Drafter
Clerk 10/23/2007
title
AN ORDINANCE naming the new county office building.
body
STATEMENT OF FACTS:
1. King County is nearing the end of construction of a new King County office building in downtown Seattle in close proximity to the King County Courthouse and adjacent to the King County Administrative Building.
2. The new office building will house critical county functions including the Seattle-King County department of public health, the King County finance and business operations division and the King County office of information resource management.
3. King County citizens will visit the new office building to access county services and conduct business with county officials and employees.
4. King County citizens and taxpayers should, whenever possible, be provided with opportunities to feel a greater sense of connection and relation with their King County government, its functions and its public facilities.
5. Citizens of King County have paid for the construction of the new office building and should therefore have a role in the naming of that building.
6. The name of the office building should reflect broad citizen values as well as any one or more of county issues, persons and symbols.
7. The metropolitan King County council passed Motion 12336 in September 2006, which laid out the process encouraging young King County residents to participate in naming the building by writing essays proposing the building name.
8. Among the one hundred forty names generated by the request for essays was "The Chinook Building," which was submitted by King County resident Megan Drews.
9. In her submittal essay Megan Drews described how the Chinook name would make honorable cultural references to both the Chinook Indian Nation and to the species of salmon that is a valuable resource to our state and community.
10. In one submittal essay a student offered the idea to name "certain rooms or wings [of the building] for individuals, groups or...

Click here for full text