Council to hold flood meeting

The snow is gone and the waters have receded, but the damage caused by the January floods and December’s heavy snowfall lingers throughout King County.

On Wednesday, Feb. 11, the Metropolitan King County Council will go to one of the communities impacted by the winter storms for its first town hall meeting of 2009 and discuss the county’s response to the winter weather emergencies.

The town hall event, a special meeting of the Council’s Committee of the Whole, will be in the Tolt Middle School’s Multipurpose Room, 3740 Tolt Avenue, Carnation. The public is invited to meet with councilmembers at an informal reception starting at 6 p.m. The town hall will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Council members want to hear from the public about the impact of the recent winter storms, examine the county’s response, and determine how it can improve.

“After touring flooded homes in the Snoqualmie Valley, and being snowbound during the holidays, I heard and thought of many ideas about how we can be better prepared for winter weather emergencies,” said Councilmember Kathy Lambert. “I know that many residents in the Snoqualmie Valley still are cleaning up after the flood disaster earlier this month. I look forward to learning more from the experts, our citizens, about how the county can improve the preparation for disasters and better coordinate recovery efforts, as well as what was successful.”