April 4, 2014 [11]
www.federalwaymirror.com tionally for new businesses, Ferrell said. The economic development director will reach out to local businesses and seek their input on the needs of the city’s economy.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Mayor Jim Ferrell (left), Deputy Mayor Jeanne Burbidge (center) and King County Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer unveil a photo on Wednesday during the Federal Way Chamber of Commerce meeting at Twin Lakes Golf and Country Club. The photo depicts a logging scene in Federal Way circa 1890. CARRIE RODRIGUEZ, The Mirror
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urgency. “The job of mayor is not just managing the city; it’s leading us towards the future,” Ferrell said. “If we want the Federal Way of the future to match our dreams of a thriving economy, with great quality of life, a place that businesses and families dream of moving to, then we have to build that future.” Federal Way will rise on what Ferrell referred to as the “power of now.” This means recognizing the opportunities facing the city, that the time for action is ripe and turning opportunity into results, he said. “Federal Way will be a city in which the economic recovery takes full root and takes off, we’ll actively recruit new businesses and retain existing businesses, we’ll stimulate an economic renaissance in the downtown that transforms the core of our city, we will devote the same energy to supporting our neighborhoods as we do on supporting business development,” Ferrell noted. For the past three months, he has spearheaded programs to bring city government and the community together. This includes the Neighborhood Connections program that brings City Hall out into the neighborhoods. And while he said the city has had fun engaging the public, they’ve also been energetic in engaging serious policy issues. “There is no issue needing the power of now more than the Performing Arts and Conference Center,” Ferrell said, noting he hopes the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel that he created will “move the PACC to a decision point this summer so that our downtown development can advance, one way or another.” The panel is currently assessing the financial plans for building and operating the PACC. They will report their findings to the Council on May 8.
Ferrell also discussed some new changes for the city, including the Town Square Park that is being built on the former AMC movie theater, or Town Square, site. The city is building the park for approximately $200,000 from its parks improvement funds. “The Town Square Park will send an important signal to private capital that our visions for downtown are starting to materialize,” he said, noting the park will open the weekend of July 4. “This park will provide an answer to the question: where is our downtown?”
STRONG ECONOMY
After weathering the impact of the Great Recession, Federal Way is on the rebound, Ferrell said. Children’s Hospital announced they will be opening a South Sound Clinic in Federal Way — a $15 million investment. The clinic will employ up to 70 employees and generate approximately 26,000 visits per year. The Children’s clinic, together with St. Francis and their physician partners, and new healthcare businesses, such as DaVita, are positioning the city “as a magnet for growth in the healthcare sector and a beacon of highquality medical services” for families, he said. At The Commons, a $27 million redevelopment is “bearing fruit” with the recent opening of Kohl’s department store and another mall anchor, Dick’s Sporting Goods, is being constructed. He noted that permit applications have increased across residential and commercial projects in the past year. The value of 2013 project applications is more than $136 million — a 75 percent increase over 2012, he said. With a strengthening economy, the city is adding the new position of economic development director. The new director will seek new and innovative ways to compete regionally and na-
The city is also making changes in the area of public safety. In addition to a new downtown police substation that will open next month across the street from the Transit Center, the city will also be changing the look of police vehicles to increase the visibility of its police force. “Beginning in June, you’ll begin seeing black and white vehicles replacing the older color, navy blue cars and SUVs,” he said. The new black and white vehicles will be phased in as existing vehicles are replaced, with 12 of the 60 vehicles in place this year. The city will also triple the Federal Way Police Department’s capacity of its hightech license plate readers to locate and recover stolen vehicles. These Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) scan vehicle licenses and search for matches with vehicles that have been reported stolen. An officer manually checking plates can recover three to four stolen autos per year, whereas an officer driving an ALPR-equipped patrol car can average between 50-75 stolen recoveries per year, Ferrell noted. “With the ALPRs, if a stolen vehicle passes our officer on 320th, for instance, they’ll get an almost instantaneous alert that the vehicle is stolen. Boom, on go the lights and siren and that auto thief will be facing hard time,” he said. “I spent two years on the auto theft task force and let me tell you, word of mouth is a big thing with these criminals and word will get out: if you’re an auto thief or you’re driving a stolen vehicle, stay out of Federal Way.” He said 2013 crime statistics shows an overall crime reduction of about 1 percent compared to the previous year. But Ferrell said the city will “never be satisfied” with any statistic. As the city enters its 2015/2016 biennial budget discussions this fall, he will propose to the Council to increase the number of police officer positions by four to six officers. If the Council approves these positions, the new officers will be placed in uniform specialty assignments, such as the Special Investigations Unit and Traffic. “This will enable us to
have a greater impact on auto theft, human trafficking, gang activity and reducing illegal drugs,” Ferrell said. “The increase in traffic unit officers will enable us to respond more quickly to peak hour accidents, as well as neighborhood complaints about speeding vehicles.”
NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAM
The city will also strengthen its code enforcement program to protect neighborhoods from decline. “Federal Way’s neighborhoods are the backbone of this community,” he noted. “We must keep foreclosures
and problem properties from dragging down property values and quality of life.” He said calls to the city’s code enforcement hotline have grown fivefold since 2008, from 174 to a projected 1,000 calls this year. The workload of the city’s two code enforcement officers has significantly increased. But the city’s complaintdriven code enforcement system is also a challenge, as it “pits neighbor against neighbor,” Ferrell noted. “That means that a problem property doesn’t get on our radar unless a resident complains,” he said. “This has
led to an incomplete knowledge of where the problem properties and foreclosures are.” The city’s new approach will rely on code enforcement staff to identify distressed properties and work to address them quickly and consistently, he said. The city will also hire an additional code enforcement officer to deal with the increased volume of complaints. He said the three officers will also work to address the current backlog of complaints.
more story online… federalwaymirror.com
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