South Capitol Neighborhood Association Board Meeting Minutes
Weds, Oct 14, 2026 6:30 pm
Lincoln Elementary School library
Note: On Oct 18, 2026, Eric Seder made a motion to approve the Oct 14, 2026 board minutes via email vote. Gordon White seconded. Seven 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:
Gerry Apple, Vice President
Sue Hedrick, Secretary
Morgan Montes, Treasurer
Eric Seder, Charley Haley, Lorie Hewitt, Valerie Hammett, Ariel Kay-Barto, Gordon White, At Large members
Gerry called the meeting to order.
Approval of Today’s Draft Agenda
Gordon moved to approve the draft agenda, Eric seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
Treasurer’s Report – Morgan Montes
Morgan went over the draft September Treasurer’s Report, which she previously sent to the board members. It is under Written Reports at the end of the minutes.
Eric moved to approve the Treasurer’s Report, Lorie seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.
Lessons Learned from the Fall Neighborhood Picnic – Gerry Apple, Morgan Montes
Gerry noted that the attendance at this year’s neighborhood picnic was a bit lower than last year, probably owing to the weather, but it was still good. He said the food setup and the post event tear-down were great as was the hard work by the committee members.
He mentioned three things that he thought were particularly well done – the potluck setup and table signs by Joanne McCaughan, the children’s activities by Rachel Nesse, and the Chess Club. Gerry said he also thought there was a great turnout of exhibitors this year.
He thanked Morgan and Blake Melancon for staying within the budget in purchasing food and supplies for the event. Valerie noted that more potluck food was brought this year even though there were fewer participants.
Charley asked if there were any lessons learned to share on what not to do. Sue responded that this is the fourth year the current board has held a picnic and each year it seems to have gone more smoothly.
Residential Housing Forum Planning – Lorie Hewitt
Lorie said that she and Charley have created a plan for the Oct 21st forum. David Ginther, Olympia city planner, will begin the forum with a presentation – 15 minutes for each of the two subjects: home-based business code amendments and small-scale commercial uses in residential neighborhoods. Following that, Lorie and Charley will hand out sticky notes to participants so they can write and post any comments they may have about each. The areas with the most sticky notes will then be discussed.
Charley said the YMCA is using the Lincoln cafeteria for its afterschool program until 6 pm, so they will need volunteers to show up at promptly at six to quickly set up for the forum since it will begin at 6:30. A number of folks have volunteered to bring refreshments. Lorie said she will send out a reminder note to them.
Scott Freeman will record the event, and Gerry will take notes as well.
Charley said David sent his powerpoint presentations and they are now saved on the board’s Google drive.
Gardening Forum Planning – Valerie Hammett
Theresa wasn’t able to attend the board meeting, so Valerie reported on the planning for the November 18th Gardening Forum.
Amber Hockman, founder of The Porch Swing Collective, will discuss urban gardening, in particular: garden preparation, selecting plants, permaculture and organic principles.
A discussion and Q&A will follow her presentation.
Valerie said she also reached out to the Thurston County Master Gardeners to see if they wanted to participate in the forum and was told they might.
Report on October Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA) Meeting – Eric Seder
Eric said he was unable to attend the recent October CNA meeting, so he reached out to Daniel Garcia, CNA communications coordinator, to find out more about an item listed in the meeting recap. Under Upcoming Events, it said “South Cap convo, Sunday October 25, 3-5 pm Olympia Center.”
Daniel told Eric that Olympia Councilmember Robert Vanderpool and State Representative Parshley have received many inquiries about the South Capitol neighborhood related to lobbyists, and the city’s recent home-based business code amendments.
They are trying to set up a meeting for everyone in the South Cap neighborhood to talk about the issue, and hopefully find some common ground.
Daniel said that Councilmember Vanderpool asked him and CNA Chair Justin Stang to help find time for a discussion. He also said the city is planning to use its contract with the Dispute Resolution Center to help mediate the conversation.
The meeting was initially scheduled to be held on Oct 25 but the date no longer works. They are still trying to find another time for the discussion, hopefully by the end of the year.
After discussing this subject with the board members, Eric sent a response to Daniel thanking him for the explanation. He said the SCNA board has not been contacted about the Oct 25th meeting and would like to be involved in any city or CNA activities that might affect the South Capitol neighborhood residents, particularly since the board has a neighborhood forum scheduled for October 21 on this subject with the involvement of city staff.
Eric also noted that the board has a well-honed methodology, involving multiple communications channels, for alerting homeowners, business owners and renters in the neighborhood of important upcoming events, so knowing when and where the meeting will be held would be helpful to all concerned.
Eric also asked about the purpose for using the Dispute Resolution Center. What is the dispute and is it so clear who the sides are that a mediator has become appropriate and necessary?
Eric said he would let the board members know once he received more information from Daniel.
Motion to adjourn
Gordon moved to adjourn the meeting, Lorie seconded, and the motion was approved unanimously. The meeting ended at 8:01 pm.
Next SCNA board meeting – Weds, Dec 9, 2026 6:30 pm, Lincoln Elementary School library
Community Forum on Residential Housing – Weds, Oct 21, 2026 6:30 pm, Lincoln Elementary School cafeteria
Written Reports
September 2026 Treasurer’s Report
Period: 9/01/26 – 9/30/26
Business Priming Savings $25.00
Innovator Checking Ending Balance $1,302.87
Innovator Checking Beginning Balance $1,564.14
Difference $261.27
Recent Income:
Membership dues less fees from Paypal $14.08
Membership dues from fall picnic $160.00
Grant reimbursement $591.71
Total $765.79
Recent Expenses:
Google Suite $9.24
Housing Mailer Postage $162.62
Fall Picnic Expenses* $855.20
Total $1,027.06
Difference $261.27
*Fall Picnic Expense Details
Frog Pond ice and soda $177.06
Safeway veggie burgers and gluten free buns $46.07
Vic’s Pizzeria gift card $100.00
Chef’s Store miscellaneous supplies and food $532.07
Transactions in process:
A transfer of $23.79 in membership dues was initiated from Paypal account on 10/9/26. It will be received in 1-3 business days. We paid postage and flyer invoices in the amount of $753.18 to Capitol City Press for the Gardening Forum flyer. A reimbursement for the grant was also submitted on 10/9/26.
Grant Update:
We have worked at least 158.5 of the 218 hours required (about 73%).
We have received $808.35 of the $5,000 grant (about 16%).
$855.20 in reimbursements was submitted for fall picnic expenses on 9/13. We have not received reimbursement as of 10/9/26. I emailed the city on 10/9 to check on the status.
