Social Media Spotlight: Brightwater Center – King County Facebook
Brightwater Center is a bridge linking existing educational, research, professional and apprenticeship programs with the operation of a new wastewater facility;
The Center is a meeting and learning place for science, the environment and human impacts; and
The Center aims to connect community members, schools and organizations with real life examples of science, environmental protection and sustainable development in action.
Follow Brightwater Center – King County on Facebook today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
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Kudos! Employee to be honored at DAJD event for excellent work
Angela Toussaint, Continuous Improvement Manager with the Office of Performance, Strategy and Budget, will be recognized for her exceptional work in identifying and making improvements to the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention Corrections Officer Hiring Process. She will be recognized at the DAJD’s Eighteenth Annual Employee Awards Ceremony on October 26 with the Distinguished Service award.
Kudos to Angela for her dedication and professionalism in this achievement and for furthering the DAJD mission of providing safe, secure and humane detention facilities!
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Free carpool permit parking now available at 15 park and rides
Starting November 1, King County Metro will offer reserved permit parking for carpoolers at nine additional park-and-rides, including Green Lake, Aurora Village, Shoreline, Kenmore, Bear Creek, Bothell, Kingsgate, Wilburton, Renton Metropolitan Place and Tukwila. Permits are already available at Redmond, Issaquah Highlands, South Kirkland, South Renton, Northgate and Eastgate. Spaces are reserved for permit-holders on weekdays until 8:30 a.m. You can apply now for a free monthly permit at all 15 locations through Republic Parking Northwest.
Groups of two or more carpoolers who travel together to a participating park & ride can apply. Basic contact information for one carpool member is required to establish an account. Applicants must provide contact information, ORCA card numbers, vanpool ID, or RideshareOnline.com email for each member of the carpool to complete the application process and receive a permit. Regular transit use is not initially required to obtain a permit, but at least two carpool permit-holders must ride transit 12 days per month (an average of three days per week) to stay qualified.
More information is available at Metro’s Carpool Parking Permit website. Questions? Contact Employee Transportation Manager Hossein Barahimi at Hossein.Barahimi@Kingcounty.gov or by phone at 206-477-5853. All employees are encouraged to participate!
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Historic labor agreement delivers on our employee-focused priorities
King County Executive Dow Constantine
King County and the Coalition of Unions have reached a tentative agreement on a three-year Master Labor Agreement (MLA) that will, once ratified, help the County advance towards its goal to be a workplace where every employee has the tools, knowledge and support to innovate, achieve their career goals and deliver equitable, high quality service to our customers.
“The MLA delivers on many of the objectives of my Investing in You, Best Run Government and Equity and Social Justice priorities,” King County Executive Dow Constantine said in announcing the tentative MLA. “It standardizes many work processes, large and small; it creates efficiencies and certainty; it introduces new programs and expands existing benefits; and it will help us deliver more professional development and career advancement opportunities across our King County workforce.”
Some of the components of the MLA include:
- A first ever Career Development Scholarship Fund of $150,000 that will allow employees to access vital learning and development opportunities
- Funding of all job-required training, licenses and certifications for employees
- Standardization of various leaves – Bereavement, Holidays, FMLA/KCFML, Paid Parental Leave, Job Posting, Grievance Procedure and Discipline – across all Coalition labor agreements
- Standardizing the process of Special Duty Assignments and Job Reclassification across contracts
- Allowing employees to use up to three days of sick leave each year to volunteer at any organization participating in the County’s Employee Giving Program. This leave was previously permitted for volunteering only at an employee’s child’s school
- A standardized $200 safety equipment allowance.
The County and the Coalition of Unions will now finalize some remaining components of the MLA before union members vote on ratification by the end of the year.
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Yesler Bridge Rehabilitation Project: Update, complete and open
On Tuesday, October 10, the Yesler Bridge Rehabilitation Project was completed and opened to traffic. Thank you for your patience and cooperation through this process.
Check out the Yesler Bridge project video, featuring the historical preservation of the bridge and a general project update.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss the project further, please contact YeslerBridge@seattle.gov or 206-684-8684. To learn more about the project, visit the project website.
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Wheel Options — your trip, your way!
