Revitalizing Lake Sammamish Park makes city council's short list

Issaquah has decided to take on the problems at Lake Sammamish State Park.

Council members last weekend added revitalizing the park to its short list of projects to tackle in 2012, during a goal setting retreat May 13.

The decision came a couple weeks after the Issaquah Reporter published stories examining the needs of the park, and a few months after Council Member Stacy Goodman first presented the issue during her appointment.

While Goodman’s goal was large, she wasn’t as forward as Council Member Mark Mullet, who proposed the city take over the park altogether.

“For me it’s the most transformative thing that the city of Issaquah could do over the next 10 years,” he said, adding that it would completely change the dynamics of the city.

Mullet envisions something similar to Renton’s Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park, which draws people from throughout the region.

With the state unloading its parklands on any municipality willing to take the burden, it could be a prime time to negotiate transferring the rural park, he said.

Such a move would have a cost.

Surrounded on three sides by the city, the parkland wouldn’t come with new taxpaying residents, and it has a long list of public works and policing needs.

Issaquah taxpayers would likely have to approve a levy to pay for renovating the park.

It’s a cost residents are willing to afford, Mullet said. “I agree there are financial headaches in managing the park, but I just think those headaches we can solve.”

Goodman’s proposal was less direct, and focused on building partnerships with the state and the private sector.

The park is listed as a city gem, but it’s vastly underused and unappreciated, she wrote.

Here are the City Council’s top goals for 2012

1. Scope an Olde Town parking study – This study would determine if more parking is needed downtown and possible parking solutions, such as structure parking or shuttles.

2. Create economic vitality – The goal comes with several sub points including forming a commission to focus on business issues, review signage rules for businesses and creating incentives to attract new business.

3. Explore strategies to restore Lake Sammamish State Park

4. Increase transparency on the city’s website – This would make more public records available online to improve citizen involvement.

5. Hire a city lobbyist to obtain state and federal funding

6. Complete renovations on the Julius Boehm Pool – The city has been talking about needed improvements to the Forward Thrust pool for several years. This goal would focus on how to fund the needed improvements.

7. Build a mountain bike skills park next to Central Park

8. Improve the fall budget negotiations process

9. A plan for reducing the city’s energy waste

10. Bring Health Point and Dental Point services to Issaquah immediately – This would mean they’d open for business before a envisioned Human Services Campus could form.

11. – Provide money needed to make improvements to the city website.

Honorable mentions – Find compromises with fire districts 10 and 38 that would enable the city to continue partnerships with Eastside Fire and Rescue. Decided how the City Council plans to review the Central Issaquah Plan.

City council members voted for their favored goals with little greens stickers. Each councilor received five stickers. Pictured is Stacy Goodman’s final two votes.