The City of Burien announced that the Mathison Park expansion project, which will include an accessible pathway extending the length of the park from north to south, along with trail viewpoints and interpretive signs, new playground and swings as well as additional benches and picnic tables, is scheduled to be completed sometime in late fall.

An interesting aspect of the park development will be the planting of native vegetation, along with interpretive signage identifying these plant species.

Another interesting part of this project was that the city contracted with a company to bring in around 100 hungry goats in February, when they ate up blackberry bushes, ivy and other invasive plants (watch the video we did on the goats here).

The five-acre park, which is located at 533 S 146th Street, officially opened and was dedicated on September 15, 2006.

Most of the land was donated to the City of Burien by Ted Mathison in 1999.

Contractor W. Sundstrom, contractor for the Town Square Park project, was awarded the bid to do the work.

(Photo courtesy Burien Parks)

Scott -

Got back, about an hour ago, from the City of Burien’s community meeting at Boulevard Park Presbyterian Church earlier tonight (Thurs., Aug. 28). Topic: proposed annexation of North Highline and the temporary withdrawal of the City of Burien’s request to pursue said annexation.

About 45 people attended, and one could reasonably assume that a goodly portion of the attendees (this correspondent included) would have preferred to view, live, the televised acceptance speech of Senator Obama. Must rely on delayed broadcast for that.

About half of those in attendance were Boulevard Park residents, and about half of those are home owners. As noted by one attendee, most everyone there was Caucasian and not exactly springing from the younger side of life.

But all were earnest, many were skeptical, and few were without opinion.

While this was only my second meeting regarding the annexation proposal, I believe I came away with some accurate observations:

Burien City Manager Mike Martin is a very decent fellow, with a reserve of patience greater than that which most folks, myself included, would likely muster and maintain in assemblages such as tonight’s.

“This annexation, if approved, will be revenue neutral,” Mike said. “This move would not make a dime for Burien, nor cost Burien a dime. In that sense, financially, annexation as proposed would be a wash.”

Mike said this several times, not because he is a repetitive person, or one who forgets what he just said, or loves the sound of his voice.

The reason Mike said this more than once is because it is the truth and because some in the audience either weren’t listening or suffer from CDS (Chronic Disbelief Syndrome).

With respect to emergency services, I think it’s pretty clear that the King County Sheriff’s Office works quite smoothly with local police departments.

And for Pete’s sake, does anyone really think the good men and women of any Fire Department would indeed fail to respond to an emergency because it’s occurring a block or two beyond a city boundary? Of course this won’t be allowed to happen.

The only things that should be left to helplessly smolder are the scare tactics of some and the ignorant fears of a few others.

Scott, I know you were looking for a Wake ‘Em Up in The Morning Headline, but frankly, I think the temporary withdrawal of the annexation request is a wise, brief and prudent move.

Perhaps the headline for this report should be: Extra! Extra! Sometimes Truth is Dull.

Well, gotta go, Scottso. Somewhere sits a PBS station ready to roll tape on Barack and Michelle and those two cute kids of theirs.

First, a snippet from Seattle Councilmember Richard Conlin as quoted on another Seattle-based blog:

“…unless Burien is prepared to make significant change in its proposal…” 

Mayor Joan’s reaction to Mr. Conlin’s statement:

“Burien has consistently acknowledged the role Seattle has in the proposed annexation of the North Highline Area. Seattle chooses to not negotiate directly with Burien.  The City of Seattle’s Position Statement filed with the Washington State Boundary Review Board for King County filed on August 18, 2008 clearly misinterprets Burien actions to move forward with annexation.

In the best interests of all parties, Burien chooses to withdraw its current request so that the Boundary Review Board can focus on the merits of annexation rather than on the procedural and legal issues.

Burien wishes to take the “high road” and have our neighbors to the north ask the probing questions so that when this comes to a vote, they are truly informed of the actions that are in their best interest as a community.”

We’ll have a full report from tonight’s Annexation Open House, which will surely provide more quotes and controversy in this ongoing political chess match of words, so please check back later or subscribe to our RSS feed for up-to-date news.

Just got off the phone with Gordon Shaw, Burien native and City Councilmember, who offered up this exclusive, yet rather fiery quote about the North Highline/White Center annexation withdrawal political game currently being played out between Burien and Seattle:

“The efforts Burien has made so far have been stymied by Seattle and King County to a certain degree because of preference for Seattle to annex North Highline.

But clearly Seattle is not ready to do it.

To oppose Burien’s annexation efforts on the substance of annexation is one thing, but to oppose it on procedure that we all know is going to change in 30 days is bullshit!” 

