The Federal Way City Council has chosen not to support the application of a crisis center operator to open a facility in Federal Way through King County funds.

The resolution considered at the March 18 council meeting was: “Should the City support Connection Health Solutions’ Request for Proposal (RFP) response to King County’s call for proposals to operate a Crisis Care Center in South King County?”

After an hour discussion, the resolution died on the dais when every council member chose not to make a motion for it and no votes were cast.

The proposed crisis center, 822 S. 333rd St., would have included four services: a 24/7 urgent care style intake area for either walk-ins or first responder drop-offs; a 23-hour observation area for immediate treatment and stabilization; a longer-term crisis stabilization area for extended stays; and post-crisis follow-up services providing comprehensive discharge planning.

With Connection Health Solutions’ application due on March 21, this decision by the council effectively terminates the possibility of having this crisis center funded by the county in Federal Way in this stage of the funding cycle.

Kelly Rider, King County Director of Community and Human Services, explained during the council meeting that if no other city endorses any other suitable crisis center operator in South King County during this stage, the cycle will restart in the fall of 2025, delaying access to these services in this area.

The lengthy discussion March 18 included statements by council members of the importance of increasing behavioral and mental health crisis response — but concerns about the location of the proposed center near the Federal Way Community Center, and potential increased police response, seem to have won out.

Another operator also approached the council through public comment to remind them that they don’t have to support the first operator who asks, but with the deadline approaching, the council chose to support no one.

Connections Health Solutions first approached the City of Federal Way leadership during the March 4 meeting to ask for a letter of support to accompany their application for King County funds to open a crisis center.

Federal Way was identified as a potential location because of an empty building that was set up to be a crisis center, but was abandoned after former operation partner Recovery Innovations withdrew.

The money comes from a levy passed by voters in King County to fund crisis response for mental and behavioral health and would not have cost the city anything. The crisis center would have been designated to serve the entire South King County region, one of four zones designated through the levy funding.

‘Risk to public safety’

During a discussion on March 18, city council members, public commenters and Federal Way Police Chief Andy Hwang shared concerns that having a crisis center in the city would bring more police calls and be a magnet for trouble.

This concern was magnified by the crisis center’s location between the Federal Way Community Center and the Federal Way Police Department headquarters, as well as its proximity to the Day Center run by Catholic Community Services that has been an ongoing concern to the city and community because of the concentration of issues in the parking lot and surrounding businesses.

Chief Hwang shared in an email to Mayor Jim Ferrell that the community center “serves as a key gathering place for families, children, and elderly individuals. It is a hub of activity, with hundreds of community members frequenting the center daily for fitness, recreation and a gathering place. The introduction of a facility that will routinely handle individuals with behavioral health crises presents a risk to public safety, especially in such close (next-door) proximity to a location frequented by vulnerable populations.”

As part of his professional assessment of the situation, Hwang shared that the Kirkland crisis center that opened on Aug. 10, 2024, has had an increase in 911 calls since opening. He said he didn’t have access to what type of calls these were, but said the increase showed that the center would increase demand on police.

Ferrell agreed that the crisis center would not benefit the community and encouraged the council not to support it.

When the Federal Way Mirror newspaper reached out to the city of Kirkland, a spokesperson gave more context on these 911 calls, sharing that since it opened, “the Kirkland Police Department has responded to approximately 12 calls for service per month at the facility. The majority of these calls have involved individuals who did not meet intake criteria upon attempting to check in or who required assistance following their discharge.”

In Kirkland, the city shared that the crisis center has been a “valuable addition to both the Kirkland Police Department and the community, providing a more efficient and effective alternative for responding to behavioral health crises.”

Current response to behavioral health

When people experience behavioral and mental health crises in Federal Way that leads to police response, Hwang told the Mirror that the current policy is for officers to call ambulances to transport the individual to the hospital.

At St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way, these patients will then be cared for in the emergency room by “ED physicians, registered nurses, psychiatrists, social workers and other care team members” who work together to create a treatment plan for each person, according to a statement from Chantel Arnone, the emergency services clinical manager.

Arnone said that “at St. Francis Hospital and across our regional Virginia Mason Franciscan Health system, we have seen a consistent increase in the number of behavioral health/mental health patients over the last several years while there continues to be fewer mental health resources, including inpatient beds, to care for these patients.”

In Kirkland before the crisis center opened, police used to deal with behavioral health issues the same way as the Federal Way Police Department: “Officers often faced prolonged wait times for an ambulance to transport individuals to an emergency room for evaluation,” a Kirkland spokesperson shared in a statement.

Now that the crisis center is open, it has streamlined this process for Kirkland police.

“Officers can bring individuals directly to the crisis center, where they receive specialized care in an environment designed to support their needs. This has not only improved access to appropriate care, but has also significantly reduced the time officers spend on behavioral health calls,” a Kirkland spokesperson shared in a statement. “Due to Connections Crisis Center, officers are now typically able to return to patrol within 5-7 minutes, enhancing public safety and the efficient use of police resources.”

What happens next

Rider, the county director of Community and Human Services, was present via Zoom to answer council questions during the discussion on March 18. She explained that in this round of funding applications, King County has a strong focus on making sure local cities are on board before a crisis center is built in their community.

Without Federal Way’s support, a crisis center will not be built here, Kelly said.

That could change in the future if no other cities are willing to host a crisis center in their jurisdiction, but for this first round of applications, a lack of city support blocks the opening of the location.

Despite their lack of support, Federal Way City Council members have expressed a need for resources in the city to respond to people in behavioral and mental health crises for some time, including at the November 2024 legislative agenda breakfast.

As the Mirror reported then, the city council asked the state for funding for “mental health and addiction resources,” with Councilmember Susan Honda stating that “it’s something that our community comes and talks to us frequently about every other week.”

The representatives told the council in November that they are committed to helping with those things. But State Rep. Jamila Taylor (D-District 30) pointed out that “you have complete control over what you permit in the city, and if you continue to say no on everything, then you still will feel the impacts of all the resources that are going to other areas.”

As one example, Taylor brought up the very crisis center under discussion at the council meeting this week. Taylor stated inaccurately at the time that the crisis center was not able to get approval from the city, which caused it not to open.

In November, it was revealed that the real reason that Recovery Innovations didn’t open the facility was that there were unavoidable issues with the rollout of the state funding and procedure for the operational budget and insurance reimbursement, in addition to other issues, as the Mirror reported in February 2025.

This time, though, the city was asked and the city said no.

Connections Health Solutions explained that in their proposal, like that of Recovery Innovations before them, a specified first responder entrance would provide an efficient and effective warm handoff to help first responders get back to patrol quickly. Signage is already up at the empty facility for this function as can be seen here. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang/Sound Publishing