03-08-2022 PRHSPSC Minutes
K:\PRHSPS Committee\2022\03-08-2022 Minutes.doc
City of Federal Way
City Council
PARKS, RECREATION, HUMAN SERVICES & PUBLIC SAFETY COUNCIL COMMITTEE
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
5:00 p.m.
SUMMARY
Committee Members Present: Chair Walsh and Council member Assefa-Dawson
Committee Members Excused: Council member Norton
Council Members Present: Council President Kochmar and Deputy Mayor Honda
Staff Members Present: Joanna Eide, Assistant City Attorney, Commander Ray Bunk, Autumn
Gressett, Contract Administrator, John Hutton, Parks Director and Mary Jaenicke, Administrative
Assistant II.
Chair Walsh called the meeting to order at 5:00pm
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BUSINESS ITEMS
Approval of Minutes
Committee member Assefa-Dawson motioned to approve the March 8, 2022 minutes as written.
Chair Walsh seconded. Motion passed.
Northwest Thermal Hydronics, LLC Retainage Release
Staff Gressett stated that Parks staff is requesting that City Council accept the project to replace the water
heaters at the Federal Way Community Center as complete and authorize staff to release the retainage.
Committee member Assefa-Dawson asked how long the water heaters last. Staff Gressett answered that
she was unsure but she would Committee member Norton moved to forward the proposed PSE
power pole relocation easement to the March 15, 2022 consent agenda for approval. Committee
member Assefa-Dawson seconded. Motion Passed.
Public Comment: Michael Ferens, is a resident of Des Moines and likes to walk in Federal Way. He
spoke about the large amounts of trash along the side of the roads and Sacajawea Park. Mr. Ferens is not
asking for volunteers to pick up trash; he is asking that City leaders stop enabling people to litter and
start empowering the Police Officers to enforce the laws for littering. He would like to be allowed to put
out educational programs to reach out to schools and ask them why are they allowing people to litter and
destroy the environment. Committee Chair Walsh encouraged Mr. Ferens to invite people to come out
and participate in the Parks Appreciation Day event which is scheduled for April 23. If people have a
sense of ownership they tend to take better care of things. Council President Kochmar recommended
reaching out to the service clubs suggesting that they adopt a road. Mr. Ferens stated that he is looking
for answers on how to change behaviors to stop people from littering. He would like to reach out to the
schools and to teams that are using the park and the field. He’s looking for enforcement. Deputy Mayor
Honda recommended that he talk to the Federal Way School Board. Staff Eide stated that you can ticket
people for littering but the difficulty is catching people in the act.
Lawson Contracting, dba Wright Roofing, LLC Retainage Release
Staff Gerwen provided the background information. The City solicited bids for the removal and
replacement of the roofs on the Saghalie Restroom Buildings and Steel Lake Annex. Lawson Contracting
was the lowest responsible bidder. Prior to the release of retainage on Public Works projects, the City
Council must accept the work as complete to meet State Department of Revenue and Department of
Labor and Industries requirements. The amount of the retainage to be released is $7,087.00. Committee
member Norton moved to forward acceptance of the roof installations at Saghalie Restroom
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Tuesday, March 8, 2022 Summary
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Buildings and Steel Lake Annex as complete and authorize release of the $7,087.00 retainage to the
March 15, 2022 consent agenda for approval. Committee member Assefa-Dawson seconded.
Motion passed.
2021 Program Year Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER)
Staff Bridgeford provided the background information. The purpose of the CAPER is to report how the
City utilized CDBG funds. There are four goals in the CDBG program that were adopted by Council and
approved by HUD. Those goals are to 1) Expand economic opportunities, 2) Preserve affordable housing,
3) Prevent and address homelessness and 4) Establish and maintain suitable living environments. In 2021
the City expended $1,296,482 in CDBG funds. They funded activities that provided public services and
economic development activities to 1,185 Federal Way residents; majority of the funds were used to
assist very low to low-income persons. Staff Bridgeford reviewed the 2021 CAPER key accomplishments
which included COVID response projects and the Housing Repair Program completed four repairs with
four additional repairs in progress. Committee member Assefa-Dawson moved to forward the
proposed 2021 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report to the March 15, 2022
consent agenda for approval. Committee member Norton seconded. Motion passed.
