South Capitol Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Minutes
Weds, March 12, 2025 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Lincoln Elementary School library
Note: On March 15, 2025, Scott Freeman made a motion to approve the March 12, 2025 board minutes via email vote. Kelley Dolan seconded. Nine board members voted in favor, and the motion passed.
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
Morgan Montes, Treasurer
Gordon White, Lorie Hewitt, Treacy Duerfeldt, Scott Freeman, Nora Hawkins, Kelley Dolan, Emily Tilger and Valerie Hammett, At Large members
John called the meeting to order.
Approval of February 2025 Board Minutes
Treacy made a motion to approve the February 12, 2025 board meeting minutes, Gordon seconded and the motion was approved unanimously.
Lorie made a suggestion that, in the future, board members vote on meeting minutes via email once they have been drafted and distributed for review, so the minutes can be published and sent out to neighborhood residents more promptly.
Treacy made a motion to this effect, John seconded and the motion was approved unanimously.
Traffic – Treacy Duerfeldt and Gerry Apple with guest Sophie Stimson, Transportation Director and Dave Smith, Transportation Engineer, City of Olympia
Treacy noted that the board has now been working on this issue for a year and a half. During that time, members of the board and neighborhood residents spoke at city council meetings and participated in a Listening Session with the city and other neighborhood associations. At our February board meeting, we agreed to invite city staff to the March meeting to discuss our request to modify two signals on Capitol Way at 21st Ave and at Maple Park.
Gerry noted the speed advisory signs were put up in our neighborhood for a time and then they were taken down. He said he would love to see them kept up all the time, and asked why they weren’t. Sophie said the city only has a few of these signs and there is a huge demand for them from other neighborhoods. She said that moving them occasionally helps keep drivers from getting too used to them there and then not seeing them. And she noted that speeding is a problem throughout the city, not just in our neighborhood.
Gerry said he feels the solution to speeding all comes down to law enforcement – officers pulling drivers over and ticketing them. He agreed there are other things that can be done to help reduce speed, and we do need to follow-up with the short-term solutions.
Treacy stressed this is an ongoing collaboration between the neighborhood and the city. He thanked Sophie and Dave for attending the board meeting.
Sophie said they are used to doing evening meetings with members of the public and are happy to do it. She shared copies of the Capitol Corridor Improvements document, which they had developed in September 2024 after the Listening Session, and which we posted previously on our website.
Sophie said that reducing speed and improving safety along the Capitol corridor is a top priority for the Olympia City Council, and work is progressing on the short-term actions identified in the document. She noted the recent installation of flashing arrow signs near the curve and a new pedestrian crossing beacon at O’Farrell Ave and Capitol Boulevard.
Weather permitting, she said more work is coming. They will continue re-marking crosswalks and will add center line delineators in the curve and centerline crosswalk signs. They plan to establish a school zone near Lincoln later this year.
Treacy asked if there are time intervals to check on progress? Sopie said they will keep up-to-date on how speeds are changing and perhaps share this with the board twice a year. Treacy agreed that was fair.
Morgan reminded everyone that this problem isn’t the only thing going on in the city. We’re just one of many neighborhoods experiencing the same and other problems.
Gordon agreed that other things are happening in the city and lots of drivers are not abiding by the speed limits in other areas. He asked Sophie if there was some way to report on the hot spot areas? She said yes, they are doing that in their Street Safety Plan. It has an analysis of Olympia’s transportation system that identifies corridors and locations with higher potential risk for fatal and serious injury collisions. Gordon thanked her for sharing this information.
Sophie agreed with Morgan and Gordon that speeds are an issue across the city. Since the pandemic, driving behavior has changed considerably. She mentioned that another member of her staff keeps a record of all communications from the public, and speeding concerns are a big part of what they receive.
Regarding the two traffic signals at 21st and Maple Park, Sophie said they are continuing to explore modifications to their timing but in doing so, they’ve identified some detriments to changing them. She shared a document they’ve created evaluating a number of possible changes to traffic light timings and the pros and cons of each.
Sophie said that in doing this research, they’ve determined that the way the signals are being operated now is the most beneficial because it provides the least amount of delay for cross-street drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.
Changing the signals to have them turn red more often could lead to drivers not bothering to wait for the lights to change and just driving through them, or choosing instead to use less-traveled streets in the neighborhood.
Having the signals go through a longer wait cycle could also create longer wait times, particularly for pedestrians trying to cross Capitol Way.
Flashing yellow lights could be set for nighttime hours, but might not result in slowing vehicle speeds, and pedestrians would not be able to change the lights to red in order to cross. The same would be true for flashing red lights at night.
Lorie asked about the signal at 14th Avenue since it also has an impact on traffic on Capitol Way. Dave said they could look at including it as well.
Scott asked about the side streets off Capitol Way that drivers turn onto, specifically Washington Street where it meets Capitol Way near the freeway bridge and is supposed to be bicyclists-only. He suggested having the city add some concrete barriers and speed bumps to keep cars from turning there.
Sophie said the single biggest thing they can do to reduce speeds and improve safety is to shrink and redesign Capitol Way and Capitol Boulevard, which is the long-term action listed on the Capitol Corridor Improvements document. They will resurface and restripe the street, reducing four lanes to two, and add bike lanes in each direction, some left-turn pocket lanes, medians and enhanced crosswalks.
Sophie said they are applying for a national highway system grant, targeting 2028 for beginning this work if they do get it. However, the grant won’t cover all of the costs. She said they will hold a public meeting once more design work has been done.
