Earlier this year, the King County Council approved renaming the grants program to honor Alan M. Painter (pictured at left), the founding director of King County’s Community Service Area Program and a long-time public servant who also worked in the City of Seattle and in communities across King County.

► Learn more about the grant program and Alan Painter in this King County Local blog post.

► Find details about this year’s program and how to apply on the Local Services website. Information and applications are available in English and Spanish (and in other languages and formats on request).

Metro and Local Services are introducing the new Skyway Community Van, which will provide residents with 24/7, reservation-based transportation for group trips. Metro provides the vans, and volunteer drivers are managed by a local Community Van Coordinator.

Fittingly, the program’s first coordinator, Kahdijah Jackson (pictured), is a Skyway native and has worked with several groups and nonprofit organizations that serve the Skyway area. She can speak firsthand to the community’s need for transportation services beyond what’s already there.

You can learn more about the program on this King County Local blog post. Right now, Jackson is especially interested in finding volunteer drivers. “It’s not a fulltime commitment,” she said. “One day a month, twice a week—if you can only give four hours, please sign up because we need those four hours. Let’s build this together.”

To find out how to schedule a trip, contact Jackson by phone at 206-477-7660 or by email at kajackson@kingcounty.gov.

Property taxes are due Nov. 1

Do you pay your property taxes directly, instead of through a mortgage lender? Taxpayers have one extra day this year. The usual deadline for the second half payment is Oct. 31, but since that falls on a Sunday, payments must be made or postmarked by Monday, Nov. 1. Late fees will apply after that date. To review current amounts due, please use King County's safe and secure online eCommerce System.

Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, Treasury Operations is still closed to in-person payments—but there are other options available to make your payment.

• Pay online using the King County eCommerce system (linked above). While there, you can also sign up to receive text or email reminders about tax due dates.

• Pay by mail at this new address: King County Treasury Operations, 201 S. Jackson St., Suite 710, Seattle WA  98104.

• Pay using the secure drop box at our new location, 201 S. Jackson Street in downtown Seattle. Look for a labeled white box on the Second Avenue side of the building, nearer to Jackson Street. There is no payment drop-off option at our old location. As a reminder, never leave cash in the drop box.

Learn more about property taxes on the King County website.

With COVID-19 infections still a concern across our region, King County will continue to provide most services virtually (largely online, by phone, or by mail) until further notice. This extended pause on in-person services is allowing the county to close the Administration Building in downtown Seattle and move the agencies formerly housed there to other sites.

To help guide plans for a new centralized services site, the county is inviting community members to participate in a survey. This survey, which is 100% anonymous and should take less than 10 minutes, is an opportunity for residents to provide input and help reimagine the customer experience at King County. The new location is expected to include services such as vehicle and vessel licensing, document recording, property assessments, treasury, vital statistics, permitting for taxis and ride-sharing companies, public records, and more.

The survey will be open through October 8. The new centralized services site is planned to open in spring 2022. Details about the facility will be announced as the opening date approaches.

Take the survey

Get ready for the Great Shakeout

Do you know what to do in an earthquake?

The annual Great Shakeout, on Oct. 21 at 10:21 a.m. this year, is a great time to learn and practice Drop, Cover, and Hold on. Review your overall personal preparedness, including a disaster kit, family communication plan, and more. Learn more on how you can participate and get prepared for the unexpected, and read about the Seven Steps to Earthquake Safety by the Earthquake Country Alliance.

It’s October, and flood season is here. King County has not had a major flood yet this year, but as our most common natural disaster it’s not a matter of if it will happen but when.

Two of the best ways to protect your home is to learn your flood risk and make sure you have flood insurance. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), just 1 inch of water pooled in a single-story, 1,000 square-foot home can cause close to $11,000 in damage. Standard renters and homeowners insurance policies do not cover floods. Renters can buy coverage for the contents of their homes even if the structure is not insured. It’s wise to consider buying flood insurance even if you aren't required to purchase it. And flood policy holders in unincorporated King County receive a 40% discount on their premiums due to the county’s participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.  

King County staff members are available to help you understand the flood risk to your property, interpret floodplain maps, and provide technical assistance to help you protect your property from flood damage. To better understand how flood insurance can reduce your flood risk, contact floodplain managers Laura Hendrix or Ken Zweig at 206-477-4727, or visit King County’s website to learn what you can do to prepare for flooding. Visit www.floodsmart.gov to learn more about flood insurance and how to find an insurance agent.

