King County’s Fall City center to close doors in two weeks

Published 12:14 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

FALL CITY – King County’s Fall City Community Service Center will be closing its doors later this month.

The center, which has been housed in a modular on the corner of Southeast 43rd Street and 332nd Avenue Southeast since 1998, will close on Feb. 25.

The decision to close the center came after the owner of the property it is located on, King County Fire Protection District 27, announced it was going to sell the land. Fire Commissioner Tom Brice said the decision to sell was made about a year ago and that the property is still on the market.

Valley residents have been able to complete a variety of county tasks at the center, from applying for marriage licenses to paying taxes. The center has also acted as a kind of regional information and local commerce resource, offering maps of local bike trails and fresh produce locations.

King County runs similar service centers at five other locations around the county. Once the Fall City center closes, those closest to the Valley will be in Cottage Lake (Woodinville) and Sammamish.

Although the Fall City center was only open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, it got a lot of use. During the six days it was open during the month of January, the center processed 18 passport applications, 13 marriage licenses, three concealed pistol licenses, three pet licenses and two tax payments. For Valley residents wanting to avoid a trip to Seattle, the Fall City center was perfect for taking care of county business at home.

“It has been a great service,” said Cheryl Besmer, who has manned the center since 2000.

The center was popular not only in the Valley, but for King County residents not wanting to deal with closer, yet busier, locations. From January to November last year, 106 of the center’s 504 patrons came from Issaquah, Redmond and Bellevue.

King County Superintendent of Licensing Roxanne Bese said the county would ideally open another location right after the Fall City location closes, but that is not likely to happen. The county would like to remain in the Valley and Bese said it has been looking not only in Fall City but in Snoqualmie for a location. Though only 800 square feet of space is needed for a center, funds are limited. Bese said the county is dedicated to getting another center opened in the Valley as soon as it can.

“The neighborhood Community Service Centers have been well received as they offer accessible and convenient county services closer to home and work, saving many the trip to downtown Seattle,” said King County Executive Ron Sims in a press release. “We will work hard to continue this valuable service in the community.”

Ben Cape can be reached at (425) 888-2311 or by e-mail at ben.cape@valleyrecord.com.