Employee News

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Alex Hurtado

Big Backyard 5k raises money for local parks

Nearly 1,000 walkers and runners took part in King County Parks’ eight annual Big Backyard 5K presented by Kaiser Permanente on Sunday, June 11, 2017, and participants did more than just get a Sunday morning workout.

The proceeds of the event, which took place at Marymoor Park in Redmond, go toward the maintenance and operations of King County Parks.

“The Big Backyard 5k is a great event that our employees, supporters and volunteers put on for runners and walkers across our community,” said King County Parks Director Kevin Brown. “Not only does it showcase one of the crown jewels in our parks system but it raises money for the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of King County Parks.”

Sophia Liu set a new record for women in the event with a time of 17:50, finishing in fifth place overall. Andrew Olsen took first place with a time of 16:53. Thank you to all who supported this year’s event.

View the event photos here.

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Lilia Cabello Drain

ACEs work featured in regional publication

Pictured: Barbara Huffman, RN, treating a client inside King County’s Mobile Medical Van.

The Community Health Services Division “ACEs Collaborative” group is featured in the current issue of “Northwest Public Health,” published by the University of Washington’s Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. ACEs stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences, and refers to an influential study on the impacts of childhood trauma on lifelong health. From the ACEs study, a body of learning has emerged nationally that challenges agencies and organizations to understand the impacts of trauma and help build resiliency.

The article, entitled “Hope and Healing: Training a Workforce to Better Support Health,” describes the staff-led work of the Collaborative over the past several years. They defined core principles, goals, and a shared framework; assessed training needs in the division; and began building staff awareness, knowledge and skill around trauma informed and resilience-promoting practices. The ACEs Collaborative group continues to meet regularly. Public Health is building on this work at the departmental level with support from a new Kresge Foundation grant, as well as through the Best Starts for Kids initiative in partnership with DCHS.

Posted on July 1, 2017 by kingcountyemployees

Treatment plants go ‘Platinum’ in 2016

Crossposted from Clean Water Stories

Another year, another stellar performance that earned national recognition for our treatment plant operations.

Four of our plants were honored with Platinum Peak Performance Awards from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies headquartered in Washington D.C. To earn the awards, the treatment plants must meet 100 percent compliance with the effluent discharge limits set by permits under the federal Clean Water Act and the state’s Water Pollution Control Law.

Our Carnation Treatment Plant earned its first Platinum award for five consecutive years of perfect compliance with its discharge requirements.

From police dispatcher to King County Prosecutor’s Office

Crossposted from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office Facebook

Most people’s worst days were Michelle Lorraine’s every day for nearly 14 years as a police dispatcher for the Greater Seattle area. When people reached a crisis moment and dialed 911 for an emergency, it was Michelle who answered the phone calls and determined the appropriate course of action.

“You can go from an active police incident with a shooting, to your next call being someone who is calling in with a parking complaint or because the neighbor’s dog pooped in their yard. Whatever the call is, it’s a vital emergency to the person calling, and you have to maintain your professionalism at all times,” Michelle says.

She’s handled suicide and domestic violence calls which spike over the holidays, and she says calls where children are victims can be emotional to handle, but Michelle has never lost her composure on the job.

Posted on June 30, 2017 by kingcountyemployees

King County celebrates a facility – and a community

Crossposted from Clean Water Stories

When King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) dedicates a new wastewater facility, we invite people near and far to join us. Celebrations provide an ideal opportunity to thank project communities for their role in the project and their patience during the process. People get to see firsthand how public input shaped a neighborhood’s new clean water asset.

King County welcomed about 200 people to dedicate the Murray Wet Weather Facility in West Seattle on a sunny Saturday in June. Visitors arrived on foot, bikes, or by car. The youngest rolled up in strollers. Some visitors were on leash, wearing collars.

King County Accountable Community of Health welcomes first Executive Director

Crossposted from Public Health Insider

This week, the King County Accountable Community of Health (ACH) Governing Board welcomed Susan McLaughlin, PhD as its first Executive Director. Susan will provide leadership, overall strategy, operations and work to build collaboration across multiple partners working for better health in the King County region.

A central focus is bringing together partners to implement the Medicaid Transformation Project Demonstration in our county. This is a strategic opportunity to attract significant federal investment to our region to improve health outcomes and address the social and economic factors that impact health.

