Year in Review 2015: July to September
Published 1:24 pm Tuesday, December 29, 2015
A new year will be upon us Friday, and the Reporter is taking the last four days of 2015 to look back on the past year. Here are the top stories that came out of Issaquah and Sammamish from July to September:
Klahanie to become Sammamish
The Sammamish City Council voted in early July to annex about 11,000 people into the city Jan. 1, 2016. The annexation, put to a vote in the April special election, received overwhelming support, 86 percent approval. The council also established a Klahanie transition committee, which met throughout the fall.
Health workers picket Swedish
Dozens of off-shift health care workers opened July with an “informational picket” outside Swedish Issaquah to bring attention to labor negotiations between Swedish Medical Center and SEIU Healthcare 1199NW. The labor union sought greater staffing in Swedish’s hospitals and a more favorable medical plan in their contract. It was the first labor negotiation between the union and Swedish since Providence Health & Services acquired the nonprofit hospital in 2012.
Initiative, referendum passes
The Sammamish City Council voted 5-1 in July to move forward with a resolution that states its intent to adopt citizen-enacted initiative and referendum powers that allow residents to create or repeal laws within the city by way of petition. In the April special election, the people showed they wanted the powers approving the advisory voted with 55 percent approval and a 24 percent voter turnout. The initiative and referendum powers went into effect in October.
Sunset Beach Bathhouse opens
Washington State Parks opened a new, architecturally modern, bathhouse to the public in July. The $2.6 million facility was built with a concrete shell armored in reclaimed wood, with features like solar paneling, a multipurpose room and a rooftop garden.
4-year-old killed at Newport Way crosswalk, sparking conversation on pedestrian safety
On June 26, 4-year-old Haochen Xu was struck by a car in front of his mother at a marked crosswalk on Newport Way, outside of the Summerhill neighborhood where they lived. Neighbors, some of whom had brought complaints about speeding and ineffective crosswalks to the city in the past, flocked to Issaquah City Council meetings over the ensuing weeks to demand something be done to make the Newport Way corridor safer. The city responded with an open house in July for citizens to identify problem crosswalks. A study of pedestrian crossings was commissioned with the assistance of Transportation Solutions Inc. The results of that study, released in October, recommended a number of improvements to well over a dozen locations in the city. The speed limit on Newport Way, from the Lakemont Interchange to State Route 900, was lowered to 30 mph in September.
Sammamish council passes $90.2 million TIP
The Sammamish City Council passed 6-1 an update to the six-year transportation improvement plan July 7. The $90.2 million plan details more than 10 specific projects, including Sahalee Way Northeast and Issaquah-Fall City Road. The state-required itemized list is updated annually and does not commit the city to any financial obligation.
Mayor imposes conditions on continued partnership with Issaquah Senior Center
Following months of “he-said-she-said” controversy surrounding two members who said they were banned from the Issaquah Senior Center for asking questions about the managing nonprofit’s finances, Mayor Fred Butler announced he would only recommend a continued relationship with Issaquah Valley Seniors if it agreed to a management audit and other conditions in 2016. Butler stayed true to his word when budget sessions began in October, and the City Council ended 2015 imposing even more stringent conditions on the nonprofit.
Ebright Creek development denied
A Sammamish hearing examiner denied in July a developer’s request to construct a 30-lot residential neighborhood in an area that would have required constructing a bridge over the salmon-bearing Ebright Creek to access it. The examiner’s decision came with a sigh of relief from residents who appealed the city’s reduction and variations to code they argued put Ebright and Pine Lake Creek at risk, as well as the freshwater salmon that spawn there.
Julius Boehm Pool reopens
After spending a year closed to the public during renovations, the Julius Boehm pool reopened two weeks ahead of schedule at the end of August. The $5 million project added accommodations for disabled guests, new locker rooms, benches, energy efficient LED lights, an improved climate control system, and “KERSPLOOSH!,” a 120-square-foot glass mosaic, among other improvements.
Sammamish breaks ground on town center, affordable housing
The city of Sammamish broke ground on two locations in its town center in mid-July. It also broke ground on the Habitat for Humanity affordable housing project off of 228th Avenue Southeast, near Southeast 20th Street.
Residents asked to reduce water use
During the record-setting summer months, and coming off the heals of a winter that saw little snowpack, Western Washington officials asked people in July to mind their water use and then in August to voluntarily cut back their water use.
King County appeals city’s trail permit
Alleging the city of Sammamish overstepped its lawful powers, King County appealed several conditions within a permit issued for the southern portion of the East Lake Sammamish Trail, which had been scheduled to undergo construction in October.
First Silver Alert used for Issaquah man
On Sept. 10, law enforcement agencies began a hunt for an 83-year-old Providence Point man who had disappeared from his home the previous morning. The search ended quickly and quietly in less than a day, but the case was significant for being the first use of the state Silver Alert program. Similar to Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts were introduced in Aug. 27 as a means for law enforcement agencies to broadcast the identifying information of missing elders with some form of dementia. The information was displayed on highway readerboards across three counties and through highway advisory radio broadcasts.
Fires
During the dry weather and heat, Eastside Fire & Rescue responded to several fires, including two bogs that had caught fire, one in March and the other in August. “It’s truly amazing to see a swamp on fire,” then Deputy Fire Chief Greg Tryon said. Tryon is now the interim fire chief for Eastside Fire.
Sammamish teen dies from injuries after Aug. 12 crash
An 18-year-old Sammamish resident died from his injuries after a car crash Aug. 12. Joseph Brown, identified by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, was ejected from his 2013 Ford Mustang after sideswiping a minivan on Beaver Lake Drive Southeast around 10:12 p.m.
Council approves contingency funds for Big Rock Park
The Sammamish City Council, in a split vote, approved Sept. 1 the use of additional funds for the construction of Big Rock Park. The $557,272 increase brought the project’s total cost to $784,633.
13 people infected with E. coli linked to food vendor
In early September, more than 10 people fell ill with E. coli linked to the food truck Los Chilangos and the Eastside Commercial Kitchen where Los Chilangos prepared some of its food. Los Chilangos had served food both the Sammamish and Issaquah Farmers Markets. All reportedly ill recovered and the food truck and kitchen reopened in mid-September.
Council authorizes anchor project for Central Issaquah Plan
In September, the Issaquah City Council authorized development of an anchor project for the Central Issaquah Plan. The 2012 Central Issaquah Plan created a number of zoning changes and incentives to allow dense urban growth in the valley portion of the city. But city leaders wanted a publicly driven project that would create, among other things, a gathering place for residents. Potential project sites brainstormed by the Economic Vitality Commission included CenturyLink Yard; the intersection of Northwest Gilman Boulevard and Fourth Avenue Northwest; a portion of Front Street immediately north of Interstate 90; and 12th Avenue Northwest where the road is divided by I-90.
