Emotions ran high at the November 3rd Burien City Council Meeting as an organized group of public commenters both praised DESC and demanded the city take action against ICE, many recommending a Safe City Ordinance be put on the November 17th agenda. 

Meanwhile, Councilmember Linda Akey said she wants DESC to work; however expressed serious concerns about its management.

All members of the Burien City Council were present at this meeting, although Councilmember Stephanie Mora joined later.

The meeting opened with an executive session to discuss agency litigation with legal counsel. They reconvened at 5:58 PM.

DESC Presentation

Representatives of DESC Bloomside, primarily Noah Fay, Senior Housing Director, gave a presentation to explain their model, challenges they face, and how they address those issues when they arise. They touched on their housing-first model, overdose response, and how they partner with the Burien Police Department to address undesirable activity. 

Councilmember Akey, who at a previous meeting characterized the facility as a “federally funded crack house,” not only did so again, but presented a litany of concerns about everything from drug dealing to barring law enforcement from entering the building.

Akey stated she has talked with police officers and first responders who told her they weren’t allowed access inside. Fay said this is typical of a private building.

Akey said she spoke with one man who was highlighted during the presentation, who told a very different story from the one told by Mr. Fay. The man shared that it was difficult to remain sober when there are drug dealers and drug users all over the building.

Fay dismissed many of these claims as untrue, but the city manager affirmed that for the most part, Councilmember Akey’s criticisms were justified. 

Mora asked about fatal overdoses. Fay admitted there have been six (6) overdoses at DESC Bloomside since it opened in 2024.

Other council members also shared concerns regarding the supportive housing project.

Councilmember Reports

Deputy Mayor Sarah Moore attended the King County - Cities Climate Collaboration (K4C) annual meeting, where she represented Burien and learned about climate change preparedness.  She will be attending the regional affordability summit on November 14th, and congratulated the finance department for their clean audit that took place that morning.

Councilmember Akey started by congratulating the Highline Drill team on qualifying for the National Dance Team Championship, and also voiced her approval of the clean audit. She then gave a statement condemning the recent high-profile vandalism at Burien CARES and the fire that started at the historic Dottie Harper House.

Councilmember Alex Andrade condemned the recent cases of vandalism. She also said that she spoke to a “family member that was affected by ICE,” and encouraged people to check in with those they know who might be affected.

Councilmember Hugo Garcia attended the K4C meeting as well. He also visited Evergreen High School and Highline High School, where he spoke to students about civics. Finally, he shared an anecdote of a mother whose husband was arrested by ICE.

City Manager’s Report

  • Last meeting, the Council tabled the item on receiving presentations from government contractors until they received legal counsel, and the contracts are currently being reviewed.
  • The Office of the County Prosecuting Attorney shared stats on firearm-related crime in Burien.
  • The Dottie Harper House burned down recently; the cause of said fire is still under investigation.
  • The Burien Magazine has been sent out.
  • The Sound City association is looking for members of elected bodies to serve in regional committees.
  • The next City Chat, which will feature the Economic Development and Human Services departments, is on November 20th.

Public Comments

Around 11 public comments were made at the meeting, the vast majority of which focused on the issue of ICE action in Burien. In previous meetings, ICE has come up frequently in council members' statements, especially from Council member Garcia. However, in this particular meeting, ICE seemed to be the main issue on people’s minds (that and SNAP benefits being lost due to the government shutdown.)

Public commenters advocated that Burien take certain steps in response to ICE action, that they elevate this issue to the level of a civil liberties emergency, and that they prioritize it in their next meeting. Not a single comment was made in support of immigration enforcement.

Most of these commenters also thanked DESC for the presentation. However, one community member spoke out against the DESC and commented on the difficulty of residents remaining clean and sober when their fellow residents are doing drugs.

Following public comments, Kevin briefly listed the amount of money Burien donates to certain local food banks.  

Public Hearing - Budget

A public hearing was intended to take place following public comments to discuss the proposed budget for 2025-26. However, all but one of the six people who signed up to speak mistook “public hearing” for “public comment”, resulting in likely one of the shortest public hearings in Burien’s history. A single speaker encouraged the council to follow the advice of Burien’s founders not to spend too extravagantly and to be more fiscally responsible. Following this, five more public commenters, including an immigration lawyer, spoke further against ICE.

With the comically short public hearing about budget and round two of public comments over, the council recessed until around 8:05 PM.

Business Agenda

  1. Proposed Tax Assessment Agreement - this item passed unanimously and without discussion
  2. 2026 Arts and Culture Grant Funding Recommendations - A presentation from Recreation Director Caroline Bobanick and Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Advisory Board Co-Chair Peggy Cummings. The presentation explained the various arts and cultural celebrations to be funded in the coming year. Deputy Mayor Moore moved that this be placed on the Consent agenda for the next meeting, which passed 6-1, Councilmember Mora being the dissenting vote.
  3. Art in Public Places Project and Funding Plan  - A brief presentation by Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Advisory Board Co-Chair Rafael Gallardo on proposed funding for art in public places, such as Chelsea Park. As with the previous item, this was moved to the consent agenda by a 6-1 voted, opposed solely by Councilmember Mora.

The following items were all presented by the financial department:

  1. Biennium Budget Update Continued -  This presentation detailed the current status of revenues and expenditures.
  2. Introduction to Ordinance 882, Property Tax Levy - The city will pass a different ordinance on the property tax levy depending on whether voters vote yes or no on the levy lift (Proposition 1.)( VOTERS REJECTED BUT IT HAS NOT BEEN CERTIFIED AS OF THIS PUBLICATION)  Councilmember Andrade moved to put this on the consent agenda, and it passed 6-1, with dissenting votes from Mayor Schilling and Councilmember Mora.
  3. Introduction to Ordinance 883, Surface Water Management Charges - After a brief explanation from the presenters, this passed 6-1, with Councilmember Mora dissenting.

The rest of these items were presented by the city manager:

  1. Federal and State Legislative Agenda - The council reviewed the legislative agenda for 2025 and proposed the following amendments:
  • Bike and pedestrian infrastructure safety, proposed by Deputy Mayor Moore and passed unanimously
  • Public Works Facilities, proposed by Councilmember Garcia and passed unanimously

The agenda then passed unanimously as well.

  1. Proposed Update to Interlocal agreement - This refers to the interlocal     agreement between Burien and neighboring cities to advocate for the city’s  interests and attempt to mitigate the harmful effects of the airport’s expansion. This passed unanimously.

After brief discussion about forming a committee of members of the council to discuss potential ICE response (volunteered for by Council members Garcia, Matta, and Andrade,) the meeting adjourned at 9:37

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