By Owen Sexton
The Chronicle, Centralia, Wash.
TENINO, Wash. — The Tenino City Council has formally dissolved the Tenino Police Department.
The council convened at Tenino City Hall for the council’s Tuesday, May 12, assembly, and, amongst different enterprise, permitted Ordinance 943.
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Approval of the dissolution ordinance was paired with the approval of a brief six-month contract with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) for policing companies within the Stone City — each of which had been permitted unanimously.
The contract has the City of Tenino paying $112,365 for policing companies up till Sept. 30, with an non-obligatory three-month extension costing $56,182.50.
With the TCSO having already been responding to calls in Tenino since April, as beforehand reported by The Chronicle, Sheriff Derek Sanders defined he together with metropolis workers are planning to carry a second city corridor occasion to assemble extra enter from Tenino residents as to what they anticipate.
“More conversation needs to be had in the future about what that long-term contract is going to look like,” Sanders stated.
He hoped to have the long-term contract prepared by Jan. 1, 2027.
Tenino Mayor Dave Watterson first introduced the Tenino Police Department was on the chopping block again in March, and a city corridor was held on March 28. During that city corridor, Watterson defined the town confronted chapter if the police division remained amid the town having to make interfund price range mortgage funds.
The interfund price range loans had been retractively created after price range misreporting points between 2021 and 2023 resulted in an estimated $1.6 million from the town’s restricted sewer and water funds being spent on non-sewer and non-water objects, as beforehand reported by The Chronicle.
Retroactively creating the loans was required, as it’s a violation of state regulation to spend restricted merchandise price range funds on non-item associated bills.
The metropolis should now pay again the $1.6 million, plus curiosity, to its personal restricted funds. City workers initially hoped to repay the loans in three years, the cost schedule was prolonged to 10 years final month by the town council.
While she initially opposed each the TCSO contract and dissolving the Tenino Police Department, as she pushed for different price range cuts and funding alternate options to maintain the police division, Tenino Mayor Pro Tem Linda Gotovac acknowledged on Tuesday she accepted the TCSO contract — however nonetheless opposed the police division’s dissolution.
“I just don’t think it’s very good protection for our officers, the two that are left,” Gotovac stated.
Sanders defined the division wanted to be dissolved to be able to enable for the remaining officers to fast-track their purposes.
According to Sanders, civil service guidelines outlined in state regulation enable officers to train their privilege as Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission licensed peace officers to robotically apply for jobs at different policing businesses with out interviewing.
However, they will’t train this privilege till they get an official discover from their present employer that they’re being laid off.
“It’s a chicken and egg issue in terms of their transition over to the sheriff’s office,” Sanders stated.
He added the TCSO at present has 10 complete vacancies and he’s at all times prepared to simply accept lateral transfers from different businesses.
During the March 28 city corridor, many Tenino residents expressed issues about dropping their native police division. On Tuesday, Sanders reiterated his deputies had been offering the identical degree of service.
TCSO Lieutenant Malcolm McIver additionally spoke at Tuesday’s assembly. McIver at present supervises the TCSO deputies liable for patrolling Tenino’s neighboring South Thurston County communities of Rainier and Bucoda .
He additionally frequents each Rainier and Bucoda metropolis council conferences to ship month-to-month TCSO name log experiences and to listen to from residents about issues they’ve.
“I can just tell you from speaking with the two other communities that we provide services with — and from somebody outside of that, that has been a small town police officer, compared to someone that’s worked in two larger agencies — I can tell you, and I promise you, that the service you folks insist your city get are probably going to surprise you,” McIver stated. “You won’t see a reduction in services you have. I think you’ll be surprised to see an increase in those services and the level of service you get from us.”
Prior to approving Ordinance 943, Councilor Jeff Eisel thanked the members of the Tenino Police Department for his or her service.
“I’d like to recognize the service of police officers past and present over the last 120 years. It’s been a good run and it’s sad to see it go away,” Eisel stated. ” Times change, and I guess it’s time now for this, but let’s all remember that we’ve been served well all this time.”
Watterson added he hoped to see the last Tenino Police Department officers at a council meeting in the near future in order to honor them.
For more information on this issue, read The Chronicle’s coverage of the March 28 town hall at https://tinyurl.com/wxspz66f.
Other council enterprise
During Tuesday’s assembly, councilors additionally permitted a lease extension for the Thurston County Economic Development Council’s Agricultural Business Innovation Park for a portion of land on the metropolis’s wastewater remedy facility on Old Highway 99.
Initially, the lease was for 15 years and had already been amended as soon as to increase it to 17.5 years. Tuesday’s modification extends it one other 12 months to 18.5, with the lease having begun on Jan. 1, 2019 in response to the council’s agenda report.
Additionally, councilors permitted surplusing plenty of city-owned properties on Marion, Hudson and Green streets.
The Marion Street property, Thurston County parcel quantity 09490043000, was appraised at a good market worth of $50,000 by Allender Appraisals, LLC, whereas the Hudson Street property, parcel 74906000900, was appraised at $51,000. All the parcels on Green Street — 09280007000, 09280017000, 74903801301 and 74903800700 — had been appraised at $39,000 every, although the final two parcels had been appraised collectively.
Also introduced was a ribbon-cutting occasion marking the opening of the Tenino Food Bank Plus on Friday, May 15, at 1 p.m., on the meals financial institution’s new location at 748 Sussex Ave. W.
During the annual vigil, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke in regards to the lasting affect of supporting households as 363 fallen officers had been honored, together with 109 killed in 2025
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