Leave the car at home during October and reap the benefits of sharing or saving rides to work. Complete and track at least six days of Wheel Options—that’s vanpooling, biking, walking, skateboarding, carpooling, taking transit, tele-commuting, compressing your work schedule or a combination of all modes—and you will automatically be entered into a drawing for a chance to win some great prizes—including a $1,500 grand prize, $500 second prize and a host of $50 retail gift cards. Already with Wheel Options? Log-in. So join us in Crafting Your Commute!
Questions? Contact Employee Transportation Manager Hossein Barahimi at Hossein.Barahimi@Kingcounty.gov or by phone at (206)477-5853. All employees are encouraged to participate!
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Supporting Disability Awareness Month through Annual Giving Drive
Each year King County employees help hundreds of nonprofit organizations do vital work in our community and around the world by donating to the Annual Giving Drive, and this year’s Giving Drive is now underway.
The start of this year’s Giving Drive coincides with Disability Awareness Month, which King County celebrates each October. The following are four participating nonprofits whose work helps people with disabilities in our community (click and scroll down for details):
- The Arc of King County (9233) – Serving individuals and families with intellectual and developmental disabilities through case management, peer support, leadership training, and advocacy.
- Alpha Supported Living Service (9033) – Providing 24/7 support for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities to reach their full potential as individuals and community members.
- Provail (9870) – Supporting people with disabilities to fulfill their life choices in the Greater Seattle area.
- Tahoma Hills (9427) Supported Living provider for adults with multiple disabilities & challenges.
From now to November 17, you can go online or use a paper form to make a pledge to your favorite Employee Giving Program nonprofits by:
- Payroll Donation: One-time, once–per-month, or twice–per-month.
- Time Donation: Eligible vacation or comp time. See your department Lead Ambassador for details in your office.
- Check: Made out directly to the nonprofit.
Visit an upcoming Nonprofit Expo Roadshow event:
- Thursday, October 12 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Chinook Building in Seattle
- Wednesday, October 18 from 8 to 9 a.m. at DPER in Snoqualmie
For more information, contact your Employee Giving Program Ambassador, visit www.kingcounty.gov/giving, email EmployeeGiving@KingCounty.gov or call 206-263-9405.
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Join us for a Sea Level Rise in the Puget Sound Lunch and Learn, October 18
Employees are welcome to join us for a presentation on the current understanding of Sea Level Rise in the Puget Sound. Come hear Dr. Ian Miller, Coastal Hazard Specialist from Washington SeaGrant, discuss sea level rise and how it may present itself in the Puget Sound.
Wednesday, October 18 from noon to 1:00 p.m. King Street Center, 201 South Jackson Street, 8th Floor Conference Room
All King County employees welcome, but space is limited. Please sign up here. For more information, please contact Shaun O’Neil at Shaun.O’neil@kingcounty.gov or 206-477-4432.
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Tech Tip: Tighter security for KC internet browsers
On Oct. 14, Google Chrome becomes the first browser to significantly step-up security notifications. If a website lacks a special security authentication, this is what people will see: 
But not KC webpages that manage health data, financial data and other private data. KCIT inventoried all pages weeks ago to ensure data pages are secure and encrypted and users will NOT see that notification when submitting data like credit card information to a county website.
However, because King County has thousands of pages, it was difficult to secure ALL non-data pages by the deadline and users may see “http” or NOT SECURE” and be concerned.
Rest assured that clicking through “not secure” pages won’t effect the secure data pages. KCIT expects to have all KingCounty.gov webpages secure by the end of the year.
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Disability Awareness Month – a history of Metro’s Accessible Transit Services
Crossposted from Bytes and Boxes
Today an industry leader in public transit, Metro has been shaped by citizen involvement since its establishment by the voters of King County 60 years ago. One significant area of Metro leadership and citizen engagement has been the development of accessible transit services for people with disabilities.
The Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (“Metro”) was formed in 1958 with a public mandate to improve local water quality. Over time, Metro expanded to other civic projects and services. The Forward Thrust bond campaign, headed by community activist James Ellis, promoted a range of regional projects, such as development of parks and pools and the construction of a multi-use stadium, the Kingdome.
Read more at Bytes and Boxes
Employee News 