Debbie Sullivan was sworn into office as the first woman mayor of Tumwater during a face-to-face ceremony on January 4. She won the 2021 mayoral elections with 81% of the votes, beating out Pamela Hanson, who got 17% of the votes.
Before her campaign, Sullivan served two terms as a council member. She was also a member of the city’s planning commission, where she served as its chair for seven years.
The city started the construction work on the planned improvements for the Capitol Boulevard Corridor Project by demolishing three buildings along Capitol Boulevard and Lee Street in March. The city will now break ground on the first phase of the corridor project in January 2023 through the I-5/Trosper/Capitol reconfiguration project.
The project includes three roundabouts and a new street connecting Lee Street to Trosper Road. Tumwater’s website explains that the initial phase of the corridor project will address traffic delays while also improving pedestrian safety and mobility deficiencies along the mentioned roads. The project costs around $12.5 million and is jointly funded by the city and by the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board (TIB).
Tumwater city council approved the annexation of 11 unincorporated county parcels covering 29 acres of land on May 17. The expansion continued in June when the city annexed the 132-acre Trosper Lake Island, which was the final piece of Tumwater’s urban growth.
City planning manager Brad Medrud explained that the annexation would allow for the development of these areas and improve their access to public services.
A specialty district south of Tumwater called Hopkins Drainage Ditch District #2 contracted a Chehalis-based rock drilling company to blast a grass plug on Salmon Creek. District commissioner Mat Jackmond explained that the grass plug was obstructing the flow of water along the Creek and that it needed to be cleared to avoid flooding.
The controlled explosion was scheduled for September but was met with backlash as the area provided a habitat for the Oregon Spotted Frog and Mazama Pocket Gopher, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Hopkins Drainage Ditch District #2 attempted to annex into the Preserve after adopting a tax roll on September 24 which includes 599 properties in the neighborhood. The district sought to annex these properties to generate taxes and increase the funding of its operations after intense flooding in its area in January.
Tumwater city officials opposed the annexation through an ordinance and by speaking about the issue at a county-level public hearing. City administrator John Doan gave an update on December 6 saying that the county treasurer has accepted a revised tax roll from Hopkins which excludes the annexed properties.
Tumwater city council approved a memorandum of understanding outlining the initial agreements for the Deschutes Estuary project on October 18. The restoration project aims to revert Capitol Lake into an estuary with the coordination of the Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (DES), the city of Olympia, Port of Olympia, Thurston County, and the Squaxin Island Tribe.
Tumwater will contribute $2,865,000, which will be used for maintenance dredging after the removal of the Capitol Lake Dam. DES will also coordinate with Tumwater to design the South Basin boardwalks, which will be transferred to Tumwater after the project is completed.
Tumwater city council passed an ordinance adopting a rental housing code on November 22. The code was a new chapter in the city’s municipal code and included new measures to protect tenants amid rising rental costs. It includes provisions for increasing the number of days as notice before a landlord increases rent or terminates a tenancy for no cause.
During a meeting on December 6, the Tumwater city council voted in favor of creating a Regional Fire Authority (RFA) with Olympia to get voted on by the public next year. The RFA will be funded by a controversial fire benefit charge, which will be discussed in a public hearing in January. Additional funds will be sourced from a fire levy, which is a property tax that would not exceed $1.00 per $1,000 of assessed value when the fire benefit charge is active.
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