City Government

News release:

Motorists might want to avoid 1st Avenue South between 140th and 146th Streets this week as grinding and asphalt work will be taking place. Traffic could be congested especially during peak travel times (mid-day/lunch hour).

Access to driveways will be limited and may require using the next available access.

Please plan for extra travel time or consider alternative routes to destinations along 1st Avenue South.

The project is nearing completion with the final layer of asphalt coating to be applied within the next few weeks, weather permitting.

On May 22nd from 2:30-4:30 p.m., members of the Highline Forum will meet at Burien’s City Hall Council Chambers, 400 S.W. 152nd St. The public is invited to make comments at the start of the meeting. The city of Burien is hosting the meeting and the theme is education with a larger focus around regional partnerships.

The Highline Forum includes the southwest King County communities of Des Moines, Burien, Normandy Park, SeaTac, Tukwila and Federal Way and the Highline School District, Highline Community College and Port of Seattle.

City of SeaTac press release:

The SeaTac City Council received a proposed petition from an independent group known as the SeaTac Committee for Good Jobs, in order to collect signatures for an initiative entitled “Setting Minimum Employment Standards for Hospitality and Transportation Workers.”

Committee representatives are in the process of seeking the required 1,541 signatures, which is 15% of the registered voters from the November, 2011 City elections.
While the City will follow through on the initiative process as required by State Law and City Code, the Initiative was filed by the independent group.

It has come to the attention of the City of SeaTac that members of the public may attend upcoming Council Meetings to comment on the proposed initiative. While the City understands that members of the public may have strong opinions on either side of this issue, it is imperative that City facilities not be used to either promote or oppose any current or proposed ballot measure.

Burien Mayor Brian Bennett has announced he will not run for re-election.

He has endorsed Burien Planning Commissioner Joey Martinez to replace him.
Bennett told our news partner, the Burien Daily, “Joey is a strong candidate and I believe he will make a great city council member for the residents of Burien.”

Bennett told the Highline Times he has “too much going on” with his family and work.

Although he says he has been approached about running for the state Legislature or county council, he has no plans at this time to seek another public office.

He said he doesn’t want to sacrifice the time away from his three and five-year old children. Although he says he will still be involved with the community, he noted he is not much of a meeting person.

“I need a break,” Bennett said. “I want to concentrate on kids, soccer practice and my day job.”

Bennett’s day job is as a business and technology attorney for F5Networks, a Seattle-based global technology company.

A Lake Burien resident, Bennett comes from a family that has lived in the Burien area for four generations.

By Matt Wendland

Burien City Council Candidate Marlene Allbright is being investigated by Washington State’s Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) after allegedly violating Washington State law by failing to file a financial statement and a declaration of candidacy.

According to State law RCW 42.17A, each candidate is required to register with the PDC within two weeks of a public announcement of candidacy.

For the full story, go to:
http://buriendaily.com/pdc-burien-city-council-candidate-marlene-allbrig...

Press release:

A multi-year effort spearheaded by the City of Des Moines Arts Commission to bring an outdoor gallery of sculptures to the downtown Des Moines Marina District is nearing completion. On May 17, five sculptures by Washington State artists are slated for installation at sites along Marine View Drive S and in the Marina.

Among the local artists represented, Des Moines resident George C. Scott will have one of his sculptures, a cast glass in powder-coated steel piece called “Tide Pool,” installed at Marine View Drive and S 216th Street. Another sculpture created by students in the Highline School District’s Puget Sound Skills Center welding program, will be situated at Marine View Drive and S 227th Street.

Other sculptors who will have their work included in the Arts on Poverty Bay downtown sculpture gallery include Gretchen Daiber of Leavenworth, Leo Osborne of Guemes Island, and Lin McJunkin of Conway, WA.

There will be a formal opening celebration of the Art on Poverty Bay sculpture project on Saturday, June 1, at 1 PM in the Des Moines Marina, on the Promenade to the northwest of the Harbormaster’s Office.

More than 10 tons of trash and recycled materials were picked up during this year’s Burien Clean Sweep event on April 20.

Discover Burien Event Manager Debra George reported 3.3 tons of garbage and 7.17 tons of recycled materials was gathered for a total of 10.47 tons.

She also reported on previous year’s totals:

2012 5.54 Tons + 942 Lbs Monitors + 389 Lbs of Mixed Electronic
2011 8.2 Tons
2010 5.9 Tons
2009 8.15 Tons
2008 7.61 Tons
2007 8.66 Tons
2006 6.75 Tons
2005 10.82 Tons
2004 9.88 Tons
2003 12.06 Tons
2002 7.72 Tons
2001 9.82 Tons
2000 13.72 Tons
1999 9.73 Tons

Press release:

The SeaTac City Council voted at its last meeting to appoint seven members and two alternates to serve on the newly formed Community Building Committee. The committee will serve in an advisory capacity to the SeaTac City Council, and is charged with:

· Researching best practices of other jurisdictions and vetting those ideas within the community.
· Fostering communication and building trust with all City departments and within the community.
· Acting as a sounding board for projects and programs under development by the City.
· Seeking innovative, community-based ideas through sustainable, two-way communication within the community.
· Participating in existing city, school and community meetings and events to bridge communication gaps and promote active participation and community engagement.

By Shakira Ericksen

The Des Moines City Council will have some tough choices to make, regarding who will become their newest member.

Eight candidates interviewed for the vacant council seat at the April 25 council meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting Mayor Dave Kaplan had all the candidates draw a card from the deck, deciding the order on which they spoke. Each candidate had three minutes to deliver a statement then was asked one question from each council member.

The majority of council members were interested in whether or not the candidate was interested in a short term position or if they were planning on running for election in the fall, what were their priorities for Des Moines, and what they thought they could bring to the council.

The candidates themselves displayed the diversity of Des Moines, coming from all walks of life--small business owners, a student, a serial board member, a builder, a fitness trainer and a community organizer. Some were long-term residents, others born and raised and some of them just newly arrived.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray joined other officials on Friday, April 26 in a groundbreaking ceremony for the Angle Lake light-rail station to be built at South 200th Street and 28th Avenue South in SeaTac.

Preliminary construction is already underway at Sea-Tac Airport and project construction is set to begin this month. The station is slated to open in September 2016, four years earlier than originally planned.

The sped-up construction schedule is designed to alleviate parking pressure at the Tukwila International Boulevard Station. The new 200th station will feature a 700 parking garage as well as a temporary surface parking lot. The surface lot may go away when light rail is extended to the Kent/Des Moines Road-Highline Community College area in 2023.

The early opening will also coincide with the opening of the University of Washi