LaceyLife September 2024
Big Top Fun for Everyone! Lacey Children’s Day: Saturday, October 5 | 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Huntamer Park
Join the community for a Saturday afternoon of family fun featuring a variety of FREE activities, arts and crafts, giveaways, and games for kids of all ages, provided by local businesses and organizations! This year’s theme — Under the Big Top — invites you to feel the excitement and experience the magic of a day at the circus. You can even watch the magnificent Vuelta La Luna Traveling Circus show!
Lacey Children’s Day is a partnership between the City of Lacey and North Thurston Public Schools. The event takes place rain or shine. So, mark your calendar, invite your family and friends, and meet us there. It’s the perfect way to kick off fall!
To get more information, visit the Children’s Day webpage.
Thurston County Emergency Management Council invites the community to their annual Emergency Preparedness Expo.
Stop by and learn:
• How to prepare to protect yourself and your loved ones from emergencies.
• How the Community Emergency Response Team, Fire Department, and Law Enforcement protects you.
Enjoy free activities for the whole family at the Expo! To learn more, visit the Emergency Preparedness Expo website.
We take pride in leveraging limited public resources to improve our community. This column highlights projects we’ve recently completed and other initiatives of community interest.
City Documents at Your Fingertips!
Looking for a Proclamation, Resolution, or Ordinance?
In 2023, we moved all proclamations, resolutions, and ordinances to a comprehensive, online system where you can easily find what you’re looking for — including Lacey Municipal Code information — all in one place. The system allows you to search by topic or a specific word, and even view the history of an item.
“This new system increases transparency and improves accessibility,” says Lacey City Clerk, Elissa Fontaine. “It gives community members 24/7 access to these documents and all our Lacey Municipal Codes, as well.”
To view any of these documents online, visit our homepage and click on the “City Code” icon, and you’ll be on your way!
City Budget Process: How to Provide Input and Get More Information
The annual budget is one the most important documents the City produces. It provides information on revenues (how the City collects funds from a variety of sources) and expenditures (how the City plans to use funds during the current year).
Every year, the budget process begins in July and continues into the fall. As we prepare the City’s annual budget, we invite and encourage public involvement at the public hearings* listed in the 2025 Key Budget Process Dates below. To learn more about public hearings at Council meetings, visit the website.
To find out more about the City’s funding, major expenditures, how sales tax is distributed, and more, visit the Budget webpage.
Public Comment and Public Hearing Updates
Governing bodies (such as the City of Lacey) must allow community members to provide public comment at meetings where final action on an item is taking place (per state law). The Lacey City Council (Council) accepts written, remote, and in-person public comment on items related to City business, including specific agenda items.
The public comment period of a public meeting is considered a “limited public forum” for free speech purposes. In the U.S., speech is protected by the First Amendment; however, governmental entities can regulate the time, place, and manner of speech, as long as the regulations are reasonable and content-neutral.
The Council recently Updated Public Comment Policies including the following.
When making public comment in person or remotely, you must:
- Provide your name, and city of residence or connection to Lacey.
- State your comment topic.
- Limit comments to three (3) minutes.
The following are not allowed during a Public Comment period:
- Addressing topics that have a scheduled public hearing.
- Including presentations, recordings, or props.
- Causing disruptions or interruptions (including clapping, cheering, booing, etc.).
- Stating specific threats of violence with a reasonable fear of harm to person or property, or sexual harassment.
Public Hearing Updates
The rules above also apply to public hearings; however, comments are limited to the specific public hearing topic.
Learn More
This article briefly outlines the rules that become effective September 2, 2024. You can view the complete Public Comment and Public Hearing rules in Chapter 7 of the Council Policies and Procedures Manual.
New Electric Vehicle Charging Fees
As of August 6, all City-owned, public electric vehicle (EV) charging stations will have a fee. The fee will cover energy use, charger technologies and replacement costs, and an idle or overstay fee. Overstay fees will have a 15-minute grace period after the charging session has completed.
| Ev Charger Type | Price/Kwh | Overstay Charge/minute |
| Level 2 | $ 0.19 | $ 0.19 |
| DC Fast | $ 0.35 | $ 0.19 |
Check out the Lacey Museum’s New Temporary Exhibit!
Stop by and check out the Lacey Museum’s new temporary exhibit: “Live from Lacey: A History of Local Entertainment from 1920 to 1980”
This exhibit features iconic items from KGY Radio Station, the Evergreen Ballroom, and Lacey’s Drive-in Movie Theatre.
Lacey Museum (829 Lacey St SE) hours:
Thurs./Fri.: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Sat.: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Don’t miss this journey back in time!
View the September 2024 LaceyLife pdf.