Featured Job: Transit Employee and Labor Relations Manager

Closing Date/Time: Sun. 07/02/17 11:59 PM Pacific Time

Salary: $106,870.40 – $135,470.40 Annually

Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week

Location: King Street Center – 201 S Jackson St, Seattle, Washington

Department: Department of Transportation – Transit Division

Description: King County Metro Transit is looking for an energetic and passionate leader to successfully manage our Employee & Labor Relations Program. The incumbent in this position administers the provisions of King County Metro Transit’s Employee & Labor Relations program. The scope of responsibilities includes overseeing broad, complex, and potentially politically sensitive issues. This position reports directly to the Transit Assistant General Manager for Employee Services and works closely with Transit’s General Manager and Strategic Leadership Team. The position effectively partners with senior management across the agency in monitoring, implementing, and maintaining an effective program of ELR service delivery and compliance.

Learn more about this position, or view all available jobs.

Posted on June 29, 2017 by kingcountyemployees

Showing up for LGBTQ communities

Crossposted from Public Health Insider

By Jesse Chipps, HIV/AIDS Planning Council Coordinator at Public Health – Seattle & King County

Pictured: From left to right, Leah Holland, Jesse Chipps, Ronan Cox and Darron Lewis, a few staff from Public Health’s proud LGBTQ community.

June is National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, and each year at this time hundreds of King County employees, department directors and public officials march together in Seattle’s Pride Parade. Rainbow tinsel laden vehicles, bubble machines, and matching t-shirts pull the group together as One King County.

Same sex marriage became legal in Washington State on December 6, 2012, at midnight. While couples who had waited for decades to marry could have waited another few hours until the King County Recorder’s Office opened the next morning, King County Executive Dow Constantine began issuing licenses, personally, at 12:01 a.m.

One of the county’s core values is to be “fair and just” in all we do in order to achieve equitable opportunities for all people and communities. This language was passed into law in 2010 by a unanimous vote of the County Council. The ordinance reflects the values if those who live and work here.

To see photos of King County employees participating in Seattle’s Pride Parade, click here.

Seahawks player Michael Bennett starts gardening program for youth in juvenile detention

Crossposted from KC Justice Youth

King County Juvenile Detention, in partnership with Interagency Academy, hosted Michael Bennett of the Seattle Seahawks, his wife Pele, and other members of the Bennett Foundation to inaugurate the new Bennett Foundation Garden located within the detention facility. Built by Interagency Academy students at our Opportunity Skyway site in Georgetown with a $5,000 grant provided by the Bennett Foundation, the garden seeks to provide students with an opportunity to learn about growing food, healthy eating, and biology through hands-on gardening and art experiences.

The project represents a unique partnership between the Foundation, King County, Interagency Academy (Seattle Public Schools), the King County detention kitchen, and community volunteers. The food in the garden will be planted, maintained, and harvested by students, and will be used in the kitchen to feed the very students who grew the food. This farm-to-table project is also intended to provide a therapeutic educational experience for our students, many of whom have undergone significant trauma in their lives. Funding from the Bennett Foundation is also supporting the design, painting, and installation of food- and nutrition-themed art murals for the detention garden area. These will be created and painted by students in detention with the support of teachers and community volunteers.

Installation of new mechanical System in a 1929 KCIA Terminal Building

This article is featured courtesy of Project Manager Milton Huertas, King County International Airport, Department of Transportation

As directed by the Green Building Ordinance and Strategic Climate Action Plan Green Building Goal Area, King County-owned buildings and infrastructure will be built, maintained and operated consistent with the highest green building and sustainable development practices.

Thanks to the project team and airport staff, the Main Terminal Building at King County International Airport/Boeing Field has just undergone a deep energy efficiency retrofit. The project is planned to achieve a Platinum level rating using the King County Sustainable Infrastructure Scorecard.

The work included replacement of rooftop multi‐zone air handlers and installation of new Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF ‐ high tech heat pump) systems, heat recovery ventilator (HRV) and dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS), as well as a change to LED lighting. In 2004, during a complete building remodel, new insulation and energy efficient glazing were installed, but the HVAC units were retained because of lifecycle service and cost. Replacement of the older units provides for a new state of the art energy system that is anticipated to reduce the heating and cooling cost by $19,335 per year.

The new lighting upgrades save $3,200 per year, which is a 47 percent energy cost reduction. The project is supported by a $300K state Energy Efficiency Commerce Grant. The HRV units were purchased at a 50 percent discount as part of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) program.

Initial estimates on savings the from design phase indicate a savings of 391,499 KWH annually in electricity usage and 26,105 therms annually in natural gas savings. In addition, the projected greenhouse gas emissions savings from the project is 388.44 MTCO2e per year from operations.

In King County, the second greatest source of greenhouse gas emissions is from energy used to heat, cool, and power our homes and buildings. Not only does this Main Terminal Building retrofit reduce costs, it significantly reduces energy use. This supports the County goal of reducing government operational energy use in County buildings and facilities by an additional ten percent in the next decade, as described in the Strategic Climate Action plan.

Click through the photos below to learn more about the project.