Renton City Council members and administration officials gave Sound Transit representatives an earful on Monday during a Committee of the Whole presentation on this fall’s ST3 package.

Renton leaders have for years been quietly complaining about the lack of facilities offered to the taxpayers of Southeast King County, but that bubbled over Monday night as one after another the members of the council questioned why the fourth-largest city in King County is repeatedly left off the project list for Sound Transit money.

This year’s $50 billion package includes extending light rail north to Everett, south to Tacoma and east to Redmond and Issaquah, as well as enhancements to the Sounder system.

The project also includes a bus rapid transit project along Interstate 405, to be completed by 2024, and the construction of a new transit center in south Renton, proposed for the corner of Grady Way and Rainier Avenue South.

But the relative lack of projects in Southeast King County — again — made members of the council and the administration question why anyone living in the region would vote for the package, considering that Renton residents pay about $20 million per year in sales taxes to Sound Transit but have little-to-nothing to show for it.

The final straw seemed to be a slide showing a list of open houses regarding the new package that did not include a single session in this part of the county. The closest locations to Renton that will host an open house on ST3 are Federal Way and Redmond.

“So residents of Renton have to traverse 405 and 520 to get to a 5:30 meeting on this package?” asked an obviously exasperated Ed Prince. “That doesn’t seem equitable or fair.”

“This is a complete and utter disservice to the 98,000 residents here in Renton,” he continued, adding Tukwila, Kent and other southeast cities to the list. “They paid pretty good money to Sound Transit for not a lot of service and this is another stab of inequality.”

Officials said each region is hosting a single open house and that Sound Transit is accepting comments through the mail and on the website for residents who cannot attend.

“My note here is ‘how nice for them’ because I don’t see anything for Renton here at all,” Councilwoman Carol Ann Witschi said after the presentation.

Councilwoman Ruth Perez said she was worried that the new proposal continued the past practice of spending money collected in Renton without “any tangible benefits to show for 20 years of taxes paid.”

“So I’m really concerned,” she said.

Council President Randy Corman agreed, saying that most other cities got something in the first and second phases paid for by “our tax dollars and we have nothing like that.”

He also said that Renton is the only city in the region with a major employer — Boeing — that lacks service.

“We’re still waiting,” he said. “And yet we’re talking about putting a light rail to Issaquah where there’s like 15,000 residents?”

City Administrator Jay Covington also weighed in.

“We’ve already been paying for 20 years — $20 million a year in sales tax,” he said. “This city has paid (and) the fourth-largest city in King County is virtually off the map.”

According to figures provided by the city, Renton residents have paid a total of more than $237 million in sales tax to Sound Transit projects since 1997.

Mayor Denis Law told the Sound Transit representatives — a pair of planners tasked with going to cities to explain the package — that he understood they were just the messengers, but this level of frustration developed over many years and the lack of services to the city has created a “high level of frustration for our citizens” who do not see the benefit of bus rapid transit coming to their city in 10 years while Issaquah gets a light-rail line.

The $50 billion, 25-year ST3 package will head to voters in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties in November. A simple majority is required for passage.

Sound Transit is hosting a series of open houses on the issues this spring. The event for our region is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, 16600 N.E. 80th St., Redmond. For a complete list of open houses or to make a comment, visit soundtransit3.org.