In this e-newsletter:

1. Hotel-Motel Tax
2. CEOC legislation
3. Affordable Housing meetings
4. Skyway Community Service Area plan update
5. 2019 Community Engagement Grant applications – King County Community Service Areas

Hotel-Motel Tax

After months of debate on whether or not the County should OK the use of the $185 million of the hotel-motel tax for the benefit of the Seattle Mariners, our Committee of the Whole (COW) acted on a proposal. COW is the only committee on which all nine councilmembers serve. The committee voted 5-4 that the Mariners get $135 million to make upgrades and improvements to Safeco Field. My focus on this tax ordinance has been to maximize the amount of money that goes to affordable housing. Therefore, I voted against this proposition.

The action of the Committee of the Whole is not the final word on this legislation. The full Council will take action on the proposal will be on Monday, September 17th. I am encouraging anyone who wants to provide input in regards to using these funds for affordable housing, to please come to the King County Courthouse at 1:30 p.m. on the 10th floor, to hear the final debate about this highly controversial issue.

Should you have any additional questions, email me at Larry.Gossett@kingcounty.gov or call at (206)477-1002.

CEOC legislation

During this past month, I had the opportunity to sponsor legislation for the King County Citizens’ Election Oversight Committee (CEOC), which was established by the King County Council in 2006. The purpose of the CEOC is to provide oversight and advice on conducting elections within King County to provide transparency, reliability and community engagement of county elections.

I am the sponsor of legislation creating greater participation in the CEOC. If approved by the council, the legislation will add representatives from the Spanish speaking community the Korean speaking community and the African-American community.

With this ordinance, we take a positive step toward the ideals of a true democracy by having the community voice their thoughts, perspectives and opinions, to what voting reforms are necessary within the County.

The Government Accountability Oversight Committee sent the proposal to the full Council, which will take a final vote later this month.

Affordable Housing meetings

This has been a busy month for the Regional Affordable Housing Task Force. The Task Force has already held three community meetings in September, with the next meeting taking place in October. The purpose of the community meetings are for us to listen to what the community believes to be most important in addressing the affordable housing crisis within the region.

Skyway Community Service Area plan update

If you want to follow the progress of the Skyway Community Service Area (CSA) there is a new resource for you. The County has created an email newsletter to help ensure that community members are included on the planning process. It’s located on the Skyway-West Hill County webpage, just add your email address for updates on the plan.

2019 Community Engagement Grant applications – King County Community Service Areas

Do you have an idea on how to improve your neighborhood? There are King County grants available for unincorporated area projects. A total of $90,000 is available in 2019. For a full list of the goals of the grant as well as criteria for applying, please visit the County Grant webpage. Applications are due by October 26, 2018 at 5 p.m.

Contact me: larry.gossett@kingcounty.gov; 206-477-1002
Visit my website: https://www.kingcounty.gov/gossett