SeaTac City Council members picked a familiar name Sept. 11 to conduct a feasibility study on annexing part of North Highline.
Berke and Associates, a consulting firm that compiled a similar report for Burien, was awarded a $56,000 contract to assess the costs to SeaTac of annexing the Boulevard Park neighborhood.
While Burien and Seattle are wrangling over annexing the entire North Highline area, SeaTac's focus is smaller.
Council members placed on the final docket of their comprehensive plan amendments a proposal to annex an area from Des Moines Memorial Drive South to Tukwila between South 128th Street and South 116th Street.
They will vote on the comprehensive plan amendments before year's end. However, after studying the costs, lawmakers could decide not to pursue annexation.
If the council does decide to annex the area, Boulevard Park residents would vote on whether they want to become part of SeaTac.
Councilman Chris Wythe questioned the cost of the study.
"It seems like a lot of money," Wythe said, noting, "$56,000 sounds pretty high to me."
He also indicated that annexation costs could be outdated if the city waits five years to annex.
Planning Director Steve Butler estimated at a previous council meeting that a consultant's study would cost $20,000 to $30,000.
City Manager Craig Ward said staffers tried to negotiate a lower price with Berke because many of the cost impacts had already been figured for Burien.
However, the consultants noted they were the only bidder and SeaTac has a different governmental system than Burien.
"They said they have given us a discount," Ward reported.
SeaTac has its own fire department while Burien contracts with King County. Both SeaTac and Burien employ police services from the King County Sheriff's Office.
Deputy Mayor Ralph Shape said, "We will get a tremendous amount of information from the study. We will be voting on the comprehensive plan in a few months, so we are in a hurry."
Added Ward," While we argue about the cost, we won't be doing the study and the vote looms."
Councilman Don DeHan said, "It is extremely important to have the adequate information that Burien has."
Mayor Gene Fisher suggested SeaTac poll Boulevard Park residents to see if they want to join SeaTac.
