March 2010

After over an hour of heated public comment Burien Council Members took the resolution expressing their intention to annex the northern part of North Highline off of the table.
The resolution was supposed to be a response to Seattle announcing a vote for north North Highline residents to become a part of Seattle. Several residents had come to the Burien Council asking if they would have a choice between becoming a part of Burien or Seattle.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn withdrew his recommendation to move forward with a vote this fall when Seattle Staff presentation showed annexation would cost the City over $12.5 million more than the revenue it would produce, as well as $8.7 million in one time costs.
McGinn and the Seattle City Council decided to delay plans for annexation until at least 2011.

Burien Councilmember Gordon Shaw said given Seattle’s recent announcement the urgency for this motion was lost. The motion was removed, with Council consensus, by its maker, Councilmember Lucy Krakowiak.

The Mobiles will host a live musical journey through the universe of twisted roots rock April 1 at Smokin’ Pete’s Barbecue to raise funds for the St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen.

Seattle's Mobiles, are as likely to be inspired by Bob Dylan or John Hyatt, as they are by Joe Strummer or Jello Biafra.

All donations will be given to the St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen, located at 5972 Fourth Ave. S. St. Vincent de Paul is committed to serving the poor and the needy with a kitchen that provides bag lunches Monday through Friday, a clothing give-away and emergency financial assistance, among other services.

I live just northeast of Sea-Tac Airport in SeaTac. I am close enough to have come under the Port of Seattle's noise remedy program 10 plus years ago.

I have tried to be supportive of the Port's help given to their neighbors through acquisition and the windows, doors and insulation for homes not in the buy-out areas.

I used to blame the excessive noise, at times, on the weather. But a few months ago I was terrified to hear a roar in my attic not heard before.

"A fire roaring!"

Then I calmed down and decided it was a plane "up there"-not "over there" as they have always been. Since then I've decided it's not "weather" anymore. The airport must have moved their take-off pattern.

Remember "up there," not "over there." It makes a difference in our lives.

I hate to think of a new noise study upon us. It involves a lot of people, a lot of time and a lot of paper trails to get help for a changing airport and neighborhoods that need help now. Are we ready for another study?

Virginia E. Dana
SeaTac

The city of Burien officially annexes the southern portion of North Highline on Thursday, April 1.

Burien will jump up ten spots from the 31st largest city in the state to 21st, passing the state capitol of Olympia. The city will add about 14,500 people to its 31,000 current residents.

It appears that White Center and the rest of the northern portion of North Highline will remain unincorporated for some time.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and the Seattle City Council have announced they will delay annexation until next year or beyond because it would cost too much to provide services.

Burien City Manager Mike Martin said some Burien lawmakers are interested in annexing the northern part in possibly two or three years but the council wants to wait for the successful annexation of the southern part before proceeding.

Also, Burien has agreed to give Seattle "first crack" at annexing the remaining unincorporated area, according to Martin.

"No way are we planning more annexation in the near future," Martin declared.

Voters in North Highline's southern part approved the annexation last August by a 55 percent to 45 percent margin.

Construction that was pushed forward to help the Normandy Park Towne Center is leaving the businesses there asking when it will all be over so they can get their customers back.

Normandy Park applied for and was awarded $3.6 million in federal stimulus money for improvements along 1st Avenue South between 192nd and 200th streets. Construction began in October to widen the road to add sidewalks and a bicycle lane.

Normandy Park City Manager Doug Shulze explained the construction is the second phase of work on 1st Avenue. The first phase of construction went from the Burien city limits south to 172nd Street. Pivetta Brothers Construction is doing the work.

Shulze said the city decided to move the section of road being worked on forward to 200th street to benefit the shopping center.

The businesses inside are just wondering when the construction will be finished.

Rachel Gavin, general manager of the Archery Bistro said they have lost 75 percent of their lunch clientele because of the construction.

She said Friday afternoons there used to be a wait for lunch. Where they averaged 100-150 people for lunch on a Friday, they now see 30.

After a 10-year absence, a mob of eight meerkats will return to the Woodland Park Zoo this spring as part of the revamped Adaptations Building, which opens May 1.

