Federal Way holds annual snow-and-ice training at Celebration Park

Mayor Jim Farrell said the City of Federal Way held its annual snow-and-ice training at Celebration Park to prepare parks and public works staff for winter operations. "This is Jim Farrell, mayor of Federal Way. We're here at Celebration Park with the annual snow and ice training for all of our parks and public works employees," he said.

The training is used to familiarize new and returning employees with winter equipment and procedures, and the city staged the park parking lot and used bark "as a stand in for the snow," Farrell said. "As you can see, we've got the parking lot, staged with park, and they use the bark as a stand in for the snow. This is a really great opportunity for all of the parks and public works employees to really get a a sense of what it's gonna be like to get the plows down and and the scoopers and everything," he said.

Farrell said the city has invested in equipment intended to keep streets safe and maintain mobility during winter events. "We've really invested in great equipment to make sure that our streets are safe and that people can get around when it's necessary," he said. He added the exercise also serves as a chance for the two departments to interact: "During a snow and ice emergency, both the public works and parks teams comes together and works as 1 group to protect the city and facilitate all of the citizens being able to move throughout the community."

The remarks described a recurring training exercise and preparation steps; the meeting record contains no motions, votes, budget figures, or statements specifying funding sources for equipment or training. The transcript does not specify the date of the exercise or the size of the staff trained.