Q: Mr. Federal Way, of late there’s been a lot of conversation about the plant in Tacoma that may send polluted or even poisonous gases toward Federal Way. Mayor Jim Ferrell held a meeting to get the word out to the citizens. This was a good thing, but Mr. Mayor does lots of meetings to get the word out and very little happens after that!
In another instance, the mayor held a meeting last fall to ask Port officials to explain to our citizens about the flight paths of planes out of SeaTac over Federal Way and the noise and smells those make. In my opinion, the noise pollution and smell of aircraft fuel that rains down, as well as the wide-body aircraft night flights, are every bit as bad as the possible pollution from Tacoma.
We’ve had constant noise pollution from aircraft every day and night over the past year. We have suffered from those pollutants in the quality of our daily lives and potential loss of property value (although our property taxes continue to rise significantly).
Our mayor held an aircraft meeting, people complained loud and clear about this pollution, and after that nothing more from our Mayor. Not one word further from him and no obvious actions taken to curtail the noise and fuel smell – all a form of pollution.
Is one kind of pollution worse than another? Will the same thing happen to the Tacoma plant – lots of talking and no doing? Many of us who voted for Ferrell will no doubt realize that he doesn’t have our best interests and quality of life in mind and will vote for an opponent who is concerned about all kinds of pollution in our city.
A: Mr. Federal Way is torn. On the one hand, Mr. Federal Way loves local theater and thus thinks these gripping performances by the mayor and some city council members have been nothing short of what snooty drama critics call “tours de force.” On the other hand, Mr. Federal Way hates smelly pollutants and the screaming whoosh of metal tubes overhead shredding through the sound barrier, so the fact that city officials are doing nothing more than pantomiming leadership and action is what this critic calls a tour de farce.
Let’s be real: Elected officials in Federal Way have little to no bearing on whether or not elected officials in Tacoma will make decisions that primarily affect Tacoma. City council resolutions, likewise, are little more than posturing gadflies in the complicated soup of the Federal Aviation Administration and its “A Beautiful Mind”-looking board of flight paths.
“But at least the city is doing something!” some will sputter, stamping their feet and shaking their fists with such indignation that I can feel their ire from here. So Mr. Federal Way’s counterpoint is: What, exactly, are they doing? Because from my vantage point, what they’re doing is announcing that they’re not the Tacoma City Council or a member of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which we all already knew. That’s the relevant part of their message, and that’s the only message worth taking away.
The worst part of the posturing is that the people most affected by these issues, with the most faith that elected officials can do something, and with the most wherewithal to actually try and fix things get to sit back after these resolutions with the confidence that things are getting done. They’re going to be baffled, then, when methanol plants spring up and airplanes keep buzzing their roofs, and they’re going to gnash their teeth and tear their hair and sputter, “I thought the city did something!”
You want to affect decisions in a different city? Talk to your state reps, like Rep. Linda Kochmar (R-Federal Way), who actually did sponsor state legislation that would affect the methanol plant. Bother congressional reps, like Reps. Adam Smith (D-District 9) and Rick Larsen (D-District 2), the former of which hasn’t done much but can talk to the latter, who’s the ranking member of the federal Subcommittee on Aviation. Maybe they do something, maybe they don’t; at least they can.
So, to finally get to your question: Is one kind of pollution worse than another? Sure; the worse one is the one that affects you first. And if folks want to avoid that, they need to skip the theater and start asking for action from the right people.
Q: Mr. Federal Way, do you think any of the two-time championship-winning Federal Way High basketball guys could go pro?
A: None of your busin– actually, that Jalen McDaniels kid is something else. If anyone can make it then he can; he’s already got the height, the jumper, the athleticism and the passing skills, so put some muscle on the frame and he can make even more noise than he already has.
Q: Mr. Federal Way, did you attend this week’s Best Of shindig?
A: None of your business.
Got a question for Mr. Federal Way? Email mrfederalway@federalwaymirror.com.
