 I want to hear from you!
 As your councilmember on the King County Council, I need to know what’s important to you. Please consider taking a short survey to share your priorities for 2024 and your ideas about how we can work together to make King County a safe, welcoming place for all.
Applications now open: Youth and Amateur Sports Grants, Healthy Communities, and Conservation Futures
 King County Parks is now accepting applications for Youth and Amateur Sports Grants (YASG) and Healthy Communities and Parks Fund (HCPF).
YASG invests in programs and capital projects that increase access to sports, play, and outdoor recreation. A total of $3.5 million is available for 2024, with awards up to $100,000 for programs and up to $250,000 for capital projects.
HCPF supports projects that increase access to recreation and use of parks, open spaces, and recreational facilities in underserved areas and communities. $1.5 million in funding is available in 2024, with awards up to $250,000.
Applications for both funds are accepted through 8:00 pm, March 4, and nonprofits, cities or towns, and tribal organizations are eligible to apply.
To learn more about these grants, you can attend a virtual information session on Wednesday, January 24 from 10:00-11:30 am.
Finally, the deadline to apply for Conservation Futures grants is approaching on February 12. These grants are used to buy or conserve sites for parks and open spaces, including urban greenspaces, natural areas, habitat and stream restoration sites, forests, community gardens, farms, and trails. Government agencies and nature conservancy or historic preservation nonprofits are eligible to apply.
SR 520 Bridge Trail closure alert!
Beginning tomorrow (Friday, January 19) at 10:00 am the SR 520 Trail is closing for fifteen days around-the-clock. It will reopen at 1:00 pm. on Friday, February 2. The trail will close between the Evergreen Point lid in Medina and the Montlake neighborhood in Seattle.
This work is a part of WSDOT’s “Rest of the West” SR 520 project and includes extensive work to align the trail into its new and final alignment. Learn more about the project and what it includes by watching WSDOT’s YouTube video:
 Click on the image above to watch the YouTube video about the Trail closure project
Trail users will need to use alternate routes or take transit to get across Lake Washington. Many options exist to take transit across the SR 520 Bridge, but here are a couple frequent routes to consider:
Eastbound:
- Sound Transit Express route 542: Use Bay 1 at NE Pac St & Montlake Blvd NE. When across the bridge, exit at the Evergreen Point Freeway Station stop.
- King County Metro route 255: Use the Montlake Blvd NE & NE Pacific Place Bay 3 stop. When across the bridge, exit at the Evergreen Point Freeway Station stop.
Westbound:
- King County Metro route 255 and Sound Transit Express route 542: Enter at the Evergreen Point Freeway Station stop. The immediate stop after the bridge is Montlake Blvd E & E Shelby St.
For specific information about this or other potential transit routes, you can use Metro’s Trip Planner, or your favorite map navigation app:
To stay up to date and for contact info for the construction team, check out the SR 520 Trail Construction page here:
Last April, voters approved the crisis care centers levy, which will create five crisis care centers across the county for people needing urgent behavioral health care, restore and expand mental health residential treatment beds, and grow the community behavioral health workforce
 The crisis care centers levy will create a crisis care center in each response zone
In the coming weeks, King County Council will be considering and passing the levy’s implementation plan, which includes details about how the funds will be spent. The Department of Community and Human Services will be holding two virtual community briefings on the implementation plan next Tuesday, January 23, from 1:00-2:30 pm and from 6:00-7:30 pm. You can join one of these briefings to learn more about the levy and the plan that the Council will deliberate on.
Spread the word!
Please forward this email widely and invite others to sign-up to my email updates to receive important and timely information for District 6 constituents.
Sincerely,
 Claudia Balducci
King County Council
District 6
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