Summary

Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles championed a host of local projects and countywide investments as part of the supplemental budget that passed Wednesday.

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Expansion of the West Wing for more use as a homeless shelter, addition of electric vehicle charging stations as part of broader investments in fighting climate change, a new human trafficking awareness campaign, investment in criminal justice technology and more were included in a $450 million supplemental budget passed Wednesday by the King County Council.

“This supplemental budget recognizes the urgency of many of our region’s most pressing issues,” said Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles. “As a member of the Budget and Fiscal Management Committee, I engaged with my colleagues to ensure the values and needs of the residents of District Four were reflected throughout this spending plan.”

The request made critical investments across the county, including:

• Electric vehicle infrastructure: To speed up the County’s transition to an entirely electric vehicle fleet, Kohl-Welles was able to include funding in the budget for more EV chargers at King County Parks, facilities and garages, charging infrastructure when developing new multi-family housing, and included a provision to ensure we stay on track to transition the County bus fleet to zero emission.
• Human trafficking awareness: The supplemental budget includes funding for a new campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking.
• Gender identity and sexual orientation task force: Additional funding was included to carry on the work of the King County Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Task Force, which is working on developing a countywide inclusion strategy and work plan to help ensure that all people are accurately and respectfully served.

“I’m pleased to have been able to help secure provisions in this budget that provide a much-needed jump start to our efforts to expand and enhance vehicle electrification of our county’s fleet bus system,” Kohl-Welles said. “Time is running out and we as a County must act quickly to do everything we can to promote and implement policies to fight back against our global climate crisis.”

Kohl-Welles also worked to secure funds for a host of District 4 projects, including:

• $2,000 for Ballard P-Patch: The Ballard Pea Patch annually donates more than 2,000 pounds of food to the Ballard Food Bank, serves as the Ballard Emergency Hub location and more, but the land is at risk of a sale. Funding will go toward helping the group secure the land before it is sold for development.
• $2,500 for Forward Operating Base Hope: Founded by a veteran, this organization helps military veterans experiencing homelessness through providing necessary items and connecting them with resources to help them get out of homelessness and into permanent housing.
• $50,000 for the Green Lake Boathouse: A new, fully accessible Green Lake community boathouse is planned to be open by 2021, through the partnership of local organizations and local and state government. The new boathouse will allow for expansion of existing programs as well as the launch of Seattle’s first public adaptive rowing program.
• $19,000 for the Ballard Senior Center: The budget also included funding for operations and programs at the Ballard Senior Center.
• $50,000 for the National Nordic Museum in Ballard: The Nordic Museum plans to install a labyrinth in the Museum’s Fisherman's Terrace. This would be an active space for children of all ages to run or for meditative purposes.