Federal Way was racked with several shootings earlier this year, the first in February. However, at a neighborhood meeting at Sacajawea Middle School, some city leaders felt community concerns were overstated and presented a picture of relative safety. It wasn’t until May, after three more shootings followed in a 48-hour period, that residents, feeling a shared kinship with other parts of the country, demanded action. Some citizen suggestions were unrealistic or impractical, but such was the level of fear within the community.

Mayor Jim Ferrell and the City Council clearly felt the political pressure after several hundred people attended a community meeting to vent their concerns and share their opinions.

As mayor and as supervisor of the Police Department, Ferrell is the focus of community expectations, and the expectation for action and results are high. Probably higher than reasonable, but with no arrests in the three May shootings and violence reported in several more cities, local fear has not diminished.

Last week, Ferrell announced the members of the Violence Prevention Coalition. As if to elevate the urgency of the matter, a shooting occurred the next day, followed by another last Monday evening. The VPC membership list includes 13 individuals who have different backgrounds and some community members whose topical knowledge is unknown. They will be publicly introduced at the Aug. 9 City Council meeting.

The group has been given a short time frame to offer suggestions. Their recommendations to Ferrell and the city council are due Nov. 1.

There have been questions behind the scenes for several weeks about the status of the committee. Some citizens have been concerned about the length of time it took to form the committee, fearing a loss of momentum. They note that 400 residents attended the first community meeting, but only about 50 attended a follow-up discussion. Others fear police may be too focused on the community’s young people, even though only one shooting appears to have involved minors. Another concern is that the mayor and City Council’s recent moratorium against additional apartments may suggest a preconceived view that crime is caused by the poor or those that cannot afford to live in a single-family house. The mayor and council have denied that, but the timing seemed to be more than mere coincidence.

Many citizens who attended the first community meeting wanted to serve on the committee and have been interested in who would be chosen, along with wondering what the committee’s goals might include. Police activities are not prone to citizen participation in the same manner as parks, planning, zoning or street repair. With the chief of police on the committee and the deputy chief of police and planning manager as the key staff support, there is a concern about the committee’s independence. And with only three months to accomplish its work, there are questions about how much depth the committee will be able to give each topic.

Will the committee members be able to fully evaluate issues that have an impact on crime and violence, such as economic development and the city’s efforts to create full-time family wage jobs? Frequently cited as an underlying reason for crime, housing and recreational opportunities could also come up. Will discussions of these topics receive a thorough review?

Rather than stopping apartments, should the city be encouraging the building of smaller single-family homes with creative designs that would allow some lower-income families an alternative to apartments? Or upscale housing to encourage business-owners to live in the same city as their employees?

Does the school district need additional resource officers at middle schools, and should the city help fund those?

There are many ways to combat violence in our community, and the city should be congratulated for bringing people together. At the same time, we should appreciate the citizens who are willing to take time away from their families and jobs to look for solutions.

The easy answer is to hire more police officers, but is that really the right answer? More importantly, is it the long-term answer? Discussing and implementing true, lasting solutions may take longer than three months and would likely involve far more debate on the social issues confronting our community than just whether or not police officers per thousand city residents is a meaningful yardstick of police protection in managing crime in Federal Way.

We, as a community, need a deeper, longer and more thorough discussion about where we are and where we want to go. Over 400 people attended the first community meeting, and most wanted to be on the 13-member committee. The mayor said the first committee meeting would not be open to the public, but others would be. All committee meetings should be open to anyone who wants to attend. The city either follows the open meeting criteria or they don’t.

The first challenge the committee may face is in demonstrating its own independence and commitment to transparency. We are better served by having more of our residents knowledgeable about the committee’s progress from day one. Let’s start this important process with openness, not under a cloud.

Federal Way resident Bob Roegner is the former mayor of Auburn. He can be reached at bjroegner@comcast.net.