07-19-2022 - Paula BaerenwaldCITY OF
Federal Way
Centered on Opportunity
Public Comment - Written
Meeting Type: City Council Regular Meeting
Meeting Date: July 19, 2022
Name: Paula Baerenwald
Resident/ Yes
Business Owner
Comment Topic: Operations Facility at Site 2
Written Comment:
I am writing to urge you to vote No for the selection of site 2 for the city operations
facility and instead vote for site 1 as the best choice. After listening to the early July
meeting regarding the rationale for choosing Site 2 1 was almost convinced. However,
considering arguments on the other side, I am now more convinced than ever that
preservation of public park space is paramount, The space is designated as a park for
now and for years to come. If the baseball fields are under utilized now, then maybe in
the future those fields can be converted to some other recreation/open space/green
space like use to accommodate the needs of the growing downtown population but it
will still be a park. If it gets converted to industrial use, it, and it's potential will be gone
forever. Federal Way is a diverse city with a lower income population. ESPECIALLY in
lower -income communities parks and green spaces need to be preserved because
historically these communities have the least access to green spaces. The likelihood that
we will buy land for greenspace in the future is slim given the cost of land. The land was
donated to the city for recreation purposes and to use it for anything other is essentially
"kicking a gift horse in the mouth". Why would anyone in the future want to gift anything
to the city of Federal away knowing this is how the gift will ultimately be treated. So. Site
1 it should be, or postpone the project until our downtown is more lucrative and we can
afford to buy land in a more appropriate place. I hate to say it but the pandemic has
shown us that, in the mean time, large groups can meet over zoom instead of trying to
cram into unaccommodating spaces.