by Jack Mayne
Burien citizens will soon be able to see again communications from the public to the City Council, and at least one Councilmember will continue using Twitter and texting during meetings, the Council decided in another of their marathon sessions on Monday night.
The Council meeting Monday (July 6) also painstakingly went over proposed rules for the members to follow during their meetings, as it considered changes to its rough document from Consultant Ann McFarlane and from the Burien city staff. As is usual for this Council, many of the changes were lengthily debated as to need, to phraseology and potential impact.
Macfarlane is with Jurassic Parliament, a Seattle organization that teaches public officials how to use Robert’s Rules of Order and how to reduce “painfully long meetings†and “to eliminate discord but not dissent?â€
The B-Town Blog asked the city to make public the cost of the continuing development of meeting guidelines, and City Manager Kamuron Gurol us Tuesday that Macfarlane has an agreement for up to $5,000, and “we have received and paid invoices for about $2,000 so far,†he said, but that does not include billing for Monday (July 6) and “perhaps other billable hours.â€
“Ann has provided a two-hour training for the Council in parliamentary procedures, and she has been advising the Council and staff on amendments to our Council Meeting Guidelines and associated procedural improvements,†Gurol said.
Tweeting, texting still OK at Council; citizen letters return to meeting packet
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I am becoming increasingly appalled, disgusted,frustrated and perplexed by the insanity of L. Bezerkoitz and her ridiculousness as a Council member. Just how tall is the ladder she uses to ascend her self appointed throne? How long before her term is up anyway? N. Tosta is headed down the wrong path also unfortunately, there still is time to turn that train around I hope.
Yeah! Nevermind the law! Screw anyone who isn’t on board with our narrow views!
I wonder is this $7000 for a parking stall is this for a year a month or forever.
16 stalls thats $112,000 witch seems like a lot to some for this one business . But a good size restaurant can make any ware from a $1000 to $10,000 a day now yes a lot of that goes for bills/staff/taxes it’s not all profit.
With the help of a calculator I did some math and even at $5,000 a day 365 days a years give or take a couple of holidays there going bring in about $1,825,000 Then there bills/staff/taxes but even after all that it seems like this business makes enough money to afford $112,000 to pay for the parking there making money from. So this where I wonder about John white’s intentions Does he want the people of burien to have to pay more in taxes or does he want the city switch to pay per hour parking while his friend profits . Witch would kinda force out a lot of the middle to lower income from being able to shop and eat or possibly even work in the city. Witch ironically is most of the people that work in the restaurant field.
It is a one time expense so once you pay you pay no more for that location.
ok cool thanks the info Jack
ok well i did a little research and found some information on the amount income brought in by 909 and the tin room bar here are the links
http://www.manta.com/c/mmbqg5c/909-coffee-wine
http://www.manta.com/c/mmcdy6p/tin-room-bar
both brought in $1 to $2.5 million in 2007 so you have to figure there somewhere close to that now if not more . So for John white to think that is unfair or unjust to pay 112k for parking when these two business are bringing in a good profit just seems interesting. Then to find out this is a one time fee. So this seems like John white first wants to cut cost on fire safety codes(witch in my eyes seems nuts) then he also want to cut the city out of some money witch could lead to hire taxes for everyone in the city or the possibility of pay by hour parking. To make up the lost in the city budget on top of all the other business that won’t have to pay this fee or possibility of getting a refund on fees payed could also cause a headache for the city.
It’s a 1-time fee paid before the business has made any money so that is why the guy at the meeting called it a barrier to entry.
You should also look up labor costs and how expensive that is.
Yes labor is expensive but that is another cost that is payed back in profits. Also if you think about it $112,000 to pay for parking spots for a business that is going to be bringing in over a million dollars a year. OK the people involved in this expansion are not poor by any means. I mean $60,000 from each of the two millionaires is basically pocket change to these people.
Getting out the ice skates: I completely agree with Lauren Berkowitz. She IS being singled out. Other (not all) Councilmembers are trying to bully her into submission. Twitter and other Social Media have been used by hundreds, if not thousands, of elected officials at all ranks during meetings, including POTUS, the former Washington State Attorney General, and other tech savvy people who know they are governing in the 21st Century.
Lauren Berkowitz is definitely being singled out…And for very good reasons too because she has absolutely no business being on the Burien City Council.
I don’t know if Burien B. or Hell Froze Over have children or interact with other humans on a day to day basis but having a conversation with someone while they are on their phone is extremely disrespectful. REGARDLESS of what they are doing on their phone, they should be listening to whomever has the floor, or microphone in this case. Tweeting and posting elsewhere on social media can wait until a restroom break or until the meeting is over. I sure do not enjoy talking to someone while they are completely distracted by their phone. No one is bullying Berkowitz…she is a big girl, she can handle her own.
NVM about Burien B. your comment is perfect.
I don’t give a s*** about any of this BUT I think the people who comment should use their names you Chicken Poo Poo’s
Or at least spell their name correctly, right?
At the Council meeting Lauren Berkowitz stated that she does not text at work. But she does at the Council meetings which is a paid work site for her too. This is rude to the citizens who pay her salary, the other Council members who are trying to work at the meetings and the citizens who come to participate at the meetings. So why does she need to text when the meetings are broardcast on TV? The video recordings of these meetings are repeatedly shown over and over on Public TV.and the city makes discs that citizens can view at the public library too. Perhaps she texts and disturbs others to make rude editorial comments about the other Council members but her comments are not real factual reporting of what is going on at the meetings. Those pals of hers that claim they need her reports of the meetings perhaps should watch their TV.or go to the meetings for the real facts.
Lastly, Berkowitz was extremely disrespectful to the City staff at this last meeting by saying she did not trust what they write or their work. She has pretty much disrespected everyone in City Hall and the City now.
I agree.