King County community service areas news

Share your thoughts on local services

 In June, the King County Council passed a motion providing guidance for creation of a new Department of Local Services. This new department’s purpose would be to provide high quality service to the unincorporated parts of King County—those neighborhoods that are not part of a city or town that provide local government services. The new department would strengthen and expand partnerships between King County and unincorporated area communities, increase service provider accountability, and provide residents with a more responsive local government.

This fall, the King County Council will consider legislation and a budget proposal from King County Executive Dow Constantine.

The Local Services transition team is still gathering input from unincorporated-area residents. If you live in one of these areas, please consider taking the survey, which will be open until the end of the year. Your thoughts and priorities will help guide the new department, which is expected to come online in January 2019.

Community Service Area Town Hall follow up

The 2018 Community Service Area Town Hall meetings featured new opportunites for participants to submit questions electronically in addition to those asked directly of County officials during the meetings.  The responses to those submitted questions will be available online after August 8. Thanks again to all of you who participated in the Town Hall meetings.

2019 CSA Grants process to open late August

The applications for the 2019 Community Service Area grants will be available in late August.  Community members in unincorporated King County have benefitted from these local grants including sports teams, local movie nights, music events and other creative community initiatives.  Visit the website for more information about past grant winners as well as last year’s application guidelines. These guidelines will be updated for the next round of grants, but will still be useful if considering applying next year.

Still time to catch a Big Backyard Movie!

Bring your low-backed chairs, blankets, snacks and enjoy a relaxed evening in the park. King County Parks is hosting a variety of Big Backyard Movie Nights throughout the summer. The movies will be projected onto a 40-foot-tall inflatable movie screen so invite your friends, teammates and family--we've got space!  Stay tuned for announcements regarding pre-movie entertainment and activities. Movie starts after sunset. August 4 Dick Thurnau Park. Sunset: 8:39 p.m. August 18 Tolt MacDonald Park. Sunset: 8:16 p.m. August 25 Petrovitsky Park. Sunset: 8:03 p.m.

CHOMP! Eat Well. Live Well.

King County’s fourth-annual CHOMP! festival is Saturday, Aug. 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Marymoor Park.  Join us for a day of local food, live music, green living workshops, and activities for the whole family. There will be another great music line-up this year featuring Matisyahu, Caspar Babypants, The True Loves, and more! Program highlights include the Beecher’s Foundation Sound Food School cooking demos at the Community Kitchen, screen printing at the Upcycle Bazaar (bring a blank shirt to screen print!), zucchini races at the Farmer Village, educational workshops at the Earth School, and more! Click here to learn more about this year's activities. CHOMP! is free to attend with food options for purchase, plus a farmers market and local vendors. Follow and RSVP to the event on Facebook to keep up to date on all that is happening!

2018 forest health projects

King County Parks will be thinning trees at Henry’s Ridge Open Space in August to improve the health of the forest. The project will take approximately one month, and operations will occur 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Limited trail closures will occur and will be clearly marked. The Parks Forest Stewardship webpage will provide up to date information on the status of trails.

Summer is road construction season

Many scheduled road improvements will take place over the summer months, some are listed below, and details on all King County road construction projects can be found on the Road Services Division website.

Road resurfacing

Several road resurfacing projects are anticipated to take place in June near Kent, Federal Way, Black Diamond, Maple Valley and North Bend. 

Anti-skid Treatment

Visit the High Friction Surface Treatment (HFST) webpage for to learn more about HFST and which roads will receive the anti-skid treatment to increase traction.

Vashon Island Southwest paving program

Grinding and paving work continues on the highway. For the latest photos, updates and schedules, visit the Vashon Highway Southwest Paving Program webpage. Paving activities are tentatively scheduled to resume on Monday, August 6, when crews will continue paving from the Southworth/Fauntleroy ferry terminal to SW 132nd Place.

