Walk in the Shoes: Vashon Island, Spring Beach Community
It’s hard to beat the beauty of Vashon Island on a sunny day. That’s where I headed last month to spend the day with Health and Environmental Investigator Liana Criscuolo, a recent Walk in the Shoes of a County Employee participant. I spent several hours with Liana learning her day-to-day routine and meeting a number of Vashon residents.
I had three goals with this walk: to spend time with county employees, to see the different projects they’re working on, and to meet and talk with community members who are affected by – or who will benefit from – those projects.
Liana and her co-workers gave me an update on Vashon’s onsite sewage system known as the Spring Beach Project. It presented many unexpected challenges due to its complexity and critical areas, including steep slopes and lots of surface water. Those elements help create Vashon’s unforgettable views, fertile farmland, and wildlife habitat, but also make it difficult for the community to find an area that will work for all of the treatment system requirements.
Liana explained the long process and how difficult it’s been to make progress. But she also shared how much the project benefited from the participation and cooperation of Spring Beach Community residents, onsite sewage system professionals, and multiple King County departments and agencies (e.g. Department of Permitting and Environmental Review, Real Estate Services, and Roads), who helped review, process, and guide the various required permits and approvals needed to bring this project online.
Thanks to the persistence and collaboration of Liana and the many stakeholders on Vashon Island, after years of inadequate sewage disposal, the residents in a dozen homes on Spring Beach are on their way to having an approved and operational community onsite sewage system and individual onsite systems, which are all major wins for the residents and for the fragile environmental areas on the island.
As King County Executive, I appreciated the opportunity to see how Liana engaged and communicated with Islanders residents on behalf of the county during this process. It was yet another example of how departments and agencies throughout King County work together to identify and deliver solutions to county residents.
If you are doing a job that you think I should experience as part of a Walk in the Shoes of a County Employee visit, please submit an invitation. I look forward to new opportunities to see more of our diverse lines of business and meet the people who make them possible.
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
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Standing up to hate, fascism and bigotry
Dear fellow King County employee,
On Saturday we witnessed the ugly face of hate in our country at a rally of white supremacists, fascists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia. A similar group gathered yesterday in downtown Seattle, and my message to these groups on behalf of the people of King County is clear:
We fought a Civil War against slavery, and you lost. We fought a World War against fascism, and you lost. Today, we stand united against the hateful rhetoric you have brought to our community. And you will lose again.
There is no place for hate in King County. There is no place for people who seek to divide us in King County. We stand against hate, bigotry, fascism and racism.
King County is a welcoming place that values racial minorities, the disabled, women, immigrants and refugees. We value lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and people of every religion, or of no religion. We stand for the fundamental American ideal that all are created equal. We are a place that welcomes, not one that divides.
These are challenging times for many in our community. I want to remind you that there are many support services available to you through our Making Life Easier and Employee Assistance Programs, with counselors and licensed professionals available if you need assistance or just to talk to someone.
Thank you for everything that you do to make King County a welcoming community, a beacon for hope, for all.
Sincerely,
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
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Fred Jarrett to lead initiative on excellence in unincorporated services and municipal contracts
Dear fellow King County employee,
I have appointed Senior Deputy Executive Fred Jarrett to take on a major new body of work, leading an initiative to explore new and better ways to serve the people of unincorporated King County.
About a quarter of a million people live in unincorporated King County, nearly as many as in the County’s second and third-largest cities – Bellevue and Kent – combined. From the Enumclaw Plateau to the Snoqualmie Valley; from urban White Center and Skyway to rural Hobart and Fall City; from the shores of Vashon Island to the peaks of Alpental; unincorporated King County is astonishingly vast and diverse.
Maintaining hundreds of miles of aging roads, policing across great distances, ensuring clean water and access to opportunity to children and families in far-flung communities – all without the authority or tax base of a city – is a tall order. Our employees work hard every day to provide exceptional service to all of King County, even as General Fund revenues fall behind population growth and inflation due to structural revenue limitations imposed by the state.
With his long record of public service, Fred has the experience and strong community and County government connections to lead our efforts to improve service delivery throughout King County. He will continue his work on myriad regional committees and be a part of my Senior Leadership Team while leading this effort.
His expertise in innovation and accountability, and his understanding of the County’s commitment to equity and social justice, will help ensure King County government works at the highest level for all residents, no matter where they live.
I look forward to the results of this important work, and will keep you informed of our progress.
Sincerely,
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
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Tech Tip: An introduction to SharePoint
KCIT provides King County employees many tools to get work done faster and easier. And, even better, they’re free and already on your computer. Take three minutes to watch this overview video focusing on Microsoft products and SharePoint from KCIT’s own staff trainer, Pua Cain.
https://web.microsoftstream.com/channel/4757669d-d029-47cf-ab2f-7e914a251adb
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New Director’s learning curve becomes a mountain
Crossposted from Clean Water Stories
Anyone who’s ever started a new job knows there can be a lot to learn for the first few months – or even year. When you tackle the learning curve, you have to learn a lot of new faces and names, procedures, and most importantly, your responsibilities.
Mark Isaacson had a head start when he was hired as Director of King County’s Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) in October 2016. Mark knew what it was like to work in the County on clean water and environmental issues. Previously, Mark spent 11 years as the Director of the Water and Land Resources Division. He had even worked in WTD in the late 90s, spearheading an employee idea program.
Even though Mark was familiar with WTD’s business, he knew learning all the ins and outs would be a challenge – but it was one that he was excited about.
It can be challenging to learn “what we do” at our large, regional utility, because there’s so many things we do – and many facilities and projects in our system. WTD employees work in a wide variety of jobs – often technical and complex.
Read more at Clean Water Stories
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Featured Job: Performance Measurement Coordinator
Closing Date/Time: Sun. 09/10/17 11:59 PM Pacific Time
Salary: $90,521.60 – $114,753.60 Annually
Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week
Location: King County Courthouse – 516 3rd Ave, Seattle, Washington
Department: Department of Adult & Juvenile Detention
Description: The Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention is seeking a Project Program Manager IV (PPM IV) to plan and provide quantitative and qualitative criminal justice evaluation and performance measurement support for a number of interrelated programs and projects. This position also develops and implements performance measurement strategies, conducts research and performance evaluations, constructs and refines measurement data and reports out on findings to stakeholders.
Contact: For questions about the position, please contact Wilena Montgomery at Wilena.Montgomery@kingcounty.gov.
Learn more about this position, or view all available jobs.
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Mike Fong named Chief Operating Officer
Dear fellow King County employee,
Today I named Mike Fong to serve as Chief Operating Officer in my office and join my senior leadership team.
Mike will be responsible for managing Executive branch departments and ensuring that we continue to deliver on our key priorities – best-run government, regional mobility, confronting climate change and building equity and social justice – for our residents.
His extensive experience in public service and strong community connections make Mike a great addition to our team and will ensure we are moving together to fulfill my agenda for an inclusive, equitable region. From transportation to public health to housing, Mike will make sure we are delivering customer service that is second to none, while constantly innovating to meet future needs.
A veteran public servant, Mike most recently served as Mayor Ed Murray’s Chief of Staff. In this role, he was responsible for managing and overseeing the daily operations of the mayor’s office. Prior to his appointment in 2015 as Chief of Staff, Fong served as Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of Policy and Innovation, helping to advance the Seattle Preschool Program and the Seattle Parks District among other initiatives. Before joining the Mayor’s office in 2014, Fong worked for the Seattle City Council for nearly 14 years.
Mike will officially start at King County on Tuesday, Sept. 5. I am looking forward to working with Mike and all employees as we continue to build a community where every person has the opportunity to thrive and a fair shot at success.
Sincerely,
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
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Social Media Spotlight: King County Metro blog
The King County Metro blog is where you can learn about KC Metro’s plans, policies and projects. It features articles on outstanding employees and their excellent work, as well as current information on transit, routes and other need-to-know information.
Follow the Metro Matters blog today!
Click here to view all King County social media pages.
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The poop-loop scoop: How King County recycles waste and water
Crossposted from Public Health Insider
Public health is committed to preventing disease and death from water-borne pathogens. Modern sanitation, including wastewater treatment, is key to keeping our waters clean and the people and animals that live here healthy. But the efficiency of modern sanitation creates an interesting problem.
Today, our waste is “out of sight, out of mind” as soon as we flush the toilet or as soon as the water disappears down the drain. We might know that dirty water goes somewhere, and it gets cleaned. What we don’t know is how the process works, how we affect it, what happens to that waste, and how it is treated to prevent the spread of illness from pathogens.
Most people aren’t aware of the value of our waste. Calling it “waste” makes our dirty water seem like a throwaway commodity. In fact, it is a very valuable resource.
Read more at Public Health Insider
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