King County Local

King County is awarding more than $100,000 in grants to dozens of volunteer-led community events and projects in its unincorporated areas through the Alan M. Painter Grant Program.

Community groups in unincorporated King County competed for the grants, which range between $500 and $4,000 each. Applicants had to match at least one quarter of the total cost of their projects, and the projects had to be accessible to all unincorporated residents, regardless of race, income, or language.

Continue reading Local Services awards grants to community organizations working to bring communities together

They’re back! King County Local Services is again bringing local government directly to the unincorporated areas with the return of its popular Community Service Area Town Hall events.

And those who attend will help to prioritize the community requests submitted to Local Services in 2021.

The local government for the nearly 250,000 residents and businesses of unincorporated King County will hold nearly a dozen of these virtual events throughout March. Those who attend will hear from their elected leaders and department staff about services and programs in their communities.

Continue reading King County Local Services virtual town halls for the unincorporated areas return in March

King County’s participatory budgeting process is coming to the community – and it needs your involvement.

After spending the last six months creating the framework for how this new process will work, members of the Community Investment Budget Committee are now helping educate people about how they can help guide $10 million in investments in five urban unincorporated areas of King County.

Continue reading ‘Your Voice, Your Choice”: Participatory budgeting focuses on community outreach, idea collection

The global COVID-19 pandemic turned 2021 into another historic, trying year for the world.

King County Local Services met the challenges head on to deliver the type of service our residents and businesses expect during normal times, let alone unprecedented ones.

Our department helped put much-needed money into the hands of businesses and organizations. We adapted our services to meet the changing needs of unincorporated King County. We even launched a community driven budgeting process that will allow people who live, work, play and worship in traditionally underserved areas to decide how money is spent.

And those were just a few of the things Local Services accomplished over the past year. Scroll down to view our department and our divisions’ top accomplishments of 2021:

Continue reading King County Local Services Top 21 Accomplishments of 2021

Jeff Wilson has helped address complicated infrastructure problems across the globe – Italy, Kazakhstan, even the Deepwater Horizon MC252 Oil Spill.

But the puzzle he’ll work to solve for King County Local Services sits here in his backyard.

The Program Manager and Fall City resident’s main goal is to help deliver a shared septic system to the unincorporated area near Snoqualmie, which business owners have requested for decades and say could unlock the potential of the area’s aging commercial buildings.

Continue reading Program Manager brings international experience in environmental infrastructure, marine project management to help develop shared septic system in Fall City

As a Skyway resident for nearly 25 years, Malcolm Lee sees the obvious: the diverse and vibrant community lacks a community center.

That’s why he’s so excited about his new role as Project Manager with Local Services. Malcolm’s objective is to leverage his experience as a resident and coordinating high-profile projects, along with a passion for uplifting culturally diverse communities, to help deliver a center to the urban unincorporated area south of Seattle.

Continue reading New Project Manager aims to deliver much-requested community center to Skyway

Wow, the Community Investment Budget Committee has been busy.

The group recently reached a milestone after months of meeting online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Members had to build trust, create structure, establish values, and immerse themselves in King County’s Equity and Social Justice strategies.

Continue reading Community Investment Budget Committee creates framework for participatory budgeting process, divides funds among five urban unincorporated areas

Vashon Island residents: Do you need a simple, convenient way to get to where you need to go? If so, consider making the Vashon-Maury Community Van part of your daily routine.

The Vashon Community Van gives residents a way to reach any part of the island without taking their cars. The reservation-based rideshare program – which has been available on the island nearly four years – was developed to provide alternative travel options and help fill transportation gaps.

Continue reading Vashon’s Community Van service ready to connect island’s residents to the places they need to reach

Attn: Groups in unincorporated King County that are trying to bring together the community.

You can apply for grant money to help your event become reality, via the Alan M. Painter Grant Program.

The grants—formerly known as Community Service Area grants—fund community projects that allow residents of the unincorporated areas to participate in, and be more connected to, their communities.

Continue reading Community project organizers in unincorporated King County can now apply for 2022 “Alan M. Painter Grant Program”

It’s fitting that the grant program Alan Painter was so passionate about now bears his name.

Earlier this year, the King County Council approved renaming the Community Service Area Grant Program officially to the “Alan M. Painter Grant Program” as a tribute to his passion for the community.

Continue reading Community Service Area Grant Program now honors Alan Painter, former program manager and community proponent