The Federal Way City Council meeting had a packed agenda May 7 that included three proclamations, the swearing in of new police officers, an update from 30th District legislators on their work during the recent short session, approval of a settlement with a pharmaceutical company, and a lengthy public comment.

Opioid settlement

The council unanimously approved joining a third settlement in a series of lawsuits by the state against major opioid pharmacies, manufacturers and distributors. This case specifically is with Johnson & Johnson.

Overall, the Johnson & Johnson case is estimated to total $149.5 million in resolutions, according to the state attorney general’s office. When adding other cases like Purdue, McKinsey, Mallinckrodt, the three major opioid distributors, and five pharmacy and manufacturer settlements, Washington state’s overall total goes up to more than $1.3 billion to help fund the state’s opioid abatement and recovery programs.

For each of these settlements, the state receives 50% of the total and the remaining 50% is disbursed among local municipalities, according to the One Washington Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU is an agreement to split the money among local governments that signed on to it.

Federal Way is expected to receive a total of approximately $1.5 million between the multiple settlements to be distributed over the next 17 years.

The city has already received $143,000 that is being held in a marked account. The city has no plan for what to spend those dollars on as of yet.

Councilmember Susan Honda asked if funds could be used to help babies that are born addicted to drugs. Although she did not mention this in the context of the lawsuit settlement, earlier in the council meeting when legislators presented, Councilmember Linda Kochmar asked about creating a treatment center for those suffering from substance use disorder, which could be another relevant endeavor that those funds would be appropriate for.

Legislative updates

Rep. Jamila Taylor and Sen. Claire Wilson reported on the work they did during the recent legislative short session. At the start of the session back in January, Federal Way leaders told the 30th District representatives that their priorities included changing the police pursuit law, along with public safety in general. Federal Way leaders also expressed a desire for more local control with housing and investment in parks along with a variety of transportation budget requests.

To improve public safety and combat crime, the legislators shared updates about the police pursuit law, a $1 million investment into a Retail Theft Task Force, efforts to combat catalytic converter theft, efforts to reduce recidivism and lower re-offense rates after incarceration, a variety of investments in substance use disorder treatment, and a long list of investments in the well-being of children.

Specific infrastructure investments in the 30th District included the Northside Flood Reduction Project, a Phase 1 investment for a Cultural Public Market in Federal Way, electric vehicle chargers at the Federal Way Community Center, support for El Centro de la Raza and the African Community Housing Development, the Equitable Recovery and Reconciliation Alliance to support small businesses, and the Climate Resilience and Environmental Equity Campus.

Federal Way resident Anna Patrick expressed frustration with a variety of legislation, focusing on what she called “criminal-centric” bills that serve “high need individuals in our community, which we need, especially with all of the low-income housing,” but was critical of this focus because she said it is “pulling from the taxpayers which are moving away” due to being “overly burdened.” Overall she said “there’s been so much violence and destruction in our community, there’s plenty of blame to go around, but so much is directly related to the laws created by our current legislators.”

Dara Mandeville said “I’m disgusted with what our legislators have done and for them to come up here and say all of the great things have been done … yeah I don’t care.” She was especially frustrated with their mention of the success of changing the police pursuit law, saying that “they don’t get to take credit for that” and citing an initiative process that “cost over $6 million.”

Police

Four new police officers were sworn in, and a fifth is ready to do the same, but wasn’t able to attend.

• Officer Sergey Peshkov has a background in the U.S. Marine Corps and extensive experience in aviation.

• Officer Troy Petersohn has a bachelor of science in criminal justice and has held a variety of roles including fitness advisor and UPS driver.

• Officer Carrie Boschetti has a background in personal fitness including as the owner of a crossfit location.

• Officer Jessie Perry worked in the food industry before joining the City of Federal Way and is following in the footsteps of her dad, who is a sergeant with the King County Sheriff’s Office.

• Officer Morgan Thomas was not present, but will also soon be joining the Federal Way Police Department. He most recently worked in quality control and scored number two for academics at the Basic Law Enforcement Academy.

Two promotions were also celebrated as both Detective Gary Kopis and Corporal Jae An were promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

Chief Andy Hwang celebrated their achievements. Among others, due to Gary Kopis’s “exceptional investigative and report-writing skills,” he was selected as a detective and assigned to the Criminal Investigations Section (CIS). Kopis was designated as a crime scene manager, delegating responsibilities to other detectives and Major Crime Scene Team (MCST) members at crime scenes. Gary was also a Valley Independent Investigative Team (VIIT) member, tasked with investigating officer-involved shooting incidents.

Jae An was celebrated for a long list of accomplishments as well, including his time as a field training officer, hostage team negotiator and his community work. He started the department’s Bikes for Kids Program several years ago, “where a bicycle is awarded to kids with perfect attendance at Lake Grove Elementary, which was also the school Jae attended when growing up in Federal Way.”

Proclamations

The city council presented three proclamations.

• Provider Appreciation Day for Child Care Providers: May 10, 2024. Council presented the proclamation to two local owners of child care businesses and said that “childcare providers and childhood educators are essential to providing quality and safe childcare while allowing families the ability to work” and that “our future depends on the high-quality of the early childhood experiences provided to young children today as a worthy commitment to our children’s future.”

• Older Americans Month: May 2024. The proclamation stated that “we can best demonstrate our gratitude and esteem to older Americans by fostering an environment in which they can lead useful and satisfying lives and find the encouragement, acceptance and services they need,” and celebrated the creation several years ago of the Senior Advisory Commission.

• Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: May 2024. The initial proclamation did not include “Native Hawaiian,” but the council shared they will add that this year and amended the proclamation verbally to include it. They shared through the proclamation that “Federal Way is proud to be home to a large Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population that contributes greatly to the prosperity and enrichment of our city and region,” and “are deeply rooted in the United States and the State of Washington, reminding us of both proud and painful chapters of our history.”

Budget update

The city council also approved a biennial budget update. The two notable adjustments that needed to be made were to approve an increase in the jail costs from $2.3 million up to a total of $4.5 million, and the increased expenditures needed due to the discovery of mold in the locker rooms at the Federal Way Community Center, which added costs to the already planned renovations of the facility.

District 30 Rep. Jamila Taylor and Sen. Claire Wilson present their recent legislative work and progress on the priorities that the mayor and Federal Way City Council shared at the beginning of the short session.

Lydia Tadalla and Monica Silva with Councilmember Lydia Assefa-Dawson after receiving the proclamation for the Appreciation Day for Child Care Providers.

Members of the Federal Way Senior Advisory Commission: Debbie Harvey, Lana Bostic, Susan Honda, Tammy Dziak, Cheryl Volheim and Kenneth Pratt accept the proclamation for Older Americans Month. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror

Councilmember Paul McDaniel presented the proclamation for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month to Sili Savusa, Executive Director of the Pacif Islander Community Association of Washington. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror