Last Sunday, our community adjusted their clocks to Spring Forward. In Federal Way, like the new season upon us, we are seeing signs of life in areas that not too long ago seemed to reflect all the darkness of winter.
As any good gardener knows, it takes times for seeds to grow once they have been planted.
In our downtown, we planted seeds at Town Square Park and now we are seeing it spring to life. We are just a few months away from a grand reopening of this beautiful addition to our Town Center.
Just north of the park, we have created a new awakening in our downtown core with the Performing Arts & Event Center. Construction on that project is underway, and we can watch as that magnificent structure rises from the ground.
We have helped many opportunities grow throughout our community as we work to reimagine what is possible for Federal Way. We know that not every flower pops up overnight and not every problem is solved with the same set of solutions. Whether it is filling business vacancies, working with the Federal Aviation Administration to mitigate damaging aircraft noise, or negotiating a new contract with Centerstage Theatre, to reach a positive outcome each project requires a steady hand. To accomplish the tasks before us we must have an unwavering belief that we as a community can and must do better than we have before.
That is the philosophy I carry with me every day as your Mayor. It is what drives me as I work with a variety of stakeholders to improve the quality of life of our residents.
Many of you may know I enjoy a good quote. One I am particularly fond of comes from the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. President Kennedy said:
“Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.”
Well, I couldn’t agree more. In Federal Way we are making it happen. We do this because it is a task worth giving our all — the people of our community deserve no less than our very best.
We are in a very similar time now as we were in the 1960s when JFK spoke these words. We are frustrated and upset. Here locally, the frustration with a decades-long lack of direction in our city is what helped lead to the change of Government in 2009, and to my own election in 2013.
The list of projects we are tackling as a city is staggering. We are working to build the Town Center Project and rebrand our city’s image. We are conducting a university needs assessment, and we recently announced the purchase of the Weyerhaeuser property by Industrial Real Estate Group (IRG).
In addition to these important projects, we are continuing our neighborhood beautification efforts and are working to fill vacancies in old stores like the former Metropolitan Market and Albertsons.
Federal Way is an attractive community for families and businesses to invest in. Our prime location and low cost of business have led to major corporations like Progressive and DaVita relocating their regional headquarters here.
As I often tell my young son, “Your attitude is your life.” The attitude we have at City Hall is that we are lucky to serve the best community in King County.
As we look toward the summer, we are fortunate to have such a solid foundation to build upon. I believe, as I always have, that our community will continue to provide opportunities to workers and families, to businesses, and to those seeking a quality education for their children.
No matter the challenges we face, together we can accomplish anything!
