Res 09-568RESOLUTION NO. 09-568
A RESOLUTION of the City Council of the City of Federal Way,
Washington, Urging the Washington State Legislature to Act Quickly to
Establish a"Joint Underwriting Association" to Make Supplemental
Flood Insurance Available to Green River Valley Businesses.
WHEREAS, in recent months, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, joined by state and local
officials, has notified the public that cracks in the abutment at the Howard Hanson Dam will reduce
the Corps' ability to utilize the dam to hold baek waters in the event of a severe rainstorrn or flood
conditions; and
WHEREAS, the structural problems at the Howard Hanson Dam increase the potential that
floods could occur and flood waters could spill over the top of Green River levees; and
WHEREAS, some of the media coverage and some of the public comments regarding this
issue have greatly exacerbated the problem by leading residents and businesses to assume that winter
flooding is inevitable rather than at increased risk; and
WHEREAS, federal, state, and local elected officials have urged citizens and business
owners to take precautionary steps and to obtain national flood insurance, and supplemental
insurance if necessary; and
WHEREAS, this has led to a glut in the insurance market, which has dried up or even wiped
out the availability of insurance for those who need it; and
WHEREAS, the scarcity of any supplemental insurance is a particular hardship for hundreds
if not thousands of Green River Valley-area businesses, given national flood insurance limits of
$500,000 for a building and $500,000 for its contents which is grossly inadequate for commercial,
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distribution, and warehousing firms that depend on the operation of tens or hundreds of millions of
dollars' worth of equipment; and
WHEREAS, this leaves many businesses either unable to insure their operations, subject to
dramatically increased costs, or both; and
WHEREAS, the added hardship of growing flooding fears, and a dried-up supplemental
insurance market, is that anxiety-ridden businesses are worried about staying in the Valley, or elect
not to locate their operations in what has traditionally been a very business-conducive, business-
friendly place to operate; and
WHEREAS, this growing insurance crisis is beginning to threaten the economic
underpinnings of the Green River Valley, which hosts the West Coast's second-largest
warehouse distribution complex, has an estimated payroll in excess of $8 billion, is a distribution
lifeline for railroads and the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, and is a critical employment hub for
the Central Puget Sound and the State of Washington; and
WHEREAS, it is thus imperative and of the highest urgency to establish a rnarket, as
soon as possible, where businesses who need it can get supplemental insurance, and
fears and anxieties regarding the flood insurance market can be quelled; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Legislature has the ability to establish a"Joint
Underwriting Association" that can assure the creation of a supplemental insurance market, and
which has proven to work in prior years when insurance-availability crises impacted contractors and
mid-wives; and
Resolution No.09-568 Page 2 of 4
WHEREAS, given the lead time it takes to establish a"JUA," take administrative steps to
form it, and have insurance available to Green River Valley area businesses, the time for action is
now.
NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FEDERAL WAY,
RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Su�port Establishment of Joint Underwriting Association. To strongly support
action by the Washington State Legislature to enact legislation that establishes a"NA" for Valley-
area businesses to tap into for supplemental flood insurance; and
Section 2. Urge State Legislative Action. To urge the Governor of the State of Washington
and the Washington State Legislature to act in the most expeditious manner possible, perhaps even in
Special Session if that can be achieved, to enact NA legislation that provides relief for businesses.
Section 3. Severabilitv. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this resolution should be
held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or
unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of any other section, sentence,
clause or phrase of this resolution.
Section 4. Corrections. The City Clerk and the codifiers of this resolution are authorized to
make necessary corrections to this resolution including, but not limited to, the correction of
scrivener/clerical errors, references, resolution numbering, section/subsection numbers and any
referencesthereto.
Section 5. Ratification. Any act consistent with the authority and prior to the effective date
of this resolution is hereby ratified and affirmed.
Resolution No.09-568 Page 3 of 4
Section 6. Effective Date. This resolution shall be effective immediately upon passage by
the Federal Way City Council.
RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FEDERAL WAY,
WASHINGTON this 1 st day of December, 2009.
CITY OF FEDERAL WAY
ATTEST:
I
I
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY ATTORNEY, PATRICIA A. RICHARDSON
FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: 11/24/2009
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: 12/Ol/2009
RESOLUTION NO.: 09-56�
Resolution No.09-_�j
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