An industrial mechanic at home at West Point Treatment Plant
Cross-posted from Clean Water Stories
Shane Hamilton, an industrial maintenance mechanic, knows West Point like home turf. At 33, he’s been in this line of work more or less since he was a 15-year-old intern.
Shane grew up in Federal Way. In high school, his friend’s father was Mike Lindsay, an industrial maintenance mechanic at South Treatment Plant in Renton. Mike saw in Shane a hard worker who was willing to learn, and when time came for Shane to do a job shadow for school, Mike worked out an internship at South Plant. The rest is history. Read more.
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We’re ready for warmer weather – but our bodies might not be
Cross-posted from Public Health Insider
Our bodies may be more sensitive to heat when they haven’t had a chance to adjust to warmer temperatures. And people flock to rivers and lakes when the weather turns warm – but the shock from unexpectedly cold water can lead to accidental drowning.
You can prepare for the heat by knowing if you or your loved ones are more sensitive to heat, paying attention to any signs that you are overheating, and being careful around cold water. Read more.
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Metro Matters: Service you can count on
Crossposted from Metro Matters
By Michelle Allison, King County Metro General Manager
King County Metro is the largest transit agency in the entire Northwest. We provide bus, paratransit, vanpool, and water taxi services. We also operate Seattle Streetcar, Sound Transit Link light rail, and Sound Transit Express bus service.
We are proud to be part of Executive Dow Constantine’s broader vision to continue to expand our regional transit network by putting people first. We’ve earned recognition ranging from Best Large Transit Agency in North America in 2018 to Most Equitable Large Transit Agency in Combatting Climate Change just last year. Most importantly though, our shared success is due entirely to our community members, our customers, and our employees. So, especially in challenging times, you deserve to know what’s working, what’s not working, and how we’re fixing it. Read more.
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Fourth Avenue entrance to King County Courthouse now closed, Third Avenue reopens
Updated June 15, 2023
The Fourth Avenue entrance to the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle has closed for necessary repairs, and the Third Avenue entrance has resumed serving as the primary access point to the building moving forward.
Employees, jurors, and other visitors to the Courthouse Building should allow additional time to gain access and clear security screening on Third Avenue during this transition. Temporary signage will be installed to provide directions to users of the building. King County employees will still be able to access the Courthouse Building through the Administration Building and Goat Hill Garage tunnels.
Employee and community safety is one of our highest priorities, which is why we continue to partner with law enforcement, neighborhood and community organizations, and other governments to ensure a safer, more welcoming environment in and around our facilities. As this shift to Third Avenue happens, Sheriff’s deputies will be reposted at the Third Avenue entrance and will continue their regular foot and bicycle patrols of the downtown civic campus area, and Facilities Management Division (FMD) Security Officers will continue their exterior perimeter patrols
Repairs to the Fourth Avenue entrance will begin soon after the closure and are expected to be completed at the start of August. It will reopen as a secondary entrance when resources allow.
Third Avenue served as the main entrance to the Courthouse Building since it was remodeled in 1967. The reopening of the Third Avenue entrance will provide easier access for public transit commuters, offering closer proximity to more Metro Transit routes as well as Link light rail stations and the Colman Dock ferry terminal. Employees who park at Goat Hill Garage can continue to use the garage tunnel to access the building.
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Submit WA Cares Fund exemption letters to King County by June 26
The WA Cares Fund is a new long-term care insurance program administered by the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) and the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). With limited exceptions, workers in Washington are required to contribute to the WA Cares Fund via mandatory payroll deduction beginning July 1, 2023.
The premium has been set at 0.58% of gross wages (58 cents per $100). The initial maximum value of the benefit will be $36,500 (adjusted annually for inflation).
Exemptions to the WA Cares Fund
You may be eligible for a permanent or conditional exemption from the WA Cares Fund. An employee with a permanent exemption from the WA Cares Fund premium is permanently ineligible from receiving benefits and cannot rejoin the program later. An employee with a conditional exemption does not contribute premiums to the program while their conditional exemption is in effect.
