The Sammamish City Council rejected a $1.57m design contract for Sahalee Way.
Voting to approve it were Tom Odell, Deputy Mayor Bob Keller and Kathy Huckabay.
Opposing were Ramiro Valderrama, Tom Hornish, Christie Malchow and Mayor Don Gerend.
Council Member Bob Keller was named Deputy Mayor of the Sammamish City Council, as expected.
He replaces Ramiro Valderrama, who held the post for the past year. The Deputy Mayor position is selected annually.
Bob Keller, the new Deputy Mayor of Sammamish.
Member Ton Hornish nominated Christie Malchow. Member Tom Odell nominated Bob Keller.
Hornish noted that Keller and Mayor Don Gerend are both up for election this year and he feels both leadership positions should not be up in the same election cycle.
Ramiro Valderrama
Bob Keller
Unless there is an unexpected shift in commitments among Sammamish City Council members, Ramiro Valderrama is out as Deputy Mayor and Bob Keller in.
Selection of the Deputy Mayor ordinarily occurs at the first Council meeting of the new year, which is tonight. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are selected by the Council, not the voters, under the “weak mayor” form of City Manager government to which Sammamish was incorporated. The mayoral position is a two-year term. It’s not up for selection this year.
Long-standing divisions between two factions on the Sammamish City Council continued through behind-the-scenes maneuvering over the weekend, with Mayor Don Gerend becoming the deciding commitment to support Keller for the position.
A contract for the design of the controversial Sahalee Way road improvement project is up for a vote at Tuesday’s Sammamish City Council meeting.
Whether approved or rejected, the vote appears it will be a 4-3 split along the usual lines, with Mayor Don Gerend being the swing vote.
The project calls for a sidewalk along one side, bike lanes, a turning lane and additional stop lights between NE 25th and the Sammamish City Limits.
It does not extend to SR202, which is one mile beyond the City Limits. This means no improvements to Sahalee in this section, and this is one reason why three members of the City Council oppose the current plans.
It’s a new year and a new opportunity for citizen involvement in Sammamish.
Typically, this is thought of as the City asking for volunteers on various commissions and committees appointed by the City Council
But there are several organizations independent of those under the City auspices.
Here is a list, which is hoped all-inclusive. The trouble with lists is that usually someone or something gets left off inadvertently. Apologies if this is the case.
Sammamish Comment 