Happy Friday, Kent!

This week starts Welcoming Week, where organizations and communities bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity. 

Visit the Welcoming Week website to find additional information about events, access toolkits, and more! 

There's a lot of great information in this week's update, so I hope you enjoy it and have a great weekend!

Dana Ralph, Kent Mayor

Sunday marks the start of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which celebrates and honors the cultures and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans.

I attended the South King County Mayors meeting in Maple Valley earlier this week. We had a great discussion about public safety, mental health, transportation and working with our county and legislators in the future.  Pictured: Shanna Sherrell, Mayor of Milton, Sean Kelly Mayor of Maple Valley, Carol Benson, Mayor of Black Diamond, Troy Linnell, Mayor of Algona, Jim Ferrell, Mayor of Federal Way, Thomas McLeod, Mayor of Tukwila, Vic Kave, Mayor of Pacific, Mary Lou Pauly, Mayor of Issaquah, Jan Molinaro, Mayor of Enumclaw, Kevin Schilling, Mayor of Burien, Eric Zimmerman, Mayor of Normandy Park, and Traci Buxton, Mayor of Des Moines.

We had another great Coffee & Conversation event at the Kent Senior Activity Center this week! Thank you to all who brought great questions and engaged in discussion about the city's current work and priorities.

Thank you to the LARC community and the North Park neighborhood for inviting me to your meeting earlier this week. We had a great conversation about what’s happening in Kent and how we can continue to strengthen our neighborhood relationships.

Thanks again to Ray Loya and the residents of Sunrise Meadows who are so involved in their neighborhood! It was a pleasure to talk to you as a part of Drinks in the Driveway. Thanks to Chad Bieren from Public Works, and Assistant Chief Grove for answering their questions and concerns.

You’re invited to join Kent Parks and the Kent YMCA for the next Kent Community Day! The event is FREE and open to all. There will be a community swim session, bounce house, patio activities, and an afternoon of fitness, connection, and family time! 📅 Tomorrow, September 14 ⌚ 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. 📍 Kent YMCA (10828 SE 248th St.)

T-Birds Flag Raising

If you haven't been to the Great Wall Mall, you're missing out! The Seattle Times just published an article about some of the great food inside the mall. Check out the review here!

Mark your calendar for the 2024 Winterfest Tree Lighting Festival! We're currently looking for businesses, clubs, and community organizations to walk (or drive!) in the 2024 Kent Winterfest parade on Saturday, December 7 at Town Square Plaza. We would love to have your business or organization join in on the fun! Completed applications should be returned to the Kent Lions Club by email, mail, or fax. Applications must be received by November 27. EMAIL: kentlions@gmail.com MAIL: 2024 Kent Winterfest Parade Committee, PO Box 5094, Kent, WA 98064

WSDOT is hosting an online open house, giving an in-depth look at the State Route 509 construction projects that will transform the roadways in SeaTac, Burien, Kent, and Des Moines. This resource is available until October 25 and provides comprehensive plans, visuals, and the opportunity to share feedback or ask questions. The open house is designed to highlight the impacts on each community, so Kent residents can easily find the information that matters most to them.

Kent Comprehensive Plan 

Wanted to provide an update on our Comprehensive Plan process.

We heard from thousands of people during Round 2 of our community engagement, who shared ideas about growth in the city and priorities for the next twenty years.

The project team is busy incorporating your feedback into a draft plan, which will be released in mid-October.

Meanwhile, we are in the process of studying and updating our development regulations for Community-Based Behavioral Health Facilities.

Behavioral health facilities provide a wide variety of services to address mental health and substance use disorders.

These facilities play a crucial role in supporting the mental and emotional well-being of individuals and families, helping to create a healthier, more resilient community.

A lack of behavioral health facilities has put significant strain on the region's hospitals, jails, and emergency responders to provide mental health services.

We have been working diligently with service providers, community groups, and residents to determine how to integrate additional treatment options into our community.

Based on what we have heard so far, we are focusing on code updates to allow new types of residential care facilities and to revise requirements for one use that is already allowed in Kent City Code.

Your input is incredibly valuable to us, and we want to ensure that these updates reflect the needs and priorities of our residents.

To gather your feedback, we’ve created a short survey that we encourage you to complete. Learn about Behavioral Health Facilities and take the survey!

Badges & Barbells

Join Kent Police for the first ever Badges and Barbells!

