Kent Mayor Dana Ralph cites flood protection and falling crime in ‘Progress Report 2025’

Kent Mayor Dana Ralph said the city’s investments in flood protection, public safety and infrastructure helped protect residents during extreme weather and contributed to declining crime, as she outlined 2025 accomplishments and priorities for the year ahead in a video “Progress Report 2025” released on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.

“We closed out the year with some of the most challenging weather our region has seen in decades,” Ralph said, adding that immediate flooding risk along the Green River has passed. “That outcome did not happen by chance.”

Ralph said decades of investments by the King County Flood Control District and south King County cities in strengthening the Green River levee system helped protect lives, jobs and the regional economy during an atmospheric river that dropped more than 17 inches of rain in the mountains and required large water releases from Howard Hanson Dam. She said city crews inspected levees before the storm, activated emergency operations and worked with Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority and King County to monitor levees around the clock for nearly two weeks.

Kent crews also assisted with emergency repairs to the Desimone levee in Tukwila and worked with the Washington State Department of Transportation to reopen Highway 167, keeping freight and commuter routes moving. She said the city is now focused on recovery by connecting residents and businesses with cleanup assistance, debris removal, financial relief and recovery resources while coordinating damage reporting with county, state and federal partners.

Public safety remains the city’s top priority, Ralph said, citing data showing crime in Kent has declined to near-2019 levels across almost every major category over the past 19 months. She credited investments in enforcement, accountability and partnerships, including the city’s stay out of drug area ordinance passed by the City Council, which she said has helped disrupt repeat criminal activity in targeted areas.

Ralph also highlighted new police technology, saying Kent Police fully implemented a new Axon records management system that integrates case reporting, digital evidence, body worn cameras and in car video in every patrol vehicle.

“This is a major step forward in efficiency, officer safety, and public trust,” she said.

She noted that Detective Richardson received the FBI Director’s Award for helping dismantle a violent multi-county robbery group that targeted homes across the region, including in Kent, saying the recognition reflects the professionalism and commitment of the police department.

On infrastructure, Ralph said the city reached substantial completion of the Kent East Hill Operations Center, a $47 million facility that consolidates maintenance operations into what she described as a modern and sustainable site designed to serve Kent for decades. She also cited completion of the final phase of 76th Avenue South improvements, work along the 224th Street corridor including sidewalks and a new roundabout, installation of two new roundabouts on Reith Road, and continued progress on the Meet Me on Meeker project to improve walkability and connectivity into downtown.

Ralph called the opening of two new light rail stations, Kent Des Moines and Star Lake, a transformational milestone that connects the city along the I-5 corridor from Federal Way to Lynnwood, supporting mobility and economic opportunity for future generations.

Parks and community spaces also saw major upgrades, Ralph said, including phase two renovations at Kent Commons Community Center, reopening of Springwood Park with new play structures, sport courts and the city’s first summer misting station, and the 50th anniversary of the Kent Arts Commission.

On economic development and housing, Ralph said the city is focused on attracting businesses and supporting industries that provide living wage jobs, particularly in aerospace, space and advanced manufacturing. She said programs such as Recode Kent are modernizing land use regulations to create more housing options while meeting new state requirements, and Rediscover Downtown is helping maintain Kent’s status as a certified regional growth center.

Ralph said the city also invested in information technology, digitizing more than 425,000 pages of records, fulfilling more than 10,000 public records requests, and launching the OneKent Hub internal website to improve staff communication and service delivery.

She said millions in federal grant funding now support more than 50 nonprofit partners providing services related to housing stability, food access, legal assistance and youth programs. In municipal court, she said 17 people completed the domestic violence moral reconation therapy program, and the community court served an average of 80 people per month, with nearly 700 people connected to services in 2025 through a resource coordinator.

Kent also received recognition for financial management, Ralph said, with the finance department earning Government Finance Officers Association awards for budget presentation and financial reporting and recovering more than $157,000 in outstanding utility or property damage costs.

“As I reflect on 2025, I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished together,” Ralph said. “This is what investing in the future looks like, planning ahead, working together, and building a city that’s safer, stronger, and more resilient for generations to come.”