King County health care, the Covington master planned development and Landsburg Mine cleanup were the main topics discussed at the November meeting of the Greater Maple Valley Unincorporated Area Council on Nov. 4.

Health Care

Anna Markee of Public Health–Seattle/King County spoke about the countywide effort to enroll 180,000 newly eligible King County residents in Medicaid and the Health Benefit Exchange, www.wahbexchange.org. Open enrollment started on Oct. 1. Coverage begins Jan. 1, 2014. The statewide call center is: 1-855-WAFINDER (1-855-923-4633).

There are parts of King County where up to 30 percent of the people have no medical insurance. In the greater Maple Valley area approximately 10 percent have no medical insurance. Markee stated there will be new affordable options. Medicaid is being expanded to cover a family of three with an income below $26,952. Sliding scale tax credits will be available to help with premiums for a family of three with an income up to $78,120. An online calculator is available at the site above to determine eligibility for Medicaid or tax credits.

King County is hosting events where people can learn more, ask questions, and sign up for health coverage. Events will be held at the Maple Valley Library from noon to 5 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 16 and from 2 to 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2.

Covington Hawk Property Subarea

In August the Area Council submitted a detailed set of comments on the City of Covington’s Northern Gateway Study Hawk Property Subarea Draft Planned Action Environmental Impact Statement.

The Hawk Property Subarea encompasses approximately 212 acres located in the northern portion of Covington. It contains land within the city limits and land in unincorporated King County. The developer, YarrowBay, proposes to build up to a 1,500 home Master Planned Development.

On Nov. 1 Covington released two documents: a Draft Preferred Subarea Plan to guide future development of the subarea and ensure consistency of the comprehensive plan and a Draft Planned Action Ordinance to allow for streamlined environmental review at the development permit stage by evaluating a range of development alternatives in the EIS and then reviewing subsequent development proposals for consistency with the range of alternatives studied.

A planned action allows future development proposals deemed consistent will not have to undergo a new environmental review.

The Area Council’s growth management committee reviewed these documents and prepared testimony that addresses two major concerns, namely misuse of the planned action process due to inconsistencies with adopted comprehensive plans of both the city and the county and poor foundation for the traffic analyses which relies on an incomplete assessment of transportation impacts, inadequate proposed mitigation, and unfunded plans. The full Area Council approved testimony was given by committee members on Nov. 7 before the Covington Planning Commission.

For information on the subarea and links to all documents, visit www.ci.covington.wa.us/city_departments/communitydevelopment/northern_gateway_study.html.

Landsburg Mine Cleanup

Members of the Area Council’s natural resources/parks committee attended the Department of Ecology’s open house on Oct. 24 to ascertain current status of the Landsburg Mine Cleanup Plan. Many citizens expressed concerns with impacts to their private wells, as well as what plans are in place to fix problems once contaminants are detected in monitor wells.

Public Comments will be taken between Oct. 11 and Dec. 12. Comments can be sent directly to Jerome Cruz at jerome.cruz@ecy.wa.gov or 3190 160th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98008.

The committee is reviewing the Draft Cleanup Action Plan and will draft a set of comments for full Area Council review at the next monthly meeting on Dec. 2. The Area Council intends to submit its comments to DOE by the Dec. 12 deadline.

Next Area Council Meeting

The Area Council’s next monthly meeting will held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2 at the Fire Station at 231st St. and state Route 169. Meetings are held the first non-holiday Monday of each month. A public comment period at the beginning of each meeting provides citizens an opportunity to voice issues of concern to Area Council members and government officials in attendance.

For more information visit www.greatermaplevalleyareacouncil.org