Council of Neighborhood Associations (CNA)
MEETING MINUTES
September 8, 2025 6:30pm
Attending:
Neighborhood Representatives: Larry Dzieza (CNA Chair/Nottingham HOA); Karen Sweeney (CNA Vice-Chair/Eastside NA); Donna Holt (Redwood Estates HOA); Grace Fletcher (SWONA); Dana McAvoy (EBDNA); Lisa Reiner (Burbank-Elliot NA); Judy Bardin (NWONA); Sue Hendrick, John Saunders, Gerry Apple (So. Capital NA); Keegan Wolfe & Daniel Garcia (Downtown NA); Peter Guttchen (NENA); Melissa Allen (BHNA)
City Representatives: Tim Smith (Community Planning & Economic Development Dept); Robert Vanderpool (Council)
Overview:
The neighborhood association meeting covered various community updates and initiatives, including volunteer work, upcoming events, and progress on local projects. The group discussed communication tools like WhatsApp Communities for neighborhood coordination and explored options for improving sidewalk maintenance and safety. Tim Smith gave updates on housing vacancy issues, planning priorities, and ongoing projects.
Neighborhood Association Updates:
Burbank-Elliot: Recent annual meeting and new elections; use of WhatsApp for communication.
EBDNA: Successful picnic in August; annual meeting on October 9th will include elections and discussion of traffic issues on East Bay Drive. The traffic committee has been working with the police department, who have been conducting speed enforcement efforts despite the lack of a dedicated traffic patrol division.
Downtown: Progress on their website included plan for a survey to gather feedback on desired features.
Eastside: Combined annual picnic and cider press event on Saturday, September 20th.
South Capital: Annual picnic was successful (good turnout, band and a raffle. The board plans to create a blog post about the South Capitol picnic and share the event video created by their board member.
NWONA: Summer event featured a drum circle, ice cream, and presence of council members and candidates.
BHNA: Melissa Allen said she would be leaving the BHNA board in November. She will ask the board to appoint a new representative for CNA but plans to continue attending to learn about city-wide issues.
NENA: The new “Pocket Park” will host a celebration event with two bands, art activities, and a plant seed exchange; improvements on the irrigation system at the Joy Ave food forest; The first annual Porch Fest attracted hundreds of people across five venues.
Sloane Kreiger introduced herself as a new resident interested in organizing emergency preparedness and community composting efforts.
Robert Vanderpool (City Council):
Robert discussed concerns about housing vacancy issues and shared his priorities for next year’s work plan, including improving sidewalk programming and creating a public treatment facility for chronic homelessness. The group asked questions about the upcoming comp plan and budget discussions. Robert added that more updates would be available in the coming month.
Tim Smith (City Community Planning & Economic Development Dept):
Tim provided updates on several ongoing projects and upcoming meetings. He discussed the neighborhood match grant process, urban village zoning code changes for Briggs village, and various subdivision reviews. Tim also presented data on housing unit production over the past few years, highlighting the city’s current shortfall in meeting its 20-year planning period goals. The group discussed the need for better communication about project timelines, particularly for the Springwood Garden subdivision. Melissa raised questions about population growth projections, which Tim agreed to follow up on. Finally, Tim said that Brittany Gillia will be inviting 2025 NMG applicants to an October 16 meeting to get feedback on how the process worked, possible improvements, etc.
Presentation on WhatsApp Communities:
Grace Fletcher (SWONA) explained “WhatsApp Communities” an effective tool for connecting neighborhoods and streamlining communication. The tool allows for organized group chats, selective engagement, and administrative control, sharing examples from her neighborhood’s successful implementation. WhatsApp Communities would be useful for coordination among different Olympia neighborhood associations. She offered to assist others in setting up similar groups. Grace offered to help neighborhoods start Whats App Communities.
The group discussed privacy concerns and potential alternatives to WhatsApp for community communication. John expressed concerns about META (parent company) privacy policies. Grace shared experiences with Signal and WhatsApp groups. Larry suggested WhatsApp has a disappearing message feature and potential to reach younger residents. Other tools like Google Groups and Signal should also be considered. Keegan noting the limitations of Signal’s organization features. Sue and Peter shared their experiences with Google Groups and moderation, while Daniel raised questions about reaching renters in apartment buildings. The conversation ended with an acknowledgment of the challenges in achieving perfect internet security and the importance of sharing successful communication tools among neighborhoods.
Olympia Sidewalk Repair Priorities
The group discussed sidewalk repair issues in Olympia, with Larry reporting ongoing conversations with city officials and sharing data on past sidewalk repair letters and litigation costs. Peter highlighted Lacey’s $1.3 million investment in sidewalk repairs as a model for Olympia to follow, while Melissa expressed frustration about the city’s lack of priority for sidewalk maintenance and its focus on high-traffic areas. Only. The discussion revealed that the city has faced significant litigation costs, with settlements ranging from $278 to $50,000. Judy and Melissa emphasized the importance of sidewalk repairs for an aging population and people with disabilities.
The group discussed sidewalk maintenance challenges in their neighborhood, with Peter highlighting past advocacy efforts and the difficulty in accessing current project information. Donna shared updates about neighborhood efforts to mark and potentially repair damaged sidewalks, while Larry and Melissa discussed previous attempts to address sidewalk issues through collective action and city programs. Robert noted that sidewalk improvements would be a priority for the upcoming year, mentioning the need to balance street tree planting with sidewalk maintenance.
AUGUST CNA MINUTES UNANAMOUSLY APPROVED.
MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:30PM
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY MELISSA ALLEN
Council of Neighborhood Associations 