The City of Tumwater Planning Commission received a staff briefing Sept. 23 on Ordinance O2025-009, the final docket for 2025 comprehensive plan amendments that includes the draft Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) for 2026–2031. Brandon Hicks, Tumwater’s transportation and engineering director, reviewed highlights from the general governmental and transportation CFPs, described items added and removed from the drafts, and emphasized that the CFPs are “living documents” that continue to be updated.

Hicks said the non-utility portion of the CFP now lists about 34 general-government projects and 27 transportation projects, with a combined, preliminary total in the packet exceeding $300 million. He highlighted several large or newly programmed items:

- Public works facility: Staff presented an estimated total program cost of roughly $50 million for a consolidated public works facility; about $40 million of that is currently estimated to be construction costs. Hicks said the scope was expanded to move more office staff simultaneously to take advantage of economies of scale and to free up space at City Hall.

- Deschutes Valley Trail: Design is underway for remaining trail segments. Hicks said the city currently has about $8.8 million in grant funding for the remaining segments and described an aggressive schedule that aims for construction starts on segments in 2026–2028 but noted completion could extend later depending on grant timing.

- Community center: Planning-level estimates show a medium-scale option in preliminary planning around $40 million; staff said no final scope or financing plan has been adopted.

- Fire facilities: Station T2 expansion was described as proceeding to design with hopes of construction next year; staff also added a placeholder for a future Fire Station T3 acquisition and planning.

- Prairie mitigation land acquisition (GG04): The CFP includes seed funding to acquire mitigation land; staff described the CFP line as intended to provide initial capital—roughly in the $12 million range in current drafts—to allow property acquisition and to enable the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) to function once adopted.

On transportation, Hicks described the pavement maintenance program (funded primarily by the Transportation Benefit District) and said the city plans larger, less‑frequent pavement packages to gain efficiency. New or reprioritized transportation projects highlighted included roundabout projects on Old Highway 99/Henderson Boulevard and Tumwater Boulevard/Henderson Boulevard, the 90th/3rd Avenue and Case Road roundabout, the Tahee Drive extension, and a program to address missing multimodal segments where connections are incomplete.

Commissioner Kirkpatrick asked that project titles and priorities be reconciled with the city’s 20‑year project list because titles and stated priorities did not always match across documents; Hicks and other staff acknowledged the CFP drafts in the packet were already being updated and agreed to improve cross-references and explanatory notes. Commissioners also asked about grant sources and how certain projects were funded; Hicks said many transportation grants are administered through Thurston Regional Planning Council and the Transportation Improvement Board, and that some grant figures in the CFP are speculative for later years while funds listed in the first two years are generally secured or in active pursuit.

Staff noted one written comment had been received from Olympia Master Builders on the comprehensive plan docket; staff planned to review and respond to that comment and return with additional detail at the commission’s Oct. 14 meeting. Dan Smith, who covers water, sewer and stormwater projects, will present the utility CFP sections at a future work session.

No formal commission action was taken on the CFP at this meeting; staff said the CFP must be finalized through the remaining review steps before the comprehensive-plan ordinance is finalized for council action.