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Happy Friday, Kent!
I just wanted to wish all the dads out there a Happy Father's Day!
It's a time to honor and celebrate fatherhood and paternal bonds, and everything dads do for us. Make their weekend special and one to remember.
Lots to look forward to on the horizon for fun summer events! See all the info and details below. Have a great weekend!
Dana Ralph, Kent Mayor
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Our offices will be closed this Monday in observance of Juneteenth.
This includes Kent City Hall, the Centennial Center, the Kent Commons and Senior Activity Center.
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This afternoon Chief Padilla, Councilmember Fincher and Gwen Allen-Carston, Executive Director for the Kent Black Action Commission, raised the Juneteenth flag at Kent City Hall and proclaimed June 19 as Juneteenth in the City of Kent!
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We also honored Juneteenth at the June 6th Kent City Council meeting, where Gwen Allen-Carston was there to accept the proclamation. |
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Last week, I was asked by a 6th grade student at Glenridge Elementary to come read to the class.
Appropriately, I brought "All the places you will go" to send them off to middle school!
Congratulations to all the graduates!
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I had such a great time at Kent Elementary yesterday talking with 6th graders! There were so engaged! It's so fun to hear how excited they are to move on to middle school!
Thanks to Mrs. Saucedo for having me there!
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Shout out to Green River Coalition for partnering with Kent Parks for another great restoration event!
A little rain didn't stop Blue Origin employees and Unleash the Brilliance youth from showing up to show some love to Riverview Park.
Riverview Park is a great example of how Kent can provide habitat, recreation and flood control into one beautiful and functional space!
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What will Kent look like over the next 20 years?
The Kent Comprehensive Plan is the city’s long-term strategy to guide decisions on where we locate housing and jobs. It also helps inform investments in transportation, utilities, parks, and other public amenities that impact daily life.
Take this brief survey to tell us about your ideas for population and employment growth patterns, places you enjoy, and new ideas for our city.
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Kent Committee of the Whole
 Here's your multiple public committee meetings update from last week. Check out the recap on the meetings below. You can also see the full meeting agendas, minutes and livestream recordings here.
Summer Concert Series
Kent Summer Concerts are back starting July 6! Super excited for this annual series of musical performances presented throughout the summer. Learn more about specific performers and dates on our website.
Wednesday Picnic Performances
12-1 p.m. at West Fenwick Park
Wednesday Family Date Night
6-8 p.m. at Kent Station
Thursdays at the Lake
7-8:30 p.m. at Lake Meridian Park
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Just another reminder that all personal fireworks are illegal in the City of Kent.
Kent City Code 13.05 prohibits fireworks in our city and was adopted following a voter majority on Advisory Proposition 1 in 2015.
You can call the non-emergency line 253-852-2121 to report fireworks. Please do not call 911 unless there is an immediate safety concern or injury.
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4th of July SPLASH
4th of July SPLASH is back! Set at Lake Meridian park, our free Fourth of July event is a great way to celebrate Independence Day.
- Event hours are 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Fireworks at 10 p.m.
- Free shuttle from 5 p.m. to after the fireworks
- Gates locked at midnight.
We'll have live music, food trucks, and it will be tons of fun. Check out the details and share with your family & friends!
Kherson Park
Amazing to see this great, in-depth story about Kherson Park in the Seattle Times this week!
"An imaginary portal to outer space opened last month at Kherson Park, which has been redeveloped to serve downtown Kent's growing population and to get kids thinking about working in the city's space sector."
If you ever find yourself checking out the park downtown, don't forget to install the free Space for Kidz app, sponsored by Boeing!
The app brings augmented reality to Kherson Park and immerses users with the ability to launch a rocket from mission control, drive a lunar rover, plant a flag on the lunar surface and even explore the solar system, all from their smartphone!
Download the app now on Google Play and Apple App Store
Van Doren's Landing Grand Opening
I am excited to announce the City of Kent and the King County Flood Control District are having a Grand Opening ceremony to celebrate the completion of Van Doren’s Landing Park and the Lower Russell Levee Setback and Habitat Project on Wednesday, June 28.
Join us for a formal ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the completion of this incredible project.
We look forward to celebrating the renovated Van Doren’s Landing Park, increased flood management, and the many acres of improved aquatic and riparian habitat that represent another positive step towards helping salmon in the Green River.
📅 Wednesday June 28
⌚ 10 a.m.
📍 Van Doren's Landing Park (21901 Russell Rd)
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Registration for the Kent Parks Youth Fall Soccer program is now available!
Registration is open to all kids in Pre-K to Grade 8. Deadline to register is July 18. Pre-K participants must be 3 by August 31, 2023.
There are scholarships are available to qualifying families! You can register at MyKentParks.com/Register
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Our Parks team is preparing to update the playground and site amenities at Kiwanis Tot Lot #4. They would love to hear your thoughts!
Help guide the renovations by taking this short survey online. We are taking feedback through July 3.
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Coffee with the Chief
 We had a great turnout for Coffee with the Chief Wednesday morning! Great questions, and awesome energy from everyone!
Thanks to the Panther Lake Starbucks for providing the space for us to talk to residents with their concerns.
If you missed this event, you could join us for Hops and Cops August 17 at the RAM in Kent Station.
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Earlier this week, we held the Kent Police Youth Board party. It's a celebration I look forward to every year!
It's a fun afternoon celebrating all their great work with walk about tacos, ice cream, water balloons and golf cart rides.
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Last Friday, Police Officers nationwide ran Special Olympics torches across their states to raise funds and awareness for Special Olympics athletes.
The Kent PD Torch running team picked up the torch from Des Moines PD and ran it to Federal Way for the next pass-off.
Kent PD has been participating in Special Olympics fundraising for years!
Thank you to this year's runners : Sergeants Chapman and Tung, Code Enforcement Officer Farr and K9 Handler Robinson.
Biker: Commander O'Reilly
Protection cars for runners: Officers Steiner and Litke
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National Night Out
National Night Out is August 1!
National Night Out elevates the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. Most importantly, it provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.
It's time to start planning that neighborhood party!
Kent PD's Community Education Unit will help you with the sign-up process. Let's give crime a going away party!
Farmers Market
It's farmers market season!
Living Well Kent and the Kent Lions Club have partnered to bring their Farmers Market downtown! This is a community driven market, increasing access to fresh, healthy, and culturally relevant produce to our community. 🥬
📅 Every Saturday starting this Saturday!
⏰ 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
📍 2nd Ave between Smith and Gowe
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I had a great meeting with the Senior Center Advisory Board this morning.
The board members meet once a month to discuss what events are happening at the senior center.
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We're HIRING! Check out our featured jobs and great opportunities on our hiring page at Jobs.KentWA.gov!
🟡 Police Officers
🟡 Parks Youth Leaders/Sports Officals
🟡 Civil Engineers
🟡 Water/Solid Waste Maintenance
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Don't forget to check out this week's KentNOW podcast! Josh and Tracy update you on the important, fun and interesting things happening here in the city!
Listen to new and previous episodes on:
🔊 Apple Podcasts apple.co/3J2UMkd
🔊 Spotify spoti.fi/3GNCeli
🔊 Amazon Music amzn.to/3jjaOvU
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Translations
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