LOTT: Water Revolution Will Now Be Televised

LOTT: Water Revolution Will Now Be Televised

water quality  

Above: LOTT Clean Water Alliance board meetings will be televised starting next month, and the LOTT board members and Karla Fowler, LOTT Community and Environmental Policy Director, are ready for their big screen debut. LOTT and Thurston Community Television (TCTV) held a practice run with camera angles and technical fine tuning at Wednesday night’s LOTT Clean Water Alliance meeting.

Fowler, who joined the LOTT staff in 1996, is scheduled to retire from her position in July 2016. The community relations department is currently being reorganized as selection processes are underway for a public communications manager and an environmental project manager. New websites for LOTT and the WET Center will also be unveiled in 2016.

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

Lights! Camera! Action! At long last, the local water revolution will be televised starting next month when LOTT Clean Water Alliance board meetings and activities will be televised.  

Not only will there be plenty of technical bathroom talk about biosolids, reclaimed water, and total maximum daily loads, community members will also learn how the LOTT board of directors spends millions of dollars per year to maintain the region’s massive wastewater system.

Installation of the necessary equipment began in October, and four cameras will provide video and audio recording capabilities in the LOTT board room, training room, and classroom to serve a broad range of public events. 

The video equipment installation cost $168,375. The two year contract not to exceed $60,000 allows for Thurston Community Television (TCTV) coverage of LOTT board meetings and other events held by LOTT.

Meetings will not be televised live, but are expected be available the next day through the LOTT website. Work sessions are not currently scheduled to be televised, but TCTV executive director Deb Vinsel said the recording of work sessions would easily fit into the budget contract already created between LOTT and TCTV.

Meetings will also be broadcast on TCTV on a schedule that has not yet been determined on local Comcast channels 3 and 26.

Meetings and events other than LOTT’s could also be documented, and those entities would contract separately with TCTV for services, said Vinsel.

Vinsel said the LOTT meetings will be the first governmental entity broadcast in high definition in the county. The City of Olympia council meetings are expected to experience the next technical upgrade, scheduled for about June, 2016.

The work session and board meeting on Wednesday was taped as a practice run while LOTT board members discussed protocols as TCTV staff worked out the bugs regarding lighting, camera angles and microphone positions. 

Vinsel asked the LOTT board to ask its legal department for clarification and definition of “official record,” as Vinsel said the public sometimes contacts TCTV for meeting videos. 

Vinsel explained that TCTV simply documents meetings and is not a news agency. There is no ‘editorializing’ with the cameras, meaning they do not change camera angles to catch the reactions of individual speakers, for example, nor do they edit video.

The next LOTT Clean Water Alliance Board meeting, which will be video recorded and televised, is January 13, 2016.

LOTT Has A Lot of Business To Cover

The LOTT Clean Water Alliance operates a complex system of facilities worth an estimated $750 million and televised meetings will help increase the transparency and public oversight of staff activities and LOTT board decisions. 

The LOTT Board of Directors consists of four elected officials, one from each of the partner jurisdictions – cities of Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater, and Thurston County. These positions are currently held by Cynthia Pratt, City of Lacey, Steve Langer, City of Olympia, Tom Oliva, City of Tumwater, and Sandra Romero, Thurston County.

The Wednesday night meeting was Langer’s last meeting, as he is leaving the Olympia City Council at the end of his term this month. City of Olympia councilmember Julie Hankins, his designated alternate, may take his place, and was present in the audience Wednesday night.

LOTT staff members are organized under four division directors who report to the current executive director, Mike Strub.

Wastewater treatment is an expensive business and infrastructure costs are huge. With 76 full-time positions, LOTT treats an average of 13 million gallons of wastewater each day.

LOTT’s assets include the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant, Budd Inlet Reclaimed Water Plant, Martin Way Reclaimed Water Plant, Hawks Prairie Reclaimed Water Ponds and Recharge Basins, and three major pump stations. 

LOTT serves over 52,000 acres within the Lacey, Olympia, Tumwater urban growth area. LOTT also owns and maintains 28.3 miles of sewer interceptor pipelines, and 10.7 miles of reclaimed water pipelines. The three cities own and maintain 53 miles of sewer collection system pipelines, which convey wastewater to LOTT's interceptors.

