Lacey resident threatens to sue city over ‘critters’ unleashed by construction project
A Lacey construction project has sent animals scurrying away from the site and onto adjacent property, and now that resident is threatening to sue.
Those were the claims made by Althea Sims, who addressed Lacey City Council at its Tuesday meeting.
Sims said for three years she has been living behind a water tower construction project that has disturbed the animals in the area, pushing them in the direction of her home.
Sims referred to them as “critters,” “animals” and “rats.”
The construction project is the Terry Cargil reservoir, where construction got underway in May 2022. It overlooks the Lacey Crossroads shopping center at College Street and Yelm Highway.
Construction is expected to last 480 days or until late 2024, The Olympian has reported.
Sims told the council that as a result of the construction she has had exterminators come to her house on a quarterly basis. She also has put out traps on her patio, she said.
“Me and my grandchildren have not been able to calmly sit on the patio,” she said, adding that once the construction work begins, “they come running.”
She said she also paid a lot of money for an outdoor TV theater that they have not been able to enjoy.
Sims said she has called the city about the problem, but has gotten no response.
“Nobody has gotten back to me and I have called and called,” she said. “Now I’m at the point where I have to file a tort claim. I shouldn’t have to do that.”
Sims said she worked as a tort claims investigator for the state for more than 25 years, a fact that was confirmed by her LinkedIn page.
After she spoke, Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder said the city would respond to her concerns.
“We will make sure someone gets to you as soon as possible,” he said.
The Olympian reached out to Assistant City Manager Shannon Kelley-Fong to seek a response to Sims’ claims. She declined to comment.
This story was originally published March 6, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
