Occupy Olympia should abide by rules like everyone else THE OLYMPIAN • Published November 20, 2011 Modified November 19, 2011

The Olympian
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As the Occupy Olympia movement enters its second month, one thing is clear: state officials have mishandled this situation by not requiring the protesters to live up to the same rules that every other community organization must follow.

State officials seem to have a hands-off approach to the protesters. While we understand the state’s reluctance to provoke a confrontation, by treating the protesters with kid gloves they have one set of standards for Occupy and a different set of rules for everyone else in the community and state.


The unequal treatment is unfair.


The Occupy Olympia movement began on Oct. 15 with a protest in Sylvester Park in the heart of downtown Olympia. The Occupy Wall Street protest began in New York’s Zuccotti Park on Sept. 17, and quickly spread globally.


After one day in Sylvester Park, the Occupy Olympia protesters moved a few blocks west to Heritage Park where they have been ever since. They have a food tent, medical tent, and dish-washing facilities, but rely on the nearby bathhouse for restroom facilities. Last week there were 153 tents in the park, down 20 from the week before.


Both Sylvester and Heritage parks are state-owned facilities, with the latter considered part of the Capitol Campus. Both parks are under the purview of the state Department of Enterprise Services – formerly the Department of General Administration.


For several years, Enterprise Services has had specific requirements for groups or individuals who want to use state facilities such as Heritage or Sylvester park. A couple who wants to wed in either park or community events such as Pet Parade or the Bon Odori festival, must apply for a state permit and be granted permission to proceed. There are costs associated with those permits.


The Olympia Downtown Association, for example, pays $140 per concert for electricity and Dumpsters at Sylvester Park.


The state permit for the sponsors of Lakefair to use Heritage Park ran to 27 pages this year, according to executive director Bob Barnes. The fees charged to Lakefair amounted to $24,700 for the five-day event and included a $100 fee from each of the 62 arts and craft vendors. The $24,700 also included $5,000 for State Patrol security, but does not include the $10,500 the City of Olympia charges for Olympia police officers. City and state fees are getting “astronomical,” Barnes said.


So how much has Occupy Olympia paid for their month-long encampment?


Not a dime.


Not only that, Occupy Olympia participants have not been required to get a no-cost “free speech” permit.


Steve Valandra, spokesman for Enterprise Services, said agency Director Joyce Turner has made those decisions. “It’s a director decision based on a free speech activity. It’s something we haven’t quite dealt with before,” Valandra said.


It’s not as if there aren’t costs associated with the Occupy movement. Take, for example, the damage being done to the park on the eastern shore of Capitol Lake.


Larry Kessel, property manager for Heritage Park, said between two and three acres of park property have been destroyed by continuous use over the last month. “It won’t come back,” Kessel said of the grass. “We’re going to have to regrade two to three acres because the damage is enough that it’s not repairable.”


By one estimate that could cost up to $40,000. Taxpayers will get stuck with the bill.


Further complicating things is Director Turner’s request that the tents be removed from Heritage Park. She didn’t set a deadline or spell out consequences for inaction. The Occupy Movement is being treated with kid gloves.


Then there’s the mixed message that State Patrol officials are sending.


On Nov. 4, Occupy Washington protesters set up a handful of tents near the Capitol dome. About 18 State Patrol troopers moved in just before 8 p.m. that Friday and hauled away five small tents. Two men were arrested after they refused to vacate a tent. They were to be cited for misdemeanor obstruction and given no-trespass orders for the Capitol, Lt. Mark Arras said.


So how do state officials justify the fact that Occupy Olympia protesters are allowed to have a sprawling encampment on one part of the Capitol Campus – Heritage Park – while a handful of Occupy Washington protesters were booted, and arrested, for staking claim to a different part of the campus that just happens to be in the shadow of the dome?


Do the rules apply equally to everyone, or does the Occupy Olympia Movement get a pass? It’s time for state officials to answer that question.