Even with future budget constraints a concern for many Thurston County municipalities in 2025, the mood at the annual State of the Community Address was largely optimistic as area leaders recounted the challenges and progress made in their communities in 2024.
Area municipal leaders from throughout the county addressed the business owners, county leaders and community members at the annual event by the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce Wednesday, Jan. 8, at Saint Martin’s University. County Commissioner Tye Menser, Yelm Mayor Joe DePinto, Tenino Mayor Dave Watterson, Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder, Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne and Tumwater City Councilor Angela Jefferson all spoke.
Thurston County
In his address, Thurston County Commissioner Tye Menser said the word for 2024 in Thurston County was “change.” He highlighted the board’s expansion to five commissioners in 2023 as well as the changes to the county administration as well.
“We welcomed the new county manager in the spring. We said goodbye to retiring Assistant County Manager and former longtime Budget Director Robin Campbell. We recently said goodbye to Assistant County Manager Rob Gelder. We said hello to a new public health director, Dr. Jennifer Freiheit, a new community planning economic development director, Ashley Arai, and a new county commissioner for District 2 (Rachel Grant),” Menser said. “We expanded the county's Board of Health for the second time in two years from eight to 12, and now we're planning for a contraction back to 10 based on a new state law that allows less than all the commissioners to serve on the board, so that's been an interesting ride.”
Menser said, despite the changes last year, the county commissioners and staff made important decisions to keep moving forward in 2024. The county paused a $50 million project to renovate the hilltop courthouse campus and pivoted toward a broader and long-term plan to consolidate county operations into a single site.
He also highlighted the acquisition and renovation of a new voter center for the county auditor office in time for the November 2024 election, along with other public safety improvements throughout last year.
“We are proud of the work our auditor's office did in conducting yet another presidential election with transparency and production,” Menser said. “We also prioritized enhanced public safety by putting more deputies on the road, funded by the recently voter-approved public safety sales tax. We funded new technological tools for the sheriff's office to make high speed pursuits safer and less frequent.”
In Grand Mound, Menser said the county expanded the urban growth area boundary to accommodate continued economic development and multifamily housing. The county also worked with the Department of Natural Resources to protect the Summit Lake community from water quality and property damage.
In 2025, Menser said the county has “tall tasks ahead.” Thurston County will continue its work on the courthouse and county facilities project. This year, commissioners will begin work to fill a significant projected budget gap in the 2026-27 biennium.
As well, Menser anticipated the county launching its new court alternative program to create “additional pathways” for low-level offenders to reduce criminal recidivism.
“We will continue to explore regional solutions for our jail, and we will complete the work on our comprehensive plan addressing critical priorities like affordable housing, climate mitigation and conservation to continue to support balance and sustainable growth,” Menser said. “All in all, we have exciting changes happening in the county government: new leaders, new projects, new energy.”
Yelm
As he enters his fourth year in office, Yelm Mayor Joe DePinto is excited about the gains the city has made and the ones to come in the upcoming year.
He said he and his administration prioritized public safety by adding more police officers in the last three years than Yelm has in the past two decades. He also highlighted the focus on community events, which went from a handful a year to just under 100 events in 2024.
He said this year’s focus, however, is transportation projects, namely progress on the Yelm Loop and roundabouts to ease congestion.
“I moved to Yelm in 1993 when I was 5 years old, and I remember as a kid how bad traffic was. I also recalled hearing about some highway they were gonna build that was gonna help the traffic,” DePinto said. “I graduated high school from Yelm in 2005, and they were still talking about it. Fast forward to 2011, and they started building it, but just the first phase, and it hasn't really done too much. … Over a decade later, we're still waiting and that traffic is still getting worse. If some of you drive through Yelm, it's not the best.”
DePinto was proud to announce that the final phase of the Yelm Loop project will start this year, with the project going out to bid and construction beginning in the late summertime.
“It's a vital link that will enhance productivity, reduce congestion and foster economic growth throughout our region,” DePinto said.
