Burien City Council members had the opportunity on July 16 to voice their concerns to the Port of Seattle.

Port Commissioner John Creighton, who updated lawmakers on the state of the Port, noted that revenue increased by 8 percent in 2006 compared to the previous year.

"We had a very good year," Creighton said.

Council members had local concerns, however, including the controversy over the Lora Lake Apartments and problems with some windows installed by the Port as part of its noise mitigation program.

The Port owns the Lora Lake property, located inside the Burien city limits, and has leased it to the King County Housing Authority.

"Concerning the Lora Lake issue, I don't think we could have planned how big of an issue this would become," he observed.

"The main window problem was with Alpine Windows and the jobs that they did," Creighton said. The Port hired several contractors, including Alpine, to install the new windows.

Councilwoman Sally Nelson voiced concern with revenue the city has lost due to construction of the third runway, along with the traffic it has brought to the area.

"We remain committed to help Burien find other ways of economic development," Creighton said.

He assured lawmakers that growing business at the airport will lead to more economic growth in the area.