MEETING MINUTES
MARCH 11, 2025. 6:30PM
Attending:
Neighborhood Representatives: Larry Dzieza (CNA Chair/Nottingham-HOA); Peter Guttchen (North East); Gerald Apple & John Saunders (South Capitol); Dana McAvoy (East Bay); Bob Jacobs (Governor Stevens); Melissa Allen (Bigelow Highlands); Karen Sweeney, CNA V-Chair, and Jim Rioux (Southeast); Martha Worcester (Redwood Estates); Keegan Wulf (Downtown); Stu Olshevski (South West); Judy Bardin (North West)
City Staff: Tim Smith (Asst Director, Community Development & Planning); Brittany Gillia
(Neighborhood Matching Grants Coordinator)
Guests: Julia Downing (Energize Thurston County); Rob Lafontaine (Intercity Transit Deputy Director for Planning) and Nick Demerice (Intercity Transit Chief Communications and Marketing Officer);
Overview
Larry introduced a new feature in Zoom called “Notes” that allows for collaborative note-taking during meetings. Neighborhood Association reps reported about upcoming activities and local concerns. The City Neighborhood Matching Grant (NMG) calendar was explained. & questions answered. Intercity Transit gave an overview of plans for transit improvements. Thurston County energy efficiency programs were explained. City staff gave updates on development projects, and administrative changes.
Neighborhood Reports
South Capitol has updated their board handbook and bylaws, will meet with the Olympia transportation director to discuss speeding issues on Capitol Way. They are also concerned about houses being bought by lobbyists and not occupied year-round.
Peter Guttchen spoke about NENA which is a member of ONA, the Olympia Northeast Neighborhood Alliance and together they applied for a neighborhood matching Grant to transform the corner of San Francisco and Bethel and to transform that corner into a neighborhood center. They’re working with Roosevelt School on an art project. And we’re looking to have a neighborhood celebration where folks will be able to create art that will remain on the site. They are working with the property owner to recruit food trucks. He said he met with Melissa, Ellen and Dana and with the artist we’re working with, Carrie Ziegler. He said Marie Pollen is going to help them organize the event. They also applied for a neighborhood matching grant to continue our work at the Joy Food First.
Martha of Redwood Estates said that they had a really good turnout for their annual meeting and a vote on a dues increase. Despite past resistance to dues increases, everybody was really in a good mood and we just really had a good time. People were aware of the problems with the big trees and the need for a good landscaper.
Dana of East Bay drive spoke about their board meeting. The are doing the planning for an upcoming neighborhood meeting that we’re having March 20th. He said they are getting reengaged for and looking forward to some of the activities coming up with celebration that they are planning for June.
Melissa from Bigelow Highlands said they applied for a matching grant. The limit for one neighborhood is $1500 and that’s what they asked for, same as last year. The are providing food for a National Night Out party where they get about 125 people and a DJ. She said that using a DJ works out better than having a live band. She thanked Peter for his help in helping make the Bethel garage into a positive feature.
Karen Sweeney from the Eastside spoke about the Armory and the procession of the species. She said that her husband has been working on the sign that’s going to go up outside of the Armory and the Military actually is paying for it. She also said that they now have a newsletter a calendar on the website.
Gerald Apple of South Capital Neighborhood Association said that they now have 17 board members. He and John Saunders and others are working on an organization handbook and bylaws worked on is our bylaws and so we’ve updated both of those. The transportation director for Olympia, Sophie Stimson, will be talking about the speeding issues of speeding and reckless driving on Capital Way. He said the City Council and the staff have been very cooperative with us as far as the speeding and putting up advisory signs.
They also have a meeting at Starbucks by Safeway to talk about the housing issue. He said they have a lot of houses in our neighborhood that are being bought up by lobbyists.
Gerald also said the applied for a grant and went for the maximum of $5000 for flyers to give out to all 600 of residents in our neighborhood to attend the picnic social.
Keegan Wulf of the Downtown Neighborhood said they had their election and got an additional board member. There are going to be working on building membership and transitioning websites and hopefully figuring out how we get even more people engaged.
Several people complimented Brittany on the grant submittal website.
City Neighborhood Matching Grant (NMG) Program
Brittany Gillia reported that the NMG program received 12 applications, totaling $40,889, which is more than the $33,000 budget. The review panel, including public works, parks, and council members, will make grant decisions by April with final approval by the City Council. Peter Guttchen suggested that the council could be more involved, by making site visits before finalizing grants. CNA members also discussed the potential for starting the grant process earlier since funds must be spent by the end of the calendar year.
Intercity Transit Improvements and Proposed Redesign
Nick and Rob presented the history and future of Intercity Transit. When the agency faced a budget shortfall in 2015-16, it initiated a community outreach program to understand the community’s needs. The community voted for a transformational approach, which led to Proposition 1 passing with 67% of the vote in 2018. This proposition provided an additional 1.2% of sales tax revenue to Intercity Transit. The Zero-Fare policy began January 2020. It proved to reduce route delays with cost savings that more than made up for the lost fare revenue.
They also explained a proposed redesign of the fixed route system for Inner City Transit. The plan aims to provide more frequent and direct service, improve one-seat rides for students and families, and expand service to new areas. Key features include creating a high-frequency corridor along Martin Way, Harrison, 4th, and State Avenue, doubling service frequency on some routes by using multiple lines, and adding new service areas including parts of southeast Olympia and West Black Lake Boulevard. The redesign also includes changes to express commuter service to Pierce County, splitting it into separate Olympia and Lacey routes with improved connections to JBLM and Madigan Hospital.
The plan has shifted to a three-phase implementation due to funding uncertainties. The first phase in May will add more service to the current system, the second phase in September will likely include express service, and the final big switchover will occur next May. They emphasize that the new design achieves the community’s objectives of more buses, more places, and more often, while using resources more efficiently. The presenters address questions about healthcare center connections, service to CTAC, and increased bus service for school activities. They also discuss collaborating with the city on improving pedestrian infrastructure and expanding evening service on neighborhood routes.
Energized Thurston Heat Pump Campaign
Julia Downing presents Energized Thurston, a regional heat pump group purchase campaign running from March to June. The program offers discounts, financing, and installation services for heat pumps and heat pump water heaters to Thurston County residents. Fully or partially subsidized installations are available for income-qualified households. Julia explains the benefits of heat pumps, including comfort, efficiency, and decarbonization efforts. The program aims to engage 600 residents and complete 70-100 subsidized installations and 100 discounted installations.
Tim Smith Report on City projects
Tim provided updates on various projects, including the Briggs Urban Village the Fieldstone apartments, and the Armory creative campus. He also announced the hiring of two new directors, Susan Mclaughlin (Community Planning and Economic Development) and Jennica Machado (Economic Development Director).
Peter inquired about the comprehensive plan update process, and Tim confirmed that they are in the early drafting stages. Larry requested volunteers to assist with meeting minutes and suggested an update on the sidewalk survey results.
Next steps
• Larry will seek volunteers to help with meeting minutes preparation.
• Larry will request an update on the sidewalk survey results for the next meeting.
• Gerald will write up and photograph neighborhood activities/projects for potential publication in The Olympian.
• Tim will connect with David Ginther regarding timing for circling back with the CNA on their input for the comprehensive plan update.
• Tim and city staff to finalize plans for the Housing Forum, aiming for a May date.
• Julia Downing will share newsletter and information about the Energize Thurston program with CNA members.
• Brittany will prepare a report on the Neighborhood Matching Grant applications and results for transparency.
FEBRUARY CNA MEETING MINUTES UNANAMOUSLY APPROVED.
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:30PM
Council of Neighborhood Associations 