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Regional Housing Council approves 2026–27 homeless-services contract renewals; one vote taken separately for member's employer
Summary
The Thurston County Regional Housing Council on June 22, 2026 approved the renewal of the 2026–27 homeless-services grant award contracts for the programs listed in the agenda and took a separate vote on one contract for which a member recused themselves.
The Thurston County Regional Housing Council voted June 22 to recommend approval of the 2026–27 homeless-services grant award contract renewals for the providers on the agenda.
Chair Robert Vanderpool moved to recommend approval of the 2026–27 homeless-services grant award contract renewals; a member seconded and the council voiced assent. During discussion, Council Member Megan Sullivan said she works for one of the organizations covered by the renewals and asked to recuse herself from that specific vote. The council amended the motion to remove that single contract from the first vote, approved the remaining renewals, then held a separate motion and vote to approve the contract for Together, with Sullivan recusing herself for that final vote.
The meeting record shows the council treated the renewals as continuing the second-year contracts that support shelter, outreach and related services across the county. Public commenters urged prompt action to avoid service disruptions: Ty Gundle, executive director of Olympia Mutual Aid Partners, asked the council to "act swiftly to renew support" for all 49 contracts so vital services can continue without interruption and described recent program outputs including outreach support for 688 people over the past year and 54 people connected to shelter in the last six months.
Several council members reiterated the importance of avoiding any interruption of services during a renewal process. Griselda Laras, a Yelm city council member, warned that pausing services would cause people to "fall through the cracks," while other speakers noted the contracts provide shelter, rental assistance, outreach and related supports.
The council directed staff to capture anonymous questions submitted during the meeting and to circulate answers as appropriate. The motion record reflects approval of the renewals; the minutes do not show a roll-call tally of individual named votes in the transcript, and one member recorded a recusal on the Together contract vote.
The council said it will follow up at a future meeting on any outstanding administrative questions raised during the session.
