Council roundup: New maintenance facility, new police

On June 4, the Federal Way City Council unanimously approved the first reading of the financing plan for the new Joint Operations and Maintenance Facility (OMF).

The city shared that the facility “will house our parks and public works employees, their equipment, vehicles, and tools from their current outdated and dilapidated facility. At $52 million, it’s one of the biggest projects we’ve ever done at the city of Federal Way, and it’s likely one of the most important. This is a generational investment for our community and the employees who work around the clock to keep our streets safe and clean.”

The ordinance specifically reviewed whether to approve a limited tax general obligation bond.

Public Works Director EJ Walsh presented the plan and gave a broad overview of the timeline of the project so far, including its beginning over two decades ago.

“When the city first put staff in that building, we told the maintenance staff they would be in that building no later than 2000,” Walsh said.

The site is located next to Steel Lake Park on 28th Avenue South. Contractors are currently looking at the site with bids due to the city by June 25. After the contractor is selected, Walsh said the groundbreaking should happen in August 2024 and the project has a goal of completion in 2026.

Honoring first responders

Federal Way City Council members and Mayor Jim Ferrell honored first responders and read two proclamations at the June 4 council meeting.

Five young lifeguards were honored for their role in saving a child’s life at the Federal Way Community Center recently.

Makai Johnson, Emma Calin, Jackson LaFontaine, Luke Forsman and Davin Hurley responded to an incident where a 4-year-old girl was pulled from the pool, not breathing. They provided CPR and were able to revive her, saving her life.

“It’s one thing to train for something — our officers know this…we prepare all the time for critical incidents,” the mayor said, “but we are so fortunate that on that day, we have some very fine young people” who responded in a “dedicated, cohesive manner, just like their training.”

South King Fire Chief Dave Van Valkenburg helped honor them.

“The mayor was talking about being trained and being prepared and having that mindset of community service, but when called upon, it still takes that extra gear to jump in and get involved,” Van Valkenburg said, “tonight we are very honored to participate in the recognition of the lifeguards.”

Five new police officers were also sworn in after recently graduating from the police academy, bringing the total number of officers in Federal Way up to 145.

Chief Andy Hwang shared that the police department only needs to hire five more in order to be fully staffed: “We like to bring on about two a month so we don’t have too many going to the police academy at once.”

The new officers:

• Officer Morgan Thomas worked in quality control for Pepsi Northwest Beverages and scored second in academics at the Basic Law Enforcement Academy.

• Officer Trent Wheeler graduated from Cabot Christian Academy in Arkansas and attended Bible Missionary Institute, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in theology. Prior to joining the City of Federal Way, Trent served as lead pastor for several churches across the United States and most recently worked for Virginia Mason Franciscan Health. He has a variety of interests outside of work, including beekeeping and flying planes.

• Officer Matthew Zeman worked for Shoreline Concrete Cutting and as a customer service technician for Rotech Healthcare. He is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hiking and camping and playing and watching soccer.

• Officer Joel Tagoilelagi earned a bachelor’s degree in comparative religion from the University of Washington. Before joining the City of Federal Way, he worked as a trainer for logics staffing and enjoys spending time with his fiancée and their dog. He is also currently attending The Master’s University, seeking to attain his master’s degree in biblical studies, with an emphasis in theology.

• Officer Omar Rivas Cortez grew up in Reno, Nevada. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army after serving four years as a cavalry scout. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Washington. Before joining the City of Federal Way, he worked for the Social Security Administration.

Proclamations

Two proclamations were also presented, one honoring Pride Month and one recognizing the impact of gun violence.

The proclamation around gun violence was presented to the family of Ezra Taylor, who was killed in 2021. They work to reduce gun violence in a variety of ways in the communities of Federal Way and Des Moines and continue on their lost loved ones’ legacy through their organization called “Ezra’s Hands”

“Our efforts to combat gun violence are ongoing and consist of daily enforcement of our city code and state laws. Whenever possible, we seize guns when an arrest is made for a violent crime. Those guns are utilized as evidence in prosecutions and later destroyed,” said Mayor Jim Ferrell. “Additionally, we have recently initiated the Violent Crime Task Force to focus on violent and gun-related crimes. We work every day to hold offenders accountable and to get guns out of the hands of criminals. The gun buyback program last year utilized $25,000 of taxpayer money and was a huge success. We are open and will consider programs like these in the future.”

A proclamation was also made designating the month of June as Pride Month, which was also read at the raising of the Pride flag on May 31 at City Hall. It was presented to Allison Fine.