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 July 11, 2025
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This week we have all heard the tragic news of loss of life in the state of Texas due to flash floods.
The King County Flood Control District Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday and passed a motion to ensure we are both prepared to communicate effectively with the public and that we are advocating that the appropriate federal agencies have the staffing and support they need to ensure we are prepared. You can read about the motion here.
The main mission of the Flood Control District is to oversee the construction and maintenance of levies that protect areas like the Kent/Green River Valley. I will be taking a tour of the levies at the end of the month to learn more about what work is needed to keep them in good repair.
You can sign up for flood alerts here. More information on Flood readiness is listed below.
If you see a need for additional work in your neighborhood, the Flood Control District regularly provides grant opportunities for communities.
In other water-related news, King County Wastewater Treatment Division offers communities Waterworks Grants this summer for projects that will improve water quality (below).
In addition, King County is seeking your thoughts and comments on:
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Construction of the RapidRide I line in South King County – survey below
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Transit changes to better serve South King County with the coming Light Rail – survey below
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The long-range plan for the Woodland Park Zoo – survey below
Reminder: there will be a primary election on August 5, you can register to vote on-line.
The goal of the D5 e-news is to share information about council business, upcoming community events, access to services, opportunities, and ways for us to build an even better King County.
I hope you had a great 4th of July weekend. I know I did. I went out crabbing on Puget Sound with friends and colleagues Brian Surratt and CM Rod Dembowski. Crabs were plentiful, the water was beautiful, and we enjoyed the sunshine too.
On Monday, June 30, I met with Metro staff on transit safety which continues to be an important topic for our entire region. As you might recall, we held the first regionwide transit safety summit on March 20.
Since then, leaders from different jurisdictions including mayors, councilmembers, police chiefs, police captains, transit union leaders, and drivers have met in small groups to discuss strategies for working better together to ensure our metro transit system is safe for riders and drivers. We expect the small group work will be presented to the council in a more formal implementation plan in September – stay tuned.
Des Moines Mayor Traci Buxton invited me to join her for a walking tour of Des Moines. I was pleased to see Deputy Mayor Steinmetz and City Manager Caffrey. Mayor Buxton and I then joined King County Councilmember Mosqueda and other officials from Des Moines for a discussion about potential ferry service between Des Moines, downtown Seattle and Vashon Island which is represented by CM Mosqueda.
I also met with the Sound Transit CEO and staff on issues related to South King County. And my staff and I met at our District office in Kent to prepare for some upcoming issues.
On Tuesday, I met with Budget Director Dwight Dively and Council Liaison Stephanie Pure regarding a proposed one tenth of one percent increase in the sales tax to support criminal justice services – such as sheriff, prosecutor, detention. This option was given to King County by the State Legislature to help the county avoid cutting public safety services such as sheriff’s deputies and prosecutors.
The Council meeting included a vote on appointments to the Citizens’ Elections Oversight Committee – an important advisory group to help us ensure we are doing everything we can to protect the integrity of our elections.
The Council also voted on the hiring of a pro-tem Hearing Examiner during a search for a permanent Hearing Examiner.
The Flood Control District Board of Supervisors then met to discuss not only the Texas floods but also received a briefing on the next steps for salmon recovery in our waterways. I have been informed that our fish counts in the lower Cedar River are at historically low levels.
On Wednesday, I spoke at the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee meeting where we discussed a mid-year budget corrections ordinance which updated and redirected unspent funding. For example, $1.2 million in unspent funding for the East Lake Sammamish Trail was re-directed to the Green to Cedar project in South King County!
This budget ordinance also included small grants from the voter-approved Veterans, Seniors and Human Services levy for organizations in each council district. I was pleased to advocate for funding for local South King County food banks, youth sports, veterans support, and affordable housing efforts in District 5. More on those grants in our next e-news!
Click above to see CM Quinn’s comments on the public safety sales tax
The Budget and Finance Committee also voted to recommend the sales tax increase to full council.
The final vote on both the budget ordinance and the sales tax will be on Tuesday, July 15 at the full council meeting. You can watch it on-line at King County Television or on channel 22.
On Thursday, I was briefed by staff on the Cedar Hills Landfill – specifically efforts to capture the gas from the landfill to both prevent pollution and to reuse it as an energy source. I was also briefed on the Solid Waste Rate.
I hope this information is helpful to you. I love South King County and want to serve the public well while I am in office.
