Tenino area residents protest planned sex offender housing, ask Thurston County for help
Dozens of residents are asking Thurston County officials to help them stop the opening of a sex offender housing facility in the Tenino area.
Residents packed the Board of County Commissioner’s meeting room Tuesday, and some appeared virtually. One by one the addressed the board, describing their safety and transparency concerns about the controversial project.
Supreme Living LLC, a residential care services company, plans to open a supportive housing facility on a 15-acre property at 2813 140th Ave. SW near Tenino on Feb. 1, according to The Chronicle in Centralia. This facility will house up to five clients of the state Department of Social and Health Services, including sex offenders released from McNeil Island Special Commitment Center.
The company held a community forum last Thursday, but many attendees left unsatisfied, including Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders, who attended the county board meeting on Tuesday.
Due to limited staffing, Sanders said only one deputy from the Sheriff’s Office can patrol the area near the facility. He said he’s uncertain law enforcement can respond quickly enough to protect residents if a sex offender escapes.
“I have deep, deep concerns about placing this house in rural Thurston County without the resources, without clear direction on how the Sheriff’s Office is supposed to respond,” Sanders said.
Nicole Kopetzky, a Tenino resident, said she can see the facility from her home, which has been in her husband’s family for decades. As a mother and domestic violence survivor, she said the facility frightens her.
“We just bought the land next door so that we can take care of the whole family together,” Kopetzky said. “I’m scared to just see these people in their forever home. … That’s just not what we signed up for.
“It’s really sad. I hope that you guys can do something for us.”
Jennifer Wiens and her husband owned the property purchased by Supreme Living. She said they agreed to sell the property in question in January 2022, but that Supreme Living’s real estate agent “negligently represented” their client and told them the property would be used to house foster children.
She later contacted Supreme Living’s Chief Executive Officer Angela Rinaldo to express her concerns about the facility’s proximity to a nearby lake.
“This is a heavily used lake which is in view from every window in the front of that home,” Wiens said. “This would be such a huge safety concern for all that enjoy that lake in this community. … I told her I never would have sold a home to her.”
Many speakers expressed similar safety concerns, noting that children often frequent the lake and nearby areas.
Some called out the facility’s seemingly limited safety features and the lack of resources in the area. Others worry the facility will negatively impact the value of their homes.
After nearly two hours of public comment, Commissioner Gary Edwards said he appreciated the “decorum” the residents displayed and indicated he shared their concerns. However, he admitted the county’s response might take a while.
“We’re going to push,” Edwards said. “We’re going to do what we can, but just bear in mind that this is the kind of dumb stuff that government does that makes people remember there’s a reason for the Second Amendment.”
County Manager Ramiro Chavez said he would engage with the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to see what legal options the county has to oppose this facility.
However, the county may not have many options. During an earlier Tuesday morning meeting, Chavez reminded the board it has already engaged its attorneys about this matter in previous executive sessions.
“It really became evident that the county is really limited as to what we can do to stop those activities,” Chavez said. “That’s going to be very difficult to express that to a community that is really, really upset about what’s going on with the proposed plans for this particular facility.”
Still, Commissioner Carolina Mejia asked Chavez to revisit the topic, with a focus on how communities historically responded to similar facilities. She said she recently visited the area near the proposed facility to gain perspective on the residents’ concerns.
“This is going right in the middle of the community,” Mejia said. “Walking distance, there’s a family childcare provider. She gets a couple children a day. That is concerning to me.”
This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 1:28 PM.
