South Capitol Neighborhood Association Annual Meeting Minutes
Weds, June 10, 2026 7 – 8 pm
Lincoln Elementary School cafeteria
Note: On June 21, 2026, Gerry Apple made a motion to approve the June 10, 2026 annual meeting minutes via email vote. John Saunders seconded. Ten 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
Tyler Graber, Lorie Hewitt, Gordon White, Kelley Dolan, Eric Seder, Scott
Freeman, Valerie Hammett, Nora Hawkins, At Large members
John called the meeting to order. The annual meeting surpassed the quorum required by the bylaws. 47 neighborhood association members were in attendance.
Reading of the minutes of the last preceding meeting
Sue Hedrick read a summary of the minutes of the April 8, 2026 SCNA Board meeting as required by the bylaws.
President’s Report – John Saunders
John presented a report on the board’s activities in 2025-2026.
- Traffic speed on Capitol Way
- Added traffic calming improvements on Capitol Way and measured traffic speeds and volumes. There was a slight reduction in speed.
- Attended City Transportation Department forums on redesign of Capitol Way.
- Hosted the 2025 End-of-Summer Barbeque
- Food and refreshments, games for families, over 100 attendees
- Surveyed residents on their priorities and used these to plan new neighborhood forums.
- Secured a City grant to fund the 2026 SCNA Barbeque as well as two community forums to discuss concerns affecting the neighborhood. The forums will take place in the fall and will be well publicized.
- Amended the City Comprehensive Plan
- Updated one of the goals to: “prohibit conversion of housing in residential areas to commercial use not designed to serve local residents”
- Advocated to lower the impact of new “Middle Housing” city development code amendments
- Monitoring the sale of St. John’s Church property
- Expanded our membership to 170 individual members
- And a BIG thank you to departing board members: Kelley, Kevin, Nora and Tim!!
Treasurer’s Report – Morgan Montes
Morgan reported on the South Capitol Neighborhood Association’s funds – see below. She also mentioned a flyer she created that gave a breakdown of the neighborhood association’s annual expenses.
Election of Board Members
John explained that the bylaws require an annual meeting be held each year in June to elect or re-elect board members. The bylaws also require at least 10 and no more than 20 board members.
Currently, the board has 15 members. Of those, four decided to run for re-
election and four decided not to.
John read off the slate of candidates for board positions for 2026-2027. They were:
- Gerry Apple running for re-election as vice president
- Morgan Montes running for re-election as treasurer
- Gordon White and Scott Freeman running for re-election to at-large positions
- Abby Mondau, Charley Haley, Ariel Kay-Barto and Theresa Freeman running for at-large positions
John asked the meeting attendees if anyone else would like to be considered to serve on the board, and Joanne McCaughan stepped forward.
Gordon moved to adopt the slate of nominees. Joanne seconded, and the motion was approved unanimously.
Announcements
Morgan Montes said a Know Your Rights training will be held during the board’s July 8th board meeting. The training will be put on by the Thurston Immigration Solidarity League (THISL). More information about the training will be shared in a blog post on the SCNA website soon.
Mary Groebner and Theresa Freeman said they are creating a new neighborhood group called South Capitol Community Coalition to do more informal things in the South Capitol to build community. They invited anyone interested in learning more and volunteering with this group to add their names to a sign-up sheet at the membership table. The group’s first event will be a potluck on Sat, August 15th.
Gerry Apple said that he and Morgan are co-chairs of the planning committee for the board’s annual neighborhood picnic to be held on Sun, Sept 13th at the Lincoln Elementary playshed from 2-5 pm. The first planning committee meeting will be Weds, June 17th at 6:30 pm in the Lincoln library. [Note: the date of the first meeting was moved to Tues, June 30th]
John asked if there were any additional announcements or comments. One suggestion was to provide more information to the neighborhood about the Capitol Lake Estuary project.
$100 Gift Card Drawing
Lauren O’Malley was the lucky winner of the drawing for a $100 gift card to Vic’s Pizzeria. The board plans to hold another drawing at the neighborhood picnic in early Fall.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 pm.
Next Board Meeting – Weds, July 8, 2026 6:30 pm, Lincoln Elementary School library
Written Reports
SCNA Treasurer’s Report
Period: 05/01/2026 – 5/31/2026
Business Prime Savings $25.00
Innovator Checking Ending Balance $1,256.85
Innovator Checking Beginning Balance $2,440.07
Difference $1,183.22
Recent Income:
Membership Dues less fees $62.14
Total $62.14
Recent Expenses:
Google Suite $9.23
Annual Meeting Flyer $590.29
Flyer Postage $205.84
Insurance Premium $440.00
Total $1,245.36
Difference $1,183.22
Transactions in process:
Income: A transfer of $14.08 in membership dues was initiated from our PayPal to our bank account on 6/2.
South Capitol Neighborhood Association 