Members of the Tumwater City Council approved the annexation of two properties located in Tumwater’s urban growth area (UGA) during their second regular meeting of the month on March 17 at Tumwater City Hall.
During the meeting, proclamations were also signed by Tumwater Mayor Leatta Dahlhoff declaring the month of April to be Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the week of April 13 through April 17 to be Black Wellness Week.
The annexation was prompted by requests from the property owners themselves who wanted their land to be incorporated, according to Tumwater associate planner Dana Bowers. The properties total 11.8 acres and are located at the northwest corner of 93rd Avenue Southwest and Case Road Southwest, just south of the Olympia Regional Airport.
Bowers added the property owners originally approached city staff asking for annexation in February of 2025.
Councilors also approved a reimbursable agreement for $10,000 with the Washington state Department of Transportation (WSDOT), to complete a review of environmental permit applications submitted for the Deschutes Valley Trail — a long-envisioned city-wide trail system first proposed in 1987.
Tumwater Director of Transportation and Engineering Brandon Hicks explained parts of the trail have already been completed.
“We are currently designing the entire trail alignment, the segments that remain,” Hicks said.
The project was being funded through state funding, and Hicks stated they originally didn’t anticipate having to have a reimbursable agreement.
“We didn’t anticipate securing any federal funds for the remainder of the trail. However, this blue segment here, trail segment C, TRPC (Thurston Regional Planning Council) awarded the city about $2.6 million for construction of that segment a little over a year ago,” said Hicks. “And what that means is that it invokes national permitting standards instead of state. So in order to go through that, we have to reimburse WSDOT for their staff time to complete the review.”
He added he only expects to have to reimburse WSDOT for about $5,000, not the full $10,000.
For more information on the Deschutes Valley Trail, visit the City of Tumwater’s website at https://tinyurl.com/2vfah4ew.
