Updates from Councilmember Girmay Zahilay
Hello Residents of King County District 2,
This is your friendly neighborhood King County Councilmember, Girmay Zahilay. Below are some news, updates, and events that I think you’ll find useful.
COVID-19 Updates
As of March 15, 2022, the King County Public Health Director announced that COVID levels are currently considered low, based on low case rates, new hospitalizations, and deaths.
For perspective, case rates are still three times higher than before Delta, but much lower than Omicron. The Director encourages vulnerable people and those who live with vulnerable people to continue wearing high quality masks in public settings. He also reminded us that masks are still required for everyone on public transit, at airports, correctional facilities, and healthcare settings.
He shared data showing unvaccinated individuals in King County are currently 24 times more likely to die from COVID than fully vaccinated individuals. Everyone is encouraged to continue getting vaccinated and boosted.
You can always find your nearest vaccination site at our King County Public Health website or Washington State’s COVID Vaccine Finder. Please remember the vaccine is free and no appointments are necessary.
Sharing King County with the World
This week I met with an international delegation of professionals who came to our state as part of a trade mission. I had the opportunity to speak with leaders from Germany, Kenya, the Philippines, India, Mexico, and more. It was wonderful to learn how they think about public policy and to share with them all that King County has to offer!
Concrete Worker Motion
Concrete and construction workers in King County have been on strike for 4 months, standing in the rain and snow, asking for the pay and benefits needed to survive. Their employers have refused to return to the table. This standstill is devastating for workers and our whole region.
Without a functioning concrete industry, we won’t have the foundation to build homes, public transit, or healthcare facilities. Indeed, countless projects have already stalled. This could be a matter of life and death for concrete workers and also for many others in our region.
That’s why I’m proud to co-sponsor Executive Constantine and Councilmember Balducci’s proposal for an implementation plan on King County's ability to facilitate the public manufacture of concrete. A publicly-owned source of concrete would shape a new reality where a few corporations don’t decide our fates.
In the long term, we could create public manufacturing options that bring balance to the market, compensate workers fairly, and provide the steady supply of concrete that we need to shape a functioning King County. The full legislation can be found here.
Budget Town Halls
Later this year, King County will be voting on its $12.6 billion biennial budget, which determines money for buses, housing, and more. Want to learn more about how the budget works and how to advocate for your top issues? Join us to learn more about the budget process, ask questions directly to King County’s budget directors, and share your thoughts and priorities!
Tune in on Wednesday, March 30th, from 6 PM – 8:30 PM via Facebook Live to for a general budget breakdown and discussion, with King County Deputy Budget Director Aaron Rubardt.
For a budget town hall specific to Skyway and White Center residents, tune in on Saturday, April 23rd, from 12 PM – 1:30 PM via Facebook Live for a discussion on how the budget affects Skyway and White Center, with Councilmember Joe McDermott and Budget Director Dwight Dively.
Seahawks Paid Internship Application
The Seahawks are seeking a Community Engagement Spring Intern. The intern would help support offseason Community & Fan Engagement events. It is a paid position and would work from April – August. Candidates need a high school diploma within last 4 years, be currently enrolled in college, or a recent college graduate within the last 1 year.
To learn more and/or apply, please visit the Seahawks job website here.
Bloodworks Northwest Program Manager Application
Bloodworks Northwest, a national leader in transfusion medicine, is looking to hire a Program Manager to join their Marketing Department. The incumbent is responsible for overseeing the development of Bloodworks Northwest partnerships in the community of programs that support the organization’s main objectives. This Program Manager role will focus on forming and maintaining a strong coalition of partners from communities of color in South King County, as well as overseeing all grant activities.
To learn more and/or apply, please visit the Bloodworks Northwest website here.
Pillar Rainier Valley Business Grant
Please share this opportunity with South Seattle Small Businesses in your networks! Small business grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 are available now through a new organization called Pillar. If you're located in Rainier Valley, have had a business license since before April 1, 2017 and have been struggling since the start of the pandemic, apply for this grant by April 1, 2022: https://pillar.fluxx.io. For frequently asked questions and more details about the Pillar grant opportunity, please click here. If you have any questions, please email Taelore Rhoden at taelore@pillarimpact.org.
Skyway Community Center Survey
King County Local Services is working to bring a much-requested community center to the Skyway neighborhood and wants to know what kind of programs constituents would like to see for the Skyway community. The survey is open until May 31st. To fill out the community center survey, please use this link here.
Skyway Affordable Housing Requests for Proposals
King County's Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) announced the Skyway $5 million Fund for Affordable Housing Requests for Proposals (RFP) on January 19th. This RFP is a new funding opportunity for community-driven affordable housing capital projects located in the Skyway-West Hill neighborhood (SWH).
How to apply:
All RFP materials (Guidelines, Application, Glossary, FAQs, and a Summary) can be downloaded from the Library tab at https://www.zoomgrants.com/zgf/Skyway5M.
