Olympia Awaits Session’S Bustle, Dollars City Will Grow From 40,000 To 65,000 When Legislature Convenes Next Week

It’s early afternoon, and the only sounds in the state Capitol’s marble rotunda are tourists’ whispers and one young boy’s echoing hiccup.

Inside the House and Senate chambers, there are no pounding gavels or finger-jabbing lawmakers. Just the hum of the ventilation system.

“Let’s just wait out here,” whispers a woman standing with her family outside the governor’s office. “In case somebody important goes by.”

All is quiet in the state Capitol for now. Next week, lawmakers, lobbyists, staff and reporters will flow into town - some by busload. On Jan. 8 the 33-building Capitol campus will burst to life as the 105-day session begins. Olympia, a quiet city of 40,000, grows during the session to a bustling 65,000.

“It’s the calm before the storm,” says Ora Sherwood, who operates the Capitol Grill, a privately run cafe “unda the rotunda.” During the session, he doubles his staff, and nearly triples his business.

“Soon, that plaza’s going to be just a sea of people,” he says, “with lots of trench coats and umbrellas and overcoats.”

“The Legislature is like a grand theater that comes to town,” says Mark Foutch, Olympia’s mayor pro tempore. “All these interesting and amazing people come here from across the state, play their roles, and then depart.”

Behind the scenes, workers spend months preparing.

They polish marble floors, shine brass railings and scrub 1,042 toilets and urinals. Parking officials map out plans for nearly 8,000 spots. Recyclers figure out how to gather up the 2.4 million pounds of paper the Capitol campus generates each year.

Part of the challenge is maintaining a facility that’s so old, said Bill Moore, assistant director of the Division of Capitol Facilities.

The Capitol was completed in 1928, and some of the infrastructure, such as ventilation fans, dates from the Eisenhower years. “We keep some spare parts that you can’t even get anymore,” he says.

Many of those who visit the Capitol are strictly sightseers. Those who visit during the off-season are often disappointed at how quiet everything seems.

“Almost everyone asks when it’s going to be in session,” says tour guide Patricia Robison. “It’s very quiet. A lot of people just walk through and take pictures. It’s just an entirely different feeling.”

And during the session?

“It’s a madhouse,” she says. “There are legislators everywhere having different meetings. There’s heightened security. There are protest groups - oh, you name it, they have it. Anything you name, somebody’s protesting against it.”

Full-time residents of Olympia, as in many state capitals, have had mixed feelings about being the seat of state government. On the plus side, the state is a huge, stable, well-paying employer.

“Olympia would probably be a lot like Shelton if it weren’t for the state Capitol here,” says Foutch. And Shelton is a timber town of 7,800 people.

On the other hand, state facilities don’t pay property taxes, but still need services like city fire protection. The legislative hubbub also tends to clog streets for blocks around the Capitol - many of which have old, stately homes with no driveways.

Things boiled over about a decade ago, with homeowners livid at being crowded out of parking in their own neighborhoods. In response, the city now issues special street-parking permits for local residents, and tickets everyone else.

Parking aside, many in town welcome the session. Shopkeepers and cafe owners say it’s like a second Christmas.

“We appreciate when the Legislature is in town,” says Scott Staples, owner of 13-table Ruby’s cafe. “It definitely fills up.”

The session also brings a flurry of activity to laid-back Olympia, says Sherwood.

“There’s an excitement that comes with session,” he says. “You have to be the sort of person that feeds on that. It’s a real roller-coaster ride.

“When it does end, it’s kind of a woeful feeling. All of a sudden the gears stop turning.”

Staples agrees.

“At the start, it seems like everyone’s in a good mood, roaring to go,” he says. “By the time it’s done, though, everyone’s ready to go.”