LOTT Budget

Very few members of the public attend LOTT meetings, even when it comes to the review of a multi-million dollar budget. Currently, the public can physically attend a meeting, listen to audiotapes of meetings on the website, and read meeting minutes to keep up with regional wastewater system projects.

In October, the board conducted a public hearing on the proposed 2016 Operating Budget, 2016 Capital Budget, and 2016-2050 Capital Improvements Plan. Board President, Olympia city councilmember Steve Langer, opened the public hearing at 6:41 p.m. and closed the public hearing at 6:42 p.m. because there was no public testimony.

And so, the LOTT Clean Water Alliance board of directors approved the 2016 combined Operating and Capital Budget in the amount of $39,941,715, an increase of about four percent over the current 2015 budget. 

The Operating Budget contains all the costs necessary to operate LOTT’s wastewater and reclaimed water facilities and administrative functions. The 2016 budget includes $11.8 million for operations and $8.9 million for debt payments.

The 2016 Capital Budget was approved in the amount of $19,190,920. The Capital Budget includes costs necessary to construct new facilities and upgrade, replace, and rehabilitate existing facilities.

 

The board also approved the 2016 - 2050 Capital Improvements Plan which identifies $89 million in projects anticipated through 2021. The 2016 Capital Budget is about 22 percent of that total, at $19.2 million.

 

In case of emergencies, LOTT maintains approximately $10.8 million in reserves in the bank. 

Reclaimed Water

LOTT has many ongoing projects of concern to the public, including a large-scale upgrade project for the Budd Inlet Treatment Plant and several projects related to reclaimed water.

A five year Reclaimed Water Infiltration Study, now in its third year, is examining the potential risks of infiltrating reclaimed water into groundwater. Reclaimed water contains residual chemicals from medicines, personal care products, household cleaners, fertilizers, and more.

The study’s activities for 2016 include extensive field data collection and analysis. LOTT has hired a firm to do water quality sampling at the Budd Inlet and Martin Way Reclaimed Water Plants, groundwater sampling in the Hawks Prairie and Henderson Boulevard areas, a tracer study involving sampling work in and near the Hawks Prairie infiltration site, surface water sampling in select water bodies, and analysis of potential risks to public and environmental health. 

A citizen advisory group to the study was next going to meet in early December, but that was postponed.

“We do not have a date yet for the next meeting. We will be sending out a project update soon to the study list serve, but may not call the advisory group together for a meeting until early spring, when we have more data to share,” said Lisa Dennis-Perez, LOTT public communications manager, earlier this week.

Reclaimed water has been in use throughout the region for 10 years and is currently being used by the State of Washington at Heritage Park and Marathon Park, the Port of Olympia, City of Olympia at Percival Landing Park, Hands On Children’s Museum, East Bay Public Plaza, and the City of Tumwater at the Tumwater Municipal Golf Course.

Potential new uses over the next five years include irrigation of the Capitol Campus, which could utilize up to 250,000 gallons of reclaimed water a day.

In Lacey, the Woodland Creek infiltration facility is now in operation and LOTT is now developing a Deschutes Valley reclaimed water system master plan on 45 acres onthe former brewery property in Tumwater. This project is anticipated to begin in 2029 at a cost of about $50,600,000.

The Washington State Department of Ecology, in conjunction with the Department of Health, has been working on the development of a Reclaimed Water Rule since 2006 and LOTT has been a participant from the beginning.

Since both of LOTT’s reclaimed water permits are due for renewal in 2016, LOTT is likely to be among the first utilities affected by the new rule, which is expected to be adopted by the end of the year.

Growth and the Bottom Line: Your Utility Bill

If you are a homeowner or renter in Lacey, Olympia, or Tumwater, the wastewater service charge on your utility bill is broken down into the city’s wastewater fee and LOTT treatment. This charge funds the operating budget and the portions of the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) that involve system repairs and needed upgrades.

The 2016 budget includes an increase of $1.08 in LOTT's monthly service rate from $36.06 a month in 2015 to $37.14 per month in 2016. This is a three percent increase to cover inflation.

The fee for connecting new customers to the sewer system has also increased from the current rate of $5,136.38 to $5,354.57, to cover inflation and support large-scale capital projects.

This fee, called a capacity development charge is paid when users hook up to the sewer system, and it is the primary funding source for projects that increase system capacity for new growth.

