Federal Way city leaders are all over the globe this season, having returned from a trip to the nation’s capitol last week and heading out again later this month for a weeklong visit to Federal Way’s sister cities in Korea and Japan.
They discussed those trips and more city business during the April 4 Federal Way City Council meeting.
Ferrell and council members Linda Kochmar, Susan Honda, Lydia Assefa-Dawson, Jack Dovey and Jack Walsh spent March 26-29 in Washington, D.C., advocating for several local issues and seeking funding for several city projects. City policy advisor Bill Vadino joined the team too. They met with Washington Rep. Adam Smith and Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell during the visit.
The National League of Cities visit is a chance to get in the ear of those in Congress and the state Legislature — “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” as Council President Kochmar put it — and to learn from other cities dealing with similar challenges as Federal Way, such as chronic homelessness, transportation and housing.
The city dropped its membership in the National League of Cities around 2008 as a cost-saving measure due to the recession, Honda said, and the city picked it back up during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
City leaders asked for $4 million for the proposed Federal Way Public Market, $2 million to spur childcare services for businesses in Federal Way, and $200,000 for electrical vehicle charging stations. Their number one goal overall, Ferrell said, is carving out a “true downtown” in Federal Way as light rail comes online and the city considers options for Town Center 3.
Congressman Smith and Senators Murray and Cantwell each asked if the projects were “shovel-ready” for money, Dovey said at the council meeting, and he credited city staff for having the city’s pitches researched and rehearsed well ahead of time.
“We actually had a story that people could look at … and as a council member, if that hadn’t been done over the last nine months, we would have been there, had fun, met people, but we wouldn’t have been able to ask for the things we asked for.”
One lesson came from the mayor of Moscow, Idaho, site of the murder of four students last November, Dovey said: “Be prepared for the worst thing to ever happen in your city.” And other city leaders stressed the extent and danger of the synthetic opioid fentanyl and the urgency with which cities must tackle the drug crisis.
“The problems we face are the problems they’re facing,” Honda said. “We’re not unique … we as a country are pretty much facing the same issues, over and over and over — small cities, villages and big cities.”
Sister cities
From April 21-29, city leaders will be gone again — this time traveling to Donghae, South Korea, and Hachinohe, Japan, which are two of Federal Way’s sister cities. The mayor and council members Honda, Assefa-Dawson, Hoang Tran and Walsh will be in attendance, along with several members of city staff, former Mayor Mike Park, Federal Way Chamber of Commerce President Becca Martin and members of the Federal Way Korean American Association.
The trips are a chance to create inter-continental business connections and cultural exchange, city leaders said. It’s been about two decades since the city last visited, Honda said, and representatives from those cities have been visiting Federal Way in the meantime.
“We’ve been very reticent in the past decade on going on trips,” Ferrell said, “being mindful of the financial hardships. … Because our budget is in good shape … we do believe it’s time to uphold our end of the relationship with our sister cities.”
The budget for that entire trip, approved at the city’s March 7 council meeting, is $39,323. It includes airfare, hotels, food and other expenditures, city finance director Steve Groom said in an email.
“This is [a] modest budget for an eight-day trip, a contingent of eleven people in the group led by the mayor,” Groom said.
Members of Federal Way’s Korean-American community also donated $5,000 to help cover the costs.
Also on Tuesday
The council unanimously passed a bill amending the city comprehensive plan, including a rezone of a property at 1600 S. 304th St., aka the Rivera site, from professional office to community business.
The council unanimously passed a bill amending city code around the height of minor and supporting structures for school uses.
The council proclaimed April 10-16 as Food Waste Prevention Week and called upon residents to reduce their food waste.
Coming up in Federal Way
April 22: You can help clean up Federal Way for Parks Appreciation Day from 9 a.m. to noon. Groups will meet at the Hylebos Blueberry Farm (630 S. 356th St) and Town Square Park (31600 Pete von Reichbauer Way S).
May 11: Local senior citizens can attend a senior health and resource fair at the PAEC from 10 a.m. to noon, hosted by the city Senior Commission. City leaders hope to make it an annual event.
May 13: The Federal Way Farmer’s Market returns for the season, running Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through October in the back parking lot of The Commons mall.
May 20: Kids can learn about service providers like police and construction workers at the “Touch a Truck” event at Wild Waves from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
