Thurston County Community Planning & Economic Development (CPED), Public Works, and Central Services convened to share upcoming projects under the Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) at a meeting on Wednesday, July 24.
“The purpose of the Capital Facilities Plan is to use sound fiscal policies to provide adequate public facilities. This is one of the elements of Thurston County’s comprehensive plan that’s required by the Growth Management Act,” said CPED Associate Planner Ana Rodriguez.
The CFP is part of the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) and is updated annually. County departments set priorities within each division and identify funding sources and project costs.
The CIP, or Appendix G of the Comprehensive Plan, is a six-year plan for financing capital improvement projects.
CFP is a collaborative effort where CPED primarily coordinates its annual update, Public Works annually updates project lists and financial plans for the CIP, school and fire districts provide CPED with annual CFPs and notify the county of any impact fee changes, and the Budget Office ensures capital project funding plans are coordinated with annual budgets.
“It is July, we’re having our work session. Starting in August, the process will get kick-started—we will have a Planning Commission work session. In September, we intend to hold the Planning Commission public hearing to receive a recommendation, and then at that point we will come back to you all for a briefing and then schedule public hearing, and then we will align our public hearing and adoption dates with the county budget process,” explained Rodriguez.
County capital facilities projects provide safe and sustainable public facilities for public consumption; selected based on safety, health, accessibility, sustainability, operational efficiency, and effectiveness.
Upcoming county capital facilities projects include county-wide solar energy system installations, security improvements, vehicle charging stations, Thurston County Courthouse Infrastructure Upgrades, and Mottman 1 – Ballot Processing Center, among others.
Most of the 2025-2030 capital project budget is allocated for Parks and Trails, amounting to almost $60,000,000. Real Estate Excise Tax (REET2) funds and Parks Impact Fees (PIF) fund growth in the parks division.
Upcoming projects include a 2.5-mile multi-use Gate-Belmore Trail at Glacial Heritage and Burfoot Park Trail System Improvements.
Solid waste projects provide efficient, reliable, and affordable solid waste collection, handling, recycling, and disposal services. The county foresees a $3.1 million transfer station compactor replacement or overhaul to make compactor operations more reliable.
Also planned are facilities, security, technology, and electrical upgrades at the Waste and Recovery Center (WARC) and Transfer Station Operations facilities upgrades.
The upcoming South County Transfer Station is designed to potentially replace or enhance Rainier and Rochester drop-box sites. The site study has been performed while the preferred site is being established.
For safe and reliable drinking water for customers, water and sewer utility projects preserve the environmental health of our community. The county has an ongoing Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems upgrade to provide control and operator notification for water and sewer utilities.
Upcoming projects include the Tamoshan Water Treatment Unit process assessment and upgrade, water and sewer replacements at Boston Harbor, and Grand Mound Clarifier No. 2 Rebuild and Recoating.
These projects reduce flooding and improve water quality.
Upcoming projects include developing vegetated filter strips and biofiltration swales that treat stormwater before its discharge into Schneider Creek, and stormwater retrofits at Woodard Creek Site 4, Meadows Subdivision Ponds, Littlerock Area, and Sherwood Firs.
Transportation projects provide safe, reliable, efficient transportation infrastructure. A repair at the Black Lake-Belmore Road Bridge Approach is among the ongoing projects.
Upcoming transportation projects include the Marvin Road upgrade Phase 1, road intersection improvements, and the annual road preservation and rehabilitation program.
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