LOTT Looks Forward

Special meetings are occasionally held to share and discuss significant program and capital facility changes and challenges that are likely to face LOTT and its four partner jurisdictions.

After Wednesday's board meeting, Kelsey Browne, LOTT community relations program assistant, said she hopes the public is able to take advantage of learning more about LOTT, and lamented that the Septic Summit 2 meeting held in April was not televised.  

According to the forum minutes, seventeen elected officials were present. The first Septic Summit was held in 2011.

“We had three city councils, county commissioners, agency public information officers, and citizens here for a forum to discuss urban density septic systems. It was a full house. It just illustrated to us how we were held back by not having it televised,” said Browne.

Editor's Note: This article was originally published on the evening of December 13. Significant corrections were made to budget numbers and LOTT assets on December 14 after an article review by LOTT staff. Little Hollywood apparently used 2015 budget figures instead of 2016 numbers and regrets the errors.  

For more information about LOTT, or to get on their Reclaimed Water Infiltration Study email list, go to the LOTT Clean Water Alliance website at www.lottcleanwater.org. LOTT is located at 500 Adams Street NE, Olympia.

For more information about LOTT, the Reclaimed Water Infiltration Study (formerly called the Groundwater Recharge Scientific Study), compounds of emerging concern, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com, and type key words into the search engine button.

Above: LOTT board meetings and the water revolution of South Puget Sound will be televised starting in 2016, thanks to the technological skills of staff at Thurston Community Television (TCTV).

Port of Olympia Zita-Farmer Ballot Issues

Port of Olympia Zita-Farmer Ballot Issues

zita  

Above: During a public hearing about the budget, Port of Olympia commissioner candidate E.J. Zita addresses the Port of Olympia on Monday night. She commented on her desire to see a clearer accounting of the cost of dredging. She said that it would add clarity if the costs could be separated. The cost of operational dredging is currently combined with other environmental clean-up costs. Galligan said that those numbers are available. “If there’s a clearer way to report on that, we’d be happy to do that,” said Galligan.

By Janine Gates

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

According to the Thurston County Auditor’s Office, the latest tally has E.J. Zita ahead of Jerry Farmer in their race for Port of Olympia Port Commissioner #3. 

Zita was slightly behind on election night, but subsequent tallies put her in the lead with 124 votes on Friday with an estimated 700 ballots left to count.

On Monday, the new tally kept Zita ahead: 26,294 (50.21%) to Farmer’s 26,079 (49.79%), for a difference of 215 votes.

There are still a few ballots to be counted that have discrepancies, such as missing signatures, or those that have questionable signatures.

Little Hollywood spoke late Monday afternoon with Tillie Naputi-Pullar, Thurston County elections manager at the Thurston County Auditor’s Office. She said that as of today, there are 116 ballots that do not have signatures, and 207 that have questionable signatures.

“Each day we generate a letter so voters are being notified on a daily basis if something is wrong with their ballot,” said Naputi-Pullar. She and her staff of three have a process in which they visually examine the signatures of all voters.

“If there is a problem, we send out a letter within 24 hours to the voter. We supply a pre-paid envelope with a signature verification form and the voter can mail it back, come in and drop it off, or email it by scanning it, or fax it back to us. We do our best to help the voter so it’s expedited so we can update their status,” she said.

Little Hollywood asked Naputi-Pullar about an Olympia woman who had an issue with her ballot and said she received a knock on her door on Sunday, November 8. The visitor appeared to be a supporter of candidate Jerry Farmer, as she was wearing a Farmer campaign button.

The westside resident, interviewed by Little Hollywood on Monday, did not want to be named, but shared her story:

“A woman wearing a Farmer campaign button and carrying a clipboard knocked on the door of my apartment. On her clipboard she carried many forms and a list of registered voters, I believe. She stated that she was a volunteer and was at my home because my ballot had an issue, and it was not currently valid as a countable ballot. 

The issue, she said, was that my ballot signature did not match the outside envelope signature. She asked me if I had received an official notice of this problem. I had not. She suggested that I had not received this letter because I had voted at the last minute.

 

She handed me a form from her clipboard and told me that I should fill it out in order to amend the discrepancy in my ballot signatures. She stated that she'd like me to fill it out on the spot and give it back to her.  

