Burien lawmakers slow down White Center annexation process

Burien lawmakers opted July 18 to slow down a bit the decision process on White Center annexation by postponing a formal discussion until Aug. 15.

Council members will receive the results of a study of the financial viability of annexing White Center by consultants Berke and Associates on Aug. 1.

But City Manager Mike Martin said the report would not come in the usual packet of agenda information lawmakers receive on the Friday before a council meeting. The packet is also made available to the public on the city's website.

The lawmakers agreed they wanted a chance to study the report and formulate questions before discussing annexation in depth.

The consultant is scheduled to make a presentation on Aug. 15, so council members decided to wait until then for a formal dialogue.

That is one day before the deadline for mailing ballots in this year's primary election.

Parks Board member Ed Dacy and Planning Commission member Greg Duff are challenging councilwoman Lucy Krakowiak, who was the lone vote against Boulevard Park annexation.

Councilman Gordon Shaw is also in a primary battle with Bob Edgar and Joey Martinez.

Annexation opponents have accused city officials of rushing through a decision on annexation during the summer while Burien residents are distracted.

King County Library System board members are anxious for an annexation decision so they can deal with a recommendation by library staff to close the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries and build a new library.

Martin had previously indicated he might be able to supply study draft information before Aug. 1 if it was deemed accurate and reliable.

Instead, Martin provided a one-page agenda summary that stated, "Initial, draft data seems to indicate the annexation is financially viable, largely because of a sales tax credit offered by the state as an incentive."

The state is offering a $5 million per year sales tax credit to whichever city annexes the area. The credit is for 10 years.

Krakowiak said she discussed annexation with a Seattle City Council member who told her the financial figures did not work out favorably for Seattle.

She said she wanted Burien's consultants to provide a comparison with Seattle's figures.

While saying he wanted to slow down the decision process, Councilman Jack Block presented a non-financial argument in favor of annexing the remainder of unincorporated North Highline.

Letter States That Bob Edgar Has Withdrawn From Burien Council ...

By Ralph Nichols

Is Bob Edgar a candidate for Burien City Council Position 4, currently held by Gordon Shaw? Or has he withdrawn from the race?

Edgar filed for office with King County Elections prior to the June 10 deadline but, according to a letter (PDF file) obtained by The B-Town Blog, declared two weeks later that he would not seek election.

In a June 20 letter to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission (PDC), which monitors campaign financing, he stated “I … contacted King County Elections and requested to withdraw from the upcoming election for the Burien City Council position No. 4”:

King County Elections advised him to contact the PDC, which in turn said he didn’t need to file candidate reporting forms with that agency, “but I did need to send you a letter that stated that I would not be seeking office and would not be accepting and spending funds for this election.

“This letter,” signed by Edgar, “has been written to meet this requirement of your offices.”

In attempting to determine that Edgar was the sender of this letter, and also ask why he withdrew from the council race, the B-Town Blog left several voice messages for him today (July 20), none of which were returned.

Because Edgar advised King County Elections that he was pulling out of the race only after the automatic June 17 cutoff date for withdrawing, his name, by law, will still appear on the Aug. 16 primary ballot along with those of Shaw and challenger Joey Martinez .

It will also remain in Elections’ online voters’ guide (see it online here ) as well as in the printed version.

Candidates for election, including local positions, are required to submit campaign finance information with the PDC within two weeks of filing for office.

Edgar did not file with the PDC, as indicated in his letter to the agency, and his name doesn’t appear in the agency’s list of candidates on its website.

In a posted follow-up to a Letter to the Editor posted on this blog on July 18 , in which he criticizes the use of “smoke and mirrors” by those supporting annexation of North Highline, Edgar left the following Comment:

The Pacific reporter

USA today

The Survey

Imprimis

The House of Commons, 1690-1715