Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Courthouse Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Thurston County commissioners end executive session on courthouse site; direct staff to proceed with planning
Summary
After an approximately hour-long executive session on April 9, 2025, the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners directed staff to move forward with additional steps in courthouse planning; no formal legislative action was taken during the closed session.
At a Thurston County Board of County Commissioners work session on April 9, 2025, Chair Ty Mentzer said the board concluded an executive session about courthouse site selection and acquisition and gave staff directions to continue planning work. The board met in closed session under a cited statute and returned to open session at 11:21 a.m.
The executive session had been announced at 10:07 a.m. with an estimated duration of 60 minutes "pursuant to RCW 40 two-thirty one-ten-one B to consider selection of a site or acquisition of real estate by lease or purchase. Public knowledge regarding such consideration would cause likelihood of increased price," according to the meeting notice. Chair Ty Mentzer told the board after the session, "Directions been given to staff to move forward on some additional steps related to the courthouse proclamation and the courthouse planning that we've been working on. So that's all going to move forward from here and there's no formal legislative action to be taken."
The board did not take a roll-call vote or adopt an ordinance in open session following the closed meeting. Commissioners and staff said the session produced direction for next steps in planning rather than a final decision; Chair Mentzer indicated the group would either extend the executive session or proceed with the remaining agenda after the closed portion ended. No timeline or public action items were specified at the time the board returned to open session.
The announced statutory citation and the board's summary indicate the session concerned potential real-estate negotiations the board judged could be harmed by public disclosure. The board's statement that no formal legislative action followed means any specific acquisitions, leases or ordinances would require future open-session consideration and any required public disclosures at that time.
Staff said they would continue work on courthouse-related planning consistent with the directions given in the closed session. The board did not identify a public schedule for the next, substantive courthouse action during the meeting.