I told her I would rather fill it out later and/or wait for the official notice. She checked something off on her clipboard. She then asked me: “Did you even vote for the Port?”  I responded “Yes, I did.” She questioned me further, “Who did you vote for? Did you vote for Jerry Farmer?” I told her that I did not wish to answer her questions at this time.  She thanked me for my time and left. 

To follow up on this interaction, I checked the Thurston County Elections website to ascertain the status of my ballot.  There is indeed a problem with it, and I intend to call the number provided to resolve this issue so that my vote may be counted.”

Before she had a chance to call, she said she received her letter from the Thurston County elections office just this evening, informing her of the ballot signature discrepancy.

The woman says she doesn’t think anything suspicious was going on, but was unclear about the process.

“I didn’t know they gave out that kind of information to campaigns but I guess I’m not surprised now that I know the process,” she said.

It’s called “signature chasing,” and Naputi-Pullar said that the woman who came to the door was not with the Thurston County election office, however, that type of voter information is released to campaigns regarding voters whose ballots have not yet been counted. The form she was asked to fill out on the spot and return to the woman wearing the Farmer campaign button was most likely a signature verification form.

Jan Witt of Olympia is a friend of the woman who received the knock on her door and expressed concern about the incident.

“I believe that Thurston County Elections should not accept any of the forms collected by campaign people. Given that a campaign is asking people who they voted for and requesting the signature verification forms, how do they know whether or not a campaign is turning in all of the forms they receive? Maybe they are turning in only the forms of those who say they voted for their candidate,” said Witt.

Asked how the Thurston County elections office knows that all signature verification forms are turned in by campaign volunteers, Naputi-Pullar expressed assurance in their process, which is set in statute: 

“Three days before the certification date, November 24, my staff sits down and calls those voters if we have not received a form back. If people are concerned, they can contact us.”

Contacted by Little Hollywood this evening, Farmer said that he thought Zita’s volunteers were also out signature chasing.

Asked tonight after a Port of Olympia business meeting if her campaign is signature chasing, Zita said she has several dozen volunteers signed up to do so, but the elections office has informed her that it doesn’t appear to be necessary. Zita said that although a recount will be necessary, it appears to be out of range for a hand recount, and will most likely be a machine recount.

According to the Thurston County Auditor’s Office, the following are the rules for recounts of local contests: 

A machine recount would require that the difference between two candidates be less than 2,000 votes and less than 1/2 of one percent of the total votes cast. A hand recount would require that the difference between two candidates is less than 150 votes and less than 1/4 of one percent of the total votes cast.

Although it may still be too soon to do so, port staff, audience members, and Joe Downing, Port of Olympia commissioner candidate for position #1 who won his seat against George Barner, and was also at tonight's meeting, congratulated Zita on her apparent win.

The election will be certified November 24.

For more information and number changes, go to the Thurston County Auditor’s Office at www.thurstonvotes.org.

Thurston County Specialized Recreation is in Precarious Budget Situation

Thurston County Specialized Recreation is in Precarious Budget Situation

united way  

Above: On April 9, about 60 participants of Thurston County's Special Recreation program gathered to bowl at Westside Lanes in Olympia. Strikes and smiles were in abundance!

 

Commissioners to Hold Work Session on Issue May 1

By Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A small group of dedicated people in Thurston County are addressing budget shortfalls and issues regarding the specialized recreation program for individuals with developmental or physical disabilities.

James Reddick, president of the PARC Foundation, a local, nonprofit parks, arts, recreation, and cultural organization, recently reached out to Little Hollywood to tell the story.

“I am concerned that the public does not know what is taking place with Thurston County specialized recreation services. What happens if this recreation service is eliminated for this population of citizens?” says Reddick.

Many of the individuals who use the county’s recreation services live with their parents or guardians. Some live on their own and sometimes support themselves with work income earned through agencies like Morningside. 

“I have contacted many individuals and organizations, but I have not received much response. I would like to find or start a group that would be influential in raising funds for special recreation, similar to the St. Peter’s Foundation that supports the hospital,” says Reddick.

Thurston County Specialized Recreation Budget History

Currently, the county contributes about $220,000 and the cities of Lacey, Olympia, and Tumwater contributes a combined $23,000 to the program, says Cliff Moore, Thurston County manager. Program users fees are also part of the budget.