King County Councilmember, District 5
Des Moines, Kent, Normandy Park, Renton, SeaTac, Tukwila
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Funding to improve water quality in your community
The 2025 WaterWorks Council-allocated track grant cycle is accepting applications starting July 8, 2025 through priority deadline of July 29, with awards expected by the end of 2025. Proposals must be submitted online through the grant portal here.
The WaterWorks Grant Program funds projects that protect and improve water quality in King County, such as rain gardens, tree planting, community engagement and education on pollution prevention and source control, research, water quality monitoring, and stormwater retrofits.
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King County Metro is preparing to build 17-miles of new RapidRide service in Kent, Renton, and Auburn. Construction will begin in Fall 2025.
Click here to check out Metro’s interactive map and learn about the passenger stations, and other improvements this project will bring!
Take Metro’s online survey!
Construction may cause temporary changes or disruptions to your usual access or travel patterns along the RapidRide I Line route.
As Link light rail extends south as soon as 2026, King County Metro’s South Link Connections mobility project continues to work on improving public transportation in south King County.
Metro invites you to join an upcoming Virtual Information Session:
Metro invites you to learn more and let us know what you think about these proposed changes by taking our survey by August 31.
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Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ) will be bringing forward an update to its Long-Range Facilities Plan to guide the physical development of the Zoo over the next 20 years.
Woodland Park Zoo serves King County residents with:
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363,700 free zoo tickets distributed regionally (2020-2024) through the Zoo’s Community Access Program
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77,576 free or discounted school visits (2020-2024) made possible by the King County Parks Levy
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1.34M Zoo visitors (2023) engaging with environmental education
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48,530 member households (2023) who support WPZ’s mission to save wildlife
WPZ has launched a robust community engagement process to learn more about the current experiences and needs of the zoo to make sure it reflects the variety of communities it serves for the next 20 years.
The Zoo wants to hear from you! The on-line community engagement survey takes ~7 minutes to complete.
Six major river systems flow through King County (South Fork Skykomish, Snoqualmie, Sammamish, Cedar, Green and White Rivers) along with their significant tributaries (Tolt, Raging, Miller and Greenwater rivers).
More than 500 flood protection facilities stretch over 119 miles in King County.
Many were built 50 years ago by farmers to protect their fields. Now, these aging levees protect major business centers, residences and critical public infrastructure. They span at least $7 billion of assessed value that include Boeing facilities, Southcenter Mall, and distribution centers for medical centers, grocery stores, and gas stations.
Approximately 65,000 jobs are located in these areas.
It is estimated that a one-day shutdown of economic activity in the King County floodplains would cost the region at least $46 million in lost economic output.
Since 1990, the King County floodplains have been declared a federal flood disaster area 13 times.
You can do your part by knowing the risk of of flooding in your area, sign up for flood alerts, and prepare for evacuation when necessary.
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Read the Flood Control District’s annual Be Flood Ready Brochure. It has great information on flood preparation, provides river flood phase information, and is interpreted in over 20 languages.
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Check out the Flood Risk Map to see if you are located within a floodplain.
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Consider purchasing Flood Insurance. Most homeowners and renters' insurance policies do not cover damage caused by flooding, so ask about flood insurance coverage.
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Sign up for free automated Flood Alerts via e-mail, text, or voice messaging to receive alerts on the river(s) that impact you.
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Sandbags are a simple, yet effective way to prevent or reduce flood water damage. Sandbag materials are free to King County residents.
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Explain flood dangers to younger family members. Public Health – Seattle & King County have great resources to help explain disasters and emergencies including Disaster Buddies coloring book and In Deep Water, a Survivor Tales comic book.
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Flooding can impact everyone. Make It Through has resources and helpful checklists for hearing challenges, mobility challenges, people with disabilities, special medical needs, visually impaired, and service animals.
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King County Primary Election is August 5
Click above to see a video about registering to vote
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A current Washington State driver license, or
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A current Washington State ID card, or
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Last 4 digits of Social Security Number
If you do not have either of these, you can still register by mail or in-person.
Registrations done by mail need to be received, not postmarked, by the 8-day deadline.
919 SW Grady Way, Suite 100 Renton, WA 98057 You can also register to vote in-person at a vote center or at one of our community events.
King County Council District 5 – a great place to make your voice heard!
Support local businesses in District 5!
Des Moines, Kent, Normandy Park, Renton, SeaTac, Tukwila!
Thank you for reading the twenty-third edition of our e-news. Please feel free to contact us and share information you have about your city or neighborhood at desean.quinn@kingcounty.gov or 206 477-1005.
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De'Sean Quinn (he/him/his)
King County Councilmember, District 5
(206) 477-1005 Send me an email
www.kingcounty.gov/quinn |
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