2019-10-01 Council MIN - Special CITY OF
Federa�
Waay
V::A�L
UTY OUNUL
SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
Council Chambers - City Hall
October 1, 2019 — 5:00 p.m.
1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
Mayor Ferrell called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m.
City officials in attendance: Deputy Mayor Susan Honda, Councilmember Johnson; Councilmember
Hoang Tran, Councilmember Mark Koppang, Councilmember Martin Moore,and Councilmember Dini
Duclos.
Councilmember Assefa-Dawson participated via phone.
City staff in attendance: City Attorney Ryan Call and City Clerk Stephanie Courtney.
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Ferrell led the flag salute.
3. STUDY SESSION
a. Sound Transit Operating and Maintenance Facility(OMF)
Tony Doucette, Staff Liaison to Sound Transit introduced the representatives from Sound Transit who
would be presenting including Austin Neilson, Government and Community Relations Office; Curvie
Hawkins, TDLE Project Development Director; and Gwen McCullough, OMF South Development
Manager.
Mr. Neilson thanked the City Council for the invitation to speak and noted they last briefed the Council
on the OMF process in February of this year. The early scoping public comment period ran through
April 2018; alternatives evaluation took place summer-fall 2018; and the scoping public comment
period was open from February 19 through April 1, 2019.
Mr. Hawkins spoke regarding the need for, and the purpose of the facility which will open in 2026 to
provide service to the projects coming on line in 2030 including delivery of vehicles and maintenance.
This facility will store and maintains the vehicles and will also do light maintenance and cleaning. In
addition, this facility will house staff and equipment for right-of-way maintenance, creating over 300
living wage jobs.
Ms. McCullough reported on the outreach Sound Transit has done including Federal Way Open
Houses, online comments, direct mailers and social media engagement. They reviewed the process
Federal Way City Council Special Minutes Page 1 of3
October 1, 2019
to-date including the public process and comment period, the six sites that were reviewed under the
scoping period, and the remaining three sites that are currently being evaluated. Mr. Neilson also
highlighted upcoming open houses and online survey opportunities to provide feedback on the project
and the three sites under analysis.
The Sound Transit Board took action in May 2019 to forward the following three sites for further
review (1) Midway Landfill; (2) S. 336th Street; and (3) S. 344th St.
Ms. McCullough noted the issues which are typically studied during and Environmental Impact
Statement(EIS)including Transportation, Natural Environment, and Built Environment.She provided
the following timeline, noting dates are subject to change:
® Summer 2019 — Begin work on the Draft EIS
® Summer 2020 — Draft EIS issued, public, tribal, agency comments
® Fall 2020 —Sound Transit Board identifies preferred site
® Winter 2020 — Begin work on the Final EIS
Summer 2021 — Final EIS issued, Preliminary Engineering complete
Fall 2021 —Sound Transit selects project to be built
Citizen Comment
Dana Holloway spoke in opposition to the OMF being located in Federal Way and in support of
the Midway Landfill location.
Howard Nash, associated with Garage Town, spoke in opposition to the OMF being located in
Federal Way and in support of the Midway Landfill location.
Scott Carson, Garage Town owner, spoke in opposition to the OMF being located in Federal Way
and in support of the Midway Landfill location.
Russ Hibbard, Northwest Equipment Sales, spoke in opposition to the OMF being located in
Federal Way and in support of the Midway Landfill location.
Mia Franklin spoke in opposition to the OMF being located in Federal Way and in support of the
Midway Landfill location.
Peter Barbn, Garage Town owner, spoke in opposition to the OMF being located in Federal Way
and in support of the Midway Landfill location.
Margaret Nelson spoke in opposition to the OMF being located in Federal Way and in support of
the Midway Landfill location.
Lawson Bronson was a stakeholder on the Tacoma Dome Link Extension project and shared at
one point the Midway Landfill was off the table due to contamination. He believes this should not
exclude the site from consideration.
Larnont Styles spoke in opposition to the OMF being located in Federal Way and questioned how
people are notified about public meetings.
Council Comments/Questions
Deputy Mayor Honda clarified this is not a decision made by the Council, and the Council has sent
letters to the Board and testified regarding the Federal Way sites. She feels Sound Transit needs to
engage the community better as these projects are going to affect the downtown and community.
Councilmember Moore would like to make sure Sound Transit is communicating betterwith those who
could be or are impacted by these locations, he is concerned with how 20 sites were narrowed down
to three, with three sites located in Federal Way.
Councilmember Johnson noted he recently met with Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff and he would
like assurances that impacted stakeholders have a voice in this process, and that properties are fairly
Federal Way City Council Special Minutes Page 2 of 3
October 1, 2019
assessed. Councilmember Tran asked to clarify who the lead agency is for the EIS Study and if it was
independently reviewed.
Councilmember Assefa-Dawson echoed comments of her colleagues and stated this should be sited
at the landfill which will repurpose that property and not affect home and business owners. She also
noted this could potentially impact a high population of minority owned businesses who are less likely
to attend and give comment at meetings.
Councilmember Koppang stated there are benefits for light rail coming to Federal Way howeverthere
is not a lot of confidence in the process to date with communication. He would like Sound Transit to
do better and have the Council and community members more confident in knowing information is
getting out.
Deputy Mayor thanked Sound Transit representatives for coming to present tonight, and reiterated
that no one wants the OMF site in Federal Way, the clear choice is the Midway Landfill.
Mr. Hawkins thanked the Council and citizens for the comments. He confirmed all comments are
taken under consideration by the Sound Transit Board. He noted in response to multiple comments
regarding the Midway Landfill site, there are increased risks and legal responsibility as well as
unknowns on that property which could affect or delay the timeline of the OMF opening, which are
issues being addressed and studied.
Mayor Ferrell thanked Sound Transit for appearing at this special meeting called by the City Council,
and clarified this was an added meeting for briefing the Council and informational purposes in
enhance the dialog.
4. EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 6:21 p.m. Mayor Ferrell announced the Council would be recessing into Executive Session for
the purpose of discussing potential litigation pursuant to RCW 42.30.110(1(i)for approximately 10
minutes.
• Potential Litigation pursuant to RCW 42.30.110(1)(i)
Council returned from Executive Session at 6:30 p.m.
5. ADJOURNMENT
There being nothing further on the agenda; the Special Meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.
Attest:
Stohdnie Courtney
City Clerk
Approved by Council: 10-16"giy
Federal Way Cit)Council Special Minutes Page 3 of 3
October 1, 2019