Bob Celski to rejoin Federal Way City Council after majority vote

After interviews with nine applicants, the Federal Way City Council voted 4-2 to appoint former Councilman Bob Celski on Thursday.

Deputy Mayor Jeanne Burbidge and council members Dini Duclos, Lydia Assefa-Dawson and Mark Koppang voted for Celski, while Councilwoman Susan Honda voted for Diana Noble-Gulliford and Councilman Martin Moore voted for Sharry Edwards.

Celski served on the council from 2012-15 and replaced Kelly Maloney, who vacated her seat on Dec. 31.

“I am reinvigorated and am ready to hit the ground running,” Celski said after the meeting. “I look forward to being a part of the good solutions that are needed by the community.”

Celski decided not to run for City Council after his term expired because he said he needed more time for his growing business and family.

Now, he has a better grasp on both, he said.

About two years ago, he said he looked ahead and realized he was going to triple his business between the end of 2015 and throughout 2016, a move that would require extensive travel.

“I didn’t want to short-change the council and the citizens,” he said, noting that he was, indeed, gone for a majority of 2016.

Now that he has help managing the business he works for, petroleum distributor IPC (USA), the 40-plus-year Federal Way resident has more time to dedicate to issues such as public safety and economic development.

He’s especially interested in finding ways to drive sources of revenue up so that the city can pay for it’s nine new police officers and fully fund the Performing Arts and Event Center “correctly.”

He also has a special interest in the type of development that occurs on the Industrial Realty Group property, the former Weyerhaeuser campus.

“I think I can help with that,” he said, adding he wants to personally meet with Industrial Realty Group’s Tom Messmer. “I think I can help make for a better outcome.”

Celski said he wants to find out the private company’s return on investment goal so that the city can help meet those goals. At the same time, he wants to consider the desires of many vocal residents, who would like to see an “environmentally sound” project that has little impact on the surrounding forested land.

“It’s a big chore,” he said, acknowledging the City Council has limited power when it comes to that property. “Who knows where it’ll lead to, but I will personally take the lead.”

Celski said he was both surprised, but not, at the outcome of his vote to rejoin the council

“There’s some new faces that have a lot of credibility who don’t have the expsure, but there’s some talent there,” he said of the other eight applicants. “While I was hoping to get the appointment, I wasn’t quite sure until the vote came out that way.”

Mayor Jim Ferrell also acknowledged the many “qualified and committed” candidates that applied for the seat and said it was great to hear their ideas for the future of Federal Way.

Koppang agreed.

“I was very impressed with the quality of the nine applicants the council interviewed and look forward to partnering with them in the future to create the best solutions for Federal Way, whatever role they occupy,” he said. “After thorough consideration of all the applicants, Bob Celski stood out to me as the best candidate based on his qualifications, the quality of the interview and the deep roots he has in the community. The fact that he has served on the council previously and will have a short learning curve made the decision even easier.”

Duclos said she served with Celski on the Finance, Economic Development and Regional Affairs Committee while on the council together and found him to be “very attentive to details” and “used his background to guide his comments and decision-making.”

“He was always helpful to others and brought a business perspective to issues,” she said. “I enjoyed working with him on this committee very much.”

Having worked with Celski when he previously served, Burbidge said she’s aware of the “outstanding level of quality” he will bring back with his appointment.

Honda said voting on a new council member is one of the hardest decisions to make; it’s her fourth time doing so.

“I voted for Diana because she has 40 years of experience with the city’s planning from incorporation to now,” she said. “As a current Planning Commission member, she has first-hand knowledge of what is going on in our city. Diana attended nearly every budget meeting we held this year and already understands the current budget.”

Honda said she is confident Celski will spend time studying the budget and reviewing the “critical issues” facing the city and looks forward to working with him, as is Moore, who said he is “excited for Celski to return to the council.”

“With the challenges that lie ahead of us, I am confident that Bob will hit the ground running immediately with his economic and financial background,” Moore said. “Like Sharry, there are many wonderful candidates that have applied, and we are a better city because of their passion and commitment to making our city a great city.”

Celski took the Oath of Office on Thursday, but his first official City Council meeting Jan. 17 at City Hall. He anticipates he will be appointed to the Land Use and Transportation Committee, as he previously chaired that committee for four years.