Tumwater committee backs supplemental right-of-way agreement for X Street roundabout

The City of Tumwater Public Works Committee voted June 5 to place Supplemental Agreement No. 2 with Tierra Right of Way Services for the X Street/Capitol Boulevard roundabout on the June 17, 2025, City Council consent calendar with a recommendation to authorize the mayor to sign.

"We have designed a new roundabout at the intersection of X Street in Capitol Boulevard. This is a federally funded project," Joe Norman, an engineer in the Transportation and Engineering Department, said when describing the project. Norman said the roundabout geometry requires acquisition of additional right-of-way from private property owners and that the supplemental agreement will allow the right-of-way consultant to provide required services for a federally funded project.

Norman told the committee the supplemental agreement increases the maximum payable under the consultant contract from $150,000 to $184,220 and updates the consultant’s billing to 2025 rates. He said funding for the consultant work is available under an existing local agency agreement that allocated $200,000 for consultant services in July 2020.

Committee members asked for clarification on the right-of-way work and whether the consultant would be performing acquisition tasks such as negotiating with private property owners; Norman and staff described the consultant’s role as securing necessary property interests to construct the roundabout and complying with federal requirements tied to the project’s funding.

A motion to place Supplemental Agreement No. 2 with Tierra Right of Way Services on the June 17 council consent calendar passed with committee members voting "aye." The committee’s vote was to forward the contract for council approval; the contract itself would be authorized if the full council approves on the consent calendar.