by Ken Robinson
Editor

Kamuron Gurol, Burien's new City Manager, isn't a hugger. But he has a great smile and a kind, warm way and glowing intelligence that feels like a hug. Still, he said, "I need to smile more."

He also has a degree in geology from the UW and an MPA in Public Administration from Harvard. His path to Burien began shortly after he graduated from UW.

"I bummed around, playing basketball and helping my dad with some rental projects," he told us in his top floor office at city hall. His father came to the United States from Turkey as a young man. He knew one person, who sent him west to meet another man from the old country. The senior Gurol could not speak English. But he was good at math. He found work in electrical engineering. "My father is essentially an inventor. He has 30 patents or so, his son said. His father eventually became the R&D manager at Fluke Engineering in Everett. "He is the American success story."

When he could no longer find a pickup basketball game, Kamuron decided he should look for work. He found a job with a consulting firm with biology and environmental concerns after answering an ad. The pay was $6 an hour. The firm developed a Puget Sound Environmental Atlas as an EPA sponsored project. When the project was finished, Kamuron went to Europe and bummed around some more.

Then he got a job at Green River Community College teaching geology. He stayed 2 years, 1987-89. He bought a house for $82,000 on Phinney Ridge, buy the zoo, and "started with a dog and knocked over every other domino." A son, now attending law school, was born in 1989. Kamuron took a job at King County doing environmental planning. "King County was in a rapid growth phase and did not have extensive regulations," he said. Burien in 1989 was unincorporated, a vassal of King County. "Incorportation was a reaction to people who wanted control over their own destiny." In 1993, Burien became a city.

Kamuron worked at King County until 1998. What became the state's Growth Management Act in 1990 had its roots in work developed in King County in 1984, he said. In 1994, Kamuron moved to Cambridge to pursue his master's in public administration, then returned to King County until 1998. He moved on to Snohomish County in the planning department, where he stayed four years, then was Corridor Manager with the Washington State Department of Transportation for a year. He was director of Development for Kitsap County from 2003-2004. He became assistant city manager at Sammamish and was there for nine years until his move to Burien.

He has reasons to smile. Now, he is the boss. With several new council members, he is learning what residents here want to see from their city. Burien has been stalled in its growth, largely by a stale economy. But there are dreams for the future. A few new businesses (e.g. LA Fitness) are moving in. A proposal to move the car dealers off of 1st Avenue died aborning. Grandiose plans for a community center with a pool have been floated. As city manager, he has been briefed on this ideas.

To get a new community center, he said "I have been told about a lot of priorities, but it will take more community input and a partner. We have a lack of recreational facilities for young people. We need healthy alternatives. But the decision about a community center is down the road."

What he would like to see happen is for the community to obtain state funding for a multi-use sports field. The field at Highline High isn't open to the public. He would like to see an artificial-turf field here. "We need options. Land, parking, lighting. I would focus on sports fields. Maintenance on artificial fields is very low," he said.

From the council, he is hearing concerns about public safety as the number one problem. "We have taken some steps, focusing on downtown and on hotspots. He have gotten a small federal grant for increased foot and bike patrols and a trespassing ordinance. The library is paying off-duty officers to patrol.

Second, the council is interested in economic development. They have discussed a branding campaign, improved parking and a business retention and recruitment plan. Kamuron believes there is room for additional development along 1st Avenue and 152nd Streets. "I do not think the car dealers need to move. I want to hold onto our car dealers. There are a lot of legacy buildings on the 1st Avenue corridor for hotels and for boutique hotels on 152nd," he said.

Development of the arts aspects of the community, downtown walkability and environmental elements are also being discussed. "Burien has cards to play," he said.

Third, he wants to see "engagement with the community and communication that runs both ways.

He also believes we need to "up our game in how we present ourselves" to the rest of the region.