Systems for Public Safety Agreement – Amendment 2
Commander Schwan provided the background information. Systems for Public Safety is a sole source
provider used to outfit the vehicles and upfit them. They are asking for an increase of $900,000 to cover
the remaining upfitting expenses for scheduled Replacement Reserve vehicles and the 28 approved police
vehicles. The total amount of the contract is $2,100,000. It will be funded by ARPA / General Fund.
Committee member Norton moved to forward the proposed Agreement to the March 15, 2022
consent agenda for approval. Committee member Assefa-Dawson seconded. Motion passed.
Jail Services Contract – Puyallup City Jail
Commander Schwan provided the background information. The Department had a 3 guaranteed bed
contract with the Puyallup City Jail; they were not utilizing all of those beds enough to justify the number
of beds that they were pre-paying for. Changing the contract from a guaranteed 3 bed to an “as-needed”
bed rate will potentially save $137,000 per year. Those savings will be put towards other booking
facilities. Committee member Assefa-Dawson moved to forward the proposed agreement to the
March 15, 2022 Council consent agenda for approval. Committee member Norton seconded.
Motion passed.
Distribution Agreement between Seattle Police Department and Federal Way Police Department
Commander Grossnickle provided the background information. This is an agreement between the Seattle
Police Department and the Federal Way Police Department for a laptop for Internet Crimes Against
Children (ICAC) Task Force investigations. Seattle is the lead agency in the ICAC Task Force. This Task
Force investigates crimes involving sensitive material and some of the material cannot be accessed
through the City network computers and require a dedicated off-line computer or laptop. The Task Force
provides the laptop to participating agencies at no cost. The cost of the laptop is $1,785. Committee
member Norton moved to forward the proposed Distribution Agreement to the March 15, 2022
consent agenda for approval. Committee member Assefa-Dawson seconded. Motion passed.
Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force (PSATT) – Interlocal Cooperative Agreement
Commander Grossnickle provided the background information. The PSATT was formed in 2017 and is a
multi-jurisdictional team Task Force that focuses on investigating and enforcing laws relating to auto
theft. There is no cost to the City, the Department gets reimbursed through Washington Auto Theft
Prevention Authority (WATPA). The purpose of the Task Force is to target repeat offenders. Commander
Grossnickle stated that they have recovered 80 vehicles this year. Often times this involves complex
interjurisdictional investigations. Committee member Assefa-Dawson moved to forward the
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proposed Agreement to the March 15, 2021 consent agenda for approval. Committee member
Norton seconded. Motion passed.
Amendment to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) FY 2018
Deputy Chief Neal provided the background information. The Department applies for this grant every
year. Accepting this grant requires no matching funds. These grants have been used for cameras,
computers and software. The total amount of the grant is $41,894 and will be used for laptop computers
for their cars and the “Safe City Server and Network Infrastructure.” Committee member Norton
moved to forward the Amended FY 2018 JAG Grant to the March 15, 2022, consent agenda for
approval. Committee member Assefa-Dawson seconded. Motion passed.
Penalty for Improper Disposal of Needles – Discussion Only
Deputy Chief Neal stated that there are laws in place that address the issue of the illegal disposal of
needles; it’s considered littering. Littering is a Class 1 Civil Infraction and carries a penalty of $500;
increasing the penalties is not something that can be done at this time. Another part of this issue is how to
enforce littering laws. This law is problematic because you have to actually see someone littering. If you
have someone who’s in the vicinity of a bunch of needles, it’s hard to prove that it was them that put
those needles there. Committee Chair Walsh asked if seeing someone discard a needle could also be
considered a public endangerment. Deputy Chief Neal answered that if you’re going to impose a more
serious charge, that person is going to have to show how they were harmed. Staff Eide added that we are
unable to increase the penalty or change the penalty for the illegal disposal of needles because in state
law it has been classified as an infraction. The City can’t criminalize something that has been made an
infraction at the state level.
