In the final year of his first term, Yelm Mayor Joe DePinto has made it clear that his top priorities for the city will be improving transportation infrastructure and increasing public safety measures.
He touched on both topics during Yelm’s town hall event on Thursday, March 20, at the Yelm Community Center.
He first highlighted the city’s public safety progress since he took office in 2021.
“As mayor of Yelm, some of the things we’ve been focusing on the last few years are increasing public safety. We’ve done a lot to invest in not only safety for our officers with our body cams, but also accountability, too, for everybody,” DePinto said. “We’ve increased our jail budget here in Yelm, so for folks we do arrest, we can ensure that they are put away. For other investments in public safety, it includes body cameras, and we were the first in Thurston County to implement those. We are leading in a lot of different ways.”
He also highlighted major projects, such as the new water tower near Walmart, which will give the city “enough water for years.” He briefly touched on the Yelm Loop, stating he’s hopeful to see construction start this year as utility lines have been moved and nearly completed. The mayor said all of the new roundabouts set for Yelm are fully funded and ready to go, and that the city’s $37 million water reclamation facility will be completed within the next several months.
“We’re doing a lot in Yelm. We have over 20 projects this year that we’re working on right now. That’s up from 12 projects last year. We’re building a lot of infrastructure real quick,” DePinto said. “One focus that I’m working on, and that the city is working on, is transportation. We’ve heard loud and clear that’s where the biggest concerns are. I’ve lived here my whole life. I get it. I’ve driven in this traffic since I was a kid — well, maybe not since I was a kid — but I’ve been driving here for a long time. That’s the one thing that constantly comes back.”
DePinto said the city will finally see the completion of the Yelm Loop after decades of delays, new traffic solutions such as roundabouts introduced, and that the city will continue to look at other possibilities to ease traffic.
“We’re having conversations about another bridge. We’re having conversations about JBLM access,” DePinto said. “We’re working with a lot of different partners, everyone up here, to create these transportation solutions that Yelm needs.”
“We’re letting businesses do their thing. We’re not trying to burden them with regulations here. We’re not raising taxes, and we haven’t raised property taxes in Yelm in four years, and that will continue. We’re allowing businesses to grow by themselves and be successful, letting them run their businesses and staying out of their way.”
He noted there’s been conversations about a potential Yelm-based JBLM gate.
“These are big conversations. If you don’t ask the questions, we don’t know if it’s a possibility. We’re asking some questions, and some of them are a little bit out there, but we need some new solutions,” DePinto said.
Along with easier access to JBLM, DePinto said the city has begun holding quarterly meetings with Yelm’s veteran community.
“Through those meetings, at our most recent one, one of the most important things they said they need and want is telehealth,” DePinto said. “Access to a small office where they could have private conversations with a doctor or their medical provider, and that’s something we’re working on. We’re looking for a space where we can do that, and that’s something we’ll be doing in the near future.”
