October 27, 2026 -Board of County Commissioners Work Session

Thurston County Board of County Commissioners work session, October 27, 2026: Commissioners reviewed items for the following week’s business agenda and discussed the county’s 2026–27 midterm budget. Procurement-related items included a proposed $38,000 Department of Children, Youth, and Families grant for child-maltreatment prevention and response training; a Department of Ecology grant of about $500,000 for septic-system projects serving 55 units at Lost Lake Resort, paired with a related service contract; and a proposed Long Lake phosphorus-mitigation RFP to address harmful algae blooms, with proposals due December 3 and work expected to start in early 2027. Public Works also presented a request to call for sealed bids on the Kaiser Road stormwater retrofit, funded through storm and surface water utility funds, and an RFP for up to five years of biosolids hauling and disposal services ahead of the existing contract’s March 2027 expiration. Other agenda items included an Intercity Transit agreement amendment for transit signal priority and a no-cost L&I overflow-parking agreement. These were presented as upcoming agenda matters; the transcript does not record awards or final votes on them.

The board also reviewed a $1.8 million renewal of the behavioral-health administrative services agreement for court services related to involuntary commitments, and discussed an existing $169,000 Earth Advantage contract whose scope and timing remained under consideration. Budget staff outlined a three-year general-fund reduction strategy, including $5.5 million in reductions for 2027 and use of $1 million in stabilization funding. The board unanimously directed staff to proceed with public notice and the scheduled December budget hearing and deliberations. District Court warned that its 2027 statewide case-management-system rollout and rising caseload could require 17 additional FTEs, with estimated total costs of $1.8 million and an estimated county share of $965,000; no funding decision was made.