Chehalis and Lewis County officials opened a joint public hearing in October 2025 to take testimony on a proposed interlocal agreement (ILA) that would annex a large portion of the Chehalis Urban Growth Area (UGA) into city limits and extend a co-management ILA to cover permitting during the lag period before final annexation.

Mindy Brooks, director of community development for Lewis County, told the joint meeting that "the purpose tonight is to hear testimony on the proposed interlocal agreement for annexation for a portion of the Chehalis Urban Growth Area." Brooks summarized the county role in setting UGA boundaries, which are sized to accommodate 20 years of anticipated housing and jobs and tied to where cities can extend sewer and water services.

Chehalis City Manager Stacy Denham gave historical context for the UGA and the city’s decision to propose taking most of the UGA at once. Denham said changes in state law since 2018 and subsequent tighter permitting rules made piecemeal annexations less efficient; she said the city’s choice to seek a large, consolidated annexation was driven by cost and proportionality concerns. Denham also discussed fire-service funding and said the city is pursuing a functional interlocal agreement to study consolidation options while noting that any merger would require voter approval.

Fire Chief Adam Fulbright described a committee working on a draft ILA for functional consolidation and said the study and public process to reach voters would likely take a year or two. Officials and staff also described levy and rate effects: staff cited a current 30% surcharge on wastewater customers outside city limits that would end for those customers if they were annexed, and staff named approximate levy rates cited in the meeting (District 6: $1.22 per $1,000 assessed; District 5: $1.66 per $1,000). County staff told the meeting that, if approved, district revenue would remain with the fire districts through the end of 2026 and that city revenue changes would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, absent other agreements.

The hearing included a technical question-and-answer period followed by three-minute public testimony slots. Testimony ranged from residents concerned about road maintenance, response times and perceived tax shifts to property owners and consultants who supported annexation as a means to unlock housing capacity. Greg Cole, a Chehalis resident, said he and neighbors "fully support the ILA" in part because local response patterns make it sensible to align jurisdictional boundaries with service areas. Property owner John Braun said his development land could accommodate "roughly 4,000 homes" and urged approval to enable housing construction. Several speakers, including Bud Goodwillie and Tim Potter, urged a smaller or more phased approach and questioned whether the city or county could maintain roads and services across the larger area.

After public comment, the Lewis County commissioners moved and seconded a motion to close the hearing and recess to continue at or after 10 a.m. Nov. 25, 2025; the commissioners recorded the motion as approved (motion passes, 3-0). The Chehalis City Council separately recessed its portion of the hearing to Nov. 10, 2025 (first reading) with a subsequent second-reading schedule later in November.

What remains unsettled in the record is the final timing and detailed financial analysis staff were asked to provide: both elected bodies said they wanted explicit cost and tax-shift numbers for residents in the UGA and for current city residents before final action. The co-management ILA on the docket is intended to bridge permitting and service coordination during the lag period if the annexation process proceeds and before final boundary review board actions become effective.

The hearing record (written comments were accepted in advance) remains open to the formal processes scheduled in November; the county and city indicated additional technical details will be provided to both elected bodies before those dates.