220 ideas have been submitted for how to spend money on community improvement projects in the unincorporated area of King County known as East Federal Way.

At an event on April 23, community members came together to see the top ideas narrowed down by a volunteer steering committee over the past six months. The steering committee met for about two hours a week for most of that time, reviewing and rating ideas on how to spend a $1,516,000 allotment as part of the participatory budgeting process.

Seven options were presented at the event for participants to show their support for. They were each provided five colorful dots and told to pick their top choices.

These seven options included:

• Naming a street after Black pioneer John Conna, who owned 140 acres in the East Federal Way area.

• Constructing a sidewalk/biking lane for pedestrians from 360th Street to the bus stop.

• Improving bicycle access on 28th Avenue South to connect it to the Interurban Trail and the Weyerhaeuser Way South bike lanes.

• Building a community center where immigrant or first generation Americans can learn computer skills and access resources.

• Decorating the city to look more visually appealing.

• Updating the Federal Way Senior Center by improving kitchen and dining equipment.

• Updating the Federal Way Senior Center to make it more physically accessible for people as well as vehicles.

Unincorporated East Federal Way is one of five areas sharing an $11 million allocation for the participatory budgeting process on community investment projects. The other four are East Renton, Fairwood, Skyway/West Hill and White Center/North Highline.

$11 million is a small percentage of King County’s overall budget. In the 2023-2024 biennial budget approved in November 2023, the county designated how a total of $16.2 billion would be spent.

Most capital projects in King County are decided the same way as they are within the city limits of Federal Way. Municipal leaders scope, design and build projects over multiple budgets and have a process to develop capital plans for their projects.

Typically, public feedback is solicited in a variety of ways, but community members are not materially involved with the process.

In the participatory budgeting process, community members guide the process every step of the way.

Community member Thomas Stewart said at the event that the process is based on the belief that “people know what is best for them.”

Petronelle Ifa Iyoli Fundi is a proposal advocate who has been involved in narrowing down the 220 ideas into the seven that were shared at the event. She recently immigrated from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and shared through a translator how much this opportunity has meant to her.

“It’s very important to me, as an immigrant here. When you live here, you live outside. Outside of the community, outside of the groups,” Ifa shared. In the participatory budgeting process, she said “we are included at the same level, equal to everyone else and integrated into the community.”

The next step will be for advocates to turn these ideas into proposals that will then be voted on this summer. Proposals will include details like scope and cost. Proposal advocates partner with staff and city leaders within King County to build out these proposals and look at the feasibility and community impact of each.

Valerie Schell and Trenise Rogers both share their support for possible community investment projects in the area of unincorporated King County known as East Federal Way. Valerie Schell is a proposal advocate and Trenise Rogers was involved in the participatory budgeting process last year.

Community members discuss how to spend approximately $1.5 million this year in the unincorporated area East of Federal Way.

Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror

Attendees of the participatory budgeting event gather for a group photo after sharing their support for their top ideas at the event. Photos by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror

Shelley Puariea, director of the Federal Way Senior Center, shares a few words at the beginning of the event. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror