Third annual veterans and military spouses career expo, Aug. 10
The Third Annual Working with our Troops Career Expo will take place Wednesday, August 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Washington State Convention Center, 800 Convention Place, Sixth Floor, Seattle.
The event is a partnership between the King County Veterans Program, WorkSource Seattle / King County, and the Washington State Convention Center.
In addition to King County, more than 100 employers will be in attendance – including major corporations, small businesses, and Federal, State, County and City agencies.
There will also be one-to-one resume writing and review sessions tailored for veterans and military spouses.
Preregister and view the list of employers on Eventbrite.
Share this:
Kudos! FMD gets kudos for installing new ballot boxes
Crossposted from DES Express
King County Elections recently opened a number of new ballot drop boxes at locations all over King County, more than doubling the number of places where citizens can exercise their right to vote. This was a major undertaking, as many of those new boxes needed to be open in time for the August primary election.
The Facilities Management Division was tasked with installing the drop boxes, which they did in plenty of time for an “unveiling” ceremony in mid-July. Nate Valderas, an administrator for Elections, sent this note to Building Services:
I wanted to take a quick moment to acknowledge your staff and the assistance they provided to the Department of Elections over the past month. Your crew was instrumental in installing 18 new ballot drop boxes for the voters of King County and we thank them!
Specifically, I wanted to thank Van Pham, Eric Riedel, and Linda Romanovitch for coordinating with us and call out Dave, Eric, and Mike for their work as well.
We’ll have another 19 boxes to install in September and we look forward to working together again.
Thanks!
Congratulations and kudos to FMD Building Services!
Share this:
Turning Gold into Platinum
Crossposted from King County WTD
From Gold to Platinum, King County Wastewater Treatment Division is moving up the periodic table!
Each year the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) recognizes member agency facilities for their dedication in maintaining compliance of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) limits.
All of our plants are receiving awards this year, but we’re especially excited to announce that our Vashon Plant has now moved up the ranks from Gold to Platinum within NACWA’s Peak Performance Awards. The Platinum Awards category recognizes 100% compliance with permits over a consecutive five-year period.
Read more at King County WTD
Share this:
Influential Individuals: Developing Lean leaders to transform our organization
Crossposted from Lean in King County
Lean leaders aren’t always in a position of authority – but they are in a position to influence (as we all are to one degree or another). Regardless of their formal role, Lean leaders are trained to nurture continuous improvement through facilitation and coaching, which can positively impact and promote culture change.
Employees trained in Lean leadership have learned the comprehensive elements of Lean and the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. Lean leaders can guide teams through improvement processes and teach them to use Lean tools to build the capability and capacity in agencies and promote a problem-solving culture.
Read more at Lean in King County
Share this:
Featured Job: Landfill Gas Operator I
Closing Date/Time: Tue. 08/09/16 5:00 PM Pacific Time
Salary: $27.59 – $33.56 Hourly, $57,387.20 – $69,804.80 Annually
Job Type: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week
Location: Cedar Hills Landfill – 16645 228th Ave SE, Maple Valley, Washington
Department: Department of Natural Resources & Parks – Director’s Office
Description: This position is responsible for performing extensive and complex work with landfill gas extraction systems. This position operates, monitors, and maintains the landfill gas collection system at Cedar Hills Regional landfill and monitors and maintains landfill gas collection systems at closed landfills. The Landfill Gas Operator I position requires knowledge of active landfill operations, landfill gas extraction systems, environmental control systems, regulatory guidelines for landfill, applied engineering principles, physics and chemistry.
Learn more about this position or view all available jobs.
Share this:
Executive appoints Alex Fryer as new communications director
King County Executive Dow Constantine has appointed Alex Fryer to serve as his new communications director, effective Aug. 1, 2016.
Fryer has extensive background and experience in both public and private sector communications, most recently as Vice President of Public Affairs for The Fearey Group, a local media and government relations firm.
“Alex Fryer’s exceptional knowledge and expertise in communications, and in community outreach and engagement, will help advance our work on equity and social justice, climate change, regional mobility, implementing our groundbreaking Best Starts for Kids initiative, and continuing to build the best run government in the nation. He will be a great asset and a welcome addition to our team,” said Executive Constantine.
Read more in the official press release.
Share this:
Metro’s top bus driver praised for caring, positive attitude, customer service
“Try to stay positive, one day at a time, one trip at a time and enjoy your free time doing whatever makes you happy.” – Vicki Leslie, Metro Transit Operator of the Year
Known for her safe driving, quick wit and ability to brighten the days of her riders and coworkers, bus driver Vicki Leslie today was named King County Metro Transit Operator of the Year.
Metro officials and fellow bus drivers praised Leslie during a surprise ceremony in Bellevue, echoing commendations she received from customers over the years. Leslie has been driving Metro buses since 1981.
“Vicki is an extraordinary employee who gives her very best every day on the job – to her riders and to her co-workers,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “She is exceptionally deserving of this recognition, and a great example of how King County provides truly top-notch customer service.”
Read more in the official press release.
At the ceremony, a band also celebrated Vicki with an awesome rendition of Proud Mary, tailored to driving her bus on the east side. View video of the celebration and song below.
Share this:
Coordinated Entry for All: Connecting the homeless to housing
Shared from the DCHS Touching Base Newsletter
Five weeks into operations, DCHS has made significant strides as it works to implement Coordinated Entry for All (CEA), a regional coordinated entry system to connect those experiencing homelessness to housing and services. CEA aims to reduce barriers to housing for those facing a housing crisis through a standardized assessment tool and coordinated referral and housing placement process.
