Thurston County wants to buy a Tumwater building so it can consolidate the Sheriff's Office's operations. The building sits on a 2.36-acre site at 1111 Israel Road SW, which is near Tumwater High School and Interstate 5.
The Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted Tuesday to enter into a nearly $14.3 million purchase agreement for the building. The vote occurred after months of searching and negotiations this year, said Capital Projects Planning Manager Rick Thomas.
The effort followed voter approval of a Public Safety Tax last November, Thomas said. The revenue from that tax primarily funds law enforcement in Thurston County, but also includes associated infrastructure projects, including facilities. The Sheriff's Office has outgrown its current facilities and has split up its operations locations.
It now has staff working at the county courthouse campus, the county jail and a warehouse in Tumwater. Not being in one place creates challenges that need to be addressed, Sheriff Derek Sanders said. "The main goal is to anchor us down into one building and really start to get some of the luxuries that other police departments have had for decades which we do not have, which is consolidated staff," Sanders said.
Sanders described the Israel Road building as a good deal for the county. This plan enables the Sheriff's Office to stop paying rent on leased property and move into an already existing space that costs a fraction of what new construction may cost, he said. For exa.