City’s Test Well drilling at end of Tahoma Blvd., now Union Holdings, LLC property
Courtesy of the Yelm Community Blog

I wrote this letter to Yelm City Council member John Thompson on May 25, 2010.
Of course, I received no reply, however wish to bring this issue out into the open:

Dear John,

On April 13th, prior to the Yelm City Council approving a $615,223 expenditure to dig a test/production well on what was stated as Tahoma Terra property, you asked City Administrator Shelly Badger if the city owned that property on which the well would be drilled.

Badger responded on-the-record to your question and I quote:
“We also, in addition to that, have approval from the property owner to conduct the drilling activity. But ultimately, yes, it is owned by the city. ”

I verified the exact parcel on which the well will be placed under a Public Documents request.
The city responded that the parcel is #78640000024.

Thurston County Assessor records show this parcel is owned by:
UNION STREET HOLDINGS LLC
Address: 2000 TWO UNION SQ
City: SEATTLE
State: WA, 98101-2326

The Thurston County Recorder shows the deed for this property was recorded to this owner on April 13, 2010 [just three hours prior to the Council meeting, with the deed transferred from Tahoma Terra’s trustee to the bank, on property that had been in foreclosure].
CLICK HERE for Thurston County Recorder’s Office showing the April 13, 2010 deed to Union Holdings, LLC granted by Regional Trustee Services Corp.

John,

You voted for the well expenditure with the answer & understanding that the city owned the property.
How could Mrs. Badger tell you the city owned this land on April 13th when the defaulted property was already being acquired by the bank?

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Was Mrs. Badger:
A. Uninformed in her answer to Council & afraid to say she did not know
B. Deliberately misleading
C. Inept in her understanding

On March 13, 2010, Christian Hill reported in The Olympian,
“A foreclosure sale is scheduled April 9 for the unfinished phases of the Tahoma Terra master planned community in Yelm.

Tahoma Terra encompasses 220 acres and was envisioned to contain as many as 1,200 housing units. Two of the nine phases envisioned under the original master plan are completed, developer Doug Bloom said.

He said 120 acres is subject to the foreclosure action.”

On April 17, 2010, Megan Hansen quoted Mayor Harding in the Nisqually Valley News:
“‘The property the well is being drilled on is currently owned by developers, but within its master plan is an agreement to gift the property to the city.’

Yelm Mayor Ron Harding said if for whatever reason those plans don’t move forward, the city can always condemn the property.”

[Ed. Note: The mayor’s statement the property was owned by the developers was NOT true! The property had already been foreclosed & the deed recorded in the bank’s name April 13, 2010. The County recorder’s office reflects that as fact!
And, the mayor is threatening to condemn the bank’s property?
Is a threat of seizing a local land-owner’s property and/or water rights ‘serving the public’s interest’?]

Ed. Note: How could Mr. Harding tell the community the City of Yelm could receive this land as a gift from the developers when the deed was recorded to Union Street Holdings on April 13, 2010, before that evening’s Council meeting?
While the agreement with the city by Tahoma Terra says bankruptcy will not null the agreement, if you were a business person, would you spend 2/3 of a million dollars for an exploratory well on property which has been taken over by the bank from the owners with whom you signed the agreement?

In any case, the Council expended $615,223 for the well based on inaccurate information!
Was Yelm’s City Council misled in their vote for this appropriation?
YOU DECIDE!