Planning Commission, City Manager Search, Miller Creek Enhancements, DESC Interlocal Agreement
The Burien City Council appointed new members to the Planning Commission, issued a proclamation to raise awareness about infertility, continued discussions of city manager search, approved an agreement in support of the Miller Creek Enhancement Project, and approved an agreement regarding the DESC Burien housing development.
New Planning Commission Members Appointed
The Burien City Council appointed new members to the Planning Commission Rocco DeVito, August Hahn, Lena Pace, and Charles Schaefer. Mahamed Jama and Rebecca Gobeille were selected as alternates.
Proclamation Raises Awareness During Infertility Awareness Week
The City Council issued a proclamation in support of Infertility Awareness Week. The week seeks to raise awareness of infertility and the barriers faced by people building their families.
Federal Funding Requests Support Youth Services, Infrastructure, and Housing
The City Manager provided an update on current requests for federal funding for projects to benefit Burien. The items are on the City Council’s federal legislative agenda. The requests that have been submitted to Burien’s federal representatives Senator Cantwell and Senator Murray include:
- Enhanced youth services - $400,000
- SR 518 Interchange - $3 million
- King County Metro Transit Oriented Development Housing Project at Burien Transit Center - $6 million
City Council agreed to sign a letter in support of a transit-oriented development (TOD) at the Burien Transit Center by requesting $6 million of federal congressionally directed funding to supplement existing King County funding. This project was envisioned as part of the development of the Burien Transit Center and could support the building of more workforce housing in the heart of downtown Burien, a goal of the Burien Urban Center Plan adopted in 2019.
In addition, the City is seeking a direct spending request from Representative Jayapal for $400,000 to fully fund the Enhanced Youth Services request from last session, where the Representative successfully advocated for the City to receive $300,000 of the $700,000 request for this work. Staff are also evaluating the possibility of applying for a Department of Justice Grant to fully fund this effort. The proposal would deliver a multi-faceted approach to prevent and intervene in the involvement of youth in gang/group activity, substance abuse, and other negative behaviors by disrupting pathways into the criminal legal system and incarceration. The project invests in young people’s future by providing opportunities for personal, professional, and financial growth through programs, services, and support. Case managers would use a person-centered, strength-based, restorative justice approach to help youth and families establish action plans to meet their education, employment, housing, economic advancement, and legal status goals.
The City applied for a programmatic direct spending request of $300,000 through Representative Jayapal to add staffing to the Region 10 Army Corps of Engineers to support processing of local jurisdiction permits in a more timely manner.
The City is also seeking $5 million to fund a solution for the Boulevard Park stormwater, flooding, septic and sewer issues. This was a Water Resources Development Act Grant application made through Representative Jayapal.
Community Invited to Help Develop Burien’s Recovery Roadmap
The City Manager provided an update on outreach that has been done in support of the Recovery Roadmap project, encouraging people to take the survey, attend a community meeting, and share the engagement opportunities with their networks. Opportunities to weigh in on are detailed at burienwa.gov/RecoveryRoadmap.
City Manager Job Posting Announcement Approved
Ryan Cotton of GovHRUSA provided an update on the steps involved in the city manager recruitment and hiring process. He also previewed a recruitment brochure and job posting, inviting feedback from councilmembers on both. The City Council approved the job posting. The City Council and City leadership team will also be going through an assessment process using the Kolbe Index (Instinct Test).
Council Supports Agreement in Support of Miller Creek Daylighting Project
The City Council added to the consent agenda of the next regular business meeting a memorandum of agreement between the City and Seattle Public Utilities to reconstruct a water main where it will cross the soon-to-be relocated Miller Creek.
The Miller Creek Daylighting Project improves water quality and habitat along Miller Creek as it flows through Port of Seattle property in the Northeast Redevelopment Area along the Miller Creek Trail and where it crosses into SeaTac. In addition to installing water quality treatment infrastructure, the project will treat stormwater from the surrounding urban area by creating new vegetated floodplains. The project also daylights Miller Creek with natural stream features including pools and riffles, vegetation for shading, and stream boulders and logs to help aerate the creek.
The existing creek is steep, making it difficult for fish to pass through a small aging culvert and then into a pipe on private property under a public storage facility. The proposed improvements lengthen and flatten the creek and daylight a large segment of the creek by relocating the Des Moines Memorial Drive culvert crossing to the south. The new culvert will be a 17 feet-wide fish passable box culvert, eliminating an existing barrier to salmon.
Construction will begin later this year to work around a fish passage window.
Interlocal Agreement Ensures Third of Community Members at New Supportive Housing Development Are Burien Residents
The City Council placed on the consent agenda of the next regular business meeting an interlocal agreement between the City of Burien, King County Regional Homelessness Authority, and Downtown Emergency Services Center. The agreement ensures that at least 30 percent of the units in the new DESC Burien supportive housing development be for people identified as living in Burien at the time the building is completed.
Photo credit: Port of Seattle.