Meerkats belong to the mongoose family and dwell in the savannas and grasslands of South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Angola.

The most social of the mongooses, meerkats live in packs of up to 30 individuals in the wild.

Meerkats will use their claws to dig underground burrows but spend much of the day outside foraging, babysitting, grooming and playing while a sentry keeps an eye out for danger.

Visitors will get an inside look at the animals’ semi-arid savanna habitat and observe as meerkats scamper into their tunnels, nurse their young or stand at attention atop the naturalistic outcroppings, behaving as sentinels.

A glimpse into a log den will create visual depth and give visitors a peek at life inside meerkat burrows, which serve as nesting and nursery rooms.

The public will be able to see the swiftness of these carnivores with daily bug feedings and learn about their social habits with keeper talks on Saturdays and Sundays during the zoo’s summer season.

After being closed for almost six months it looks likely Evergreen Pool in North Highline will reopen very soon.

During that time the White Water Aquatics swim team, who swam out of Evergreen Pool, has been working hard to reopen the pool. The swim team created White Water Aquatics Management (WWAM),

WWAM negotiated the reopening of the pool with King County and the current owner of the pool, the Highline School District.
WWAM will manage the pool once it is reopened.

WWA Head Coach Joel Schweiger said their goal would be to have a soft opening on April 19 followed by a grand community opening on May 1.

Schweiger said King County is currently repairing the pool, fixing the roof, replacing the drains, bringing it up to code as well as other repairs.

Work parties would be organized by WWAM to get the pool ready the rest of the way before it opens.

WWAM has raised about $50,000 so far. Schweiger said they are going to need continuing donations to keep the pool going and to expand their programs.

Got a spare prom dress hanging around in your closet? Dust it off and donate it to a high school in the Highline School District.

The Highline Schools Foundation has started a drive called Project Promise, in which formal dresses are being collected to distribute to girls who can't afford a dress for the upcoming prom season.

Last year, the Project Promise drive collected 200 dresses and helped 60 girls get a dress for their prom.

Holly Moore, the executive director of the Highline Schools Foundation, said that this year, they've increased their goal. They hope to collect up to 500 dresses to serve up to 120 women.

"We want to level the playing field," she said. "[The district] has lots of disparities in income and proms are the kind place where students feel left out."

Dress donations are being accepted at any of the high schools in the district, including Puget Sound Skills Center.

Jasmine Litt and Kiara Daniel, 18 and 17 respectively, are two students in the fashion design program at PSSC who have been involved in the prom dress drive for the last month-and-a-half.

There will be fireworks at the Des Moines Pier this 4th of July, thanks to private donors agreeing to pay $7,000 for city services.
Once again this year, the biggest donor is Brooks Powell of Powell Homes.

The Des Moines Rotary Club will coordinate the event.

Due to a strapped budget, the city does not have the money to fund support staff for events in Des Moines. Any city staff time must be compensated from outside sources.

The $7,000 does not include marina staff. City Manager Tony Piasecki explained the marina staff will be working extended hours during the summer anyway and on the 4th of the July their hours will be adjusted so they are working when the fireworks go off.

Parks and Recreation Director Patrice Thorell told the City Council at the March 11 council meeting since the marina will still be under construction through July the city is planning on closing the north marina parking lot to cars at the top of Cliff Avenue. Pedestrians will be able to walk down into the marina to watch the fireworks.

The City of SeaTac is competing against the cities of Des Moines, Tukwila, Kent and Renton to house a new regional Federal Aviation Administration regional headquarters. The FAA is looking for approximately 518,000 square feet of office space.

"The City of SeaTac is pleased to have four viable locations that have been proposed that fit all of the FAA's initial requirements; most importantly those related to transportation options for FAA staff and visitors," said Todd Cutts, interim city manager. "We will continue to work with the property owners and development teams to do whatever we can to assist with securing this important economic development catalyst."

The solicitation mandates the property must be Class A office space that is not located in a regional flood plain. It is required there is on-site parking for 1,600 vehicles with easy access to multiple roadways but must also be in close proximity to public transit.