Capitol Lake gets people's vote

Olympia: Estuary draws few nods in informal survey

JOHN DODGE; The Olympian | • Published June 25, 2009

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OLYMPIA – Dozens of residents gathered Wednesday night at Heritage Park in Olympia inside a tent big enough to contain their diverse opinions about the future of Capitol Lake.

Some were adamant that spending more than $300 million to dredge and maintain the lake for the next 50 years is the right approach.

“Capitol Lake is an urban gem,” retired Olympia veterinarian Jack Havens said. “Having a ‘Mud Bay’ here is not acceptable for our capital city. Expanding the number of cost-sharing partners and maintaining the beauty of a Capitol Lake should be our strategy.”

Others said the time is ripe to restore the lake to a more natural condition as a Deschutes River estuary at an estimated cost of $221 million over 50 years, allowing the Budd Inlet tides to wash in and out where the Fifth Avenue Bridge has stood since 1951.

“The estuary costs less to maintain and it’s what the area was originally,” said Olympia resident Leslie Wolff, who thinks an estuary would be just as pleasing – or more so – for her frequent walks around the lake.

Few thought that the status quo, which would allow the lake to fill in with sediment carried down river and, over the decades to follow, turn into a freshwater marsh, was the proper course of action.

A fourth alternative – building a 1,900-foot barrier to split the lake’s north basin into a 39-acre saltwater reflecting pool and 61-acre estuary – had a fair share of supporters, including Port of Olympia commissioner candidate Dave Peeler. The 50-year cost estimated for that option is $250 million.

About 90 minutes into the three-hour open house hosted by the state Department of General Administration, about 90 people had attended and 61 had voted for one of the options.

The informal tally was 36 votes for the lake, 13 in support of a dual lake-estuary, 10 for an estuary and two for the status quo.

One common theme seemed to emerge from all opposing views: Whether dredging occurs in the lake or out in lower Budd Inlet, a new cost-sharing formula that holds everyone accountable – including the state, federal government, local governments, port and private marinas – should be pursued.

“I agree with a shared-cost approach,” Peeler said. “The entire community has a stake in the outcome here.”

“If we keep it a lake, we all have to ante up and share the costs; it can’t just be the responsibility of the state,” Olympia mental health professional Linda Oosterman agreed.

After five years of studies at a cost of $1.7 million, the nine-member Capitol Lake advisory committee is expected to issue a lake or estuary recommendation to state officials in August.

The show of support for the lake caught some environmentalists off guard Wednesday night, especially given that the studies suggest the estuary would be less expensive and provide better water quality and fish and wildlife habitat than the lake.

“Any natural condition would be better than this farce of a lake,” said Paul Horton, an Olympia-based sustainability consultant.

Many of the lake supporters feared that the estuary wouldn’t be compatible with an urban setting.

“We have a reflecting pond for the state Capitol, and we have the infrastructure already in place to support the lake,” Olympia structural engineer Rod Finkle said. “An estuary would be too much of a mudflat.”

John Dodge: 360-754-5444

jdodge@theolympian.com

Meeting July 2

The Capitol Lake Adaptive Management steering committee has scheduled a retreat for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 2 at the Tumwater Fire Station to begin framing its recommendation on whether to maintain Capitol Lake or turn it back into the Deschutes River estuary.

The meeting is open to the public, but no public comment will be accepted.

The nine-member committee consists of representatives from the state departments of Fish and Wildlife, Natural Resources, Ecology and General Administration, the cities of Tumwater and Olympia, Thurston County, the Port of Olympia, and Squaxin Island tribe. It is expected to make a lake-management recommendation to the state Department of General Administration director in August.

The state Capitol Committee and the state Legislature also will play major roles in the final decision.