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Local Services
King County awards $2 million to build permanent home for Skyway Resource Center
Local Services has awarded $2 million to build a new home for the Skyway Resource Center. The space will provide a holistic array of social services, health and wellness services, and community-based organization support for the neighborhood—much like the regular mobile “pop-up” events the center has held throughout the community over the past year and a half.
The new center will be in the former U.S. Bank building at 12610 76th Avenue S, across the street from the Skyway Library. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2023.
“This is an example of how government can play a role in directly improving the lives of its residents,” said Local Services Director John Taylor. “We listened to the community, worked with partners, and invested in an effort that will have immediate and long-term benefits for Skyway.”
Read the full news release here.
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What should a future community center offer in Skyway/West Hill?
If you live in the Skyway/West Hill neighborhood, please take a survey to tell King County Local Services what amenities you would like to see in a community center.
Take the survey
(passcode: skywaycenter)
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“Your Voice, Your Choice”: Participatory budgeting pivots to community outreach and collecting ideas
 Photo: screen capture from a recent meeting of the Community Investment Budget Committee.
King County’s participatory budgeting program is asking people who live and work in five urban unincorporated communities to help decide how to spend county funds in those communities.
After spending the last six months creating the framework for this new process, members of the Community Investment Budget Committee are reaching out to let community members know how they can help guide $10 million in investments in Skyway/West Hill, White Center/North Highline, East Federal Way, East Renton, and Fairwood.
“Now we’re coming to the exciting part,” said Program Coordinator Gloria Briggs. “The committee members can’t wait to share participatory budgeting with their neighbors. Ultimately, residents will nominate projects that they’re passionate about, and the community will vote on which projects receive funding.”
Over the next few weeks, committee members will hold "Your Voice, Your Choice" online information sessions to help residents understand this process and to collect their ideas. These sessions are open to all—anyone who lives, works, plays, or worships in these communities can submit ideas.
Learn more on the King County Local Blog or visit the program's community engagement site.
Fall City Business District property owners choose an alternative for future septic system
King County provided Fall City Business District property owners with three design alternatives for a new on-site septic system. The owners met Jan. 19 and voted for a pressurized septic system with a large community drain field nearby, at the site of a public park at the confluence of the Snoqualmie and Raging rivers.
Siting the drain field at a public park will allow for the efficient treatment of effluent while also providing year-round irrigation to the open fields and vegetation.
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Join King County Local Services for “Local Lunch” on Fridays
King County Local Services is here to help connect people in unincorporated communities with King County government services.
Join us (almost) every Friday during the noon hour to share questions or comments, ask for help, or just to chat. See our home page for information on how to join. You can also send us questions, comments, or requests by email or call us at 206‑477‑3800.
Road Services
Winter storm ushers in 2022, more snow possible
Road Services Maintenance crews worked around the clock, in 12-hour shifts, from Dec. 25 through Jan. 10 to clear hundreds of roads across the county. As winter weather turned from snow and ice to heavy rain, efforts pivoted from plowing, sanding, and transporting salt to responding to flooding and landslides. More snow is expected this month—visit the Road Services Snow and Ice website to find snow routes and get tips on how to plan ahead!
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Natural Resources and Parks
Summer internship program for high school-aged youths
King County Parks Youth Conservation Corps is a new internship program that will provide environmental learning opportunities for 10 high school-aged youths. Interns in the seven-week program (July 6 –Aug. 20) will work with King County Parks staff members at multiple locations to better understand the breadth and depth of environmental justice, conservation, environmental stewardship, and parks and recreation management practices.
The program will provide growth and learning opportunities, foster positive work relationships, and support youths in experiencing the work life environment. Learn more
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Metro Transit
Skyway Community Van makes maiden voyage
This new reservation-based rideshare service recently made its first trip, to the PCC market in Columbia City! The shopping expedition lasted about two hours, and both passenger and volunteer driver reported that they enjoyed the trip.
The Skyway Community Van is available for preplanned group trips to local destinations during the day, evening, or weekend. Each trip must have at least two passengers in addition to the volunteer driver. Each rider pays a standard Metro fare (the driver doesn’t pay a fare). To find out more, read this blog post or contact Skyway Community Van Coordinator Kahdijah Jackson at 206-477-7660 or by email.
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Rural Area news
Joint Transportation Initiative
The Joint Transportation Initiative, a team of five Rural Area councils and associations led by the Greater Maple Valley Unincorporated Area Council, addresses transportation issues in southeast King County. On Jan. 13, the team met with state legislators from districts 5 and 31 to discuss traffic concerns in rural King County and possible solutions that could require action by the state. A meeting with state legislators from District 47 is scheduled.
