Here are notes from Monday night’s (May 4th) City Council meeting:
BURIEN LITTLE THEATRE:
Bill & Peggy Hunts Playwrights Festival started May 1st, and tickets are on sale now. For more information about the plays selected visit www.burienlittletheatre.com. Play read-throughs with question and answer session to follow will be open to the public and are by donation.
This is a unique opportunity for community members to see the actors off the stage and meet the authors for a question and answer session following the readings.
Funds raised go to Hospitality House, “They need the money and you need to get out more,†said BLT VP Eric Dickman.
COMMUNITIES COUNT, SOCIAL & HEALTH INDICATORS IN OUR COMMUNITY:
King County released a report showing indicators that things have gotten better and worse in our communities.
Improvements showed in:
- Areas of crime
- Motor accident
- Infant mortality
- Teen births
- Tobacco use
Things worsened in these categories:
- Affordable housing
- Child poverty
- Families with health insurance
- Obesity
- Binge drinking
The studies found that people whom own their homes pay more than the 30% of recommended taxes, which rose from 38% to 41%. For renters the situation is not much better. Burien residents who have low income ($33,500 or less) cannot afford the average rent in Burien.
Burien’s median home price of $455K is down in 2009 to $369K. The decrease shows promise for potential buyers; however, the price range could still prove to be a struggle in difficult economic times.
For complete details on the report please visit www.communitiescount.org
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:
Apartments damaged last summer by fire are ready to be reopened.
Burien City Council will be moving to the new city hall on May 16th, with hopes for the move to happen over just one day. On Monday, May 18th city hall will be closed for set up of offices.
The city’s annual Clean Sweep went well.
The city’s Natural Yard Care program is coming up May 7th, 14th, & 21st at Chelsea Park Elementary School. All are encouraged to participate and learn more about environmentally-friendly yard maintenance.
BURIEN BUDGET NEWS:
Tabitha Miller, Finance Director, reports that Burien’s financial department predicts the recession (in Burien) will last through the last quarter of 2010, which is twice what had been initially anticipated.
Issues surrounding cuts caused intense discussion from the council. Members wanted more details for each of the proposed cuts as well as a continued discussion at the next council meeting to review potential impacts to the community and its residents.
“I have been a resident since ’65 and haven’t seen anything like this,†said Councilmember Gordon Shaw. “It’s more than just a city revenue problem. I think we have to come up with out of the box ways to make this work.â€Â
Burien’s financial department compiled a list of questions and concerns from the council about the budget cuts and will revisit the findings at upcoming council meetings.
Do the projections include the net cost/revenue of the annexation? It seems it would be important to know that before proceeding with the annexation at this time.