It is a pleasure to work with your mayor and city council, as well as numerous King County departments, our business leaders and chamber, nonprofit organizations, and community members to support social services here in Issaquah, especially throughout the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the onset of COVID-19, the King County Council has responded rapidly to the needs of the community, including the City of Issaquah and the surrounding area, by passing five different rounds of emergency funding, totaling more than $250 million. Part of our COVID-19 response was a new grant program to help small businesses and chambers impacted by government shutdowns. The Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce received direct funding to support the work they are doing to help businesses adapt and stay afloat during these challenging times. The chamber even assisted me in giving out thousands of personal protection masks! Additionally, these funding packages included support for isolation and quarantine facilities, increased funding to Public Health – Seattle & King County, increased access to food for those in need, and rental assistance for renters and landlords. Outside of our work focused on the COVID-19 pandemic response, we are continuing to prioritize support for human services within Issaquah and across the region. Towards the end of last year, I sponsored legislation that approved the 2021 budget and workplan for A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH). ARCH is a partnership between King County and over a dozen eastside cities (including Issaquah), that works to increase the supply of affordable housing in our region. King County will contribute $75,000 to this year’s budget. Each year, a few used King County Metro vans are donated to organizations in our district that serve the community. Recipients of these “retired” vans last year included the Issaquah Parks and Recreation Department and the Issaquah Highlands Council. I love being able deliver these vans each year to organizations that are doing great work in our community. Lastly, I wanted to just say thank you. Thank you, for everything that you have been doing to limit the spread of COVID-19, support our business community, help your neighbors and area residents, and so much more. Best wishes and stay healthy!
When you call my office, you will be served by my team which includes (from left to right): Lane Covington, Aleks Posielski, Dylan Brown, myself, and Jackie White.