Notes for Winter SLSA Meeting
February 27, 2007

The quarterly meeting of SLSA (South Lake Sammamish Association) was called to order at 7:15 by David Bangs.  The meeting was held at the home of Joan Probala.

In attendance were:  David Bangs (prior Vice-Chair of SLSA); Joan Probala (South Cove); Becky Stenzel (Meerwood); Caleb Tarleton (substitute Sammamish View SLSA rep); Deborah Parsons (Greenwood Point SLSA rep); Rob Putney (substitute South Cove SLSA rep); Mary Victory (Meerwood SLSA rep); Deborah Freng (SE 42nd Street resident); Mary Gordon (Meadowbrook Point resident); Carolyn Bader (SE 42nd Street resident); Joe Decuir (S 42nd Street resident); Susi Tom (South Cove resident); Kim Persons (184th Ave SE resident).

Featured speakers were Anne McGill (Director) and Al Ericson (in charge of park operations/management) of the Issaquah Parks department.  Anne briefed the group about current park department policies and how they relate to the two South Lake Sammamish area parks now under the jurisdiction of the City of Issaquah.  With respect to dogs:  the City of Issaquah and King County municipal codes are very similar.  While the official code states that dogs are not allowed in city parks, the city does not have the staff to police that policy on a daily basis.  Rather, they rely heavily on responsible citizenship from city residents.  The main concern is mostly interaction with children and the children's safety.  If there is concern or a park dept employee observes a problem, the park dept. does not give out tickets.  Rather, they hand out educational pamphlets ("Recreation for You and Your Dog") in an attempt to promote responsible pet ownership.  It is expected that dogs will be on a leash and that their behavior is controlled by the pet owner.  If people observe a specific problem, they can contact King County Animal Control (who handles the City of Issaquah's dog enforcement problems), or ongoing problems can also be reported to the parks department.

(There is one off-leash park in the Issaquah area, but it is owned by the Issaquah  Highlands Homeowner's Association, and not the city.  Called "Bark Park", it is the only park in the city in which dogs may legally be off-leash.)

With respect to Timberlake Park, Al Ericson reported that the city will be erecting a new sign with "City of Issaquah" identity.  They will also be providing new garbage cans, installing new benches, cleaning up the park (including fallen trees which are a result of the December windstorm), and perhaps adding a picnic table and a small amount of grass to make the park more '"friendly".   Al indicated he would look into perhaps installing a plastic bag dispenser for dog owners for cleaning up after their pets.  (When the park was under King County jurisdiction, there was a dispenser in the park, but it has been removed. 

With regard to Meerwood Park, this park will be on their "regular route", with a weekly playground inspection.  Al Ericson indicated that he would soon be replacing the play chips underneath the playground equipment (within the next month).  The tennis net and basketball hoop net will also be replaced.  The city will take responsibility for mowing and maintaing the landscaping (which was formerly done by the Meerwood HOA).  Rather than post "no dog" signs, Anne McGill commented that they will monitor Meerwood Park for any problems, given the many children who play there.

New officers were then elected for 2007:  David Bangs was elected chairman, Joan Probala was elected vice-chairman, and Becky Stenzel was elected secretary.

As discussed at November's meeting, the format SLSA will follow is that individuals may bring issues to share through SLSA.  Those individuals or groups may use SLSA to promote or explore the issue, and will "take ownership" of their issue rather than it being the responsibility of SLSA officers or reps.

Deborah Parsons (Greenwood Point) mentioned an issue someone had brought to her with respect to the back-yard fences which line 188th Avenue SE.  Those individuals expressed an interest in making the fences uniform for all property owners.  Margie Nelson, Doris Ong and Judy Wedekind are the "issue owners" for this issue, and they are encouraged to write something up to include in a future SLSA newsletter for contact with them.

The West Lake Sammamish Parkway/NW Sammamish Road issue was raised, i.e. the need for a safer bike lane/pedestrian walkway from South Cove east to the state park.  Gary Thede (Sammamish Beach Club and former chairman of SLSA) has spoken up in the past to city officials, and it is acknowledged that this will be a long term issue.  Carolyn Bader commented that she is a bicyclist along this route, and has been frustrated by the amount of sand on the route due to snowstorms.  She reported that a city official told her it will probably be summer by the time all of the sand has been properly swept away.

The group discussed the possibility of speed bumps along 188th and 192nd to slow down speeding drivers.  Achieving this within the City of Issaquah would be much easier than with King County, so if someone wants to "own" this issue they could probably work effectively with the City of Issaquah.  Rod Putney said he will ask the South Cove board if they want to pursue the speed bump issue.

Mary Victory offered to be the point person for Meerwood Park within the South Cove area.

The plans include a wide variety of improvements, and funding is now being considered by the state legislature for the first phase.  $1,000,000 is needed to plan the initial phase.  If anyone is interested in promoting this issue or the financing, they should contact their legislator via e-mail.  Gary Thede and Joan Probala are active "issue owners" with regard to the state park.

David Bangs discussed the new Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) which will be enacted by the city of Issaquah under the Shorelines Management Act.  He and 6 other South Cove homeowners met with city officials, who expressed that they are willing to work with local residents to draft the ordinance.

Discussion of both cable rates (Comcast) and garbage rates (Allied Waste/Rabanco) followed.  The South Cove area is under old King County contracts which will expire in future years, while City of Issaquah rates are much lower.  Jeff Parsons has explored the Comcast issue extensively and written letters to the Issaquah Press.  He has also met with the cable commission within the City of Issaquah.  Melody Scherting has investigated the garbage/recycling issue.  Bottom line:  unless the city were to take action and try to renegotiate these contracts, our current contracts will remain in effect until their expiration.

Next was a discussion of road maintenance and repairs.  The City has already made road repairs, and will continue to address problems with roads, sidewalks and drainage.

The annual South Lake Sammamish Day (formerly called the Ice Cream social held annually at Meerwood Park) was discussed.  Doris Ong has generously volunteered to sponsor the climbing wall again as she did last year.  Mary Victory announced that she intended to also sell hot dogs and sodas so that families would not have to take a break from late afternoon activities to return home for dinner prior to the ice cream being served at 6:00 pm.  There was discussion about how to fund this annual neighborhood event, which has been sponsored by Meerwood in the past, plus donations given by other Homeowner associations.  Given that Meerwood is a city park enjoyed by all South Lake Sammamish area residents, and the ice cream social is an event welcome to all subdivisions and neighborhoods in the area, there was discussion (but no resolution) of how this event could be shared equitably by all neighborhoods.

The meeting ended at approximately 9:00 PM. 

These meeting notes were compiled by Becky Stenzel