County staff seek $434,450 contract to fence Thurston County ballot-processing complex

Thurston County staff asked the Board of County Commissioners on March 24 to authorize awarding a $434,450 contract to Vertex Contracting LLC (Battleground, Washington) to install perimeter security fencing and two gates at the Mottman complex, which houses the county’s ballot-processing center, voter-registration office, facilities, and records.

Kim Bernett, director of central services, told commissioners that eight bids were received on Feb. 26 and that Vertex’s low, responsive bid was about $170,000 under the originally approved budget. The work calls for roughly 1,000 linear feet of fencing around the property, with architectural fencing along frontage roads to meet the City of Tumwater’s code and chain-link fencing on less visible sides. Two security gates are planned—one near the 29th Street frontage and another on the Ferguson entrance—covering access to the property and parking lot, not the building interiors.

Bernett asked the board to authorize the award and grant the director of central services authority to execute the contract and amendments up to 10 percent. Commissioners asked about fence appearance and traffic-visibility protections; staff said the project included a traffic study and design elements intended to avoid visual blockage at nearby intersections.

The item was presented as part of the consent agenda; no formal vote is recorded in the transcript of the agenda-setting session.

The contract is public-safety-sales-tax-funded and described by staff as the fifth and final phase of the ballot-processing project, which was approved in the 2025–2030 capital improvement plan. The board did not vote during this March 24 agenda-setting session; the item was placed on the March 31 business agenda for action.