Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, August 15, 2014
www.issaquahreporter.com
Issaquah transit riders curious, concerned about link to light rail BY DANIEL NASH REPORTER NEWSPAPERS
Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District Commissioner Tom Harman, Eastside Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Bud Backer and Sammamish City Councilmember Ramiro Valderrama-Aramayo visit at the open house. STAFF PHOTO
Open house draws Klahanie residents Discussion begins to annex to Sammamish BY REPORTER STAFF
Approximately 35 residents of the Klahanie Potential Annexation Area attended the first of three scheduled informational open houses regarding the proposal, Aug. 6 at Faith Church in Klahanie.
The city of Sammamish has already done a study on how annexation will affect Klahanie residents, and Sammamish at large, so now the city is doing public outreach, answering questions and providing information. Per the city's calculations, a homeowner with an assessed valuation of $500,000 will save $422 in property taxes with the annexation. The city states that residents of Klahanie will also receive better services.
A fiscal analysis, done by Butkus Consulting, Inc., shows that the city, after including additional operating expenses against additional operating revenue, would likely net $1.24 million annually after annexation. The analysis did not include approximately $3 million to improve Issaquah-Fall City Road, which the city has committed to do. SEE KLAHANIE, 6
The East Link extension is almost a decade from completion and neither Sound Transit nor King County Metro yet know, specifically, how buses from the greater Eastside will connect to light rail stations in Bellevue or Mercer Island. But dozens of bus riders converged on the Hilton Garden Inn on Monday to learn more about the plan so far — and give transit officials their druthers on every subject from travel times to bathroom availability. Attitudes ran the gamut from inquisitive, to apprehensive, to hostile — as was the case of one resident upset about Sound Transit’s design of the Mt. Baker light rail station, where a road divides the station and bus stops. The layout creates risk and inconvenience for bus riders crossing over to the station on foot, he said. Central to the discussion is Sound Transit’s light rail system extension to the north, south and east of Seattle. The light rail extensions are a preparative response to expected population increases in the Greater Seattle Metro area — increases of an expected 1 million additional people to the region by 2040 — and resulting traffic congestion. “Road congestion is going to increase with or without light rail,” Sound Transit spokesperson Geoff Patrick said. “It’s a matter of maximizing the number of people who are off the road and on transit to ease (congestion).” Genna Nashem rides the bus from the Issaquah Highlands to Downtown Seattle and back every day. At the open house, she questioned transit representatives intently, particularly about King County bus connections to the South Bellevue and Mercer Island light rail stations. Neither Sound Transit nor King County Metro have worked out particulars on which routes will connect to SEE TRANSIT, 6
Issaquah to delay two school projects for one year The Issaquah School District will delay breaking ground for the new Issaquah Middle School and reconstruction of Clark Elementary by one year. The decision was made to ensure that its capital projects are completed within the budget approved in the 2012 school bond, school officials said in a news release. Issaquah Middle School will break ground in July of 2015 with the new school opening to students in fall 2016. Clark Elementary will subsequently open in the fall of 2017. The district does not anticipate this to cause a change to the scheduled opening of the new secondary campus in the fall of 2016, which will be located on the current Is-
saquah Middle School site. The cost estimate for the initial design submitted to the district for the reconstructed Issaquah Middle School came back over budget. Further, the district learned of the city of Issaquah’s redevelopment plan to increase population density within the downtown core area. Recognizing the likelihood of an even greater increase in enrollment, the district sought a revised design to accommodate more students in the near term and allow for future expansion. The cost estimates for the revised designs also came in over the initial project budget. “We are committed to building the highest quality
schools while maintaining the district’s fiscal integrity,” said Superintendent Ron Thiele. “While the revised timeline is a disappointment, we still expect to complete all of the 2012 bond projects before 2020 as promised.” The Sunny Hills Elementary rebuild timeline and budget are not affected and the school is still scheduled to open in the fall of 2017. Liberty High School is finishing Phase 3 of construction and will be ready for students in September. In addition, the completed remodels and additions at Issaquah Valley Elementary and Apollo Elementary still are set for ribbon cutting ceremonies on Sept. 2.