SLSA Meeting Notes - June 17, 2003

Our second meeting of the South Lake Sammamish Association (SLSA) was held on Tuesday, June 17th at Sunset School. In attendance were 22 area residents for the meeting, which began at 7:00 p.m. On the agenda were several main topics, including the following:

1) Overview/Q/A of Issaquah Annexation Process

2) Discussion of Traffic Safety and Area Crime

3) Road Maintenance Needs

4) Cell Phone Tower Installations

5) I-90 Roundabout Landscaping Project

6) Community Networking

1) Annexation Process:

Mark Hinthorne, Planning Director for the City of Issaquah, presented an overview of the annexation process currently underway by the City of Issaquah. Mark indicated that two areas, Klahanie and the South Lake Sammamish area (Greenwood Point/South Cove Potential Annexation Area) will be included in the study and provided a map and summary document outlining the process. A consulting team has been engaged to conduct the study and analyze the fiscal and service impacts of any potential annexation from the perspective of current city residents, city government and from residents and businesses in the areas to be annexed.

As the study proceeds, an Annexation Advisory Task Force, recently established, will review the study results and help ensure that the data and analysis developed adequately and fully informs citizens and city government about the fiscal and service impacts of annexation. Representing the South Lake Sammamish area on the 12 -member Task Force are four area residents. They are David Bangs, Gary Thede, Jim Balkman and Joan Probala.

Currently, the time line has the study and task force review being completed between now and the end of the year, with the Issaquah City Council beginning its review early in 2004. A key criteria for the City Council as it reviews annexation will be to ensure that current service levels for city residents are maintained in the event that any annexation occurs.

Issaquah will be providing annexation updates via its web-site, www.ci.issaquah.wa.us , press releases and newspaper articles, and through community meetings. Additionally, Mark expressed a willingness to provide annexation updates at future SLSA meetings should the need arise.

2) Traffic Safety and Area Crime:

The group discussed traffic safety and area crime and its impact on our neighborhoods. It was clear that we do have a traffic safety issue (speeding) on our key arterials that needs to be addressed by law enforcement, the King County Department of Transportation and area residents working together. In particular, it was noted that there are issues on 188th Avenue S.E., 192nd - 190th Avenue S.E., S.E. 44th Way, S.E. 46th Way and S.E. 47th Street. We agreed that we needed to devote more time at our next meeting to discussing this topic and that it would be helpful if we could invite and have in attendance a representative from the King County Department of Transportation and from the King County Sheriff's Office. Amy Higgins and Todd Rauch volunteered to draft a letter outlining the traffic safety issue that can be sent to King County and Gary Thede will work to have a representative from the Traffic Enforcement Division of the Sheriff's Office at our next meeting. The goal will be to ensure safe roads and traffic flow on area roads in a manner that is acceptable to government and police agencies and to area residents.

Regarding crime, it was noted that there recently had been some car prowls and break-ins as noted on neighborhood web-sites, but what was not known was whether it was a one-time only event or an on-going problem. Additionally, it was noted that we continue to have mail theft incidents, although that is declining as more of our neighborhoods install locking mailboxes currently being provided by the Postal Service at no charge. It was suggested that we ask the Sheriff's Office to provide crime data from our area when they attend the next meeting that can help detail the extent of the problem.

3) Road Maintenance:

A short discussion on road maintenance concluded that we do continue to have "patch and repair" issues that need to be dealt with as well as long-term road surface issues. Shelly Birkwood will be contacting King County regarding some "patch and repair" locations that we hope to fix and contacts will be made with the County to see what can be done regarding overall road surface quality.

4) Cell Phone Tower Installations

Mike Barnett led a brief discussion on current cell phone tower installations in our area, their impact on neighborhoods and the possibility that more may be coming to the area. While it was agreed that having excellent cellular coverage was important, managing the placement of cell phone towers was also important to ensure that property values and livability can be maintained. Mike offered to follow-up with additional details regarding this subject and it possibly will be included on our next SLSA agenda.

5) I-90 Roundabout Landscaping

The roundabout at I-90/West Lake Sammamish Parkway S.E. will be landscaped by the City of Bellevue, most likely in the month of August. The project is expected to take 4 - 5 days and while Bellevue will provide personnel to help manage traffic flow, it should be expected that there will be traffic delays. Bellevue will communicate with local newspapers regarding the project to provide as much public notice as possible.

6) Community Networking

Among the topics discussed were locking mailboxes and "Blackberry Park" located in the Lake West neighborhood near 188th Avenue S.E. As far as is known, locking mailboxes that have been installed in Sammamish Beach Club, Meerwood and soon in South Cove are still available from the Postal Service at no charge, although each homeowner association, neighborhood or resident would be responsible for installation. To find our more about these mailboxes, please contact the Postmaster at the Issaquah Post Office.

A few ideas regarding how to develop "Blackberry Park" were bounced around, including grants from King County and Starbucks. Although no specific action items were identified, it was agreed that the park is a valuable asset to the area.

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend - it is clear that SLSA can provide an important forum for area neighborhoods and residents to constructively communicate and share ideas and offer solutions on common issues and needs. For those unable to attend, we hope that you can attend our next meeting, planned for sometime in late September or early October.

Submitted by Gary Thede

P.S. Please feel free to email this meeting summary to any other area residents who may be interested in hearing about SLSA.