By PHIL WAMBA, Federal Way resident
To the Federal Way City Council and citizens of Federal Way:
I read with interest council member Jim Ferrell’s article in last Saturday’s (Dec. 6) Federal Way Mirror.
Mr. Ferrell rightly brought our collective attention to the state of the economy and the need to look with care and wisdom at the proposed performing arts and cultural center project (PACC).
The PACC project has been on the council’s agenda for quite some time. And until the economy’s dramatic downturn, they have been a strong supporter — including appropriating $80,000 for a consultant study to determine the appropriate physical parameters, economic benefits and cost for the project.
The state Legislature has also shown its support for the project, appropriating $500,000 for initial engineering and design cost.
With the city’s guidance and blessing, a grass-roots effort by local citizens generated an additional $45,000 for a study to determine the feasibility for obtaining the necessary capital funds. That study is now under way, with a report due in March 2009.
So how does this current economic downturn affect the PACC project?
On the one hand, it seems that available monies should be spent to address some of the issues Mr. Ferrell discussed: Employee layoffs, service cutbacks, unpaid leaves. It should be noted that Federal Way’s 2009/2010 budget does not include layoffs, services cutbacks or unpaid leaves. The key words here are “available monies.” The PACC project is asking for capital funding. The PACC project is asking for funds from the City of Federal Way, the state and federal sources, set aside specifically and only for capital purposes. These are funds that would not be used for employee salaries, service cutbacks or other operational (as opposed to capital) expenses. Those monies can be used, however, to pay salaries within capital projects.
At state and federal levels there is activity to provide an economic stimulus.
I noted the statistics in Sandy Petitt’s Dec. 10 letter in The Mirror of the economic benefits that have come from investing capital in the arts. Wouldn’t we all be happy to get a 12 percent return on our money right now?
In the 2003 Arts Fund Economic Impact Study, King and Pierce county arts and heritage organizations generated $835 million in business activity annually, including $300 million in new money, new money brought from outside the local community.
In the 2007 Americans for the Arts economic impact study, nationwide the non-profit arts and cultural industry generates nearly $30 billion in revenue for local, state and federal governments every year. By comparison, the three levels of government collectively spend less than $4 billion annually to support arts and culture. This is a spectacular 7-to-1 return on investment that would thrill even Wall Street veterans.
Wow! That is economic stimulus with a capital “S.”
PACC will provide construction jobs, local revenues from the construction workers for meals and lodging. It will provide increased revenues to local businesses, encourage new businesses to locate here, and foster employment growth through people both local and from outside the city who come for the PACC programs and spend money for food, lodging, and other local goods and services. The city will receive the benefit of increased tax revenues. And new jobs will be created to operate the PACC.
Mr. Ferrell is also correct that the city would have to support the operating costs at approximately $260,000 per year. This cost was taken into account in the consulting study; and the city manager’s office recognized this would be a reasonable cost to be offset by the increased indirect revenues that would come from increased local business revenues and taxes. This would be subsidization similar to that provided for the city’s sports fields.
Let’s look at the projected capital cost, currently identified by the city at $54.7 million, which includes cost for the land and addition of a parking facility. Mr. Ferrell rightly notes that these costs have not been properly vetted. These cost figures were generated before the economic downturn. LMN Architects, who were part of the original consulting team that developed the capital costs, acknowledges that construction companies are now anxiously seeking work. LMN Architects now believes the current PACC cost figures will go down from 10 percent to 15 percent. And, depending on the location, there may not be a cost for the parking garage or land.
Four years ago, the cities of Burlington and Mount Vernon completed McIntyre Hall, a performing arts center that is quite similar to the proposed PACC in Federal Way. See the details at their Web site (www.mcintyrehall.org). The total cost was just over $17 million. And while it did not include a parking facility, it was built for about a third of the PACC’s estimated price. More than reason enough to take a close look at likely construction costs.
So back to Mr. Ferrell’s comments about the timing: When is the “right time” to commit to a project that will cost millions of dollars? And remember this is a cost spread over several years. The city has set aside $5 million specifically for capital projects. The state has set aside monies for capital projects and several municipalities will apply for that money. If Federal Way does not apply for those state capital funds (the city is considering a request for $5 million), the money will go to competing municipalities (such as Bellevue’s PACE performing arts center project).
The $500,000 the state has already allocated to Federal Way for the PACC project must be committed by second quarter of 2009, or it will be at risk.
And finally, the city has within its grasp the opportunity to move forward with a long planned, well defined PACC project that not only provides a much needed economic stimulus, but it is a major set piece for creating the heart of the city literally and figuratively. A vibrant city heart for which we can all be proud.
Every good wish and wisdom to the mayor and council members,
Phil Wamba, Federal Way resident and co-chair of the PACC Steering Committee.