—Submitted by Susan Harvey, Joint Transportation Initiative Chair
NOTE: Although many public meetings have been canceled, here's a list of community councils and associations that serve King County's unincorporated Community Service Areas, including their usual (or most recent) meeting sites and contact information where applicable.
:: Community Alliance to Reach Out and Engage
Lord of Life Lutheran Church
12819 160th Avenue SE, Renton
See blog for the latest information and to confirm meetings.
:: Enumclaw Plateau Community Association
Tuesday, Feb. 15 – virtual meeting via Zoom (6:30-8;30 p.m.)
Monthly meetings are open to the public, and often feature guest speakers in addition to community reports and information from a variety of local organizations. For more information email Nancy Merrill.
:: Fall City Community Association
Tuesday, Feb. 1 – Virtual meeting (7-8:30 p.m.)
The Fall City Community Association promotes building of community, proactively communicates on local issues, and takes action on selected issues that affect the Fall City community. Meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month, and are open to the public. For more information, visit fallcity.org or email send email.
:: Four Creeks Unincorporated Area Council
Tuesday, Jan. 11 – Virtual meeting via Zoom
Visit the website for the latest information and to confirm meeting dates and locations.
:: Greater Maple Valley Unincorporated Area Council
Monday, Feb. 7, virtual meeting via Zoom (7-9:30 p.m.)
Visit the website for the latest information and to confirm meetings. An agenda, including a list of any invited guest speakers as well as Zoom link information, will be posted several days before the meeting.
:: Green Valley/Lake Holm Association
The Green Valley/Lake Holm Association advocates for those who live in unincorporated southeast King County. Primary goals are to maintain the community’s unique historic, agricultural, and rural character; protect the environment; and sustain quality of life in the area. We engage regularly with local government agencies to address concerns and influence policies on topics of mutual interest, such as growth and development, transportation, public safety, and flood control. Stay connected by visiting their Facebook page.
:: Skywest Tool Library
Skyway Water and Sewer office
6723 S 124th Street, Seattle
Join the SkyWest Tool Library Monthly Meeting to learn more about helping to start a new tool library in Skyway. The purpose of the library will be to share ideas, teach, learn, and borrow tools and more. Contact the library on Facebook.
:: North Highline Unincorporated Area Council
Thursday, Feb. 3 – virtual meeting via Zoom (7 p.m.)
Monthly board meetings are open to the public and often feature guest speakers in addition to community reports and information from local organizations. For more information, email Liz Giba.
:: Upper Bear Creek Community Council
Visit the website or Facebook page for the latest information.
:: Vashon Chamber of Commerce
Contact: discover@vashonchamber.com.
:: Vashon-Maury Island Community Council
Monday, Feb. 21 – Virtual meeting via Zoom (7-9 p.m.)
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. For more information visit vmicc.net or email David Vogel.
:: West Hill Community Association
Board Meeting:
Wednesday Feb. 9 – virtual meeting via Zoom (7-9 p.m.)
Quarterly Meeting:
Tuesday, Feb. 15 – virtual meeting via Zoom (7-9 p.m.)
Monthly and quarterly meetings are open to the public, and often feature guest speakers in addition to community reports and information from a variety of local organizations. For more information, visit the website or email contact@mywesthill.org.
The snow and ice we saw last month made for a beautiful holiday week, but it also posed some challenges for the Road Services Division.
We heard from a number of you about how long it took for plows to reach secondary and neighborhood roads, and we appreciate your comments. This was a particularly challenging weather event to respond to because of how long it lasted and because of the extreme temperatures involved. We were also facing staffing issues due to illnesses, holidays, and job vacancies.
We’re working on ways to continually improve our response to weather events, but I also hope residents of unincorporated King County will keep in mind that there are about 1,500 miles of roads in our jurisdiction and we plow a little over a third of them—about 570 miles of the total road network. We have limited resources for clearing those roads, so we target main arterials that are critical for emergency response and regional mobility first. Then we begin working down a five-tier list that prioritizes secondary and neighborhood roads. We recommend that community members familiarize themselves with our snow route categorization (see our map or download a list) and be prepared for it to take a while for us to get to lower-category roads.
I wish we had the staff and resources to plow every mile of road under our jurisdiction, but we do not. So, as with all things in the Department of Local Services, our staff members do the absolute best they can with the limited resources they have at their disposal. If you live in unincorporated King County, please be patient with our crews and be prepared for winter weather. Part of living in this beautiful place is the tradeoff between urban and rural levels of service.
Rest assured that we’re always looking for ways to leverage the resources we currently have to accomplish more, and we’re examining our most recent snow response to look for ways we can improve. If we see any more significant snow this winter, you can find real-time information on our snow response at our new Winter Weather Response website (still in beta testing).
Please stay safe and warm!
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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).
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