King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn on Wednesday introduced legislation that would direct King County to explore creating a public art memorial honoring King County residents who have lost their lives to COVID-19.

“Nearly 2,000 of our residents have lost their lives to COVID-19 to-date, bringing great tragedy to communities across King County.” Dunn said in a release. “This memorial would preserve for posterity a consequential chapter in King County’s history while honoring every person who has passed away to COVID-19 and those who mourn them.”

This legislation would task the County Executive to work with the County’s 4Culture agency to develop a report that includes: potential locations for the memorial that are central for everyone in the County; projected costs and sources of funding for this memorial; and opportunities to engage King County residents, especially those who have lost family members to COVID-19, in shaping the memorial. If passed, this report would be due back to the County Council by July 1, 2022.

As of today, King County has had 160,400 positive COVID-19 cases, 8,316 hospitalizations due to COVID-19, and 1,963 deaths due to COVID-19. Polls within the last year have determined that nearly 1 in 5 Americans say they lost a relative or close friend COVID-19 during the pandemic.

After introduction, this legislation will be referred to committee for action.