He said the city is also partnering with the Washington state Department of Transportation and Pierce and Thurston counties to construct roundabouts to ease congestion.
“One of the biggest is gonna be in the McKenna choke-point, and that is gonna move traffic,” he said. “That all should be done within the next few years here, and a lot of that will be starting this year. The drive through Yelm is gonna get a whole lot better real soon.”
DePinto said another highlight of 2024 was its yearlong centennial celebration commemorating the city’s official incorporation in 1924. The celebration included a variety of events like the centennial drone show, the centennial concert and DePinto’s favorite: a documentary on Yelm’s centennial.
“Jared Potter, one of our locals and a longtime resident, created this wonderful love note to Yelm, which was about 45 minutes long and included interviews with people from our community including Babe (Herness), who was literally there when the city was um incorporated 100 years ago. Babe is 102 (years old),” DePinto said. “It’s gonna be on our website, though, for anyone that wants to view it and take a look at it, starting at the end of this month. I highly recommend you do it. It's just amazing.”
Tenino
As he begins his second year as Tenino’s mayor, David Watterson is very optimistic about the current state of his city.
“I'm humble to serve our citizens and work with our staff to continue the great investments in our community. 2024 was a year of significant contrast for Tenino. As I was thinking about what to say today, I was struggling with how to present all that has happened in a short presentation.”
Watterson said one of the top stories to come out of the city in 2024 was the discovery that, due to budget misreporting, the city’s expenditures outpaced its revenue by approximately $1.4 million dating back to 2021, which led to significant fallout, including cuts to staff and a town hall where city officials faced backlash from the community.
“I held a community forum to help explain what happened with our budget after we went through an internal audit and also a state audit,” Watterson said, adding the city did approve a budget for 2025 in the end.
He also highlighted the positives the city encountered. He noted that Tenino applied for and received a $420,000 grant to purchase 60 acres of land behind the city park, doubling it in size.
“Our plan for that is to provide outdoor recreation in that area and maintain it as an open area,” Watterson said. “That was a huge acquisition for us. I think we have more park property per capita in our city than in most places, and that's gonna be a great addition.”
Watterson added that the Yelm-Rainier-Tenino trail was extended with help from Thurston County, which he said was a “great thing” for the small city. In collaboration with the local Veterans of Foreign War chapter, Tenino also established a location for a veteran memorial wall within the city.
“That's going to show all the people of Tenino that have served in the military who are from Tenino,” Watterson said. “I just met with them yesterday, and they’re gonna start construction soon. That's going to be a great thing for our city.”
According to Watterson, Tenino was also the first municipality in Washington state to accept “Gold Star Family Recognition.” He said it’s a new group that recognizes families who’ve lost a loved one in a war.
One of the biggest achievements for Tenino in 2024, Watterson said, was the grand reopening of the quarry pool after four years of remodeling. He described the return of the summertime attraction as a great success.
“I think we had more people come through than I've ever seen in a year, and I think for the first time that we came out positive on the revenues we got versus our expenses on that,” Watterson said. ”So the pool opening was just a big thing for our community. It's kind of been a focal point for us forever, so that was a great event.”
Additionally, he highlighted that Tenino received a $500,000 grant for a major repaving project on Old Highway 99. It also received another $500,000 grant for upgrades on baseball field facilities in its park.
Lacey
Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder, who claimed to be speaking at his 12th Thurston County State of the Community Address, said infrastructure will be a significant focus this year. As mayor, his administration aims to create an environment that attracts people to jumpstart the local economy, he said.
Ryder said the City of Lacey has been “very intentional” about expanding and enhancing infrastructure within the city.
“For example, one of the biggest economic drivers for the entire region is the Regional Athletic Complex (RAC). It draws athletes and spectators from all over the state and beyond to participate in tournaments and events. It's a place where the economic impact extends far beyond the fields with homes, with hotels, restaurants and shops around the region seeing an increased business,” Ryder said. “So this year, we're launching the design process for a major extension at the RAC.”
