WA officials back out of Tenino town hall on sex offender housing after threats
State officials backed out of a Tenino town hall about a planned sex offender housing facility due to safety concerns.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office organized the town hall last week in response to public uproar over the planned facility at 2813 140th Ave. Southwest. Sheriff Derek Sanders notified the public of the state officials’ decision on Saturday.
“To say I’m infuriated and embarrassed is an understatement,” Sanders said in a Facebook post. “The public deserves to hear answers directly, and in a meaningful, engaging way, from their state government.”
Sanders said officials from the state Department of Social and Health Services and the Department of Corrections previously agreed to attend the meeting at Tenino High School. However, he received a new letter from the officials Friday night, and he shared it publicly on Facebook the next day.
“Regrettably, due to threats by individuals and other information circulating on social media, we will instead host a virtual, public webinar 6-7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1,” the letter reads.
Kevin Bovenkamp, Assistant Secretary at DSHS, and Sean Murphy, Deputy Secretary at DOC, signed the letter. They said a link to the webinar and information on how to attend was forthcoming.
Supreme Living LLC, a residential care services company, had planned to open the facility on a 15-acre property by Feb. 1. This facility, which is officially called a Less Restrictive Alternative community home, will house up to five clients of DSHS, including sex offenders released from McNeil Island Special Commitment Center.
Local residents have protested the planned facility at a community forum hosted by Supreme Living earlier this month and during Board of County Commissioners meetings.
Many protesters have been critical of the planned facility’s location and safety features. Sanders also has expressed concerns about how quickly law enforcement may respond if someone escaped from the facility.
In his Facebook post, Sanders responded to their safety concerns. He said he set the event at a gun-free zone and planned to have “5-10 fully capable law enforcement officers present.”
“Gun free zones are apparently good enough to protect our children at school, but not good enough to protect our state officials,” Sanders said. “Actions such as this will continue to deteriorate trust between citizens and their government.”
Sanders said he still planned to attend the town hall to field general questions about the Sheriff’s Office.
“As infuriating as this is, please do the right thing and express your frustrations in a positive, constructive way,” Sanders said. “We cannot let the state’s incorrect presumptions about us fall true. I’m sorry”
Last week, Thurston County Manager Ramiro Chavez said the county intended to delay the facility’s opening by enforcing certain code and permitting requirements.
He described this effort as a short-term strategy. In the long term, the county aims to work with state legislators to regulate how these facilities are selected and placed.
Sen. Drew MacEwen has already introduced legislation to that aim, according to a Thursday news release. If passed, Senate Bill 5544 would require “adequate public notice” when DSHS considers housing sex offenders in adult group homes.
“The people in the area are telling us this is absolutely the wrong place to put a home for sex predators, and government needs to listen to them,” MacEwen said in the release.
Reps. Dan Griffey and Travis Couture plan to introduce the same legislation in the state House of Representatives, the release says. All three legislators are Republicans who represent the 35th District.
Specifically, the bill calls for DSHS to provide opportunities for public notice and comment before contracting with group home operators, such as Supreme Living. Furthermore, the agency must notify the public 14 days in advance of a public meeting.
Couture said he believed such facilities should have higher security standards and be held liable if those standards fail to protect the public. He added there should be more local control over the placement of such facilities as well.
“Government has a fundamental responsibility to protect the people of Washington from violent sexual predators, and I am working with state and local officials to ensure that happens,” Couture said.
This story was originally published January 29, 2023 at 1:12 PM.
