Stride Bus Rapid Transit, SR 509 Completion Project, Economic Development ARPA Funds, Advisory Boards, Housing Capital Fund, Minimum Wage, Proclamations
The Burien City Council issued proclamations for Lunar New Year and Black History Month, heard presentations on Sound Transit’s expansion in Burien, Washington State Department of Transportation’s SR 509 Completion Project, American Rescue Plan Act Economic Development Funds, South King Housing and Homelessness Partners Housing Capital Fund Allocations, and advisory board recruitment, and discussed a minimum wage ordinance and managing conduct at meetings.
Lunar New Year Proclamation
The Burien City Council issued a proclamation celebrating Lunar New Year on February 10. The proclamation was accepted by Henry and Suki Chen, the owners of Wah Kue Café in Burien.
Black History Month Proclamation
The City Council also issued a proclamation recognizing February as Black History Month. The proclamation was accepted by Burien resident and author Rozella (Rozie) Kennedy.
Sound Transit Expansion in Burien and South King County Presented
Sound Transit staff presented updates on Stride Bus Rapid Transit. Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, is designed for fast, frequent, and reliable service.
Currently at the 90% design phase, work is set to begin in 2025 for the 17-mile-long S1 Line which will feature five stations and double-deck electric buses and connect the Burien Transit Center to the Bellevue Transit Center by 2028. The S2 Line would continue from Bellevue to Lynnwood by 2029, and S2 Line will connect Shoreline to Bothell by 2028.
Additional connections will be considered pending a high-capacity transit planning study funded by the Sound Transit 3 plan. Projects identified by the study may be included in a future Sound Transit 4 ballot measure.
Burien Airport Committee Composition Reduced to Five Members
Following discussion, the City Council approved Resolution No. 505, changing the composition of the Burien Airport Committee to five members, including one councilmember.
Update on American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Economic Development Funds Presented
City staff presented updates to economic development initiatives funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to help alleviate pandemic-related economic impacts.
The Economic Recovery Grants program provides $5,000 for brick-and-mortar businesses and home-based daycares to help mitigate potential job losses, business closures, decline in sales tax revenue, and loss of goods and services to the community caused by enduring economic impacts of the pandemic. To date, 74 businesses have received a total of $370,000 in grant funding. Of those, 49 were minority-owned businesses, 44 were women-owned businesses, and three were veteran-owned businesses. A diverse business outreach campaign paired with language access support and technical assistance helped drive the success of grant programs for businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is $93,000 in funding from this program has not been disbursed.
The City has also disbursed 89 Storefront Repair Grants totaling over $82,000 for small businesses that have experienced property damage to their storefronts, providing up to $1,000 for repairs such as replacement of broken window(s) or glass doors due to vandalism or crime. The City’s Business and Economic Development Partnership (BEDP) advisory board discussed what to do with the remaining $113,000 of program funds and unanimously recommended that $50,000 be allocated for continuing the program, while reallocating the remaining funds for lighting investments in commercial business areas to mitigate crime.
The BEDP has approved a process for awarding $250,000 for workforce development programs which may be awarded to one or more organizations. Workforce priority areas identified by the BEDP include creation of living wage careers, incorporating the city’s health and wellness industry, focusing on immigrant and refugee communities, youth sports, state certified apprenticeship programs, and the inclusion of diverse participants.
There is $250,000 allocated for childcare business development, which will include $10,000 to support startup costs for ten home-based daycare or childcare centers and $150,000 toward professional development services for prospective childcare business owners to prepare and launch their business. A request for proposals will launch early 2024.
The BEDP will be meeting in February to discuss options for nearly $600,000 in remaining funds originally allocated to the Economic Recovery Grant Program and FlexFund Business Lending Investment Program. The state of Washington has yet to make the FlexFund 2.0 program available, so to meet ARPA investment timing requirements other potential options will be considered.
The alternatives recommended by the BEDP will be presented to the City Council for consideration in March.
South King Housing and Homelessness Partners Housing Capital Fund Allocation Discussed
South King Housing and Homelessness Partners (SKHHP) and City staff presented recommendations for allocation of more than $5.7 million in Housing Capital Funds. The fund is supported through a percentage of sales tax receipts pooled from 11 member jurisdictions including Burien, Auburn, Covington, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Maple Valley, Normandy Park, Renton, Tukwila, and King County. The City of Burien’s total contribution in 2023 was $69,897, collected in accordance with Substitute House Bill 1406.
The first round of the Housing Capital Fund was launched in 2022, which resulted in two projects from Burien (to be built by Habitat for Humanity and Mercy Housing Northwest) receiving funds.
