South Capitol Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Minutes
Weds, Jan 10, 2024 6:30-8:30 pm
Lincoln Elementary School library
Introductions and Call Meeting to Order
Members of the South Capitol Neighborhood Association (SCNA) Board in attendance:
John Saunders, President
Gerry Apple, Vice President
Sue Hedrick, Secretary
Addie Spencer, Treasurer
Treacy Duerfeldt and Howard Goldberg, At Large members
John called the meeting to order. In addition to the board members, Fred and Laurie MacInnes also attended the meeting.
Approval of December Meeting Minutes and Today’s Agenda
Treacy made a motion to approve the December minutes and today’s agenda. Gerry seconded and the motion was approved.
Other Items
Olympia Neighborhood Association matching grants
John reminded attendees that the City of Olympia Neighborhood Association Matching Grants application is due on Jan 15, 2024. He said the grant application the SCNA Board will be submitting is a little different than originally proposed.
Rather than requesting reimbursement for the costs of mailing an annual meeting invitation to all residences in the neighborhood, John said the board will cover the cost of this mailing – $756.20 – from current board funds.
The grant application that he, Sue and Gerry put together instead will be to cover the cost of an early Fall Barbeque/Social Picnic and a mailing to all residents in the South Capitol Neighborhood, inviting them to it.
Gerry mentioned that we recently learned the amount the city has earmarked for neighborhood matching grants has increased from $23,000 to $33, 000, so he said he felt our grant has a better chance of being approved. He also remarked that the volunteer hours listed in our grant application should more than satisfy the 50/50 matching requirement for the grant.
Treacy asked whether the board needed to vote on the revised grant application, and John said no, not until the grant is approved and the board enters into negotiation with the city on the contract.
However, Addie said she preferred that the board take a vote on it, so she made a motion in favor of the revised grant application, Treacy seconded and the motion was approved.
John will submit the revised grant application to the City of Olympia prior to the Jan 15th deadline.
Planning for Feb 15, 2024 SCNA Annual Meeting
John said that one of the requirements of the board’s bylaws is to create a nominating committee, composed of three members, not less than 30 days prior to the SCNA annual meeting, which will be held on Thursday, Feb 15, 2024 from 7 – 8 pm at the Lincoln School cafeteria.
There are currently 11 members on the SCNA Board, and four members – Addie Spencer, Howard Goldberg, Gerry Apple and Shannon (Sam) Shula will be leaving the board in February. John said he is also checking with Karen Meyer to see if she plans to continue on the board, but hasn’t heard back from her yet.
John said the nominating committee’s job is to “beat the bushes and get candidates” for the vacant positions, so they can be voted on at the annual meeting. John, Treacy and Addie volunteered to serve on the nominating committee.
John also reminded the board members that the bylaws require a number of things to be done during the annual meeting, which include:
(a) Reading of the minutes of last preceding meeting;
(b) Report of President;
(c) Report of Treasurer;
(d) Election of Board Members;
(e) Transaction of other business mentioned in the notice; and,
(f) Adjournment.
The bylaws also require 25 members to attend the annual meeting in order to constitute a quorum. Without a quorum, new board members cannot be elected.
At John’s request, Sue went over a list of tasks for the annual meeting, and those present volunteered for some of them. John said he will send an email to those neighborhood association members who have indicated a willingness to help with events and ask for their help. Gerry said he will reach out to Michael Dempster, a musician in the neighborhood, to see if he would be willing to provide background music.
Committee Reports
Treasurer – Addie Spencer
Addie sent out a written report before the meeting – a copy is at the end of the minutes. She said the annual fee for the post office box is now $120/year and the check is in the mail. A fee of $20 will need to be paid in March when the new treasurer files the neighborhood association’s annual registration with the Washington State Secretary of State’s Office.
Traffic – Treacy Duerfeldt
Treacy said he met with the new mayor of Olympia, Dontae Payne, and two legislators recently and shared with them the data report on Capitol Way traffic that he had compiled.
Treacy said the mayor wanted to talk to the police chief about the report, but Treacy said he feels it’s not an issue that can be successfully dealt with by enforcement and he still wants to press for other ways to slow down traffic such as delaying the timing of stop lights and possibly adding speed bumps to Capitol Way.
John mentioned that the city has in its comprehensive plan two potential projects for lessening speed on Capitol Way, but they are fairly low on the priority list. He suggested the board needs to work on getting the city to move these projects up so they can be accomplished sooner.
Treacy said he invited the mayor to attend one of the SCNA board meetings or suggested the board members could present at one of the city council meetings instead. The mayor agreed to attend the SCNA board’s regular meeting in March.
Addie made a suggestion, and Treacy agreed, that he present his traffic data report at the annual meeting in February and ask for input from the attendees.
Parking Committee – Valerie Hammett
Valerie was not able to attend the meeting, so John reported on her behalf that a meeting has been scheduled on Jan 26, 2024 with city and state staff to discuss parking enforcement. Those serving on the parking committee are Valerie, Rachel Newmann and Collum Liska, but others are welcome to attend. Gerry said he will plan to attend the meeting as well.
Safety Committee – Howard Goldberg
Howard said that the current focus, with the Legislature now in session, is protests and demonstrations on the capitol campus. Another concern he mentioned is possible fires in the woods and forests around homes in the neighborhood.
John mentioned that, in December, he toured the Department of Enterprise Services’ (DES) Command Center. Everything is now monitored by camera 24 hours a day. He said the director of security is very interested in the neighborhood’s concerns, given that it is likely that protests and demonstrations that occurred in previous election years are likely to happen again.
John said that DES security staff indicated a willingness to attend an SCNA board meeting, so we will plan to invite them to one in the future.
Communications – Emily Tilger
Emily was not able to attend, so there was no additional report on communications besides what was discussed regarding the annual meeting.
Legislative Campus Modernization – John Saunders
John reported that construction on the Newhouse Building continues and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2025. He said there are no more opportunities for public input on the Pritchard Building addition and construction will begin after the legislative session in Spring or Summer.
On a separate but government-related note, John said that DES staff asked for an SCNA member to serve on a community sounding board for the Deschutes Estuary Restoration Project project. Howard volunteered to participate on it.
Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA) – Gerry Apple
Gerry said he and Sue attended the recent CNA meeting. Representatives from a new community organizing group called OSD For All talked about the Olympia school board proposal to close McKenny and Madison Elementary Schools and what they are doing to oppose it.
Other items discussed were improving city sidewalks and applying for City of Olympia neighborhood matching grants.
Motion to adjourn
Sue noted that the next regularly-scheduled board meeting is Weds, Feb 14, 2024. She made a motion that the board not meet on Feb 14th, but instead hold a work session on Tues, Feb 13th to work on final preparations for the annual meeting on Feb 15th. Addie seconded, and the motion was approved.
Treacy moved to adjourn the meeting, Addie seconded, and the motion was approved. The meeting ended at 7:52 pm.
SCNA annual meeting – Thurs, Feb 15, 2024 7-8 pm, Lincoln Elementary School cafeteria
Written Reports
1/6/24 Treasurer’s Report
Twin Star Credit Union account balances:
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Recent income:
PayPal $28.64
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Cash $0
Recent expenses:
Google G-suite $13.14 each month
Vic’s gift card $100 (not reflected in balance)
South Capitol Neighborhood Association 