Port sets boundaries for five new districts

The Port of Olympia commission adopted a resolution establishing the boundaries of the five newly formed districts during a meeting held on Monday, December 22.

The public had voted in favor of expanding the number of Port districts during the November 8 general elections.  Voters also voted in favor of a similar proposition to increase the county districts to five.

The Port and Thurston County agreed to propose the same boundaries for their additional districts.

The first district comprises the eastern part of Olympia up to Big Fishtrap Bay, the second district covers most of Lacey and Yelm, while the third district includes west Olympia and north Tumwater.

Sandwiched between the first and second districts is the fifth district, which takes up southwest Lacey and the neighborhoods around Long Lake and Pattison Lake.

The fourth district represents the rural south of the county, including Tenino, Rainier, Bucoda, Grand Mound, and Rochester.

While drawing the boundaries of the districts, the Port made sure that all three incumbent Port commissioners would continue to represent their current district.

Commissioner Amy Evans Harding said that the commission could revisit the boundaries in the future if the new districts do not provide enough representation.

“Given the rush to complete this process prior to the vote of the public, I would just encourage us to revisit these districts with more robust public input on what communities of interest are,” she said.

Port staff must submit the resolution to the Thurston County Auditor no later than December 20 so that voters can elect two new commissioners in the 2023 elections.