By Matt Wendland

The City of Burien has announced that they will be hosting a public forum on Thursday,
October 10, for Burien residents to weigh in on the future of economic development in
Burien.

Established in 1974, ECONorthwest is the largest economic consulting firm based in the
Pacific Northwest. They are based primarily out of Portland, Oregon with additional offices in
Boise, Idaho and Eugene, Oregon and have consulted a wide range of public and private
organizations including King County, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Weyerhaeuser,
Untied Way, Intel and even Facebook. ECONorthwest was recently hired by the City of
Burien to consult on creating an Economic Development Strategic Plan.

The process of creating a strategic plan is expected to continue until some time around February of 2014. The City of Burien is kicking off the Economic Development Strategic Plan effort with a public forum. The public meeting will take place on October 10 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in the Burien City Hall Council Chambers located on the ground floor of the Burien City Hall and King County Library in downtown Burien. The public will be given the opportunity to share their thoughts on creating jobs and business opportunities in Burien as well as learn about the process of creating the Economic Development Strategic Plan.

Once the Economic Development Strategic Plan is completed, it is expected to contain specific economic development goals, strategies and implementation measures.

In addition to the October 10 public forum, City Staff and ECONorthwest will be discussing the Strategic Plan efforts with the Burien City Council at their study session on October 28th.

This meeting starts at 7:00 pm and also takes place in the Burien City Hall Council Chambers. While the public is invited to attend the City Council's study session, there will be no time for public comment at this meeting.

For more information about the City of Burien's Economic Development Strategic Plan or ECONorthwest, visit the City of Burien's website at www.burienwa.gov or call Burien City Hall at 206.241.4647.