The Thurston Climate Mitigation Collaborative Executive Committee on Oct. 27 recommended approval of amended interlocal‑agreement (ILA) language intended to streamline regional initiatives and add flexibility for funding and greenhouse‑gas inventories.

Rebecca Harvey, staff representing Thurston County, presented the draft amendments as an effort to reduce administrative burden and increase flexibility for implementing the Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan (TCMP) through 2030. Harvey said a key change is a new definition of "regional initiatives" and a set of conditions under which projects can be advanced without negotiating a separate interlocal agreement: projects must be developed through the TCMC staff team, included in the biennial TCMC work plan and estimated budget, and funded through the parties’ respective budgets.

Other changes in the draft include removing a scheduled 2026 administrative update (allowing minor updates any time), revising greenhouse‑gas inventory frequency to a 3–5 year range with the option to use externally produced inventories (for example, Washington Department of Commerce county inventories), adding a biennial work‑plan and invoicing flexibility for contracting parties, and a reallocation clause to allow activities to proceed if a party cannot secure funding or chooses to opt out.

Committee members discussed implementation issues, including whether external inventories would preserve the TCMP’s baseline. Harvey said the ILA does not fix baselines and that a full TCMP update is planned for 2028; retroactive comparable inventories could be produced to maintain a 2015 or other baseline if the committee decides it should. Members also pressed on how changes to meeting cadence might affect community engagement; staff and members said community engagement would continue for individual initiatives and the CAH and subgroups could work between full meetings.

Commissioner Klaus moved to recommend approval of the amended ILA as presented; Carolyn seconded. The committee approved the recommendation by voice vote and will forward the draft to jurisdictional councils and boards for formal adoption.

No amendments were adopted on Oct. 27; staff will return materials to member jurisdictions for council/board consideration (multiple jurisdictions indicated hearings or consent agenda placement in November).