Spooner Berry Farms could lose its Yelm Highway stand after 43 years as Olympia clears the site for Jolene Unsoeld Community Park.

Owners Sue and Tim Spooner announced the news on social media Tuesday, Sept. 15, calling the stand "the main hub to our existence."

Their concessionaire contract with the city expires Oct. 1, and construction on the park's first phase is set to begin this fall.

Nearly a dozen residents spoke in support of the stand at the Olympia City Council meeting that evening, The Olympian reported.

Council member Robert Vanderpool said he received about 300 emails in the past week about the farm stand.

The roughly $20 million park project would be Olympia's first new park since the 1980s, with a target opening of late 2028, according to The Olympian.

The city bought the 86-acre property from the Zahn family in 2018 for $10.7 million. Plans call for a soccer field, 13 pickleball courts, a playground, basketball courts, a dog park and a maintenance facility.

The Spooners have never owned the land. They leased it from the Zahns and then from the city after the 2018 purchase. The U-Pick strawberry field at the site closed after the 2023 season, city spokesperson Brandon Chapman said.

At the Sept. 15 meeting, Sue Spooner said she has original plans from 2018 showing the berry stand included in the park design. Current city staff dispute that any such promise was made.

"I have the original plans right here. The berry stand is in this plan," Spooner said. "The people with the City of Olympia right now said that was never the deal."

Mayor Dontae Payne acknowledged that a former parks planning director, now retired, may have made that assurance. But he said it does not amount to a binding commitment. He told the Spooners the city would explore alternatives.

Parks Director Sylvana Niehuser said construction permits require closing direct access from Yelm Highway and rerouting traffic. State and federal grants funding the project also restrict how the property can be used, she said.

The city has offered two options: space for a mobile stand in the future park plaza, or relocation to one of two nearby sites identified by a hired relocation firm. The city would cover moving costs.

Olympia resident Matthew Plummer started a Change.org petition on Sept. 6 to save the stand. It had collected 455 signatures by Thursday afternoon, Sept. 17.

Council member Paul Berendt, who said he has visited the stand for 31 years, cited safety concerns about vehicles turning into the property from Yelm Highway. He said the current location may not work alongside road improvements the park requires.

Spooner Berry Farms operates 10 other locations across the region, and the family owns 200 acres of farmland a few miles down Yelm Highway, according to The Olympian. But the Spooners said losing the main stand could end the entire operation.

No vote or formal decision on the stand's future has been scheduled. The Oct. 1 contract expiration remains the only confirmed deadline.