The atmosphere in council chambers on Dec. 7 was best described as electric. Present were representatives from state, county and municipal government, including Senator Joe McDermott from the 34th legislative district and Deputy King County Executive Fred Jarrett who had only been in office 10 days at the time.

What drew them to the evening's meeting - along with numerous citizens of Burien and North Highline - was King County's controversial plan to sell Puget Sound Park to the King County Library System.

The plan was one part of the county's efforts to fill a gap in its budget and turn lemons into some semblance of lemonade. It was a foregone conclusion that some of the county's parks would have to be shuttered, so why not try to sell a few and use the proceeds to help fund the maintenance and operations of those that remain?

Unfortunately for the county, and for Jarrett, the people of Burien and North Highline weren't so sympathetic to this point of view. Roughly half a dozen citizens stepped forward to voice their opinion about the move. Not one of them supported it.

Citizens' concerns focused on three main areas: the county's apparent lack of good faith in dealing with Burien or citizens of unincorporated King County, the potential closure of the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries and the loss of a highly treasured, five-acre park in an established neighborhood.

Ray Helms, who lives roughly a block from the Boulevard Park library, said the last thing his children need is get on a bus to go to a "shiny, gleaming library" when the existing libraries are completely adequate and convenient to people they serve. Several other people on this note joined Helms.

Sen. McDermott also joined the chorus of discontent with the county's plans and expressed his willingness to help.

For their part, council members were insistent in getting answers to their questions, while keeping the tone of the conversation with Jarrett congenial and constructive.

Unfortunately, Jarrett said that the executive branch of county government is somewhat "constrained by the actions taken by the council members," and he could not respond authoritatively to many of the questions because he'd only been on the job for 10 days at the time.

Just the same, Jarrett emphasized the county's desire to turn over a new leaf with the city of Burien and to start an open discussion on the property and the county's original plans.

To that end, King County Executive Dow Constantine let the King County Library System's letter of intent for the property lapse. The letter had expressed a willingness on the part of the library to purchase the property for $600,000.

The new library would take up an acre-and-a-half, with the balance returning back to Burien for use as a park. Councilmember Sally Nelson acknowledged that such a transaction might be a "good partnership" but reiterated the city's desire to be part of the decision.