I feel compelled to offer my two cents regarding the Mirror’s Inside Politics author’s constant haranguing of our mayor, city council and city staff.

Bob Roegner’s obsessive criticism of, in particular, Mayor Jim Ferrell, is wearing thin. One must, after almost five years of his columns faulting Mayor Ferrell for one thing or another, finally conclude that his attack is personal. And, personal attacks in our newspaper of record have no place in the scheme of things. They’re harmful and they are embarrassing! Especially when often he has misrepresented the facts.

We are a rapidly growing city that needs a center if we are to continue growing in an intelligent manner. Now, we can go forward, or we can go backward. No good city has just happened. It takes intelligent planning and it takes a village to do anything meaningful. Thus, if we must pay a utility tax to sustain our plans for our utopia, then we will pay a utility tax. Period.

For the record, many of you may remember that I, too, was opposed to building the Performing Arts and Event Center (PAEC) because I felt the city’s residents could not support it. The idea to appoint a Blue Ribbon Panel to study the subject was brilliant. Finally, the decades-long argument would be settled once and for all. The panel concluded that this city would benefit immensely from a Performing Arts and Events Center and that we could and would be able to support it.

Their presentation also provided the information that I, and others, needed to understand how the center would draw business and new residents to our city, thereby the growth we need. We all know that there are always bumps in the road for any good outcome. The rewards we reap from the improvements we make are worth it.

Having the PAEC and Town Square Park in our city core is just the beginning. Who knows just how many bumps in that road we will endure on this journey. They’ll all be worth it in the end. It would be nice and helpful if our newspaper supported the efforts our hardworking mayor and council and staff make daily to that end.

When I moved to Federal Way in 1975, we were a country forest with several small strip malls here and there. It was quaint, but how beautiful our city is now and how proud I am to call it home. We have beautifully kept streets and a much cohesive looking city with no billboards, less overhead wires and buildings with monument style signs. We can go forward with our vision, or we can go backward. Just saying.

Now, if we can just get Bob Roegner to support the vision most of us have, this beautiful city will be even more attractive to its residents. Get with the program, Mr. Roegner, or move back to Auburn, please.

Sheryl Nevers, Federal Way