Scott asked what kind of communication the city will do when new lanes are ready to be implemented? He said he is a little concerned about folks who travel through Olympia but don’t live here and hopes they don’t derail the improvements with their complaints.
Sophie said they will have an open house for the public and will rely on social media and their website to publicize it. Lorie asked if JOLT News is considered outreach? Sophie said their communications staff do news releases often and many of them are picked up by that publication and others.
The board members thanked Sophie and Dave for attending the meeting, participating in a robust discussion about possible changes to the traffic signals, and giving an update on activities on Capitol corridor improvements.
Lincoln Mural Project – John Saunders and guest Carrie Ziegler
John introduced Carrie Ziegler, a local artist and parent of a second grader at Lincoln Elementary. Carrie initially reached out to the board, asking if we planned to apply for a neighborhood grant this year. We let her know we were applying and plan to use the funds for a Fall BBQ/Picnic and our annual meeting in June.
Carrie then met with the Lincoln Options Community Council and they agreed to pursue an Inspire Olympia grant for a mural project on the south side wall of the Lincoln playshed.
Carrie asked if our board would be willing to write a letter of support for the project, focusing on how the mural would garner broad public benefit. She said the grant is due in two days on Friday, March 14th.
She provided a brief summary of the project: Funding will support the creation of a large-scale, collaboratively designed mural at Lincoln Options Elementary, where year-long learning about historical changemakers, science, and community resilience will culminate in every student and staff member contributing a personalized leaf, fostering agency, mentorship, and cultural celebration through art, science, and activism.
Carrie said they will hold a public workshop and involve the South Capitol and Wildwood neighborhoods. She asked if any members of the board would like to serve on an advisory committee for the project. Gerry said that he is willing.
Treacy moved that the board write a letter of support for the mural project. Scott seconded and the motion was approved unanimously.
Treasurer’s Report – Morgan Montes
Morgan sent a written report to the board members, which is at the end of the minutes.
2025 SCNA Budget – Morgan Montes
Morgan went over the proposed budget for 2025. John noted that the cost for insurance of $1,500 is based on a quote from our broker for Director & Officer (D&O) insurance. The $440 we spent last year was just for liability insurance.
Gerry moved to approve the 2025 budget, Gordon seconded and the motion was approved unanimously.
Update to Board Member Handbook – Morgan Montes
Morgan went over the updates to the handbook with the board. Scott suggested that our first meeting with new board members after our annual meeting should focus on this. Everyone agreed.
Morgan briefly reviewed the various parts of the handbook: a historical background, board member expectations and values, our Google Drive documentation archive where we keep board meeting minutes, membership lists (board members and neighborhood association members), information about the SCNA website and Facebook page, and board member communication.
She noted that the duties of the four officers (president, vice president, secretary and treasurer) are spelled out in our bylaws, but not the at-large members. She asked all board members to take time to review the handbook and suggest additional information or edits.
Treacy said we will need some time to digest this and then provide our input. He said he feels there is useful information in it.
Morgan asked that members send any comments on the handbook to the board distribution list.
Committee Reports
Parking – John Saunders
John said a meeting scheduled with the city of Olympia and the state had to be cancelled and will probably be rescheduled in April.
Forum on Middle Housing Code Revisions – Weds, March 19, 2025 6:30 pm, Lincoln Elementary cafeteria
John reminded the board that we will be hosting a forum next week on proposed Olympia City Housing Code amendments to promote middle housing. The forum is scheduled for Weds, March 19th at 6:30 pm in the Lincoln Elementary cafeteria.
Nominating Committee for Board Elections – Gordon White and Scott Freeman
Gordon and Scott previously agreed to serve on a nominating committee for board elections. Of our 16 board members, seven have terms that are up this year. Our bylaws require us to have no fewer than 10 and no more than 20 members on the board.
According to the bylaws, nominating committee members must ask those members whose terms are ending if they are interested in serving for another term.
The nominating committee members must present a slate of one or more nominees for each open position at the annual meeting in June.
Morgan noted that the bylaws require the nominating committee to have three members and there are only two. Nora volunteered to serve as the third member of the committee.
Gordon listed the members whose terms are ending. They are:
John Saunders, Sue Hedrick, Treacy Duerfeldt, Emily Tilger, Lorie Hewitt, Valerie Hammett and Karen Meyer.
Six of the seven members were present at the meeting, so Gordon asked them if they were interested in running for another term. All said yes with the exception of Treacy and Emily. Treacy will be moving out of the neighborhood in May, so he will not be eligible to serve, and Emily is working two jobs and has a family to care for, but she said she is looking for a possible replacement.
Gordon said he will reach out to Karen to see if she is interested in continuing to serve.
Motion to adjourn
Treacy moved to adjourn the meeting, Gerry seconded, and the motion was approved. The meeting ended at 8:21 pm.
Next SCNA board meeting – Weds, April 9, 2025 6:30 pm, Lincoln Elementary School library
Written Reports
March 2025 Treasurer Report
Period: 02/01/25 – 02/28/25
Business Prime Savings $25.00
Innovator Checking Ending Balance $2,056.22
Innovator Checking Beginning Balance $2,064.13
Difference $7.19
Recent Income: $0.00
Recent Expenses:
Google Suite $7.91
SCNA’s neighborhood matching grant in the requested amount of $5,000 was submitted timely to the city via the submittal portal on 2/25/2025. The grant submission deadline was 2/28/2025. The following is the grant timeline:
Grant review team: March 2025
Council review and approval: April 2025
Contracts signed: April 2025
Project completion: December 31, 2025
Final reports: December 31, 2025
South Capitol Neighborhood Association 