Plan to house sex offenders in Tenino on pause amid public outcry

A housing facility for convicted sex offenders in Thurston County was expected to open today, but is now delayed.

The State Department of Corrections told KIRO Newsradio move-ins are on pause while the county and facility staff address zoning and environmental concerns. Thurston County Manager Ramiro Chavez told KIRO Newsradio the facility needs to meet code and permitting requirements.

“One of the key elements they need to meet is county health laws and regulations, which is governing safe water supply, adequate sewage disposal, and proper waste management services,” Chavez said. “A facility must be served by an approved public water supply and approved and connected to the housing facility before he can be open and occupied.”

The “less restrictive” housing also has other potential problems that could slow things down even more, including the need to evaluate the food providers for the facility and how they will provide food for the individuals residing here.

The plan was for a 15-acre property in a rural part of Tenino to become a Less Restrictive Alternative (LRA). The state describes the program as an “outpatient treatment program in a community setting.” Up to five former sex offenders could live in the house at one time.

“As for today, I have not heard whether they’re planning to comply with those permits,” Chavez said. “The three big elements: Their water supply, the septic system, and the food service, there’s no way they could have secured all of that in order for them to open today.”

Chavez made it clear that the county was ultimately flanked by this decision from the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and the Department of Corrections (DOC).

“How this came about, it was really the result of citizens being concerned last year as to how these potential facilities were going to be placed in Tenino,” Chavez said. “So we, the county, began the investigation. We asked our land use manager to look into the details, we asked our Law and Justice project manager to reach out to the state to understand what the program was all about, because we were blindsided. And everything led to this point.”

Chavez cited the lack of communication from the state-funded departments has been the most discouraging part of this situation.

“We never received any official documentation with notice by DSHS or the Department of Corrections,” Chavez said. “Nothing formal has been sent to the county giving us a heads up as to what this facility is, or give us an opportunity to have a conversation. That is probably one of the most frustrating aspects of this process.”

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State officials will host an online public webinar today at 6 p.m. to discuss housing options for sex offenders. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, among other social media groups, intends to post the link to the Feb. 1 webinar on their respective Facebook page when it becomes available.