King County Council Chairwoman Julia Patterson plans to organize Highline community leaders across city boundaries to lobby for more services for the area.

"The time to talk about it is over-it is time to do something," Patterson declared.

Patterson announced her plans at the Feb. 26 SeaTac Council meeting.

She lives in SeaTac and was an original member of the SeaTac council when the city incorporated. Her husband, Pat Patterson, is the city's facilities director.

She noted south King County is broken into small cities. An effective way is needed to collaborate across city lines to advocate for more services.

A council town hall meeting in Kent on March 24 will address equity and social justice, Patterson announced. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Kent Senior Center, 600 E. Smith St.

Following that meeting, she plans to bring south leaders together in a forum.

The councilwoman said she is even more enthused about organizing south county leaders than trying to pass Proposition 1, the roads and transit measure. Patterson was one of the most vocal supporters of the proposition that was overwhelmingly defeated by voters.

"Imagine what kind of county this would be if we all had the same opportunities, the same quality education, basic health care and living wages, Patterson said.

She cited numerous statistics that show south county residents lag behind the rest of King County.

South county has twice the number of students qualifying for free and reduced meals than Seattle.

"A child in south King County-specifically in Burien, SeaTac and Tukwila-- is twice as likely to drop out (of school) than a child on the eastside," Patterson noted. "That is stunning but true."

The Tyee High school complex, Patterson's alma mater, has the highest numbers of youth who have never visited a primary care physician than any other high school in the county, Patterson noted.

Tyee also has the highest percentage of Hispanics among county high schools. Forty percent of Hispanics have not had health insurance in the past year compared to 13 percent of whites.

Burien, SeaTac and Tyee have the highest number of uninsured people in the county while having similar employment rates.

A south county resident is four times more likely to die of diabetes than a Mercer Island resident, Patterson reported.

Because the south county has a disproportionate share of low-income housing, residents must travel farther to work. However, Patterson noted, Seattle receives 61 percent of the bus services.

SeaTac Councilwoman Terry Anderson interjected that there is no direct bus service east and west between SeaTac and medical services in Kent. Riders must take the bus to downtown Seattle and transfer to a bus going to the Kent Valley.

Even in cultural opportunities, south county receives back a smaller percentage of services than it pays in taxes, according to Patterson. Cultural activities are subsidized through hotel/motel taxes of which SeaTac airport strip hotels pay a large share.

However, the SeaTac Parks Department is the only listed venue for cultural activities in the city.

"We need to be aggressively pursuing the money," Patterson added. "We should forget (city) boundaries. They are nonexistent to residents."

SeaTac City Manager Craig Ward and three council members will visit entertainment districts in several Eastern U.S. cities when they travel to Washington D.C. to attend a National League of Cities convention.

The SeaTac council held an hour-long study session before the regular meeting to discuss a planned entertainment district around the South 176th Street light rail station.

Councilman Joe Brennan noted there are no county service agencies located in SeaTac despite the city's large low-income and immigrant population.

"We should talk less about how unfair it is and start to organize," Patterson replied.