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

Notably, there have been two recent shifts in King County COVID-19 policy.

King County’s local indoor mask order will end concurrently with the state’s order on March 11, 2022. In addition, King County will not be extending a local mask order for schools beyond the state’s order.

Furthermore, with over 87% of King County residents over age 12 fully vaccinated, Public Health – Seattle & King County lifted the local health order requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry into indoor recreational settings, or outdoor events. As of March 1st, the vaccination verification policy is no longer in effect. Businesses and organizations may continue to implement their own vaccination verification rules for their establishments.

I recommend continuing to exercise caution and getting vaccinated. Free boosters and vaccines are available with no appointment needed every third Friday of each month from January 21 through June 17 at the 23rd & Jackson Starbucks. Call POAAN with any questions: 206-322-7061.

Extreme Cold Weather Library Shelters

For extreme cold weather forecasts, I wanted to remind you that you can find refuge from the cold in our heated community libraries. Please visit www.kcls.org/locations for library hours and directions. Masks are currently required for all patrons ages 5 and up. All library staff members are required to wear a mask.

Other cold weather shelters can be found here.

Skyway Community Service Area Town Hall

On March 10th, all Skyway residents are welcome to join my office and King County Local Services for the Skyway Community Service Area Town Hall. We want to hear from you about your needs and priorities. Help us inform King County's department budgets! For more information, please visit the King County Local Services website here.

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. To fill out the community center survey, please use this link here.

Save the Date: Budget Town Halls

Later this year, King County will be voting on the biennial budget, which determines money for buses, housing, and more. Want to learn more about the budget? We’ll be holding budget town halls in the next few weeks! 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.

We look forward to seeing you then!

Youth and Family Homelessness Prevention Initiative Request for Proposal (RFP)

The Best Starts for Kids’ Youth and Family Homelessness Prevention Initiative (YFHPI) provides critical resources to help youth and families who are at risk of homelessness stay housed, with long-term benefits for the strength and stability of our communities. They are seeking to partner with approximately fifteen community-based organizations to provide intensive case management coupled with flexible funds for youth and households with youth ages birth-24 years that are at imminent risk of losing their housing; and one or two partners who will provide one-time rental assistance support to YFHPI households.

The application closes on March 25th at 2:00pm. For more information, please visit the Best Starts Blog website here. To apply, please visit this link here.

Interested organizations are strongly encouraged to attend the information session on March 10th from 1:00-2:30pm to ask questions and learn more.

Link: https://kingcounty.zoom.us/j/84829221096
Meeting ID:  84829221096
Passcode: 072665

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 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).

Proposals are due by 1:00 p.m. PST on March 28, 2022.

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.

Teaching High School Students How to Create Change

Earlier this year, I launched an initiative called Build the Bench to help underrepresented people run for office and create positive change. Our most recent workshop this past weekend focused on high school students and we had nearly 70 teenagers register!

It was our first in-person workshop at Seattle University. We had Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal share with students the power and importance of organizing, running, and creating change. Then Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa and School Board President Brandon Hersey shared the “HOW" -- how do you organize and run. What are the concrete steps and what can students be doing today to improve their communities and to effect change in the future. Finally, students shared their campaign pitch, which included using their own personal stories as vehicles for describing the types of changes they want to see in society. 

Protecting the Climate

The climate crisis is here and urgent action is needed. One change our region can make expeditiously is to update our building codes to eliminate fossil fuel usage and usher in an era of clean energy in our homes and commercial buildings.

That’s why I'm proud to support Ordinance 2021-0346. This legislation amends commercial and multifamily building codes beyond state mandates, including prohibiting fossil fuel and electric resistance-based heating in most cases, and a requirement to install solar panels.

On a related note, check out King County C-PACER which is an innovative financing mechanism to help commercial, industrial, agricultural, and multi-family buildings become more efficient and resilient. Here’s a video where I explain how to take advantage.

Seattle Kraken Partners LLC and One Roof Foundation Agreement

Seattle Kraken Partners LLC and its non-profit One Roof Foundation (Kraken) entered into a 5-year agreement to procure funding and provide in-kind donation of services in support of King County’s ongoing Skyway Park improvement project. In exchange for recognition and community engagement opportunities, Kraken worked with Parks to procure a WA Department of Commerce grant valued at $100,940, which will secure the purchase and installation of four (4) KOMPAN Cross Court NHL Street Net structures on the existing basketball court in the park. Additionally, Kraken has agreed to donate hockey equipment and sponsor a minimum of four (4) free on-site youth hockey activation events at Skyway Park in collaboration with community partners.

Free 10-Week Coding Class for Local Adults at UW Othello

In this 10-week introductory tech course, you’ll explore and practice programming concepts using Python. You’ll learn how to think like a programmer and get hands-on experience creating simple programs. Python is one of the most versatile, easy to learn and commonly used programming languages today.

To help local people access in demand tech skills, this course is supported by scholarship funds covering over 80% of usual UW course fees. Neighborhood House will cover the remaining amount.

APPLY TODAY! Call or email: enroll@pce.uw.edu or alis@nhwa.org or 800-506-1325 or 206-558-3878. For more information, please visit the UW website at www.pce.uw.edu/southeast-seattle-career-scholarship.

Equitable Development Initiative

Next Tuesday, we will have a final vote on the Equitable Development Initiative that my office has been working on. 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.

We will hear and vote on this legislation next Tuesday, March 15,1:00pm, at Full Council.

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