The possible annexation of White Center and Boulevard Park to either Burien or Seattle continues to gurgle through the innards of each city's respective governments, but now SeaTac wants a bite.

The SeaTac City Council voted Nov. 26 to declare a portion of North Highline near SeaTac as a "potential annexation area." The neighborhood in question is between Des Moines Memorial Drive and the Tukwila city limits around Hilltop Elementary School and Hilltop Park. The mainly residential neighborhood is bound on the north by South 116th Street and on the south by South 128th Street.

A study done for the city of SeaTac determined there are about 1,300 housing units in its potential annexation area.

Meanwhile a committee of the Seattle City Council last week recommended transferring ownership of the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries from the King County Rural Library District to the Seattle Public Library "in the event of certain annexations in the unincorporated North Highline area."

A changeover in government would mean the book collections in both libraries would be turned over to the King County library system. New collections would then be acquired for the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries with Seattle Public Library funds.

"I want to be proactive," said Kenny Pittman, a senior policy analyst with the Seattle Office of Policy Management who's been steering the North Highline annexation proposal through city channels. He feels the increasing warmth of the statutory deadline for an established city to annex North Highline. It has to be done by 2015 and no city has begun negotiating agreements for taking over water and sewer systems as well as fire and rescue services in North Highline. Pittman hopes to start those discussions in the coming year.

The annexation of North Highline also is resonating in Olympia.

Next month, lobbyists for the city of Seattle will again try to convince state legislators to make Seattle eligible to collect a portion of state sales taxes collected within its city limits. Being able to collect the tax would help fill the financial gap between how much tax revenue would be generated in North Highline versus the expense of providing city services to the newly annexed area.

Existing legislation limits the tax collection program to cities with fewer than 400,000 residents. With Seattle the lone exception to the rule, city lobbyists will work on persuading legislators to let Seattle collect the same portion of state sales tax as other cities, Pittman said.

Another change being sought is an increase in how much of the state sales tax cities can take. Currently there's a $3 million limit. Lobbyists hope to expand the limit to $5.6 million, Pittman said.

Last year, similar amendments were approved by the Washington House of Representatives. However the legislation died in committee in the Senate.

The other active participant in North Highline's annexation is the city of Burien, which wants to settle an uncertainty with Seattle.

Apparently two Washington cities have never before competed to annex the same area. About a year ago, Seattle and Burien each designated North Highline as a "potential annexation area."

Mike Martin, Burien city manager, said the state Growth Management Act offers no process for resolving such turf battles. King County will have to invent a procedure to determine which city would have precedence when it comes to annexation, he said. Until then, the cities of Burien and Seattle are considering going to mediation with King County's alternative dispute resolution program.

Newly elected members of the Burien City Council will officially join the council in early January. Burien city officials will wait for them to get settled in their new positions.

Whichever city tries to annex North Highline, it will be North Highline residents who will ultimately decide which city to join.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at 932-0300 or timstc@robinsonnews.com