Tag Archives: Sammamish

New taxes, debt appear inevitable in Sammamish

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Sammamish cash coffers will decline by 73% during the next two years, from $62m to $17m, as expenditures exceed revenues in the 2017-18 budget.

With major road projects being considered, and even without them, new taxes and/or debt seems to be inevitable.

The City Council last year approved the budget without any new taxes or debt, going into this year’s Council elections in November.

But forgoing new revenue means a burst of new taxes seems likely to stave off the so-called cross-over point when the City looks at a cash deficit. The current projection is that the crossover point will occur in 2020, according to the finance section in the Council packet, which may be found here.

Finances will be a part of the Council’s annual retreat, which begins Thursday night and continues through noon Saturday at the Murano Hotel in Tacoma. Finances are slated for discussion Saturday morning.

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County sues Sammamish over Lake Trail

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City_of_SammamishKing County sued Sammamish Jan. 3 over a determination by the City that the County’s clearing and grading permit application for development of Section 2B of the East Lake Sammamish Trail is incomplete.

The County asks King County Superior Court for a declaratory judgment that the application is complete and vested to rules in place Nov. 16. Companion permit applications were deemed complete then by the City. The County also asks for unspecified damages.

This is the latest in long-running disputes between the County, City and residents along the trail.

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City considers live streaming Retreat, with some internal opposition

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City_of_SammamishThe Sammamish City Council is considering live webcast streaming of its annual retreat, a move that may be a first among governments in the great Seattle region.

The retreat will begin Thursday night with a 6pm dinner and continue to noon Saturday. It’s at the Murano Hotel in Tacoma.

The Murano is about an hour’s drive from Sammamish in normal rush hour traffic. Tacoma was chosen for the second year in a row in lieu of the City’s historic location at the Suncadia Resort in Roslyn, east of the Cascades. The driving time is about the same, provided there aren’t any snow issues or closures over Snoqualmie Pass.

Council Member Christie Malchow proposed the live webcast. City Manager Lyman Howard opposed the idea, reflecting an opinion from the facilitator hired for the retreat.

Council Members Ramiro Valderrama and Tom Hornish strongly supported Malchow. Members Tom Odell, Kathy Huckabay and Bob Keller gave general support, with some reservations or questions. Huckabay and Keller expressed support for taping the meeting rather than broadcasting it live.

Odell expressed general support but also some reservations.

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Sammamish, County once again head for confrontation over Lake Trail

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City_of_SammamishProperty owners along the East Lake Sammamish Trail in the middle section, called 2B, in Sammamish this week implored the City Council to intervene on their behalf in their long-running conflicts with King County over final development of the trail.

Section 2B runs from roughly from the 7-11 on East Lake Sammamish Parkway north to Inglewood Hill Road.

A score of residents asked Sammamish to rescind permits for the section.

Actually, one permit application for designing the trail has been deemed “complete.” However, this permit remains in review.

Another application, for clearing and grading, was deemed by the City as incomplete. The County filed a lawsuit over this determination and is seeking damages, said City Attorney Mike Kenyon.

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Council befuddled over reacting to public; Planning Commission made recommendations in 2009

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Kathy Huckabay

The Sammamish City Council tonight is getting an earful from property owners along the East Lake Sammamish Trail, who are complaining once again that King County is running roughshod over their rights.

Council Member Kathy Huckabay lamented the procedural inability to have a dialog with residents during public comment. How, she asked, could there be a better dialog?

The answer came from the Planning Commission in 2009 in the form of a unanimous recommendation to have regularly scheduled town hall meetings.

Huckabay and Mayor Don Gerend were on the Council when the recommendations were forwarded from the Commission. In fact, Gerend was the mayor at the time.

The PC, in a 7-0 vote, included this recommendation in a series of proposals to improve communications with citizens. The recommendations were ignored.

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