Wash. Sheriff Wants Volunteer Harbor Patrol to Join Agency's Marine Unit as 'Force Multiplier'

Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders wants to absorb the Port of Olympia’s Harbor Patrol program.

Harbor Patrol is a volunteer-staffed program that provides security, marine safety and emergency response services but has no law enforcement authority, according to a Port presentation to the Board of County Commissioners March 3.

Sanders is requesting that the county commissioners sign off on an interlocal agreement with the Port, allowing him to acquire two of its vessels as well as the entire Harbor Patrol volunteer organization. If approved, Sanders will significantly grow his office’s presence on the South Sound. He first presented the idea to the full board at the March 3 meeting, but the board has delayed a vote as it awaits a more detailed cost breakdown.

“We can use the Harbor Patrol as a force multiplier when we go out there,” Sanders told the board on March 3. “They can be used for all of the non-law enforcement, like directing traffic or just being a presence … . So, having these volunteers available is going to be a big deal.”

The Harbor Patrol has four commanders who oversee a crew of 16, according to the Port’s presentation.

In his first term, Sanders has overseen a growing Sheriff’s Office even as Thurston County has faced ongoing budget challenges. He’s hired more deputies with the help of a voter-approved Public Safety Sales Tax, the county purchased a new building for the Sheriff’s Office headquarters, and he’s actively developing a helicopter program with the help of donations.

Now, he’s set his sights on the water.

What’s in the proposed agreement?

Under the proposed agreement, Thurston County would pay the Port $12,075 for the 31-foot Integrity, a 2013 medical transport boat in disrepair that’s been out of commission for three years. The Port would also transfer another boat called Harbor One free of charge.

The Port acquired Integrity in 2012 through a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant award administered by the Marine Exchange of Puget Sound, according to the agreement.

The Sheriff’s Office had been actively using Integrity under an interlocal agreement with the Port while it was still in commission. The boat remains docked at the Port’s Swantown Marina and Boatworks in Olympia, Sanders said.

“When the engines went down, you’re talking about $120,000 to repower Integrity,” Sanders said. “It’s not cheap. We have the funds set aside for that through boater funds … but we kind of came to an impasse where we didn’t want to put $120,000 of county money into an asset that doesn’t belong to us.”

The Port recently reached an agreement with FEMA to release the vessel from that grant obligation, allowing the Port to transfer it to the Sheriff’s Office.

Integrity is estimated to be worth $20,000 in its current condition, per the agreement, but the Port intends to strip out equipment worth $7,925 before the transfer.

“Integrity is a big deal because right now, we’re using lake boats out on the Sound, so no encapsulated cabin,” Sanders said. “So at nighttime, if you’re out rescuing a stranded boater, it’s very cold.”

As part of the agreement, the Port’s Harbor Patrol would fall under the Sheriff’s Office Marine Services Unit after a transition period of up to six months.

How would the Sheriff’s Office pay for this?

The Marine Services Unit is responsible for patrolling and enforcing laws on all Thurston County waterways, both freshwater and saltwater. The unit is paid for by Vessel Registration Funds, which are distributed by the Washington State Parks Department, according to the county’s website.

The Sheriff’s Office holds this money in what Sanders referred to as a “boater fund.”

Undersheriff Ruben Mancillas told the board the Sheriff’s Office would pay for this transfer and subsequent repairs with the boater fund. He described the fund as “very healthy.”

“We normally take in more funds than we use each year, so we have a surplus,” Mancillas said. “That’s to pay for the maintenance in the repairs of these vessels. We just weren’t able to use them on these vessels because we don’t own them.”

The ending fund balance for the boater fund was about $302,000 in 2025, he said. The fund receives about $65,000 a year, he added.

Mancillas said the Sheriff’s Office would seek authority from the board to spend about $174,000 from the boater fund in 2026 as part of this plan.

The board delayed a vote on the agreement with the Port for the second time on Tuesday. County Manager Leonard Hernandez told the board the county is still seeking about three to five years of program expense information from the Port.

Harbor Patrol has switched owners before

The City of Olympia first established the Harbor Patrol in 1982, Damien Egan, Harbor Senior Manager for the Port, told the board on March 3. Back then, it fell under the direction of the Olympia Police Department.

The Port took over the program, including its vessels and volunteer organization, in 2015, Egan said.

“The Port acquired Harbor Patrol to avoid extinction,” Egan said. “We saw too much value in the program for it to go away when the city decided to not fund it anymore.”

Harbor Patrol volunteers routinely patrol Budd Inlet as well as other South Sound locations at the requests of the United States Coast Guard, according to information Egan presented. Each year, volunteers spend about 800 hours patrolling on the water and about 750 hours training, he shared.

The organization also partners with local community events such as Olympia Harbor Days, Olympia Dragon Boat Races and sailing regattas.

Egan said the Port no longer believes Harbor Patrol is aligned with its mission or long-term vision.

“Under TCSO, they’d have an expanded community benefit with a larger waterway coverage area — because we limit them to kind of the Budd Inlet area — law enforcement capability with deputies being on board, vessel inspections and safety checks,” Egan said.

The Port would partner with the county to see to it that Harbor Patrol continues to provide it with security, safety and emergency response services, Egan said.

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