Sunday town hall draws 300 opposed to planned sex-offender housing near Tenino

Threats of violence against state officials caused them to cancel their appearance at the meeting

Some 300 community members appeared at Tenino High School for a town hall meeting regarding placement of sex offenders at a residence near Maytown.
JOLT staff video
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Some 300 Tenino-area residents met for two hours on Sunday to hear from three public officials and each other about the planned sex-offender residence expected to open this Wednesday in a single-family home in the Maytown area.

Sheriff Derek Sanders said the Thurston County Sheriff's Office organized the town hall to answer questions from concerned residents as there are already a lot of ongoing conversations about the “less restrictive alternative” (LRA) housing project to be run by Supreme Living LLC.

Sanders, however, clarified that the Thurston County Sheriff's Office (TCSO) has no power to allow or stop the project, so it just developed procedures to address the public's concerns. This is because a state law enacted in 2021 supersedes local authority to prevent the project from moving forward.

 "Our [TCSO] focus is on what happens when one of these people leaves," said Sanders. "We will flood the area with resources. We will call on a canine if one is not available on duty. If the person flees in a vehicle, we've amended our pursuit policy to make sure our deputies know that all levels of escape are perceivable."

"The sheriff's office is going to make every single attempt to keep these people within the confines of that house as best we can," he added.

County has jurisdiction over environmental rules at the property

County Commissioners Gary Edwards and Carolina Mejia joined Sanders in answering questions from more than 20 members of the public who are primarily concerned about the safety in the area.

Edwards brought up that the county can hold Supreme Living LLC accountable to satisfy environmental regulations because the state legislation did not restrict the county’s authority about these. Thurston County Public Health & Social Services issued a letter on January 24 to Supreme Living advising the company that it must meet county requirements for fresh water, septic system and foot service facilities before the house can be occupied.

Most documents related to this facility state that it will house five residents; a job ad on Supreme Living’s website suggested that the company plans to house six individuals there (see the image with this story.)

County records state that the property was sold to Supreme Capital Holdings LLC, of Kent, Washington, on February 10, 2022 for $1.1 million. The property fully surrounds a man-made water skiing lake. The 4,400-square-foot single-family home has four bedrooms and sits on 14.47 acres. Zoning in that area requires five acres per residence.

"The sad thing is, this is an experiment. It is the first time they've gone full-blown, where they're putting sex offenders of this category into our community," said Edwards.

RCW 71.34.740 states that if the court finds that an individual meets certain criteria, the court can either authorize the individual's commitment to inpatient treatment or a less restrictive alternative treatment.

Mejia said once Supreme Living puts one resident in the facility on February 1, the county can file a case against them if they commit any violations.

"It all comes down to whether they violate this on February 1. That's kind of our key date that we're waiting for," said Mejia. "If February 1 they decide to move through, then at that time is when we have something to bite back on."

Mejia also echoed Edwards claim that only state legislation can allow or stop such a project. Mejia assured the residents that the Washington State Association of Counties has been discussing this concern and would be backing up if there is legislation against this.

DOC and DSHS withdrew from meeting

Sanders said he initially invited the two state agencies most directly engaged with the sex offenders, which are the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and the Department of Corrections (DOC), to shed light on the issue, but both departments backed out due to "security concerns."

"DOC and DSHS backed out of today's meeting, which tells me there's no real review going into this," said Sanders.

In a letter posted by Sanders on Facebook, DOC and DSHS said there were threats from individuals circulating on social media. These threats are why representatives from those agencies withdrew from the meeting on Sunday, they said.

Some 11 or 12 uniformed sheriff’s deputies and Tenino police officers attended the Sunday meeting.

Zoom meeting this Wednesday

However, the two agencies said they would be willing to answer the public's queries on a Webinar scheduled on Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. Here is a link to register to attend.

Comments

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  • username73737737

    Support from Lacey, Keep those bastards out of out neighborhoods!

    Tuesday, January 31, 2023 Report this

  • TonyW33

    Channel 5 news, Seattle, yesterday covered this situation in some depth, including a camera crew and a reporter in Tenino. They also interviewed the spokesperson for DSHS. That person claimed that DSHS owned the property and that the employees will be theirs. Both are lies, according to available public records. Supreme Living LLC is the owner of record and is (or was) advertising jobs at the facility on Indeed.com. That ad has now expired but the implication is clear. In earlier stories the published job requirements were a high school diploma or a GED, nothing more. So let's put 6 level 3 *** offenders in a home together, in the vicinity of vulnerable people, watched over by low level underpaid staff, let them share the individual experiences with each other, and see how that works out. Usually this location for such a group of criminals would be referred to as a "target rich environment". DHSH and DOC are lying to the citizens of our county about this entire situation. When will they begin to tell the truth, or does that serve their interests? Entitled and arrogant appointees of the Executive branch of state government lying to citizens and they believe that this will end well for them? We really must continue to call this B**ls**T out at every opportunity. Begin tomorrow at 6 pm. Attend in the hundreds and send questions TODAY.

    Tuesday, January 31, 2023 Report this

  • psterry

    I agree that things were not handled well by DSHS. But, why not have a civilized exchange instead of resorting to a 'waffle house' approach?

    Tuesday, January 31, 2023 Report this

  • FirstOtter

    It's a darned shame that the DSHS is more worried about teh environment these monsters will live in and be free to roam from than the innocent children and women who will be their targets. The monsters are lucky I am not in charge,I wouldn't ever let them out of a max security prison. If forced to release them, the only way I'd let them out is to castrate them and brand their foreheads for all to see.

    But that would be considered "inhumane". What they do to their victims, apparently...brutal rapes, sexual assaults on babies, torture of children and females isn't considered inhumane, I guess.

    What would happen if we were to force the judges and committees who let these monsters out be required to have them live with them?

    Wednesday, February 1, 2023 Report this