Federal Way leaders recently sent a letter to state officials asking for allowance to proceed into phases 2, 3 and 4 of the governor’s “Safe Start Washington” plan and a modification to the approach of county-by-county.
Penned by Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell and the Federal Way City Council, the council approved the letter during Tuesday’s meeting to be sent to Gov. Jay Inslee and King County Executive Dow Constantine.
The letter outlines the city’s gratitude for the actions taken so far by the officials in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also notes Federal Way’s disappointment for cities and “sub-areas” within the county being penalized by the state’s approach of progression through the phases requiring approval of the entire county.
Businesses across the state were mandated to temporarily close, forcing millions to stop working due to the governor’s stay home order that went into effect March 25.
As of June 1, King County is not approved to safely proceed to Phase 2, instead qualifying to apply for a limited version Phase 1.5.
Once approved by the state, Phase 1.5 allows the safe reopening of personal services, professional and office-based services, in-store retail, pet grooming, and other small businesses and activities.
The June 2 letter reads in part:
“We are grateful for the option that will allow King County to apply to have some businesses to open under the new ‘Safe Start Washington’ plan, called Phase 1.5. However, we would like consideration of a proposal as we are concerned that it does not go far enough so that cities and ‘sub-areas’ be allowed to proceed in an accelerated fashion into Phases 2, 3, and 4.”
Federal Way officials said they applaud King County’s addition to their Phase 1.5 application by asking that all indoor dining services operate subject to Phase 2 guidance, with the exception that the number of clients served be no more than 25 percent of the tables provided at a time and such tables are more than 6 feet away from each other.
However, while this phase allows for outside seating for restaurants, it leaves this important business sector in critical shape, the letter says: “We ask that the Governor and state health secretary approve this proposal to help this important business sector.”
While the health measurements used by both the state and the county have provided guidance and have been successful in lowering the risk to citizens, the letter says, it is time to re-examine the geographical application of the measurements “as many individual communities in areas of our large county have succeeded in qualifying for subsequent phases.”
Unfortunately, the individual hotspot areas on the county dashboards are holding back communities who are ready to move to Phase 2 and beyond, the letter says, highlighting that if the positive cases from the locked down long-term care facilities are taken out of the equation, many areas of King County would qualify for moving on to Phase 2.
In turn, Federal Way leaders proposed another plan for consideration.
“Therefore, we propose that it is time to adopt a regional, ‘sub-area’ and city-by-city approach to the opening of King County. We call on the King County Executive the King County Council, and the King County Board of Health to discuss and adopt a regional ‘sub-area’ city-by-city focus and apply to the Governor to let those areas of the county apply to proceed to Phases 2, 3, and 4.”
The letter also asks the governor to carefully consider modifying the “county approach” for a county “sub-area” and city approach instead to allow more affected citizens and businesses “to begin the task of safely rebuilding their lives and livelihood.”
