During March, which was Women’s History Month, the county’s Road Services Division honored staff members who are women as well as those who are transgender, non-binary, or self-identify as female.

Several of those employees were profiled on the agency’s Facebook and Instagram feeds. On the last day of the month, Road Services held an online webinar in which Director Tricia Davis hosted several of her division’s woman employees in a discussion about their experiences. The speakers also offered advice for anyone considering a future in the field.

If you missed the event, you can watch a recording on the Local Services Facebook page.

Photo: Traffic Safety Engineer Mandana Ashti, bottom, and 11 other Road Services employees spoke during the webinar.

King County needs residents of the Skyway/West Hill, North Highline/White Center, East Renton Plateau, Fairwood, and East Federal Way areas to serve on a new committee that will help the county spend money to improve their communities.

King County Local Services has a new "Participatory Budgeting" approach that will give unincorporated area residents more control over how money is spent in their neighborhoods.

The new Community Investment Committee will help the county decide how to spend...

• $10 million on capital projects in these urban unincorporated areas. The funds can be used for anything that needs to be built or replaced, like buildings, sidewalks, bike lanes, landscaping, signs, and play structures.
• $1.3 million for services or programs in Skyway/West Hill and North Highline/White Center. This funding can be used for almost anything, like after-school programs, job training, building maintenance, food, art supplies, and investments in play structures or sidewalks.

The committee will design and carry out a budgeting process that will be centered on racial equity. The process will build on community strengths and address specific priorities that these communities have identified.

Learn more or apply to serve on the committee at https://kingcounty.gov/urbanchoices, which has information available in multiple languages. Applications are currently being accepted through Friday, April 16.

Join us for “Local Lunch” on Fridays 

If you live or do business in King County and outside a city or town, King County is your local government—and King County Local Services is here to help connect you with government services.

You can join us every Friday during the noon hour to talk over any questions or comments you may have, ask for help, or just to chat. These informal meetings are virtual for now (check our home page for information on how to join), but we plan to keep them going in unincorporated-area restaurants after the pandemic is over.

You can also send us your questions or comments or ask for help by email or by calling us at 206‑477‑3800.

King County is proposing local changes to new building codes that recently went into effect in Washington State. A draft ordinance would update energy codes for new and significantly retrofitted commercial buildings as well as multifamily buildings that are four or more stories tall.

These buildings would not be able to use natural gas to heat water or indoor spaces, and would be required to have increased energy efficiency in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The county is accepting public comments on the draft ordinance through April 30. The proposal will be submitted to the King County Council in July for consideration and possible adoption later this year. To learn more and/or review the proposals, see "Development regulations" on the county’s Legislation for public review and comment page.

Repair work to strengthen the structural supports inside the Patton Bridge on Green Valley Road is almost finished, with the bridge expected to fully reopen in early April.

During two full closures in mid- and late March, crews pumped in concrete to fully encase new rebar and other new steel supports inside the bridge. Pumping concrete from the top of a two-lane bridge into a small space inside the bridge requires careful attention, and Road Services is grateful to drivers in the area for their patience during the project.

The bridge is a lifeline for cars and trucks across the Green River Valley, connecting State Route 18 in Auburn and State Route 169 in Black Diamond. After this work, it should be in good working order for years to come.

Learn more on the project website.

As part of its 2021-2022 budget, Metro has funds available to look at expanding mobility options in Skyway. The agency is asking people who live, work, or travel in skyway what mobility features might work best for them—including van services, on-demand programs, greater access to reduced fares, or infrastructure improvements that will make it safer and easier to travel to transit stops. See the Metro Matters blog post to learn more.

You can share your thoughts by taking an online survey (available in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese), or email haveasay@kingcounty.gov to request paper copies of the survey. Responses are due at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 9.

Alarming aquatic weed found in a small lake in Duvall

The City of Duvall and King County are planning a rapid response to keep the aquatic weed Egeria densa from spreading out of Lake Rasmussen to Cherry Creek and the Snoqualmie River.

Egeria is a densely growing underwater plant native to Brazil and Argentina that was accidentally introduced to Washington lakes and rivers. Because of its abundant growth and lack of natural controls, it can overwhelm beneficial native plants, fill in open water areas, and impede fish passage. It is a Class B noxious weed in Washington.

The plant was spotted last fall by an observant second grader and her mother, who reported it to state and county authorities. This is the first known sighting of the plant in the Snoqualmie Watershed. Based on its impacts in the Chehalis and Sammamish rivers, it could devastate fish habitat and waterways in the watershed. 

Egeria is often spread by fragments carried on boats or in aquariums dumped into lakes. To keep it from spreading to new lakes and waterways, visitors to Lake Rasmussen and other infested lakes and rivers should clean off their boots, boats, and dogs before leaving. It just takes a small plant fragment to spread the problem. For more information, email Ben Peterson or visit the King County Noxious Weeds blog post.

Photo: Maggie Carosino discovered Egeria in her neighborhood lake. Photo provided by Reagan Carosino.

Help King County identify areas of concern to inform the stormwater capital investment plan for the Skyway-West Hill basin. The online meeting will be on Tuesday, May 4, from 6 to 7 p.m. (NOTE: This date has been updated since the email version of this newsletter went out.)

Learn more on the county website and/or contact Hung Huynh by email or phone (206-447-3589).