Four projects were recommended from the applications received in 2023:
- $1 million for Kent Multicultural Village, a 199-unit multifamily rental development adjacent to the future Kent Des Moines Link light rail station to be built by Mercy Housing Northwest for households making 30-80% average median income (AMI).
- $2.8 million for Skyway Affordable Housing and Early Learning Center in Unincorporated South King County, a 55-unit multifamily rental development with on-site support services to be built by Low Income Housing Institute for households making 30-50% AMI. There will be a 75% set-aside for families transitioning out of homelessness.
- $1.17 million for Pandion at Star Lake in Kent, a 168-unit multifaculty rental development adjacent to the future Star Lake Link light rail station for households making 30-60% AMI in addition to set-asides for families transitioning out of (or at risk of) homelessness.
- $777,306 for Victorian Place II in Des Moines, a 20-unit rehabilitation and preservation project for households making 35-50% AMI.
The City Council placed this item (Resolution No. 503) on the Consent Agenda of the next Regular Meeting.
Council Receives Briefing on SR 509 Completion Project
Staff from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) presented on the SR 509 Completion Project, which along with the SR 167 Completion Project in Pierce County comprise WSDOT’s Puget Sound Gateway Program helping people and goods move more reliably through the Puget Sound region. The $2.67 billion program is funded by federal, state, and local sources as well as from tolls.
According to WSDOT, this project “builds a new four-lane expressway between I-5 and SR 509's current end near Sea-Tac Airport, builds new I-5 ramps, improves I-5 interchanges in south King County and constructs new bridges. When complete, the project will create an important north-south alternative to the congested I-5 corridor between Seattle and south King County.”
In partnership with Sound Transit’s Federal Way Link Extension project, WSDOT built a new SR 99 bridge near South 208th Street and created new noise walls to protect neighborhoods along SR 509 for Stage 1a of the project. The bridge opened to traffic in July of 2022.
The current Stage, 1b, will build the first mile of the new SR 509 Expressway starting at 24th Avenue South, featuring new ramps to and from I-5, new interchanges, and a new bridge by 2025.
The final stage of the project, Stage 2, is currently under design and will see the remaining two miles of the SR Expressway built, reconfiguration of the SR 509 interchanges at South 188th and South 160th Streets, and addition of a southbound auxiliary lane between SR 516 and South 272nd Street on I-5. Construction on Stage 2 is expected to start this year and wrap in 2028.
The City Council placed approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with WSDOT establishing each party's responsibilities regarding design standards, costs, construction, and issue resolution on the Consent Agenda of the next Regular Meeting.
Advisory Body Recruitment and Interview Timeline Reviewed
Advisory board recruitment for 11 vacant positions closed on February 2 with 23 applications received. The City Council will select candidates to interview at their regular meeting on February 26.
Ordinance to Manage Council Meeting Conduct and Proceedings Introduced
City staff presented proposed Ordinance No. 834, which would set the date and time of council meetings, rules regarding conducts, and an enforcement component that would inform all participants of the City Council’s expectations. The ordinance was placed on the consent agenda of the next regular meeting.
Next Steps for Minimum Wage Discussed
The City Council chose to pursue a councilmanic approach to carefully increasing the minimum wage while protecting local businesses. Following discussion, the City Council directed the City Manager to take action to introduce an ordinance to establish a fair equitable minimum wage that benefits both businesses and workers in the community.
Council Reports
During the Council Reports portion of the meeting, the following councilmembers provided updates:
- Councilmember Sarah Moore requested support for her participation on the Sound Cities Association Regional Water Quality Committee, which was unanimously approved by Council.
- Councilmember Jimmy Matta shared that Burien needs to advocate for future transit options.
City Manager’s Report
During the City Manager’s Report portion of the meeting, City Manager Adolfo Bailon provided the following updates:
- Support from the Council was requested for Councilmember Hugo Garcia to participate in the Growth Management Planning Council, which was approved unanimously.
- The Highline Heritage Museum held an event on January 31 to commemorate an agreement with other municipalities in the Highline area in support of the museum.
- Recruitment for advisory boards closed on February 2.
- City staff continue to work on building a list of suggested inclusions regarding the public safety ballot initiative.
- The City's State lobbyist shared that today is an essential date in the State legislative session, known as the House of Origin fiscal cutoff.
- Council interest in participating on the Sound Cities Association Public Interest Committee was requested and Council provided unanimous support for Mayor Kevin Schilling to serve on this committee.
Planning Calendar
The City Council requested the following items be added:
- Councilmember Linda Akey requested a discussion of the date and time of council meetings.
- Deputy Mayor Stephanie Mora requested a special meeting on February 12 at 6 p.m. to discuss public safety concerns.