It starts at 6 p.m. with a 20–30-minute workout with officers followed by networking with our officers and staff.  Space for the workout portion is limited to 20 people. The networking portion is open to all.

Registration to participate in the workout is required. 

We all know how quickly pets can escape through an open door or gate no matter how hard we try to keep them safe.  A RASKC pet license helps by providing identification protecting pets 24/7 should they get lost.  It also helps fund our pet adoption center and field services in your community.  Get your pet license here!

Farmers Market

This is the last weekend for the Living Well Kent and the Kent Lions Club Farmers Market downtown! This is a community driven market, increasing access to fresh, healthy, and culturally relevant produce to our community. 

📅 Saturday, September 14
⏰ 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.​
📍 2nd Ave between Smith and Gowe

Now Hiring HR Director

The City of Kent is looking to hire a Human Resources Director to lead the city's HR Department. This position plays a key role in the management and development of the city's talented workforce. Learn more about the position and how to apply here.

Green Kent Work Party

Join Kent Parks, friends, and neighbors on Saturday, September 21 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. as we participate in this month's Green Kent Work Party at Clark Lake Park!

At this month’s event, we'll be removing invasive blackberry and scotch broom to help keep this park healthy and thriving. Parking at Martin Sortun Elementary. Learn more and register online at MyKentParks.com/GreenKent.

The 2024 Fall Recreation Guides are out now! Registration for Fall programs are now open. From preschool classes and FREE after school programming, to clubs and outdoor adventures for adults age 50+ and everything in between, our Parks team offers something for everyone in the family! Browse a digital guide and register online at MyKentParks.com/Register

Each spring and fall we host TeamUp2CleanUp: a community-wide day of service to beautify Kent as individuals, schools, businesses, and social groups come together to remove litter at various locations around the city. Make a day of it and join us!  📅 Saturday, September 28 ⌚ 9 a.m. - Noon 📍 East Hill: Kent United Methodist Church (11010 SE 248th St) Downtown: Kherson Park (307 West Gowe) West Hill: West Hill Plaza (24700 Military Road) or Sign up to clean your OWN location!

The Kent Parks team is planning for an exciting project that includes adding a Spray Park at Uplands Playfields! Through the initial engagement process, we gathered input from residents and developed some preliminary designs. We now want to know what you, our residents, like about each design or which design is your favorite! Provide your feedback for the Uplands Playfields & Spray Park project online at EngageKentParks.com.

2024-25 Spotlight Series 

We are excited for announce another incredible season of our Spotlight Series!

The Spotlight Series brings the best entertainment to local stages here in Kent. Tickets are now on sale for all shows. Read more about the performers, see ticket prices, and purchase tickets online at KentWA.gov/SpotlightSeries.

If you are looking to get more involved with the community, apply to join the City of Kent Parks & Recreation Commission! Learn more and apply online at KentWA.gov/BoardsAndCommissions.

Here's the resident question of the week! "Where can we read about the progress on current projects happening in the city?" I know how important it is for you to stay informed about the progress on various projects happening around Kent. We want to make sure you have access to the latest updates on all our current projects. To read more about the projects and their progress, this link will take you to the current projects page, where you can see detailed information, timelines, and the status of each project.

Cider and Ale Trail 

The Kent Cider & Ale Trail promises delicious brews and new discoveries! Explore historic downtown Kent with a map of tasting locations. Each local business is hosting a brewery, cidery, or distillery offering tastes of their best brews.

Buy your ticket soon! The first 100 people to buy tickets will be entered to win a gift card for a downtown business.

Get your tickets here!

Attention all beer enthusiasts. The annual Hops and Crops Music and Beer festival is happening this Saturday at Mary Olson Farm on Green River Road.  This rain or shine event is for 21+ and older and serves as a fundraiser to support the farm’s free and low-cost education programs. Every year, thousands of students from around the region come to learn about history, farming, sustainability, and the ecology of Northwest salmon and streams. Get your tickets at the event, or at this link.

Want a free tree? The Sound Transit Federal Way Link Extension project and contractor Kiewit is providing free trees this fall! Community members and organizations in Kent, Federal Way, SeaTac and Des Moines are eligible to receive trees.

Don't forget to check out this week's KentNOW podcast!  This week, Josh, Kyle and Tracy talk to our Public Works Team on the Reith Road project.  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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