Inside the Snoqualmie YMCA gymnasium, King County Councilmember Sarah Perry and several county officials spoke with Valley residents for over an hour Feb. 9 as part of a wide-ranging community town hall.

The meeting comes nearly a year after Perry was first sworn in as the District 3 representative on the King County Council, becoming its first new representative in two decades.

The largest of the nine county council districts, Perry’s District 3 includes 1,000 of the county’s 2,300 square miles. Most of that land consists of forests, agricultural or open space. The district covers northeast King County, stretching from East Lake Sammamish to the Snoqualmie Pass and from I-90 to the Snohomish-King border.

Perry was introduced at the town hall by Snoqualmie Mayor Katherine Ross, who called Perry an advocate for the city’s priorities, including transit, open space preservation, economic vitality and public safety. The two both took office around the same time last year.

“We truly recognize the importance of having a county-city collaboration,” Ross said.

During her second year in office, Perry said her priorities will continue to be focused on three areas: behavioral health, the environment and the creative economy, and economic vitality. County officials working in those areas each gave short presentations at the town hall.

Behavioral health

Leo Flor, a director of the county’s Community and Human Service Department, spoke about the upcoming Crisis Care Center Levy, a ballot measure set for April 25 that proposes an increase in property taxes to build five walk-in, 24/7 facilities for those experiencing mental health or substance abuse crises.

The facilities would function in a similar vein to a walk in-medical clinic, but specifically address behavioral health and substance abuse.

“If you encounter a behavioral health crisis, there’s actually not a single place in the county that you walk yourself into that’s not a hospital emergency room or jail,” Flor said.

The levy would also support staffing costs and combat a significant decline in beds available for mental health care.

Creative economy

Ashton Allison and Kate Becker unveiled the Office of Economic Opportunity and Creative Economy.

Office directors Allison and Becker were tapped by King County Executive Dow Constantine to lead the region’s recovery from COVID-19, focusing on impacts to small businesses, the workforce and the arts.

The office includes several projects across many hard-hit industries, including farming, aerospace and filmmaking. It also includes support programs for small businesses and workforce-to-employer connections.

Environment and flooding

Josh Baldi, director of the water land and resources division, spoke about the county’s update to the King County Flood Management Plan that will be happening over the next two years. The plan guides how the county manages flood risks.

“Flooding happens,” he said. “It’s the most common natural disaster in King County.”

The flood plan hasn’t been updated in a decade, and hasn’t been substantively updated since 2006, Baldi said. The new plan will have a greater focus on the impacts of climate change and creating equitable preparedness for future flooding disasters.

Check it out:

You can watch the entire town hall HERE: