Meeting minutes from June 20, 2013
06/24/2013 12:53
SWONA quarterly Meeting June 20, 2013
Brad-President called meeting to order at 7:02pm
Introductions of Approx 30 attendees with guests
Kristie Newman Olympia Parks and Recreation
Officer Bill Wilson, Olympia Police Department
Agenda Items
Speaker: Kristie Newman: Discussed Park Stewardship Program
Volunteers with three staff members
Three tiers basic volunteer events, work parties invite neighbors, recently at Decatur Woods park , Park Stewardship-individual can commit to working for one year to one park and on their own time, tools can be provided by the city, program-adopt a park-neighborhood assoc. can work together as work parties, anyone interested-Kristie left a handout for folks at the meeting,
Question regarding round-a-bouts, not park maintenance, end of Decatur? Neighborhood is responsible for keeping bump outs, traffic calming devices, and etc. plantings under control
Question regarding the Church at Decatur and 9th–the settling pond-at the city park-who is responsible for taking care of it? To the right of the settling pond there is a section that someone appears to be driving on, who might that be? There is no signage, is this suspicious activity? There is Graffiti on the pathway, too. This issue needs to be addressed but not sure who to contact.
Speaker: Officer Bill Wilson-responsible for Westside
There is a serious problem in the city and particularly on the Westside-Auto thefts and break-ins. Handouts were passed around to members at the meeting, OPD tracks what is happening in the city and the Westside, auto thefts, vehicle prowls and burglaries, increase in auto thefts, the actual numbers are not High but the numbers are increasing and percentages are rising significantly-from one theft last year to seven this year, vehicle prowls have increased considerably in the SWONA area, crime is increasing
Auto theft is very significant including the auto mall, auto theft is a national problem, approx 200-300 auto thefts per year and on the rise, Honda is primary vehicle, older models in particular –Acuras as well
OPD recovers 61%, some vehicles go to chop shops and other countries, very lucrative
Cars stolen do not have a pattern, not always in the driveway etc.
How do we deter? Keep car locked, not much else other than park closer to your destination or in a garage-very frustrating for people, cars are targeted by type of cars
Organized crime seems to be involved although not necessarily gang related, newer cars have lower incidences due to safety features/anti-theft features
Weekly meetings with OPD with other departments (Fusion Meeting)
One month snap shot indicates an “alarming” amount of crime in the city, cluster of burglaries on the Westside, some of the perpetrators have been caught , typical burglars are male and in their twenties, drug users or addicts-they burglarize all over, not just in SWONA, M.O.-incidents occur often during the daytime, often someone is home, they kick in the front door or go to the back of the house, often unsecured home, get your locks secure on your house, call 911 if you ever see anything suspicious, thieves go to common shopping places to try to use the stolen credit cards or checks, many stolen items are actually recovered by OPD, OPD does tie in to the local media including KAOS radio station
Fern Street Corridor-is of prime interest, Westside has two corridors, we are in the south section, other is in the north, vehicle prowls happen in the evening, directive to Police officers-what did they do? Com State Target-includes traffic stops, sergeant report-what did their officer do with the information received? Many of the people that are “targeted” are actually felons or have issues
In past three years, walking patrol has been lost due to budget cuts, City council is looking for more walking patrols to offset the drug issues, downtown ambassador program is city staff, problem, looking into alcohol impact area for downtown Olympia
During the June 12-18 time frame, the SWONA neighborhood, very little happened and there has been impacts on the career criminals by the OPD
Please be sure your home is locked-doors and windows, often entry is made from the backside of homes
Speaker: Joselyn-Mural Project
Olympic Way Location
Round II/Phase II is on the way for 2014
Lucy Joselyn’s daughter designed much of the project
Phase two has preliminary design; this section’s dimensions are taller in height but shorter length than Phase I
Much more about labor rather than funding, there are a lot of products (paint for example) left over from the first phase, issues include morning glories and other growth of out of control plants
Weed control is the issue, wants to get more partners to get involved in ongoing care, washing, painting for spring of next year but wants community involvement; we need a crew of people, not sure if we have permission to actually have access to the adjacent property
Liz Dalton is a neighbor that is very motivated
Use Liz as the intermediary with the owner of the property for long-term property access
City can be contacted about power washing the wall
Applying for a grant may not be cost effective; project maybe only needs around $500 to complete with help from neighbors
Treasurer’s report
Phil spent $36.05 for hosting website swonaonline.com for two years, move to approve reimbursement of funds, motion seconded, motion approved by majority voice vote and passed
Bethany Weidner-request for $150 to purchase replacement plants for walking park locations at 9th and Fern and Rainier Bench site, consensus is that 9th and Fern has plenty of plants but really needs weeding, although property at 9th and Fern not our “domain” any longer, really needs weeding not more plants, community really does not want to spend more money at this location right now, request from Bethany denied by majority of members at the meeting
The City has a Planning committee meeting on June 26th regarding the proposal for building additional apartments on Fern Street, issues regarding approval of apt complex, members want concurrent sidewalks all the way down fern, not just where the apartments go in, also, safety, traffic concerns, developer wants medium to high end development, sidewalks only have to be placed where the development is located, the additional sidewalks are up to the city to either require from developer or have the city provide
Speaker: Alicia New property owner of the Westside Park that is located at corner of Division and Harrison
Long term vision is to give space to the community
One issue with private parks is long term maintenance
Community is trying hard to keep this park going, over 80 volunteers
June 29th Event “June Jubilee” –there will be 15 booths including musicians and other lost art demonstrations including three food vendors, check out Facebook and website
This park is to have no vehicle parking as vision is for the park to be walker friendly; restrooms will be part of the plan, food truck pad and mini-kitchen
Westside Farmers market –they want vehicle access and this park is not really for that
Possible right turn lane by city? How will development affect that? City states this is dependent on what they will do ultimately and traffic circle costs are very high
No chemicals, sustainable features in the park, including Perma culture food foresting
Website: www.Aparkforus.org
Formally approved as a non-profit by Washington State, not 501C3 yet but working on it
Working on buffer from street but still with views of the park
City of Olympia does not want 24 hr bathroom but Alicia would like to see them, concerns about who is using restrooms in the middle of night if they are open 24-7? Cost to keep the maintenance under control is a big issue. Issue: are bathrooms viewable from the street? Other exploration regarding bathrooms is that we create a lovely space to use, raise the bar regarding use of public facility if you make it beautiful folks will be less likely to destroy
Surrounding neighbors are vey supportive of the park
Business owners support murals, including Degarmo’s Pharmacy
Central Park for all of us
Work parties most Sundays 10am to 1pm
First event is the 29th from 10am to 5pm
Additional Comments
Farmers Market in the parking lot of Gloria Dei on Tuesdays 4-7pm
City Council primary upcoming
Partner with NWONA with candidates invited to all
NextDoor Website-available to residents in SWONA, informational postings by neighbors
4th and Percival location-two accidents in the past week
Issues with virus regarding dogs walking along Capital Lake
Local vet suggested not even walking dogs along Capital Lake
Fireworks are illegal this year in Olympia
Meeting adjourned by president at 8:45, minutes prepared by secretary, Janis Rich