Burien City Council members were lucky enough on April 2 to view modeled apparel for the Trash Fashion Show.
Two students from the Highline School District's Occupational Skills Center, who created outfits made from recycled goods, modeled them for the lawmakers and audience.
"This is the liveliest council meeting I've been to," Mayor Joan McGilton observed after the presentation.
Turning to annexation, the council was told that House Bill 1139 would give Seattle $2.4 million in sales tax credits if the measure becomes law and that city subsequently annexes the North Highline unincorporated area.
The state funds would help Seattle offset the costs of providing city services in the North Highline area.
But under legislation approved last year, Burien would get only $600,000 in sales tax credits if it annexes the North Highline area.
Both Burien and Seattle have designated North Highline as a potential annexation area. A decision on which city gets to move forward with annexation will be made by the Growth Management Hearings Board this summer.
The bill was sponsored in the House by Rep. Jim McDermott, D-West Seattle, whose 34th Legislative District includes much of Burien and North Highline.
Council members had been optimistic that the bill would die in the House, but City Manager Mike Martin said it appears to have gained new life.
HB 1139 has been put under a "place holder" that will spare it from sharp cuts in the amount appropriated, which could have killed it.
"There's no reason Seattle should get more money than we do," Councilwoman Sally Nelson protested last month. "We should ask for the same amount of money that they are getting."
In other business, lawmakers appointed five new members to the Burien Business and Economic Development Partnership. They are:
Mary Averett, dean of special studies at Highline Community College; Geri Fain, deputy superintendent of the Highline School District; Michael Goldsmith, general manager of the new Elliott Bay Brewery in Burien; Janet Voget, an attorney with offices in Seattle and a member of the Downtown Seattle Association; and Karen Lautermilch, a senior administrator at Highline Medical Center.
Mark Minium, a principal at Burien Honda, and Burien attorney Doug Moreland were reappointed to the panel.
