Councilor Cody Colt stated at the Yelm City Council meeting of Tuesday, August 14th that the council was soliciting public comments on the options for the current city hall building to be vacated when staff offices move into the recently purchased Fairpoint building, now being re-purposed as the new city hall. While the city has been in talks with organizations about their interest for the old city hall building and have strutted in representatives to council supporting their organizations to be selected to use the building, Colt finally underscored citizen input is requested on the current city hall building’s future. Though seemingly city officials have already decided the direction on how the city hall building will be used, better late than never in requesting public comments, if considered at all! Bravo to Councilor Colt!

What do you think should be done with the building, as the city would like your input?
Click here to submit your comments.


– Editor’s note:
My views align with former council candidate James Connor Blair who wrote this on the Nisqually Valley News Facebook page: “The old property should be sold to recoup as much as possible of the money used to purchase the Fairpoint building. The proposed uses for the old city hall are all great ideas, but not at the expense of tax dollars.”

Further, the city has the pedal to the metal on spending, plus other budget-impacted issues that include: maintenance and upkeep on various projects including the newly acquired Fairpoint Building, loss of budget revenue from accepting a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure on 640 acres of Thurston Highlands land which is in limbo until December 2019, and a new splash park. Additionally, the Public Works Department is still woefully unfunded in their required upgrades.

When WILL fiscal responsibility on public expenditures be a hallmark of this city’s leaders?
I salute councilor candidate Blair for his stand.