Key Bank Building on the Auction Block in Tenino

After almost a year, the sign posted in the drive-through window alerting Tenino KeyBank customers about the branch closing Aug. 21, 2015, still hangs, slightly curled. 

It’s a reminder there was once a full-service bank in the heart of downtown. It was a friendly place where friends and neighbors worked, where the tellers knew their customers and families by name and where you could catch up on the local news.

Now, KeyBank’s Tenino customers must drive to the Grand Mound branch in Rochester, Yelm or Tumwater to do their banking.

Inside the abandoned building, an American flag sits in its stand near the large glass doors that open to Sussex Avenue. Across the room, the vault door stands wide open below a giant clock on the wall that no longer keeps accurate time.

Leaves and debris lie strewn inside the door as if blown under the glass. The abandoned building sits in the middle of town. The blinds are drawn or half drawn, and the only activity is in the parking lot where a few cars are parked during the day. Inside, wires hang from walls and across counters, remnants of computer and phone connections. Keys hang from locks in drawers and cabinets.

When the bank closed, it “changed the town,” said one woman who did not want her name in the newspaper. She wound up splitting her banking business between KeyBank and a local credit union. She drives to Rochester, but it is inconvenient, she said.

Tenino Chamber of Commerce President Tyler Whitworth said the small city has been experiencing a resurgence of sorts with the addition of a farm supply store, the new Don Juan’s pizza restaurant and other new or expanding businesses and new homes being built.

Currently, aside from financial advisers, there is one credit union located inside the grocery store.

“Obee Credit Union does a great job,” Whitworth said, “but people want a bank, a drive-through and access to all a bank offers.”

While no one is sure who noticed the restrictions first, once word got out that the building cannot be used as a bank, some citizens became outraged and one started an online petition. Tenino Mayor Wayne Fournier contacted the Governor’s Office and was directed to Scott Jarvis of the state’s department of financial institutions.

Jarvis said Wednesday morning Key Bank’s national status means they do not fall under the regulatory jurisdiction of Washington, but he is waiting for a call back from KeyBank’s corporate office in Ohio regarding Tenino’s situation.

While it’s inconvenient to the business and community and can be a hardship for citizens, Jarvis said, there’s a reputational risk for KeyBank in this situation.

Mike Horner, whose name is on the JLL real estate sign at the building, said it is common practice for financial institutions and national banks to place restrictions like the ones placed on the Tenino property. Ryan Jones, also of JLL, who Horner said is more involved with the property than he is, did not return a call by press time.

Tenino resident Colleen Kirschmeier said the restrictions for a small town like Tenino are “absurd.”

“How do they expect to get rid of it then? It’s a bank, it needs to stay a bank,” she said.

Barbara Roderick works at the Tenino Antique Mall and believes the limitations are actually restricting trade, which is against the law and the auctioneers shouldn’t be participating in what she sees as unethical behavior.

“We need a financial bank in town. It would benefit the town greatly,” Roderick said.

And even though the opening bid is $100,000, she doubts the bank would actually sell it that low, when it’s worth at least five times more than that.

“It’s pretty obvious,” said Tenino Mayor Wayne Fournier. “It’s a bank and was designed to be a bank. The market would support that use and the restrictions render it useless. The city needs financial institutions and a bank is an anchor business.”

Fournier listed reasons why the restrictions should be lifted: “It wouldn’t be cost efficient for a bank to build a new building when they could have one that already exists. Best use of the building should be a bank. It’s the heart of the town. That bank is like a heart and pumps commerce and capital, brings people into town to do their business. It hurts less mobile residents.”

He’s not spoken to anyone from KeyBank, but a council member attempted to call the corporation to learn plans for the building after it was vacated, he said.

“Who do you call?” he asked. “It’s a big faceless corporation.”

The only action being taken by Tenino City Hall at this point is a resolution stating the city’s position on the property’s restrictions, which will be addressed at the next Tenino City Council meeting, July 12.

Fournier said he may attend the open house, but doesn’t want to disrupt the process and if citizens choose to gather, he doesn’t want to create a situation personally through his actions.

With Oregon Trail Days just around the corner, “Tenino businesses and folks feel like we’re in a good place. We’re optimistic, but this is a distraction from all the other good things going on here.”