 

Thurston County Recreation Services is a registered contractor with the state Department of Social and Health Services and is able to accept Department of Developmental Disability respite funds for payment of activities.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Moore placed the special recreation program into a larger context, and provided a history of Thurston County’s budget situation overall.

Since 2009, the county support for special recreation services has continued to be reduced.  Moore recounted how 2009 was the year Thurston County suffered a tremendous financial impact due to the economic downturn.

“The county lost 175 positions in 2008-09….Since 2008 until now, we’ve lost 252 positions. The biggest reasons are inflation, an increase in the cost of medical benefits, salary step increases, and fuel for county vehicles….Our largest single source of income is property taxes…and up until 2009, we had a healthy budget from the general fund.”

That year, the special recreation program was going to be cut from the budget. Moore was reminded by this reporter who was present, of an emotional 2009 county board of commissioners public hearing in which passionate testimony was voiced by caregivers and clients of the program.

Moore immediately responded, “In my entire 25 years of public service, that was the single most moving public meeting I’ve ever attended….”

The public testimony and passionate outpouring worked, and after the 2009 public meeting, the commissioners created a combined funding mechanism of the general fund and the Millage Fund that has sustained the program for the last five years.

The Millage Fund

The Millage Fund is established by state statute and requires the county to spend a certain amount of property taxes on social service programs, including special recreation.

Chris Colton, a member of the Thurston County Parks and Recreation citizen advisory group, provided specifics on the Millage Fund, illustrating the range of services required to take care of an individual with developmental or physical disabilities.

“The Millage Fund receives 2-1/2 cents per $1000 from property taxes…however, the Millage Fund's expenditure is greater than its income, and the program needs to cut about $20,000 in spending every year, starting in 2015.

“In 2014, 45% of the Millage Fund was spent supporting special recreation while the rest of the money went to high school transition (12%), parent and family support (9%), intensive case management (14%), senior services (10%), child care development and support (1%), personal counseling (3%), People First self-advocacy (3%), and assault prevention classes (3%).

“The municipalities agree that special recreation is important but….if each city upped its contribution, the $20,000 could be made up.  However, the cities are in a budget crunch and are not inclined to give up more money, at least not at the request of park staff. Also, that rationale is based on the commissioners continuing to require Millage Funds to fund special recreation. This issue needs to be addressed in our future meeting with the county commissioners.”

 

Efforts to Save Program Comes Up Empty-Handed

Moore says the county strongly appreciates the special recreation program and has worked hard to find a sustainable plan, a programmatic home, and funding for the program. Last year, the county launched an effort to save the program by convening a summit of 17 local organizations in June 2013, but there were no takers to provide the services.

The organizations involved include the Boys and Girls Club of Thurston County, the Hands On Children’s Museum, Morningside, Senior Services of South Sound, United Way of Thurston County, the Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater parks and recreation programs, the PARC Foundation, the South Sound YMCA, and many more.

When the county’s Resource Stewardship department took an overall 10 percent budget reduction in 2014, the summer day camp program for special recreation was cut.

In March, the county moved the program from Resource Stewardship into the public health and social services department on Lilly Road. Moore says it has been good to connect the program with other staff.

“It heightens the awareness, value and importance of the special recreation program to more staff…before, it was always seen as something different. Still, our goal is to find a sustainable long term solution.”

Moore says the Millage Fund will be tapped out in just a couple of years.

 

Above: Special Recreation participants try different tactics to help their game at Westside Lanes.

Thurston County Special Recreation Activities

Thurston County Specialized Recreation is the only recreation services agency in the county that provides activities and events to individuals with developmental and developmental disabilities.

The current Spring program lists fun field trips to the Puyallup Fair, a trip on the Kitsap Mini Steam Train, trips to see the Tacoma Rainiers, the Point Defiance Zoo, the Olympic Air Show, and more. Locally, the group has a regular bowling club at Westside Lanes, takes walks at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, trips to movie theaters, and more.

In the afternoon of April 9, I caught up with a group of about 60 special recreation program participants at Westside Lanes to see some pretty amazing bowling and lots of smiles.

Virginia Cook, a caregiver for her 50 year old developmentally disabled son, sat nearby to watch him bowl. She said he has memory issues, anxiety attacks, and sometimes get confused. She has been with the program for many years.

