By Jack Mayne
Five Burien City Council members spent over three hours Monday nigh (Sept. 25) wading once again through the Council’s own meeting guidelines, a matter that has taken up hours in the past year or so as squabbles have erupted over members using social media, then others pushing for a total reworking.
With Councilmembers Lauren Berkowitz and Stephen Armstrong excused absentees, Deputy Mayor Nancy Tosta wondered why, once again, the body was going over old internal business.
“I am frustrated that again we are spending an entire study session on this topic when I think we have much more important things we should be working on,†Tosta said at outset of the session. “Like working on like thinking about the future of our city and some of the challenges that our community has identified.
“This (reviewing of guidelines) is internal processing,†she said. “We know the document in flawed, we know it’s redundant. My preference would much have been to ask our city attorney to give us a simplified document reflecting many of those things we have discussed.â€
Tosta added that it was “my deep frustration that we keep going over and over this which in many ways are just an attempt to manage each other,†Tosta said before plunging back into the minutia of the guidelines until after 10 p.m.]]>
COPY OF PREVIOUS POST WITH TYPOS CORRECTED!
September 27, 2017 at 1:11 pm
I find it interesting that the council does not address the “elephant in the room†:
“Safe†Injection Sites
The Council Members postponed this topic for discussion last summer and it is not on the agenda through December, 2017.
The topic was NOT MENTIONED at the 1st City Council B-Town Blog Burien City Council Candidate Forum last evening. Can it be that of all the questions solicited for discussion during the debate there were none concerning this hot-button topic?
There was one brief mention of it during the fray as the debate ended. It was from Council member Debbie Wagner who said:
“SIS’s are coming!â€
Exactly what I’ve been predicting. I did not get the opportunity to follow up with Debbie on her statement, but I surely hope this topic is not pushed aside at the the 2nd and last debate to be held October 3rd at Merrill Gardens.
Just submitted this for inclusion in the next form;
I would like to know how each of the four candidates; Darla Green vs. Nancy Tosta and Patty Janssen vs. Krystal Marx, stand on the possibility of a Safe Injection Site, in ANY form, being placed within the Burien City Limits and/or the Unincorporated Area of White Center?
This is a “Hot Button” issue in this city and community, I think we, the citizens of Burien and White Center, deserve to know how each of the candidate stand on the issue.
I have no doubt that this question was purposely NOT asked at the 26 Sep forum
Frank,
Ok. Great idea! I will submit a question as well. Let’s keep a tab to judge interest in this particular topic. It will be difficult to dismiss if the organizers get multitudes of questions submitted.
My question- Well, maybe its best NOT to say publicly so as not to have them preparing for a week.
Let’s just say Question #2 submitted.
So do you want them to not have time to get a informed opinion on this topic. Just because you don’t agree with it and have no personal use for it. The city council should just vote with out the proper time to investigate all options and questions about the subject.
Why not give them the time. When the state is still working on the buget for the pilot program.
I don’t see why you would be so gun ho for a vote on this issue it’s something that needs time.