In June, King County took over referrals for family and young adult programs, which has been managed by Catholic Community Services and All Home through Family Housing Connection and Youth Housing Connection since 2012. Since the launch of CEA at King County, 141 youth and families have been referred to housing. In addition to working with families and young adults, CEA is now also providing assessments to homeless single adults. Referrals to single adult programs will begin in mid-September after assessments have been conducted county-wide.
In July, three of the five Regional Access Points (RAP) across King County opened, providing a central resource point where households experiencing homelessness can get help finding housing and other resources. These three locations in Seattle, Renton and Federal Way are able to provide assessments for all populations. Additional RAPs will soon open in North Seattle and East King County.
Until all RAPs are fully up and running, those who are currently experiencing homelessness can access CEA in several other ways. All can call 211 and ask for an intake assessment; as well, young adults can visit one of the young adult access points, and veterans can call Operation: WelcomeOneHome.
The goal is to streamline the process for all homeless populations – families, young adults, veterans and single adults – so that they can be quickly identified, assessed and connected to housing support services and resources. To that end, the Homeless Housing Program has been working with the Behavioral Health and Recovery Division, Developmental Disabilities Division and Employment and Education Resources to create a seamless system of care.
For more information about Coordinated Entry for All, visit www.kingcounty.gov/cea.
To learn more about what DCHS is doing in our community, read the most recent issue of the Touching Base Newsletter (on SharePoint).
Share this:
Public Health’s hidden gem
Dear fellow King County employee,
Sometimes things of great value are hidden in plain sight. That was my sense on Tuesday, July 12 when I had the pleasure of a short drop-in to visit with our employees at the Downtown Public Health Clinic at Fourth and Blanchard in Belltown. Despite the short time available, it didn’t take long to see the dedication and hard work of our committed Public Health staff up close.
The site is actually several clinics in one, with staff and services tailored for the needs of specific communities, including the Refugee Clinic, the Family Health Clinic, the Dental Clinic, and the downtown Needle Exchange program. The clinic is also right on a bus line, providing ease of access for residents and employees.
Meeting county employees and seeing their service to our residents in action is one of the best parts of my job, and I had the pleasure of speaking with several staff members who spend their days or nights caring for some of the most vulnerable people in our community.
It was also good to see the employee engagement work that staff and managers have done at the Downtown Public Health Clinic. Employees said it makes a big difference in their day when they see or hear department and county leaders acknowledging the value of their work.
It was clear that supporting employees has had a direct and positive impact on the work that they do for their clients. The efforts of staff here and their lessons learned should encourage other departments countywide as they work on employee engagement.
By the end of my visit, I was inspired and humbled by the dedicated and professional staff. What they do day in and day out makes a real difference in the quality of life for some of the King County residents who need it the most. It is equity in action, and I look forward to future visits.
Sincerely,
Dow Constantine
King County Executive
Share this:
Inventing a better mousetrap: Innovative employees create custom salmon monitoring vessel
Finding new and better ways to recover threatened salmon species in King County is a top priority of the Water and Land Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources and Parks.
Chris Gregersen, an Environmental Scientist who works to monitor projects designed to improve fish habitat, has recently done just that while saving the county about $45,000.
The Watershed and Ecological Assessment Team use an in-water, fish sampling technique called electrofishing. It’s a process that temporarily stuns fish allowing them to be gathered and evaluated – without being harmed – and then returned to the water.
Traditionally boats used to do this are often too big, difficult to maneuver, expensive or dangerous for the environment the team works in. They needed something lighter and agile, and began considering building a custom cataraft specifically for King County waterways.
A cataraft is a simple pontoon boat, with basic seating for just a few people and storage for items. An electrofishing cataraft adds two large electrode anodes to the front for electrofishing.
After discovering the $60,000 starting price, Chris and the team got the green light to build their own cataraft in-house. They worked with staff from Human Resources; Safety and Claims; Employee Ethics Program; and Procurement to draft a proposal to build the cataraft.
They collaborated internally with colleagues throughout their division to gather input. Once the legal planning, safety requirements and budgets were confirmed, Chris began working on the cataraft, completing it in just seven days with a total budget of $15,000.
A Washington native, Chris began with DNRP as an intern in 2008, and came on board full time in 2012 as an environmental scientist. He has always been passionate about fish, biology and habitat monitoring, and was excited to use his welding skills to make the cataraft project a reality.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to put my skills to work and help bring this idea to life,” Chris said. “I have been rowing catarafts for close to 10 years, and fabricating them for six, so the idea of building an electrofishing cataraft in-house made sense.”
While still relatively new, the cataraft is already making waves. Chris and his colleague Dan Lantz recently presented their innovation at the Northwest Environmental Training Center in California. With attendees from all over the West Coast, King County was the only organization with an electrofishing cataraft.
“People were super interested in our setup and how we built it,” Chris said. “We said we needed something nimble and versatile for river restoration projects that could help us study complex salmon habitats.”
The new cataraft is perfectly customized for surveying salmon habitat in the rivers of King County. To the team, the success of the project is due to the way in which employees worked together to develop it.
“King County brings together a huge variety of policymakers, engineers, scientists and experts, and that makes for a really diverse and knowledge-rich working environment that allows us to be on the cutting edge,” Chris said.
“This latest tool allows us to help plan for future projects and provide better habitat for salmon, trout and other fish to thrive.”
Employee News 