Thank you Federal Way for the Performing Arts and Event Center (PAEC). We never had a vote, but instead had a magnificent Blue Ribbon Panel made a decision for us. We are now strapped with the nearly $750,000 in employee salaries, benefit packages, not to mention the dismal ticket sales.

Thank you Federal Way for the so-called independent Salary Commission, which just voted to give the mayor a 7.5 percent raise as well as a raise to the Federal Way City Council.

Thank you Federal Way for our schools. We voted for a $450 million school bond to fix the failing buildings of our public schools. Federal Way High School still isn’t finished. But wait, that wasn’t enough. FWPS needed an extra $33 million to pay for additional services.

Thank you Federal Way for insisting the light rail come into our community via the freeway rather than down Pacific Highway.

Thank you Federal Way for choosing South 324th Street as the new off-ramp that dead ends at Pacific Highway.

Thank you Federal Way for stepping up and approving the $39 million South King County Fire and Rescue levy to repair station houses and purchase land to build new ones. We still haven’t seen the aforementioned repairs mentioned in the newspaper.

Thank you Federal Way – our steadfast City Council passed a utility tax package that will be on all of Lakehaven Water and Sewer District monthly invoices to the tune of $950,000 plus annually.

Thank you Federal Way – Lakehaven is going to sue the city, which will cost the city and Lakehaven lots of $$$$$$$$$ fighting each other with taxpayers’ money.

Thank you Federal Way and the city and mayor’s office for allowing massive apartment complexes to be built that are exempt from paying property taxes such as homeowners do and not insisting on infrastructure improvements to be provided before the build-out of apartments.

Thank you Federal Way – the city administration considering not to renew the contract with Centerstage Theatre. Do you suppose this could be so there are no other choices but the PAEC?

Norma Blanchard, Federal Way