Thurston County plans to raise up to $42 million to purchase a sheriff's office building and improve other buildings

Martín Bilbao / The Olympian (TNS)

Thurston County plans to raise up to $42 million by issuing bonds to finance the purchase of a new building for the sheriff's office and improvements to other county buildings.

The Board of County Commissioners voted 3-1 last week, with one abstention, to approve the acquisition and renovation of various county facilities.

Bond proceeds can be used to improve an existing building or purchase land to construct a new building for the sheriff's office, according to county spokeswoman Meghan Porter and county documents. The county also plans to use the proceeds to renovate the auditor's ballot processing center at its Mottman complex and to improve the security system at its Family and Juvenile Court in Tumwater.

The Sheriff's Office and Auditor's Office projects will be funded with revenue from the public safety tax passed by voters last November, Campbell said. Other available county funds would be used to fund additional infrastructure or capital improvements, according to Porter.

The county does not expect the bond to result in a property tax increase, according to Porter.

Although most of that funding is intended to bolster the sheriff's office's workforce, a fraction is intended to support election security infrastructure, according to the county.

The county is currently planning to build a new voter registration center at its Mottman Complex in Tumwater in time for this year's presidential election. Much-needed renovations to the adjacent ballot processing center are expected to follow.

The inclusion of family and juvenile court improvements in the resolution comes after the correctional facility experienced a technological setback earlier this year.

In February, Facilities Services Manager Jason Ashe informed the board of a “major failure” in its electronic security screening system that forced staff to resort to using keys again. At the time, Ashe said the system was past its lifespan and a long-term solution could cost about $2 million.

How does this work?

In 2022, the county approved a similar $52 million bond resolution to fund the still-ongoing renovation and reorganization of its courthouse campus on Lakeridge Drive in Olympia.

Like the previous resolution, the new resolution authorizes Assistance County Executive Robin Campbell to approve the final terms of the sale of the tax-limited general obligation bonds.

“This allows the bonds to be issued,” Campbell told the board. “The county is not required to issue these bonds and may decide not to do so at a later date.”

Campbell said the county structured the bonds so that the portion for the sheriff's office was for 20 years and the portion for improvements to the ballot processing center and jail for minors i.e. a 10-year bond.

Campbell said the county plans to issue the bonds in the fall, Sept. 26 at the earliest. The actual date of the sale will be determined with input from the county bond advisor and bond attorney, she said.

The county put the resolution in place now so it can meet an interest rate and payment schedule without reconvening the board within hours of a bond sale, according to county documents.

The commission may decide to use revenue remaining after planned projects are completed for other capital projects or to repay bonds, according to county documents.

How did the commissioners vote?

Commissioners Carolina Mejia, Tye Menser and Wayne Fournier voted in favor of the resolution. Commissioner Gary Edwards opposed and Commissioner Emily Clouse abstained.

Both Edwards and Clouse said they would prefer to gather more information before proceeding, especially in light of the recent findings of a state audit against the county.

“I would just like to reiterate the fact that I think there is no reason why we shouldn't have more information to discuss this topic,” Edwards said. “It’s a lot of

Clouse said she still wants to “think through” the financial implications of issuing a bond of such size. She asked the board to delay the matter.

“As the new commissioner, I don't want to see myself in situations similar to what we're facing now with the audit findings that have just been presented to us,” Clouse said.

The board could have delayed the vote, but Campbell warned that the county might need to provide an interfund loan, which carries its own interest rate, if the county needed to spend money on the projects before issuing the bonds.

Menser said the Sheriff's Office and Auditor's Office projects are time sensitive. He said the sheriff's office project was prompted by renovations to the courthouse campus.

These renovations require the sheriff's office to move to another space. The sheriff's office infrastructure was also a key part of the public safety tax proposal, he added.

“Voters asked us to move forward on election security and associated infrastructure with additional staff at the Sheriff's Office,” Menser said. “For me, it’s just part of this process, getting things done.”

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