse and Pritchard buildings are complete, and they were able to have a meeting with the Department of Enterprise Services to explain our concerns.
As mentioned at the last meeting, construction of the Newhouse building is expected to be completed in November 2024. Construction on the new building next to the Pritchard building will start in the spring of next year.
On the issue of neighborhood noise, Valerie said she will record the paper shredding truck noise the next time it is parked across the street from her house. She is hoping this can be used to show how loud and disruptive it is.
State, City and Neighborhood Triad Meeting – John Saunders
John said that a Triad meeting is held every six months. Established in 2010, the Triad is an informal partnership between the state of Washington, City of Olympia and South Capitol Neighborhood Association. The next meeting will be held on Weds, November 1, 2023 from 2 – 5 pm. Location to be determined.
John asked the members to send him any proposed items for the agenda. One item for discussion was parking not being enforced in the neighborhood. Parking is restricted to one or two hours in zones 1, 2, and 3. Registration fees for SCNA residents are $25 per year, per vehicle (up to 2) for Zones 1, 2, and 3. A third vehicle may be registered for $35 per year. The parking restrictions were created to prevent visitors to the state Capitol from parking in the South Capitol neighborhood for long periods of time, thus preventing residents from being able to park in front of or near their homes.
Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA) – Gerry Apple
Gerry said the city plans to survey residents about sidewalks. This was also reported on during last month’s SCNA board meeting.
Also discussed at the CNA meeting were possible changes to Olympia’s Neighborhood Matching Grant Program.
According to the city’s neighborhood grant webpage, requests for proposals are due December 11, 2023. There will be an information workshop via Zoom on November 7, 2023 at 6:00 pm. The deadline for grant applications is January 15, 2024. The grant review team will review proposals in February 2024. The City Council will review and approve neighborhood grants, and contracts will be signed in March 2024. Projects must be completed and final reports submitted by December 31, 2024.
Gerry said that currently, grants are awarded up to $5,000 per proposal. The City of Lacey grants are double Olympia’s. The CNA will write a letter to the Olympia City Council, asking that the grant amounts be raised.
Previous SCNA grants have been used for colorful banners along Capitol Way, the two green oval welcome signs at the south end of Washington Street and at Maple Park and Capitol Way, last year’s magazine, which has the same information as the SCNA website but in printed form, and a community Map Your Neighborhood event.
Gerry asked the board members for ideas as to what a 2024 grant could be used for. He said he will send a list of prior City of Lacey neighborhood grants to the board.
Valerie added that other entities, such as the Thurston County Historic Commission, hand out grants as well.
During the CNA meeting, Planner David Ginther provided a brief overview of the Capital Mall Triangle Environmental Impact Study at the CNA meeting. The Capital Mall Triangle is one of three urban centers envisioned in Olympia’s 20-year Comprehensive Plan.
https://www.olympiawa.gov/government/codes,_plans___standards/olympia_comprehensive_plan.php
The vision is that, over the next 20 years, this area will grow into a more people-oriented urban neighborhood – a place where residents can commute to work, shop, recreate, and meet basic needs without a car.
https://www.olympiawa.gov/government/codes,_plans___standards/capital_mall_triangle.php
Motion to adjourn
Treacy made a motion to adjourn, Emily seconded, and the motion was approved. The meeting ended at 8:21 pm.
Next meeting – Weds, Nov 8, 2023, 6:30 pm, Lincoln Elementary School
Written Reports
Treasurer’s Report – Sept 10, 2023
Twin Star Credit Union account balances:
Business Prime Savings $20
Innovator Checking $3,000.24
Recent income:
PayPal $37.86
Checks $10
Cash $137
Donation $200 for music from Gerry Apple
Recent expenses:
Google Gsuite $13.14 each month
Pending expenses:
August 26th Neighborhood BBQ: total budget $500
John Saunders $286.16 (truck: $36.16 + live band $250)
Other expenses up to $213.84
South Capitol Neighborhood Association 