“I don’t want them to cut the budget. I rely on this program…I need the respite. I don’t have other people I can rely on too often. I could call a professional caregiver, but my son doesn’t like strangers. Without the program, people like me wouldn’t really have any breaks.”

Cook said she sometimes goes to the mall or somewhere nearby while he’s bowling under the watchful supervision of recreation staff, but then she feels bad if she missed him being happy about getting a strike.

“When he gets a strike, I can go ‘yea!’” she smiles.

Josh Russell, a caregiver with Citizen Access Residential Resources (CARR), sat near his client, watching him bowl a rocking game.

“He’s been bowling here for about 10 years…he looks forward to it. He brings his scores home and puts them up on the refrigerator, and calls his family and tells them. He’s very proud of playing a sport – he’s good at it! He’s beat me a few times. He’s an interesting character….” said Russell.

Just then, Russell’s client got a strike! He immediately came over to me and with a big smile, said, “I like to bowl. I like people.” I gave him a fist bump.

The PARC Foundation Offers Possible Solutions

The PARC Foundation, begun by Reddick in 1998, is dedicated to preserving the vital green spaces of Thurston County’s natural surroundings, expanding and supporting works of art and artists in our community, and ensuring all children have free access to recreational opportunities.

“How can specialized recreation continue to serve individuals with developmental and physical disabilities? In addition, how can this program expand to meet the needs of individuals with developmental and physical disabilities? Specialized recreation has high operational costs due to staff and safety requirements. Most of the participants are on Social Security disability income, or need support through low wage employment, or by parents and guardians,” says Reddick.

PARC serves as a nonprofit financial manager for individuals and organizations that want to contribute to their community, but are not themselves interested in becoming a nonprofit or assume financial accounting efforts.

The organization leverages a number of separate funds to achieve major projects such as the creation of the popular Olympia Skate Court on Cooper Point Road in west Olympia. It currently serves as the fiscal agent for South Sound Hounds, and the Tenino Quarry Pool’s fundraising efforts, and other projects. In the past, it served as the fiscal agent for the South Sound Estuary Association.

For special recreation, the PARC Foundation used a $15,000 grant it received in 2012 from the Nisqually Tribe for a weeklong overnight camp held last year. 

“We applied for the same amount of funds this year, and received $5,000. We were also given $5,000 to put towards a Washington State Department of Transportation grant for a 30-35 passenger bus. We’re still trying to raise funds for the bus. Fundraising is difficult.”

County Commissioners to Hold Work Session on Special Recreation

The county commissioners will meet with the Thurston County Parks and Recreation citizen advisory group for a work session on Thursday, May 1, at the Thurston County Courthouse, 2000 Lakeridge Drive SW, Room 280, at 2:00 p.m.

The advisory group wants to reconnect with the commissioners, remind them of the group’s mission, and discuss the plight of the special recreation program. The group was recently instrumental in helping the county update its comprehensive plan for parks and recreation, but now members feel in limbo. The establishment of new goals, and changes in the configuration of the group may be in order.

The program’s move from Resource Stewardship to the county health department illustrates the disconnect between the commissioners and the advisory group. Douglas Bell, a member of the Thurston County Parks and Recreation citizen advisory committee says, “We found out about it in an email.”

The public is invited to observe the commissioner’s work session on special recreation, but public comment will not be allowed. Moore welcomes public comment on the subject at any regular county commissioner meeting on Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m. at the Thurston County Courthouse, Room 280.

Metropolitan Parks District Option?

Moore said that due to new legislation two years ago, a dedicated funding stream for parks was created as the Metropolitan Parks District. Moore says 25 jurisdictions in Washington State have adopted one.

“We haven’t. It takes a vote of the people and creates another tax, so that’s a challenge…but information about it has been provided to the commissioners about that opportunity….As far as I know, no one is leading an effort to create one here, but it could be beneficial for the community. Generally speaking, the overall size of parks and recreation staff increases because there’s a more sustainable revenue stream,” said Moore. In turn, this option could help the special recreation program.

Moore says a 2015 budget for the special recreation program has not yet been established.

For more information about Thurston County Special Recreation, go to the Thurston County website at www.co.thurston.wa.us or contact Cliff Moore, county manager, at (360) 786-5440 or moorecl@co.thurston.wa.us.

For more information about the PARC Foundation, go to www.parcfoundation.orgor call (360) 352-0980.

 

Above: Leaning helps too....