Tolt Hill Bridge

Repair work continues on the bridge. Please visit the Tolt Hill Bridge Emergency Repairs webpage for updates on the work and schedules. The full closure of Tolt Hill Bridge is now tentatively planned to start Wednesday, August 15 at 6 a.m., through Friday, August 17 at 5 p.m.

Cedar Grove Bridge maintenance work

On Thursday, Aug. 9, a bridge inspection will be conducted on Cedar Grove Bridge/Cedar Grove Road SE near Renton in preparation for upcoming maintenance work. The work requires a lane closure between Byers Road SE and SE 180th Street from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Flaggers will direct motorists through the work zone. To view the map, visit the My Commute webpage.

Starting Saturday, Aug 11 at 7 a.m., crews will begin maintenance work on Cedar Grove Bridge/Cedar Grove Road SE. The work requires a full 24-hour closure between Byers Road SE and SE 180th Street.  The work is expected to finish on Monday, Aug. 13 at 6 p.m. To view the map, visit the My Commute webpage.

Aw shucks! It’s pretty risky to eat raw and under-cooked oysters

As waters warm up, shellfish beds become breeding grounds for bacteria, including Vibrio parahaemolyticus or “Vibrio,” one of the most common causes of illness related to raw oyster consumption. And this year, we’re setting records. Why are so many people getting sick? Visit the King County Public Health blog to find out.

Upcoming Community Meetings

Greater Maple Valley Unincorporated Area Council (GMVUAC)

Monday, Aug. 6, 7-9:30 p.m.
Monday, September 10, 7-9:30 p.m.
Maple Valley Fire Station
Southeast corner of Southeast 231st St. and SR-169 intersection
Maple Valley
Visit the website for the latest information and to confirm meetings.

Green Valley/Lake Holm Association Meeting

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Fire District 44, Station 95
32316 148th Ave. SE 
Auburn
Sasha Shaw, Education Specialist for the King County Natural Resources Noxious Weeds Program, will speak and answer questions at the May 30th meeting. 
Visit the Facebook page or Twitter for the latest information and to confirm meetings. 

Four Creeks Unincorporated Area Council

Tuesday, Aug. 14, 7-9 p.m.
Eastside Fire & Rescue Station 78
20720 SE May Valley Rd.
Issaquah
Visit the website at for the latest information and to confirm meeting.

Community Alliance to Reach Out and Engage

Monday, Aug. 27, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Lord of Life Lutheran Church
12819 160th Ave. SE
Renton
Visit the website at for the latest information and to confirm meetings.

Upper Bear Creek Community Council

No meeting scheduled for August.
Visit the website or Facebook page for the latest information and to confirm meetings.

West Hill Community Association Board Meeting

Wednesday, Aug. 8, 7-9 p.m.
King County Fire District 20
12424 76th Ave S.
Seattle
WHCA monthly board meetings are open to the public, and often feature guest speakers in addition to community reports and information from a variety of local organizations. Email for more information.

West Hill Business Association

Tuesday, Aug. 21, 9-11 a.m.
VFW Post 9430
7421 S. 126th St.
Seattle
Open to the public. Are you a West Hill business owner?  Interested in connecting with other local business owners to strengthen our West Hill business district, create more visibility and improve our neighborhood?  For more information contact Cynthia Lamothe 206-722-7343.

Skyway Solutions

Monday, Aug.13, 6-8:30 p.m.
13470 MLK Jr Way S
Seattle
Visit the website at for the latest information and to confirm meeting or call 206-706-6400.

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council

Thursday, Sept. 6, 7-9 p.m.
1243 SW 112th St.
Seattle
Open to the public. Monthly meeting of all-volunteer neighborhood based community organization.  For agenda information visit the website. For more information contact Barbara Dobkin. 

Fall City Community Association (FCCA)

Tuesday, Aug. 7, 7-8:30 p.m. 
Fall City Fire Department
4301 334th Pl SE
Fall City, WA
Monthly board meeting, open to the public. Harold Taniguchi, Director of King County’s Department of Transportation will be sharing information about the proposed County Department of Local Services. For more information visit the website.

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