Do you struggle to control blackberry, ivy, or holly on a property you own or manage? This webinar, hosted by the King County Noxious Weed Control Program's Healthy Lands Project (HeLP), offers in-depth instruction on different techniques to successfully control these weeds to help prepare you to reach your goals for a healthier forest, field, or green space. Register for free on Eventbrite, and bring your questions for weed control experts.

Learn more on the King County Noxious Weed Control Program website.

Photo: Veronica with DIRT Corps removes weeds at a Healthy Lands Project site.

King County’s Clean Water Plan will guide community investments that protect our waterways, the environment, and public health for decades to come. As a part of this planning process, King County has developed a series of three technical workshops for interested community members and local and partner agencies. The first, on wastewater treatment, will be held Tuesday April 20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Participants will get a technical overview of our wastewater sources and characteristics, explore treatment approaches and potential Clean Water Plan actions, and have an opportunity to ask questions about those actions. All three workshops will have closed captioning in English and Spanish and live Spanish interpretation.

Participation is free, but registration is required. Registrants will receive email with a secure link and meeting password.

To learn more, visit the Clean Water Plan website, send email, or call Erika Peterson at 206‑477‑5525.

Would you like to help your community be more prepared for emergencies?

Consider joining or recruiting for King County’s Trusted Partner Network. The network works to make sure every resident of King County receives critical lifesaving emergency alerts, even if they don't speak English.

By partnering with trusted bilingual community members, the network will create a link between King County’s emergency alert system, non-English speaking populations, and other communities that the alert system does not currently serve. Trained community members will convey urgent public messages about natural and human-caused disasters or other emergencies in their community’s preferred language or method of communication.

Learn more on the website. If you're interested in joining, fill out the enrollment form. Or you can help by recruiting bilingual community members into the network by pointing them to the website.

The next Trusted Partner Network member training will be on April 15. For more information, email Daniel Arauz with King County Emergency Management.

Guide mental health and substance abuse services in your community

Do you live or work in rural King County?

Take this survey to help guide mental health and substance abuse services in your community. In partnership with your local providers, King County’s Department of Community and Human services is seeking input from community members who live or work in rural areas of King County.

Your feedback is critical to help identify unaddressed needs, gaps, and opportunities to expand services to people living or working in rural areas.

The survey will be open through April 11, and is available via the link above in English, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Russian, Somali, Spanish, Korean, and Vietnamese. 

COVID-19 resources

Public Health-Seattle & King County:
Website | News and Blog | Facebook | Twitter

Washington State Department of Health:
Website | Facebook | Twitter

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Website | Twitter

4Culture

Grants available to help fund art, heritage, or preservation projects

4Culture project grants are available to fund your creative work in the arts, heritage, and preservation. They're offering a smaller grant program this year due to the impact of COVID-19, but unincorporated King County community members are always encouraged to apply. Deadline April 28. Learn more at the 4Culture website.

4Culture, in partnership with King County Metro Transit, is seeking three artists age 16-25 who will be commissioned to create three artworks, each unique to one of Metro's new RapidRide lines. The works will be featured on a series of limited-edition ORCA cards to be released at the start of each new line over the coming few years.

This will be a great opportunity for the artists chosen to have their work featured on a massive scale with wide distribution and impact across all regional transit ridership. Each chosen artist will be paired with a mentor—a steady and seasoned educator and artist who can nurture and facilitate their creatives processes and encourage growth. Each chosen artist will be paid $2,000 for licensed use of the artwork they create.

4Culture will host two virtual information sessions* on this opportunity:
• Wednesday, April 21, 5-6:30 p.m.
• Friday, April 23, 12-1:30 p.m.
*Pre-registration is required

Learn more about this opportunity and how to apply on the 4Culture website.

Need a couple masks and some hand sanitizer?

King County Local Services Community Liaison Marissa Alegria will hand out free masks and hand sanitizer at a drive-through event on Saturday, May 1, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Neely Mansion (12303 SE Auburn-Black Diamond Road). 

At the parking lot entrance, tell the staff person how many persons are in your household. You can receive 2 reusable, adult-sized, white cloth masks per person for up to 6 household members — a maximum of 12 masks per vehicle, plus one bottle of hand sanitizer.

Photo: Alegria unpacks masks and sanitizer at a recent drive-through mask/hand sanitizer distribution event.

We've been through a long and brutal winter, capping a long and brutal year. We've lost members of our community to COVID-19, and we’ve seen businesses struggle and in some cases have to close their doors permanently. All of us have faced personal and professional challenges, and no one has escaped the impact of the global pandemic.

But as spring comes to the Pacific Northwest, with cherry blossoms open and the days getting longer, there are signs of hope all around us. Vaccines are increasingly available. Most people over 65 have been vaccinated, and new groups are becoming eligible. As I write this, Governor Inslee has announced that as of April 15, everyone over age 16 will be eligible for vaccine shots—and that really marks the beginning of the end of this pandemic.

To be sure, there are still many cases of COVID-19 in our community, and all of us need to remain vigilant over the next several months to ensure the safety of the many people who will remain unvaccinated through the end of the year. But as spring stretches into summer, it seems likely that we'll see a seasonal decline in cases as well as one caused by vaccinations.

None of us who have lived through this past year will ever forget it. Here at the Department of Local Services, we've done our best to be a source of support to the community. As the department director, I send to all of you my best wishes and hope that the coming year is far better.

Stay safe out there.

Director’s Corner is a column from John Taylor, the director of King County Local Services. To contact John, email AskLocalServices@kingcounty.gov or call 206-477-3800 (Relay 711; language interpreters available).