He said an expansion at the RAC will include a new baseball stadium, upgrades to the softball fields, upgrades to an existing soccer field and more. He said he expects construction for that project to begin in 2027.
Another project that Ryder and the Lacey City Council supports is a new location for the city’s food truck depot, at 5555 Pacific Ave. SE, which features a number of food trucks offering different cuisines for people to enjoy.
“The popularity of this depot has grown steadily, and now we're looking for a permanent home for the food trucks,” he said.
Additionally, Ryder said Lacey is on schedule to complete a new police station that will feature a separate regional training center that will serve as a training hub for law enforcement throughout the state.
“It will have an effect on our local economy because our law enforcement will not have to leave Thurston County to receive certification. We'll also save local tax dollars, too,” Ryder said. “So, in short, we are intentionally building infrastructure that sports and fuels Lacey, and we're not doing it alone. That's with the effective work of our city, our business community and regional partners, along with decades of making fiscally prudent decisions that helped create a more sustainable path providing exceptional services to our residents and businesses.”
Olympia
Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne highlighted the challenges experienced by the city last year. Despite the challenges, Payne said City of Olympia employees have worked tirelessly to address urgent needs, protect essential services and lay the foundation for “even more resiliency.”
Payne said, like many municipalities throughout Washington, Olympia faces fiscal constraints that required tough decisions in the past year and more in the future.
“While we worked diligently to preserve those fundamental services, we had to make cuts to staff positions, to address the shortfall. These decisions were not made lightly. We prioritize minimizing the impact on essential services like public safety and housing programs and infrastructure maintenance,” Payne said. ”However, we recognize that these adjustments have placed added pressure on the remaining staff and has impacted morale in certain nonessential programs.”
Moving forward, Olympia is committed to ensuring new funding opportunities, streamlining operations and advocating at federal levels to support and stabilize its budget, Payne stated.
“I do wanna say that this work has been really tough this past year. I'm looking at the table of my city staff, and I want to thank them for getting us through this year. The City Council could not have done it without all of you, particularly the city manager who is leading the way on those efforts,” Payne said. “We will continue to succeed. We have a number of things we will address, like our remaining encampments, as well as enforcing our ordinances as it relates to homelessness, and continue to work towards Olympia Strong initiatives to support those who are struggling in our community.”
Tumwater
Tumwater City Councilor Angela Jefferson, who spoke in place of Mayor Debbie Sullivan, who couldn’t attend because of illness, said Tumwater is experiencing the same kind of change as much of Thurston County.
“Tumwater is growing rapidly from what you hear today. This is rapid growth, rapid expansion from Thurston County. Thurston County is the fastest growing county in Washington state. So we have our challenges, but there's optimism that I hear here today,” Jefferson said. “We're over COVID. As you can see from the crowd, the COVID is gone. Thank you for that.”
Jefferson highlighted that the City of Tumwater staff has grown to 27,000 total jobs — an increase of 7,000 from the year prior. She said big businesses like Costco and Benjamin Moore are now also expanding in Tumwater, but the city must find a balance between business and growth.
“How are we gonna narrow down this focus and just exist as a city and continue this growth in the city? So we're caring for our planet. What have we done: greener city purchasing,” Jefferson said. ”We've gotten grants. We have a new solar power EV charger at Pioneer Park, and we're maintaining our heritage of famously clean quality water because we know that Tumwater started at that Deschutes River right there at Tumwater Falls. So that's one of our major concerns — protecting that environment — and how are we gonna keep that water clean?”
Jefferson said Tumwater officials will continue investing in its people in 2025 when considering the city’s budget. She said the city will hire 10 new Medic One personnel to support the city’s EMS service. In addition, Jefferson said Tumwater is seeking to grow its first responder units.
“We need the growth of first responders, and police services are needed. EMS services are needed. So we're thinking outside the box with how we can deliver these programs to the community fast because you want an EMS person, you want an ambulance at your house, really quick,” Jefferson said. “So again, that takes budgeting and that takes priorities, but we're happy to be the new home for a new EMS service coming up next year.”