Public Endangerment from Second Hand Exposure from People Smoking Fentanyl in Public
Places – Discussion Only
Deputy Chief Neal stated there have been incidents of people smoking something that people believe is
Fentanyl on the Metro buses. This issue falls under reckless endangerment and there is already a law for
this; it’s considered a gross misdemeanor. Discussion was held on whether or not the City should create
an ordinance to address this specific issue. Deputy Chief Neal stated that enforcing this is problematic; if
you’re going to charge somebody for smoking Fentanyl you would have to determine that it was Fentanyl
and in order to do that they would need to get a sample and then get it tested and verified that it was
Fentanyl, which would be difficult to do. There’s a good chance that the person has left the area. The
only way you could determine what it is would be if you could get the device it was smoked in or have
the person voluntarily give you a sample. Police cannot test Fentanyl because it is too dangerous; it
would have to be sent to the lab to be tested which could take several weeks. Deputy Chief Neal stated
that an ordinance would have to be created that goes beyond reckless endangerment. The ordinance does
not have focus on just Fentanyl. Committee Chair Walsh asked that even if a person was injured or got
sick from something would you still have to prove the specific substance. Staff Eide answered that the
elements of the crime itself is that a person is guilty of reckless endangerment when he or she recklessly
engages in conduct not amounting to drive-by shootings that creates a substantial risk of death or serious
physical injury to another person. This is a gross misdemeanor. These are difficult elements to prove, but
it is supposed to be an overlay umbrella type of an offense so that it will fit the mold if somebody does
create a substantial risk of death or serious injury to another person. What the substance is may play into
that analysis whether or not that element is satisfied. This why the discussion is focusing on Fentanyl
because it is dangerous.
2019 and 2021 Revenue/Expenditures of Celebration Park
Staff Hutton presented the financial information for Celebration Park. The revenue for 2019 was $85,100
– this includes field rentals and league play. The expenses for 2019 totaled around $365,000. The total
revenue for 2021 was $67,400; revenue was down due to Covid and all the restrictions that were in place
because of Covid. The expenses were $365,980. The main expenses include salaries and benefits, water,
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power, repair and maintenance supplies, agricultural supplies athletic supplies and janitorial supplies.
Discussion was held regarding renovating the fields to field turf. Staff would recommend renovating the
four soccer fields first. Staff Hutton stated that if those four fields were renovated they could generate
$250,000 in additional revenue. There would also be a savings in turf maintenance which includes
irrigation, mowing, aerating and fertilizing. Renovating the fields would also increase the amount of
games that could be played and extend the window of play; they could be used 12 months a year vs. the 5
to 6 months that they are currently being used. Renovating the fields would also open up the potential for
untapped revenue streams that we have always had to say no to. There have been plenty of calls from
people wanting to rent the fields for Lacrosse, Rugby, Cricket and Ultimate Frisbee tournaments. This
would bring new people into the City spending money at the local businesses. Council member Norton
asked if the same chemicals are still being used in field turf that cause cancer. Staff Hutton responded
that he hadn’t heard anything new lately, but that everything that he had read when there was the big
scare about cancer causing chemicals with field turf were completely disproven. Committee member
Norton said she was concerned that the city could be faced with a lawsuit if someone got sick from
playing on our fields. Chair Walsh asked what the life expectancy is of field turf. Staff Hutton answered
that he we have been told that it lasts 10 – 12 years and we’ve been getting at least 13 years out of them
consistently.
Other Business
None
NEXT REGULAR MEETING
May 10, 2022
ADJOURNMENT
Meeting adjourned at 6:51 p.m.