Sheriff's Office celebrates new Belfair location

The Mason County Sheriff's Office celebrated its new North Precinct location in Belfair with an open house that allowed community members to inspect a SWAT vehicle, tour a mobile command center and partake of free food and drinks while listening to folk duo The Angel and the Outlaw on Feb. 2.

The building, at 460 NE Old Belfair Highway, is the former home of North Mason Regional Fire Authority. It moved to a new building next door with hopes of creating an emergency management campus, according to North Mason Fire Chief Beau Bakken.

In addition to the Sheriff's Office, the North Precinct building includes offices of the state departments of Corrections, Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources and the Treasurer's Office is installing a drop box at the location.

Bakken told the crowd at the ribbon-cutting ceremony it "wasn't all smooth sailing."

He said the opening party was almost eight years in the making. Planning with county commissioners and the sheriff started before putting the 2019 Fire District bond before voters.

"We didn't sell the concept of a structure. What sold our bond opportunity was the partnership we were putting together," Bakken said.

Commissioners Randy Neatherlin and Kevin Shutty, who attended the event, were pleased to see the concentration of services in North Mason County.

Shutty thanked Sheriff Ryan Spurling for his vision and navigation.

"Being able to provide a facility that will serve our deputies' needs for the next couple of decades is a good thing, but it also provides us with an opportunity with others in the community to provide services up here. Including County Services," Shutty said.

Neatherlin said he didn't usually support tax increases, but this was a well-spent bond.

"This is one of the only tax increases I've ever been a part of where I was a proponent for it," Neatherlin said.

"This is an extreme success for the community and well worth the effort," he added.

Spurling told the crowd about an incident that happened to him on the way to the ribbon-cutting as an illustration of the importance of community partnerships.

He was driving down state Route 3 when he saw a man in the middle of the road.

"An individual was in the highway taking swings at cars. He's in a mental health crisis," Spurling said.

The sheriff pulled over and was able to get Emergency Prevention Specialist Abe Gardner, who is based at North Mason Fire, there "within a few minutes," he said.

"We have a partnership that is critical to providing better services to our community in the North End," Spurling said.

The Sheriff's Office also displayed a new mobile command vehicle that was donated by Charlie's Vision, a nonprofit organization in Grapeview dedicated to helping Washington law enforcement with unfunded needs such as training, equipment, K-9 programs and search and rescue, according to their website.

The organization was named after Charlie Rhodes, who died from Duchenne muscular dystrophy at 37.

"Over the years, Charlie developed a huge heart for law enforcement officers; those who daily put their lives on the line to be the peacekeepers and the defenders of the defenseless. They were his heroes and he vigorously supported them. It caused him great concern that, too often, budget constraints due to limited resources, hamper the work of our officers, by the elimination of funds needed to effectively operate the departments in which they work. He knew that, for them to effectively carry out their duties, they need to be properly equipped and trained," the website says.

The charity was started by his parents, Charles and Julie Rhodes, who presented the mobile command vehicle at the event.

The vehicle acts as a hub for communications during critical incidents and has a bathroom, meeting space, audio and video conferencing capabilities and computer and internet connections.

Julie Rhodes said fundraising for the vehicle happened throughout 2023 and the money raised came entirely from businesses and community members.

"I'm so proud of Mason County and our supporters. They turned out in a big way supporting this project," she said.

Spurling said the much-needed command center will be available for all county entities to use.

"I know Charlie is looking down and he is excited," Spurling told the crowd.