Tag Archives: Tom Odell

Barricades: Promises made, promises broken over 10 years; kicking the can down the road another two years

Posted on by
4

Perhaps the highest profile issue after the East Lake Sammamish Trail to consistently vex the City Council is “barricades.” And most specifically, the “42nd St. barricade” in the Northeast corner of the City that separates the Hidden Ridge and Timberline neighborhoods.

At the March 17 Council meeting, residents from the neighborhoods appeared during the public comment session to support or oppose removing the barricade on 42nd. The public comments sessions begins at the start the meeting, and the testimony is interspersed with comment on other topics.

The Council had some extended discussion toward the end of the meeting, beginning at 1:59 hours into the meeting. Continue reading →

ELST testimony to City Council tonight–here are some thoughts

Posted on by
5

We’re just hours away from the Sammamish City Council update by City Staff and the County staff over the pending development of Section 2A (7-11 area to the Issaquah City Limits) of the East Lake Sammamish Trail.

In my own comments planned for tonight during Public Comment, I will be giving an abbreviated version of what’s below (as much as I can in 3-5 minutes):

Continue reading →

County, city staff to present to Sammamish City Council on ELST March 3

Posted on by
1

A top King County Parks official, Kevin Brown, and Laura Philpot, deputy city manager for Sammamish, will present updates to the City Council tomorrow (March 3) on the controversies surrounding the East Lake Sammamish Trail.

Focus will be on Section 2A, that portion from the Issaquah City Limits north to 33rd St. (the 7-11), which is next on the County’s plan to remake the trail to its final design.

Missteps, lack of communication, and a variety of issues on the Northern section (Inglewood Hill Road to the Redmond City Limits) caused an uproar among some property owners, conflicts with the County and a huge embarrassment for the City government.

Following this, the City stepped up to pay close attention to the design for Section 2A, including submitting comments to the County by the Oct. 29 deadline. When the 90% design came out at the end of December, it appeared that neither citizen nor City comments were considered.

The City blew a gasket that its comments were apparently ignored. Philpot told the County that the City wouldn’t accept transfer of the development permit from the County or it may reject it outright. Any appeal by the County would take enough time that its federal funding would be withdrawn.

(The complex Inter Local Agreement between the City and County whereby the County does the permit processing is described in my January 17 post.)

Continue reading →

Sammamish Initiative/Referendum campaign kicks off amid charges of stolen signs, attempts to ban Citizen group from city facilities

Posted on by
2

The Yes campaign for Sammamish voters to approve an advisory vote April 28 to give them the right to Initiative and Referendum was kicked off last night (Feb. 23) amid charges that Yes vote road signs are already being stolen.

Citizens for Sammamish, which is behind the Initiative/Referendum movement, also charged that Deputy Mayor Kathy Huckabay, who is opposed to granting the right, attempted to block usage by CFS of the Eastside Fire & Rescue fire station on Sahalee Way, where it usually meets, and the Boys and Girls Club, where last night’s meeting was held, because CFS is now “campaigning” for the the Yes vote.

Continue reading →

Sammamish to send Initiative/Referendum to citizens for advisory vote-Part 2

Posted on by
11

Jan. 24, 2015: The Sammamish City Council agreed at its retreat today at the Suncadia Resort in Roslyn (WA) to ask its citizens whether the right to initiative and referendum should be adopted by the City.

The Council will formalize its consensus approval at the Feb. 3 City Council meeting. No formal, legally binding action could be taken at the retreat, including appointments of Council representation to regional committees.

The advocacy group Citizens for Sammamish (CFS) has been pressing the City Council to adopt an ordinance granting the right. Council members have been reluctant to approve the initiative/referendum process because of what they view how the state process became abused by Tim Eyman, who makes a living at filing state initiatives; and the increasing dominance by “big money” interests rather than the original intent of power to the people.

Continue reading →