June 12, 2012

Dear friend:

Summer is rapidly approaching here in King County and as an avid outdoorsman I am excited to get outside to enjoy the beautiful parks, trails and lakes that King County has to offer. As your King County Councilmember I also serve as the Chair of the King County Flood District Executive Committee and I wanted to take a moment to pass on a bit of good news. 

In 2009 damage to the Howard Hanson Dam caused an increased chance of flooding, putting the cities of Kent, Auburn and Tukwila in grave danger. To protect against this threat of flood the King County Flood District acted quickly to provide a solution.  The solution was to place 26 miles worth of sandbags along the Green River to provide extra protection for those cities. This solution was not a cheap one, it cost the Flood District approximately $8 million. It was money well spent as it provided the residents of the at risk cities peace of mind knowing they were protected and their homes were safe.

I am now proud to report that the Howard Hanson Dam has been repaired and the sandbags can now come down.  As Chair of the Flood’s District Executive Committee we recently passed a proposal that will provide nearly $6 million for the removal of the sandbags. This vital economic corridor can now return to normal and be opened back up for business. While a much needed necessity, the sandbags were not helpful to the businesses in the area nor were they pleasing to the eye.  Removal of the barriers is an important step in opening back up popular trails and parks and helping businesses along the corridor fully recover.

Take a moment and read the Op-Ed about this issue I wrote in conjunction with my colleague King County Councilmember Julia Patterson.

Sandbag Removal along the Green River

Please feel to e-mail me at reagan.dunn@kingcounty.gov or call my office at (206) 296-1009 if you have any questions regarding this or any other matter involving county government.

Best regards,

Reagan Dunn
King County Councilmember, District 9

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If you have any questions or comments, please email me at reagan.dunn@kingcounty.gov or call my office at (206) 296-1009.

Phone: (206) 296-1009 | Fax: (206) 296-0198 | TTY/TDD: (206) 296-1024 | Toll Free: (800) 325-6165
Mailing Address: King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, Suite 1200, Seattle, WA 98104-3272