The economic downturn has continued taking its toll on Burien's coffers as sales tax revenue for the month of June was down 18 percent. With that in mind, last week's city council meeting focused on economic development through partnerships with neighboring communities that are facing similar struggles.

Among the items up for discussion was the legislative agenda for the Southwest King County Economic Development Initiative (SKCEDI), a partnership of Burien, Tukwila, Des Moines, Normandy Park and SeaTac, along with the Port of Seattle, Highline Community College and King County.

Together, SKECDI communities are committed to stimulating business development, real estate investment and the growth of job opportunities in local economies. Dick Loman, Burien economic development manager, said that with the shortages they're all facing, communities have worked together to select identical or complementary legislative priorities in order to increase the likelihood of raising funds during this next legislative session.

The priorities include funding for the Running Start, K-12 and Technical College programs, and extending SR-509 to I-5 piece-by-piece, rather than securing the funding for the entire project upfront.

As Burien's representative on SKCEDI, Councilman Gordon Shaw expressed his general support of the priorities and specifically called out the expanded support of "Running Start" as a chance to give students a "leg-up" in getting through their first two years of college.

The council provided unanimous approval of the SKECDI agenda.

Also on the agenda was approval of Burien's legislative policies and priorities for the coming legislative sessions at the state and federal level. Government relations specialist Lisa Clausen presented drafts of both documents for the year.

The policies include securing economic development in the Northeast Redevelopment Area, seeking funding for transportation and infrastructure needs, restoring salmon habitat, public safety and emergency preparedness, issues related to the annexation of North Highline and supporting and strengthening Burien's educational, parks & recreational offerings for the community's children.

The legislative policies are guidelines to identify the specific priorities or projects for which Burien will request state and federal funding.

Priorities thus far include requesting $4 million in federal funding to improve access between SR-518 and the Northeast Redevelopment Area, along with an additional $5 million in federal funding for the pilot of a joint development program between the Port of Seattle and Burien.

As the state's legislative session progresses, the city council will move ahead with additional funding requests for a new community center, for issues related the annexation of North Highline and to address new federal mandates related to the pollution of storm runoff.

With last week's approval of the draft guidelines, city staff will now formalize the policies and priorities for meetings the Burien's legislative delegation later this year.