Planning commission sets hearing on utilities capital facilities plan after multi-utility briefing

The City of Tumwater Planning Commission voted to schedule a public hearing on ordinance O2025-009, the final docket for the 2025 comprehensive plan amendments covering utilities, after a detailed presentation by utility staff on proposed water, sewer and stormwater projects.

The hearing was moved by Commissioner Nelson and seconded by Commissioner Kirkpatrick; the motion carried with the ayes called at the meeting. No roll-call vote tally was read into the record.

Commission staff said the utilities capital facilities plan (CFP) includes roughly 50 projects across water, sewer and stormwater funds representing about $110 million in proposed work over the next six years. The water fund shows 14 projects (two newly added this round), sewer 15 projects (about $28 million), and stormwater 21 smaller projects. Staff emphasized these are forecasts, not budget appropriations; actual spending would be set during next year’s budget process.

Dan (Director of Water Resources) summarized the water program: projects include well improvements (Well 15 upgrades for water quality and corrosion control), source development in the brewery well field (drilling next year and future treatment construction), seismic resilience planning, and a proposed 3,000,000‑gallon reservoir and water main extension along 90th/Third Avenue to build redundancy for the system. Staff said the brewery well field and reservoir projects are large and likely to require debt financing; the water portion of a proposed public works facility was estimated at about $14,000,000 (roughly 28% of that facility’s cost). Dan said the department will hire a dedicated water resources specialist starting Thursday and will pursue aggressive water conservation measures that staff estimate could yield roughly 20% supply savings over time.

On financing and rates, staff presented multiple rate‑model scenarios. One model showed a 9.3% revenue need in a higher‑cost scenario while the adopted budget the department referenced assumes a 5.5% water rate increase next year; staff noted the difference between percent changes and household dollar impact (about $0.20 per month difference in one example). Staff said the city plans to pursue a mix of rates, connection fees, grants, loans and bonds; they noted the city has carried little utility debt in the last decade and expects to issue some debt for large projects.

The sewer briefing covered the city’s role as conveyance (wastewater treatment is regional). Staff highlighted an Ecology low‑interest loan to extend sewer service toward the Beehive Industrial area, with planning in 2026 and construction tentatively in 2027–28, and several asset‑management and lift‑station upgrades. The Hixson Siphon was listed for study because of odor and performance concerns.

For stormwater, staff described a program focused on habitat and fish passage projects, water quality retrofits, flood mitigation and urban forestry. Two culvert replacement projects — Percival Creek fish‑passage work and a new Somerset Hill culvert replacement — were described as nearly fully funded with federal/state grants; staff said construction could begin next year on the Somerset Hill work and that the projects open upstream habitat previously blocked by culverts.

Commissioners asked about staffing and capacity to manage the work; staff said the department has recently added administrative and field positions and expects to bring on additional project management capacity (including a deputy director and the new conservation specialist). Commissioners also asked about the city’s ability to serve large, water‑intensive uses such as data centers; staff said the city’s annual water availability certificates limit allocations and that current supply would not meet very large single users without significant new supply or conservation.

The motion to schedule the public hearing on Ordinance O2025‑009 (final docket for the 2025 comprehensive plan amendments — utilities) was made by Commissioner Nelson and seconded by Commissioner Kirkpatrick and approved by voice vote at the meeting.

Planning staff said the CFP numbers will continue to be refined before the council’s budget adoption next year and repeated that the CFP is a planning forecast, not a budgeting action. The commission set the hearing for the next meeting, after which the ordinance and the CFP will go to the City Council for review and adoption steps.

Ending: Staff encouraged commissioners and the public to review the CFP materials and said more refined cost and financing scenarios will be presented as part of next year’s budget process.