Benson Hill Annexation Receives County Funds
Thanks for Councilman Randy Corman and the Renton Reporter for the latest update in the Benson Hill annexation.
The King County Council has approved 1.7 million dollars of County funds to help the city of Renton defray the costs of annexing the Benson Hill neighborhood. The money is for new equipment, hiring, and other start-up costs related to Benson hill. It will certainly help prevent existing Rentonites from having to take a hit in service as a result of the annexation.
This funding “will give the Benson Hill neighborhood a smooth transition to becoming part of the City of Renton” according to Julia Patterson of Seatac, the County Council’s chairwoman.
The agreement includes the transfer of some county-owned properties, including Cascade Park on 126th Avenue Southeast and surface water management and greenbelt properties. The county, City of Renton and the Renton School District also are in talks about transferring the county-owned pool at Lindbergh High School to the Renton School District. No agreement has been reached.
The state Growth Management Act calls for cities to provide local government services to urban areas and for counties to provide regional services, with counties also providing local services to rural unincorporated areas. The county has encouraged cities to annex unincorporated urban areas adjacent to their borders, providing financial assistance to ease the transition of these neighborhoods into their cities. Renton’s policy typically is for residents of these unincorporated areas to initiate the annexation, such as was done in the Benson Hill area.
Leave a Reply