The RFP Executive Summary is attached in Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, and English. To request the full RFP in a language other than English please contact DCHSContracts@kingcounty.gov.
Proposals can be submitted online via ZoomGrants or by email at DCHSContracts@kingcounty.gov.
Deadline to submit proposals is 1:00 p.m. PST on Monday, March 28, 2022.
Law, Justice, Health, and Human Services Committee
You are invited to the April 5th meeting of the Law, Justice, Health and Human Services Committee!
Tune in to King County TV on Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at 9:30AM to watch the committee address critical issues impacting our communities.
You are welcomed to provide public comment on current agenda items by connecting to the meeting via phone or computer by using the Zoom application: https://zoom.us/
Then, entering the Webinar ID below:
Webinar ID: 850 0890 3714
If you do not have access to the ZOOM application, you can connect to the meeting by calling 253-215-8782 and using the webinar ID above.
In advance of the meeting, you may submit written public comment on current agenda items by sending an e-mail to: kcccomitt@kingcounty.gov
Please include the topic and related committee in the subject line of your e-mail.
The committee will be briefed on the following items:
Briefing No. 2022-B0027: an overview from the Executive’s Office on King County’s criminal justice transformation work.
Motion No. 2022-0090: requesting that the Executive prepare an assessment report to inform possible renewal of the voter-approved Veterans, Seniors and Human Services Levy (VSHSL).
Motion No. 2021-0329: acknowledging receipt of the first of two independent monitor reports relating to the confinement of youth in county detention.
Motion No. 2021-0371: acknowledging receipt of a report on the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention’s use of Electronic Home Monitoring as an alternative to secure detention.
For the full LJHHS agenda, and previous meeting agendas, please visit the committee site: https://kingcounty.gov/council/committees/law_justice.aspx
In November 2020, voters approved King County Charter Amendments 5 and 6, changing the King County Sheriff from an elected position to an appointed position; and, allowing the King County Council to restructure the duties and responsibilities of the King County Sheriff’s Office.
We want to hear from you on what our system of public safety should look like in our communities and invite you to provide public comment for the committee to hear directly from our community. This is a standing item on the Law, Justice, Health and Human Services agenda and we will listen to public comment at the start of every meeting as it relates to this topic.
ICYMI
In case you missed our last Law, Justice, Health and Human Services meeting: here’s a link to the recording from our March 5, 2022 LJHHS meeting!
Transit Appreciation Day
On Tuesday, March 15th, my colleagues and I on the King County Council proclaimed March 14-18, 2022 as Transit Appreciation Week to celebrate, recognize and thank the 5,100+ people that help make Metro a nationally recognized mobility system. Have you thanked a local bus or train operator recently? I’m sure they’d appreciate it if you showed some love on your way to work or the store.
Thank you so much to all of our incredible transit workers! To learn more on Transit Appreciation Day, please visit the King County Metro blog here.
Equitable Development Initiative Passage
We just passed the motion for an Equitable Development Initiative (EDI)! Combating displacement and keeping communities intact was one of the main reasons I ran for office, so this legislation is personal and an important step in the right direction. A King County Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) would help people establish deep roots in their neighborhoods. It would advance a county-wide strategy for investing in community-driven and community-owned anti-displacement solutions.
Keeping communities intact of course means building affordable housing. And it also requires more: like promoting community ownership of land, commercial real estate, homes, and other facilities. It also requires us to create economic mobility and opportunity for low-income residents. EDI would direct King County to identify which neighborhoods around the region are most at risk for displacement, and also to create strategies for investing in those neighborhoods to keep the local communities intact and thriving.
Thank you to the community members who advocated, our staff, and my co-sponsors Councilmember Dembowski and Councilmember Kohl Welles. For more information, please visit the King County website here.
The Family Child Care Facilities Fund
King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) is pleased to announce a new funding opportunity. The Family Child Care Facilities Fund (FCCFF) Request for Proposal (RFP) is now open. This funding stream will support family child care providers with the maintenance, repairs, and renovations needed for their programs.
Many home child care providers operate on tight month-to-month budgets and struggle to remain afloat under housing costs, stagnant wages, competition from subsidized preschool programs and centers, and low reimbursement rates. This fund could provide up to $75,000 of support.
To learn more and/or to apply, please visit the King County Department of Community and Health Services blog here.
Help us grow our reach!
My team and I send email updates like the one you’re currently reading every couple of weeks and we want to ensure we’re reaching as many of you in our community as possible. If you know anyone who would like to receive these updates, please be sure to send them to over to our County Council website to sign up!
And as always, for more frequent and daily updates, you can check out our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter pages. For the latest news, resources, and opportunities to engage with your King County government, follow me on the social media channels of your choice:
Facebook: facebook.com/Councilmember.Girmay
Instagram: @councilmember.girmay
Twitter: @CMGirmayZahilay
Sincerely,
Councilmember Girmay Zahilay
