King County Community Service Area grants for District 9 were announced on Feb. 9 by Metropolitan King County Council Vice Chair Reagan Dunn. Neighborhoods in Fairwood received several grants totaling $11,590 and community organizations in May Valley, Tiger Mountain, and Four Creeks received $8,850 in grant awards.
“These grants help to create more active and vibrant communities,” Dunn said. “I was glad to have had the chance to work with my colleagues on the council during the last budget cycle to increase the grant awards in order to create more opportunity for unincorporated community engagement.”
A $2,500 grant to the Candlewood Ridge/Carriage Wood Homeowners Association will fund improvements to Carriage Wood Park adding three new pieces of play equipment, replacing old equipment that no longer works, and replacing the deteriorating basketball court.
“The Candlewood Ridge/Carriage Wood HOA serves two neighborhoods that include 850 homes. These Fairwood area developments were built 30-40 years ago, and this grant will help make some much needed improvements to the park in Carriage Wood,” said Holly Jensen, Candlewood Ridge/Carriage Wood Homeowners Association Park Improvement Committee Chair. “The improvements will replace old play equipment that has not worked properly for some time and adds two small new pieces. Additionally, the basketball court has become cracked and damaged, so the improvements include replacing the old court with a new sport court. It is hoped that these improvements will serve different age groups within our community and revitalize the community space. CR/CW HOA is so grateful for this funding aid from King County!”
The Fairwood Greens HOA received a $2,000award for their annual Neighborhood Day event which invites nearly 1,500 area homes and provides food and entertainment geared to connecting the Fairwood community. This year’s award will go towards providing a bouncy house, local children’s entertainers, clowns, balloon artists, face painters and equipment necessary for this event.
“Fairwood Greens is proud to share with King County the goal of creating community. With the county’s support, Fairwood Greens will once again host the Fairwood community day (aka Last Splash!) September 9 at Allen Park in the Greens,” said Fairwood Greens Homeowners Association President Bonnie Lyon. “It is wonderful to know that King County and Fairwood Greens Homeowners Association are aligned to serve the greater community on this day of family fun.”
$2,500 will go to the Forest Estates Homeowners Association. The grant will help fund the addition of toddler friendly play equipment, making the play area more accessible for all ages.
“The residents of Forest Estates will be very excited to install the much-anticipated playground equipment for their toddlers,” said Mary Blazek, Forest Estates Homeowners Association. “We sincerely appreciate the grant from King County to assist with this project. Thank you!”
Woodside Homeowners Association received $1,400 to fund their fourth annual National Night Out event. The funds will go towards reserving Petrovitsky Park picnic shelter facilities, providing entertainment, food, and beverages for community and emergency response representatives attending the event.
“The Woodside Homeowners Association is grateful to King County for their generous support of our fourth Fairwood National Night Out, which will be held in Petrovitsky Park this August,” said Amanda Heins, Woodside Homeowners Association Board of Directors. This event will bring together residents of Woodside and surrounding neighborhoods for a fun evening of family entertainment, food and interaction with local law enforcement representatives. In previous years we have arranged visits from our local fire department, sheriff department K9s, the SWAT team, and in 2017 we even had the Guardian One helicopter touch down for our event!”
The Lake Desire Community Club received three awards totaling almost $3,200 for community movie events, repairs to the clubhouse roof, and a National Night Out event. National Night Out events help neighborhoods build relationships with law enforcement and service providers and encourage community building.
“The Lake Desire Community Club is grateful to King County for their generous contribution to assist in funding an update to the roof of our community center, as well as funds to contribute to our annual summer barbecue and outdoor movie night,” said Heather Stafford, President of the Lake Desire Community Club. “We host many community-building events and public meetings at our community center throughout the year for nearby neighborhoods in and around our area of King County.”
The King County Community Service Areas (CSA) offer expanded ways for the County to engage with the over 252,000 county residents who live outside city boundaries. There are more than 72,000 residents of Council District 9 living in CSAs.
The grant programs within the CSA’s are available through a competitive application process. The grants must be used to fund community projects that offer unincorporated area residents in the Community Service Areas an opportunity to participate and be more connected in their communities. A total of $90,000 will be reimbursed for projects in 2018.