Help monitor salmon in your local watershed

Fall means that salmon will soon be returning to our local creeks. The annual Community Salmon Investigation (CSI) – driven by community volunteers – has tracked the health of salmon runs in Miller and Walker Creeks for the past 12 years.

The Miller/Walker Stewardship Program is currently recruiting volunteers to conduct regular surveys of spawning salmon. Teams of 2-4 conduct weekly or biweekly surveys from early October through December.

Surveys are completed by walking along/in the creeks in waders, which generally takes 2-3 hours to complete. It's a great opportunity to learn more about salmon and what's being done across the county to help improve watershed conditions for them.

For more information on the program and how to sign up, visit the website or contact Iris Kemp, the Miller/Walker Basin Steward.

Overwhelmed by weeds? The Noxious Weed Control Program is offering a free webinar on October 20 at 6 p.m. The online class will teach methods to tackle tough invasive weeds that grow everywhere, from backyards to forests and fields.

You can learn to identify noxious weeds so you can catch them early, before they take over. Register here...or, if you can’t attend the class, visit the noxious weed program website to watch recordings of past webinars and register for upcoming classes when they are scheduled.

Roseann Barnhill from Dirt Corps carefully controls ivy vines without hurting the tree. (Photo by Dan Sorensen.)

Join an online meeting with representatives of the King County Solid Waste Division and Bio Energy Washington to ask questions and learn about the latest activities at the county’s regional landfill and the landfill gas-to-energy facility.

Join the meeting on Wednesday, Oct.13, from 6 to 8 p.m. Learn more and register on the Solid Waste Division website.

To support the establishment and expansion of farm businesses operated by new and beginning and historically underserved farmers, the King County Farmland Leasing Program works to make farmland and infrastructure accessible to groups who face systemic barriers to accessing land.

Currently, King County has up to 5 acres of farmland available to lease near Kent starting in 2022. We are especially encouraging applicants who work to support business expansion for new and beginning and historically underserved farmers.

Please see the Request for Proposals. Deadline Oct. 17.

Pet safety checklist

☐ King County pet license
☐ Microchip - keep your contact information current
☐ Leashes, collars, carriers, bedding
☐ Food, water, bowls, can opener
☐ First aid kit
☐ Litter box, cat litter, litter bags, cleaning supplies
☐ Contact information, vet medical records, medications

(For more emergency preparedness information, visit makeitthrough.org

King County pet license benefits

• Faster return of lost pets
• Lost pets found by an Animal Control Officer delivered to your home for free the first time
• Supports the care and adoption of local shelter animals
• Helps protect people and pets in your community

License online at: kingcounty.gov/licensemypet or call 206-296-2712 (interpreter service available).

The 4Culture Recovery Fund is now open to support cultural organizations in King County who have suffered losses due to the pandemic. Apply by November 5.

October brings us changing leaves, cooler days and nights, and the launch of our annual Community Service Area Grant Program. This year, the program's name has changed to honor Alan M. Painter, the former head of the King County Community Service Area Program. Alan passed away this year, and the County Executive and Council decided to honor him by renaming this grant program after him.

The grants program is one legacy from a decades-long career spent in human services and community development. Alan was appointed by Executive Dow Constantine as the county’s Community Service Area Program Manager in 2012, and he led the program until his retirement in 2019. During that time he grew it into a robust program with deep roots in communities across unincorporated King County.

He was everywhere in unincorporated King County, often attending community meetings in Skyway, White Center, and the Snoqualmie Valley on the same day. He never shied away from a challenge and could often be found in the middle of challenging community development issues. Community activists across unincorporated King County remember Alan fondly as someone who worked with and for community, and was always trying to find the “right” solution.

Before being named CSA Program Manager, Alan advised the Executive on human services, health, and housing policy. He was also a former director of the Seattle Department of Human Services.

The grant program that now bears his name supports projects that advance the King County Strategic Plan and achieve the following goals:

• Promote the engagement of unincorporated area residents in community or civic activities
• Educate local residents about issues that affect them
• Implement a community enhancement project
• Identify and gather community needs and priorities
• Meet King County’s equity and social justice goals of increasing fairness and opportunity for all people, particularly people of color and those with low incomes and/or limited English proficiency

King County has awarded nearly $750,000 in grant money to community organizations since the program began. In 2021, community groups in the unincorporated areas competed for a total of $90,000 in grants, with awards ranging from $500 to $4,000 each.

Alan Painter’s legacy will live on in this program that now bears his name, but more significantly, it lives on in all the good work he did over decades in King County communities.