COVID-19 Update: Economic Relief Funding

Your Update on What's Happening at the King County Council  

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

This week is National Police Week, and I hope you will join me in observing a moment of silence to honor the 146 police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty last year. Let us also remember that even in the midst of a pandemic, our law enforcement officers continue to diligently work on the frontlines. Though we cannot gather to memorialize our fallen officers due to COVID-19, our country is unified in spirit today as we remember their sacrifice.

As for our usual COVID-19 update--you should also be aware that over in D.C., Congress is discussing another coronavirus aid package. While the chances of this particular legislation becoming law are slim, many elements of it may be included in a compromise bill that could be enacted sometime in the next three to six weeks.

In the meantime, the King County Council just approved $7 million for economic relief, consisting of $3.5 million in grants for small businesses in unincorporated King County, $2 million in economic development funds allocated directly to cities, and $1.5 million to fund technical assistance to small business, such as marketing and grant application assistance. If you need help applying for a grant, contact your local Chamber of Commerce.

I encourage you to read my newsletter below for more updates related to the COVID-19 response. As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns. You can reach me at reagan.dunn@kingcounty.gov.

Stay safe,

Reagan Dunn Vice Chair  Metropolitan King County Council

Dunn Announces $10k in Funding for Enumclaw Senior Center

I’m glad to be able to help provide critical funding to support the Enumclaw Senior Center’s meal delivery service. By delivering full, no-cost meals to seniors’ doorsteps, the Senior Center alleviates financial strain on low-income seniors while also relieving them of the need to visit grocery stores and risk COVID-19 infection. I advocated for this funding to be included in the emergency supplemental budget that was approved by the King County Council this week.

To learn more about the Enumclaw Senior Center's work, watch my Project CARE video above. 

Seattle & King County Face Mask Directive

Seattle Mayor Durkan and King County Executive Dow Constantine together issued a directive for residents to wear face masks in indoor public areas such as grocery stores, restaurants, and busses. I want to emphasize that while compliance with their directive is strongly encouraged, it remains voluntary and will not be legally enforced. For more information, visit the Public Health webpage.

Latest Statewide Updates

On Monday, Gov. Inslee issued guidance for Phase 2 of the re-opening of our economy. This notably included guidance for the partial reopening of restaurants, which would be allowed to resume dine-in service at 50% capacity. In King County, the earliest we could expect to move to Phase 2 is June 1. For further reading, see this Seattle Times article on the re-opening.

In addition, Gov. Inslee provided an update on a contact tracing plan that will help slow the spread of COVID-19 as more businesses re-open. For more information, see the Governor’s press release.