Do you live in an unincorporated part of the Snoqualmie Valley, Skykomish, or the King County side of Snoqualmie Pass? Are you interested in what your area could be like in 20 years?

Local Services will release a public review draft of the Snoqualmie Valley/Northeast King County Subarea Plan in early June and seek public feedback on the draft plan, which includes a vision, guiding principles, policies, and land use and zoning amendments.

To receive notification when the draft plan is released for comments, visit the public outreach site and sign up for text or email updates.

King County is updating its website with a new look that's designed to be simple and easy to use with all of your devices.

It's a big site, and moving everything will take some time—so don't be surprised if you see some pages with the old, familiar look and some with the new one (here's a screenshot of the Local Services landing page in the new design) at the same time.

The King County Department of Information Technology and its research partner are holding a series of discussion groups focused on ways to improve the process of making payments for King County services.

You can help the county better serve residents by taking part in a short discussion.

Space is limited. Participants will be compensated for their time and participation. Learn more and sign up at publicinput.com/payments.

Road Services crews spread out across unincorporated King County during summer months, when warm, dry weather makes paving and other projects possible.

Before heading out, you can check King County's My Commute website to find out what's happening along your routes, plan for traffic delays, and maybe find an alternate route so you can avoid a slowdown.

You can also get notifications sent straight to your inbox by subscribing to road alerts. And if you need to report something, you can always use the 24/7 Road Helpline (206‑477‑8100) to speak with the Road Services customer care team. 

StormFest is seeking volunteers

StormFest is an outdoor learning event for sixth and seventh grade Highline School District students. It uses STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and stormwater lessons for hands-on learning. Students learn about their local watershed, sources of pollution, and engineering solutions to prevent stormwater pollution.

The deadline to apply to volunteer is May 8.

Check out this video from a past StormFest to see how students interact with environmental education. Volunteers gain experience in best practices for environmental education and interacting with students from a variety of cultures. Bilingual station educators and interpreters will be paid stipends. Eligible employees can use leave for volunteer hours.

Learn more.

This year the King County Flood Control District is offering at least $12 million in grant funding for projects that reduce the impact of flooding. The deadline to apply for a 2023 grant is May 25.

The program supports flood reduction projects throughout King County, and is specifically interested in reaching tribes, homeowner associations, nonprofit organizations, schools, special purpose districts, cities, towns, and agencies in King County. Grants awarded in the past have ranged from $10,000 to $1.5 million.

To qualify for funding, projects must directly address existing or potential flooding. Projects that achieve multiple benefits are encouraged.

Learn more on the Flood Reduction Grants web page or contact Kim Harper by email or at 206‑477‑6079 with questions.

Photo: 2015 flooding in Snoqualmie Valley (photo by Eli Brownell, King County Parks)

Plant sale to raise funds for Cemetery Pond protection and restoration

Get outside and make a difference! Shop the C.A.R.E. Annual Plant Sale May 6 & 7, 9 am to 5 pm at 6220 SE 2nd Place in Renton. This sale supports the protection and restoration of Cemetery Pond. Help create natural open space, gain knowledge about wetlands and water quality, and be a part of the solution!

The Community Alliance to Reach out and Engage (C.A.R.E.) plant sale offers Pacific Northwest native plants, trees, mature rescued plants, herbaceous perennials, shrubs in many sizes, and ornamental and edible plants.

Volunteers from C.A.R.E. and neighbors are helping restore habitat by removing invasive weeds in the Cemetery Pond wetland. For information about participating in C.A.R.E. maintenance at the wetland, send email to highlands_neighbors@hotmail.com.

Learn more about the Cemetery Pond project on the King County website.

King County has more than 147 dams that serve us well—they store drinking water, improve wildlife habitats, and allow for recreation. But dams can also pose a flood risk if they fail.

In conjunction with National Dam Safety Awareness Day on May 31, King County Emergency Management is planning a workshop for dam owners so they can update their plans. To learn more about the workshop, contact Dam Safety Coordinator Edan Edmonson. For more information about King County dams, visit kingcounty.gov/dams.

All cats and dogs living in unincorporated areas of King County are required to be licensed with Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC).

If you've let your pet's license expire, or if you've never licensed them at all, now's your chance! Through June 30, you can license your cat or dog with RASKC and all late fees will be waived. 

Learn more or license online
kingcounty.gov/LicenseMyPet
Or call 206-296-2712

King County has opened a new Customer Service Center in Seattle's Pioneer Square neighborhood. The center combines many of the county's most-requested services in one floor of one building, including vital records, treasury services, assessments, recording, and licensing. The Customer Service Center is on the second floor of the King Street Center building at 201 S. Jackson Street.

Customers using the new service center will be able to "get in line" virtually for many services through a platform called QLess. King County agencies using QLess will have links on their web pages (start at kingcounty.gov) that allow users to make appointments for their in-person visits. Users can also make appointments by downloading the QLess smartphone app from app stores, or they can make them in person at kiosks in the center.

The Customer Service Center will be open from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on regular weekdays, though individual agencies may occasionally have adjusted hours.

Mental Health First Aid is coming to rural communities near you

Just as CPR training prepares people without medical backgrounds to help someone who is having a heart attack, Mental Health First Aid trains people to help someone who is at risk of developing a mental health problem or who is going through a mental health crisis. If your community is interested in receiving free Mental Health First Aid trainings for adults, youths, or teens, please see the list of online and in-person trainings currently available at Mental Health First Aid-Valley Cities.

To request in-person trainings in your local community, send email to mhfatraining@valleycities.org.

Skyway ‘Spring Fling’ Farmers Market & Bazaar set for May 28

Still making your plans for Memorial Day weekend? Consider checking out the Skyway Farmers Market and Bazaar on Sunday, May 28 from 11 am to 2 pm. Rain or shine, this event will bring artisan vendors, fresh produce, handcrafted items, and free resources to the Skyway Resource Center's new home (the old U.S. Bank building) at 12610 76th Avenue S.

Grant helps archivists, librarians, and historians protect the objects that make up history

4Culture is offering grants to nonprofit organizations in King County that care for heritage collections.

Apply by May 31.

Learn more at 4culture.org/grants/collections-care.

At King County Local Services we're always trying to improve our connection with the communities we serve. This becomes even more important as we partner with communities on innovative programs like participatory budgeting and community needs lists, where residents play significant roles in guiding the investments King County will make, or work the county will do, in their communities.

This summer, we'll be putting together a list of people who live in unincorporated parts of the county and are interested in hearing about—and taking part in—our initiatives. I would like to ask you, the reader, to help with this effort.

If you've read all the way to the end of our newsletter, you're probably familiar with the work we do at Local Services. Would you be willing to share with us the names and email addresses of 10 friends or neighbors who live in unincorporated King County, who you believe might be interested in learning more about the work we do, and who might be willing to take part in decision making related to our programs?

We would send each person an email with a short survey, which would include the opportunity to opt out, before adding them to our list. And we commit to protecting any and all information we receive from community members.

Please send the names and email addresses of anyone you think might like to work with us in the future (including yourself, if you feel so inclined) to AskLocalServices@kingcounty.gov.

We cannot succeed in our work to improve service to the communities of unincorporated King County without help from all of you.

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).