For more fiery talk, including what’s sure to be a lively interactive question and answer session, you can come to tonight’s Annexation Open House at 6:30pm at Boulevard Park Presbyterian Church (see map below).

It appears that the political war of words is just starting folks, so stay tuned.

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Here’s a quote from Jenn Ramirez-Robinson, Management Analyst at the Burien City Manager’s Office:

“In brief, the City of Burien has withdrawn its current request to annex a portion of North Highline but plans to re-file later this year.

We are still committed to the annexation process and will continue to do educational open houses in the North Highline Area, including the Open House tonight at 6:30 PM at the Boulevard Park Presbyterian Church.”

We are currently investigating why the city is withdrawing now, only to re-file “later this year.”

Rest assured, tonight’s Open House should be even more interesting, especially with this latest development.

Here’s the press release from the City of Burien website:

Burien Withdraws North Highline Annexation Request

The City of Burien has notified the Boundary Review Board of King County that it is withdrawing its current request to annex the southern portion of the North Highline unincorporated area.  The City plans to re-file an annexation request later this year after completion of a new round of negotiations with King County and the cities of SeaTac and Seattle regarding the proposed annexation boundary.

The Burien City Council authorized submittal of the “Notice of Intent” to annex part of North Highline in May 2008.  The Notice of Intent was filed with the Boundary Review Board in late June after the approval of new countywide planning policies allowing the annexation request to proceed.  The timing of Burien’s filing was challenged by the City of Seattle and the North Highline Fire District on legal grounds.

“In the interest of having the community and the Boundary Review Board focus on the merits of annexation rather than upon procedural and legal issues, we believe that it is in the best interest of the parties for the City to withdraw its current Notice of Intent,” said Mike Martin, Burien’s city manager.

The delay in the annexation process allows the cities and County to meet to discuss substantive issues related to annexation, including providing adequate urban services within annexed portions of North Highline and any remaining unincorporated area.

“We’ve tried to get Seattle to the table for almost a year to resolve these issues but they have been  unwilling to meet with us,” Martin explained.  “For whatever reason, they’ve changed their mind now and  appear willing to talk. We wish for the sake of the North Highline residents Seattle would have come to that conclusion sooner, but better late than never.”

Now, for the first time, Burien is able to consider the specific and detailed concerns of the North Highline Fire District that were filed with the Boundary Review Board.  While the City of Burien has no authority over the current or future operations of the fire district, “we will encourage the North Highline and Burien/Normandy Park fire districts to resolve their differences in the interest of providing quality services in the areas they serve,” said Martin.

The City has offered to start negotiations immediately, with the goal of reaching a successful resolution of issues by the end of the year.  Martin added, “Our City values trust, integrity, communication and collaboration.  It is in this spirit that we are ready to take one step back in order to help our neighbors in North Highline move many steps forward.”

The City of Burien will be holding a series of informational open houses, at various locations, to answer questions about what annexation will mean for the people within the proposed annexation area.

This is a great opportunity for area residents to investigate what the City of Burien’s plans are, ask questions of city officials and determine the impact that annexation might have on your lives.

The first open house is coming up Thursday, Aug. 28th:

WHEN: Thursday, August 28, 2008 from 6:30-8:00 p.m.

WHERE: Boulevard Park Presbyterian Church, 1822 South 128th Street

Format:

• There will be a presentation followed by a Question and Answer session.
• Refreshments will be provided.
• Supervised play activities for children will be available
• Interpreter services can be arranged if requested in advance

Download a pdf version of the flyer for the Open House.

More info at the City of Burien website.

MAP:

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As always, the meeting is open to the public.

There proposed annexation area can be seen here:

Here’s the official notice via the King County website:

WASHINGTON STATE BOUNDARY REVIEW BOARD FOR KING COUNTY

CITY OF BURIEN – NORTH HIGHLINE ANNEXATION – FILE NO. 2281

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the WASHINGTON STATE BOUNDARY REVIEW BOARD FOR KING COUNTY will hold a public hearing at the hour of 7:00 PM on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. If required Thursday, September 4, 2008 has also been set aside. The hearing will take place at the Riverside Residences Inn, 11244 Tukwila International Blvd, Seattle, WA. The Hearing Room/Building is located behind the main building of the Inn. The purpose of the hearing is to consider proposed annexation to the City of Burien of an area known as “North Highline” all in King County, Washington.