If you already submitted your approved exemption letter to King County, you should have received a confirmation email from King County Central Payroll on May 12. No further action is required.
If you have been approved for an exemption and did not receive the email from Payroll, submit your approved exemption letter from the ESD no later than June 26, 2023, to avoid the non-refundable WA Cares mandatory payroll deduction that begins in July.
Send a copy of your exemption letter and your nine-digit PeopleSoft ID# by email to WA.CARES.Exemption.Letters@kingcounty.gov or by U.S. mail to Central Payroll WA CARES, 401 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104.
Attend a webinar for King County employees May 31
WA Cares is hosting a webinar for King County employees via Zoom on Wednesday, May 31 from 11 a.m. to noon. Learn more about the program and its benefits, and get your questions answered by Washington state employees. Join the Zoom Meeting using Meeting ID: 837 8908 8276 and Passcode: 870976.
More information
King County does not administer any part of the WA Cares Fund beyond collecting premiums via payroll deduction and reporting employee pay and hours to the ESD. For more information about the program, Contact the WA Cares Fund, go to Learn More, or watch webinar recordings on the WA Cares YouTube Channel.
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Mental health resources: Making Life Easier
For personal life challenges, Making Life Easier (MLE) provides free counseling and support services to all King County employees, their dependent family members, and anyone living in an employee’s home. MLE offers referrals to therapists and coverage for eight free sessions per topic per year. Many therapists also contract with the Regence and Kaiser Permanente Health Plans so MLE can make a referral for you to a therapist who is also in your health plan network. In that way, if you need more than eight sessions, your health plan benefits will cover your therapy sessions starting with the ninth visit.
Currently MLE has a 2.5 day turnaround from the time you talk to a Wellspring representative to the time a therapist contacts you. Access the program at kcmakinglifeeasier.com with username King County, or call 1-888-874-7290.
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Mental Health Month: Creating a healthy home environment
This year, Mental Health America has focused Mental Health Month on encouraging us to “Look around, Look within,” sharing suggestions on ways to improve our surroundings in order to improve our mental health, and how to seek help for mental health challenges. Optimizing our space to improve our mental health is something that anyone can benefit from. It is one tool of many that can be used to improve and support your mental well-being.
Go to the Balanced You blog for helpful some tips to shape your home environment, improve sleep quality and create comfort.
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New appointment scheduler assists county veterans
The King County Veterans and Military Affinity Group and King County Veteran’s Program would like to remind all County employees who are veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces that the Veteran’s Administration (VA) has launched a new appointment scheduler to connect you with VA Benefits Counselors.
The Visitor Engagement Reporting Application (VERA) is a streamlined scheduling process for in-person or online appointments to learn about your benefits and how to navigate the VA’s processes. This is a useful resource for those with questions about benefit eligibility, or in need of assistance filing a disability claim or appeal.
This resource is open to all veterans regardless of residence or income. Please visit the VA Seattle Regional Office website for more information.
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Metro will adjust schedules on Sept. 2 to improve trip reliability
Crossposted from Metro Matters
King County Metro will increase reliability and build resiliency with its fall update to transit schedules. The agency currently is delivering 95% of more than 11,200 daily bus trips while facing challenges with canceled trips. The changes beginning in September will ensure riders can have confidence knowing that Metro will be there no matter where they need to go.
To ensure transit services are in sync with fleet availability and its workforce, Metro will focus upcoming revisions on 20 low-ridership routes, and 92% of boardings will not be directly impacted. These changes will help prevent last-minute cancellations and improve reliability for riders. Metro will help connect riders with other transit options for nearly all the impacted routes. Read more.
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Award-winning communications: DNRP brought home national awards in four categories
Crossposted from Keeping King County Green
King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP) is excited to announce that we received awards in four categories from the National Association of Government Communicators, the most prestigious awards in our industry. The Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards were announced during this year’s national conference hosted on April 19 in Portland.
Working Without a Net
We received first place in the Working Without a Net category for a hosting a dual livestream aboard our research vessel, SoundGuardian, as scientists measured the underwater noise of Puget Sound that poses multiple risks to southern resident orcas. Read more.
Employee News 