Dear District 3 residents,

As clean-up continues after the devastating December windstorm, I am gathering information about emergency response efforts and compiling recommendations for improvements so we all can be more prepared to survive any emergency. My thanks go to all of the citizens and public officials who participated in a Town Hall Meeting on Jan. 6 in Woodinville to contribute their observations about what worked and what didn’t work so well. I have some important updates to share with you.

Storm Debris Disposal

In response to your requests, King County’s Solid Waste Division will provide free disposal of storm debris for residents of east King County. Wood and yard debris from the December windstorm will be accepted for free on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 20 and 21 only, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Cedar Falls Drop Box, 16925 Cedar Falls Rd SE in North Bend. Branches and organic debris up to eight feet long and three feet in diameter will be accepted. Commercial loads will be accepted at the usual fee. Residents with mixed loads of storm-related debris and regular garbage will be charged at the regular solid waste disposal rate. All loads must be properly secured; unsecured loads will be subject to an unsecured load fee. For more information about this event, call the King County Solid Waste Division at 206-296-4466 or visit the website at http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/garbage-recycling/storm-debris.asp. The Enumclaw Transfer station also will accept storm debris from residents for free that weekend only. In addition, some cities are making provision for collection of extra yard waste for city residents. In unincorporated areas, yard waste haulers will pick up extra yard debris from subscribers, and branches should be cut into three-foot lengths and bundled for pick up. Because the haulers contract with the state instead of the county for yard-waste removal, they may charge for hauling the extra debris. Check with your hauler for details. (This is one of many issues we found in state and local laws that need to be updated.)

FEMA Help

In response to President Bush’s federal disaster recovery declaration for the November floods, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is opening several Disaster Recovery Centers in Washington State for homeowners, renters and business owners to get assistance in applying for federal aid. Two centers will serve residents of King County. One center will be located at the Issaquah City Hall in the Eagle Room, 130 E. Sunset Way. The center opened on Jan. 10 and will continue to operate from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. A second center serving Northeast King County will be open at the Baring Fire Training Facility, 64100 NE Index Creek Road in Baring. To apply for FEMA assistance, call 1-800-621-3362.

Town Hall Meeting

On Monday, Feb. 5, the Metropolitan King County Council Committee of the Whole will host a Town Hall meeting on the topic of Winter Storm Readiness. The event will be in Seattle at The Hall at Fauntleroy, 9131 California Ave. SW. In order to allow those who work during the day to attend, the evening meeting will begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by a program and opportunity to provide public comment at 7 p.m. The meeting will include presentations by King County Emergency Management Director Eric Holdeman as well as officials from Puget Sound Energy and other utilities. For more information, go to http://www.metrokc.gov/council/townhall/2007-02_winter_storm/index.htm. In addition, I also will be hosting another Town Hall meeting in the Snoqualmie Valley in coming weeks. We will send another update with the date for the Upper Valley town hall once it is finalized, or check our website at http://www.metrokc.gov/council/members/lambert/

Flood-related Unemployment Benefits

Anyone who lost time at work because of the record flooding that occurred between Nov. 2 and 11 can apply for unemployment benefits from the state Employment Security Department. The benefits also are available for those who are self-employed. The deadline to submit an application is Tuesday, Jan. 16. Applications are available online at www.wa.gov/esd/ui/dua.htm or by phone toll-free at 1-877-416-7274 or in person at WorkSource centers.

Metro Bus Service Changes

King County Metro is proposing changes to Eastside transit service to be implemented in Fall 2007 or February 2008. The changes include 13,500 additional hours of bus service annually, funded by the Transit Now sales tax, with new bus routes, more frequent service and more direct service. A new Route 221 will link Eastgate with Education Hill in Redmond via Bellevue Community College and the Overlake Transit Center. New Route 248 will link the Kirkland Transit Center with Avondale Road in Redmond, via Redmond Town Center and Northeast 85th Street. More information will be provided at four open houses this month:

• Jan. 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Lake Washington School District Administration Building, 16250 NE 74th St., Redmond
• Jan. 25, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Kirkland Senior Center Foyer, 325 Kirkland Ave., Kirkland
• Jan. 27, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Duvall Safeway & Drug, 14020 Main St. NE, Duvall
• Jan. 27, noon-3 p.m., Crossroads Mall Market Stage, NE 8th and 156th Ave. NE, Bellevue

Emergency Preparednes

Governor Gregoire visited our area on Dec. 21 to see the extent of the damage to our power lines. She talked with utility employees from our state as well as from Kansas, Michigan and Minnesota. She promised to help their states should they face a storm of this magnitude. We talked about the extent of damage and ideas for changes in laws and procedures at the state level. She will be getting information from our office on our town hall feedback as well as discoveries we have made about things that need to be improved or updated. She said she will be looking forward to this input. She sent a state employee from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission to our town hall also.

I have attended several briefings on emergency review with our county Emergency Coordination Center, which includes representatives of first-responder agencies and utilities that respond to emergencies. You can trust that your feedback and my own firsthand experience of being without power for six days as well as touring the district and communicating with our great mayors has been included in the lessons-learned sessions.

Together, we can work to keep our community safer by being prepared and being sure that the infrastructure needs are met by all levels of government.

I hope you are warm and safe as we deal with this snowstorm … it took me only 5 hours and 40 minutes to get home from Seattle last night.

Sincerely,
Kathy Lambert

Kathy Lambert
King County Councilmember, District 3
(206) 296-1003
Kathy.Lambert@metrokc.gov

To unsubscribe, please reply to this e-mail