To reclassify certain Real Property lying northerly of the City of Burien and the City of Sea-Tac City Limits, lying easterly of the City of Seattle City Limits, lying westerly of the City of Tukwila City Limits, lying southerly of SW ll2th St., SW 116th St., South 107th St, and described as all or portions of Section 1 and Section 2, Township 23N. Range 3E and Sections 4 through 9, Township 23N, Range 4E, W.M., all in King County, Washington.

A COMPLETE LEGAL DESCRIPTION IS ON FILE AND AVAILABLE AT THE OFFICE OF THE BOUNDARY REVIEW BOARD.

The Boundary Review Board conducts all meetings and hearings in locations that are wheelchair accessible. Any person requiring other disability accommodations or special assistance should contact the Boundary Review Board staff at least two business days prior to the meeting.

The Boundary Review Board telephone is 206-296-6800. For TTY telephone services. please call 711.

Each request for accommodations or assistance will be considered individually according to the type of request, the availability of resources and the financial ability of the Board to provide the requested services or equipment.

DATED at Seattle, Washington, this 21st day of July 2008.

WASHINGTON STATE BOUNDARY
REVIEW BOARD FOR KING COUNTY

Lenora Blauman
Executive Secretary

Map to Riverside Residences Inn:

View Larger Map

PCC Natural Markets and Whole Foods also are carrying the products in their Puget Sound area locations.

That’s all happened this past year, as the 9-year-old business has expanded its sales beyond its own storefront and begun competing against much larger companies on supermarket shelves.

“We are keeping one step ahead of everybody else. As a small business, that’s the only way to compete in the big arena,” said Glen Rosser, who’s heading business development for the Australian Pie Co.

A native of Australia who now lives in Mountlake Terrace, Rosser joined the company in 2006 after tasting its products.

“I walked in there, said I believed his product was impeccable and had real potential. I felt it was an injustice such a great product wasn’t more available,” said Rosser, 32.

Angus Wood, 40 and also hailing from Australia, began baking his meat pies out of frustration at not finding a suitable pie after he moved to the United States. Soon, other Australian expatriates began asking for the pies he baked in his house. By 1998, he launched his Burien bakery, selling products there and then through mail order.

The places where the bakery has ended up sending its products show their wide appeal, Rosser said. They’ve gone everywhere, from Hollywood film sets to transplanted Australians living in Wyoming.

While Wood initially set out to replicate a taste of home, he ended up creating a relatively health-conscious product as well. The company’s puff pastry, for example, is made of wheat flour and contains no trans fat, no cholesterol and no artificial additives. Many of its products, except for the meat pies, are vegan friendly.

It also happens to taste good enough to develop loyal fans. Geoff Wall of Piccadilly Circus, a British restaurant and pub in Snohomish, drops by the Burien bakery whenever he’s in that area.

“It’s excellent. I’ve eaten all of his stuff,” Wall said.

That reputation for tastiness and quality ingredients has been a selling point as Rosser has tried to convince stores to give the Aussie Bakery products a shot. Up until now, most stores have carried one nationally produced brand of frozen puff pastry. Central Market’s Poulsbo-based parent was one of the first to give the company shelf space.

“They really believed in us, they really gave us our big shot,” Rosser said.

Other stores have followed their lead, including Haggen and Top Foods, QFC, Whole Foods and PCC Natural Markets. Whole Foods also is giving Aussie Bakery’s fruit pies a place at its Northwest stores.

But fighting for shelf space in the first place isn’t even half the battle.

“Getting in the stores is not difficult if you have a good product with good packaging,” Rosser said. “They key is staying in the stores.”

So far, sales at most stores of Aussie Bakery’s frozen pastry have been good, meriting continued shelf space. Wood estimates the bakery’s sales over the past year have increased 30 percent to 40 percent.

“It’s fantastic to see the products out there,” he said. “It’s exciting to make an impact on the food world.”

The company is now talking to other supermarket chains and looking at distributing to stores in Oregon and California as well.

Additionally, Aussie Bakery pies can be found in cafes around Microsoft’s campus and are being sold on AmazonFresh, the online retailer’s grocery service.

So far, ramping up production to meet the greater demand from wider distribution hasn’t been a problem. Some customized machinery and an efficient production team of four people have been enough so far, Wood and Rosser said.

Rosser, who worked at the Shanghai Commercial School in Asia before moving to be near his wife’s parents in Snohomish County, said he’s happy to see the company’s products getting recognition and respect on store shelves.

And with just one of the Aussie Bakery products out in stores right now, there seems to be plenty of room to grow.

“I think we’ve only scratched the surface,” Wood said.

Stop into The Australian Pie Company soon and let ‘em know the B-Town Blog sent ya!

SOURCE:

• The Everett Herald