Local

City says EFR double-charged
By J.B.Wogan
City officials say Eastside Fire and Rescue has been charging people extra for fire code inspection fees.
Sammamish’s Finance Director Lyman Howard said his department discovered the glitch while reexamining the city’s building permit fee process, which he said is in need of overhaul.
For nearly as long as the city has been a city, property owners in Sammamish have been paying the city for general fire protection service. In addition, property owners seeking building permits had to pay separate fees for specific fire code inspections, such as verifying that a single-family home has a working sprinkler system.
But Sammamish’s Administrative Services Director Mike Sauerwein said such inspections should already be covered through the city’s annual contribution to EFR.
EFR is a regional fire agency that shares resources and provides fire protection service for Sammamish, North Bend, Issaquah, Carnation and parts of unincorporated King County.
Dating as far back as the city’s first agreement with EFR in 2001, the city has understood that fire code inspections related to new building permits were paid for through the city’s overall cost of fire service each year, Sauerwein said. For 2009, the city paid EFR $5.3 million.
“It was really just a miscommunication between the city and the fire district,” Sauerwein said, adding that he thought it was “an honest mistake.”
EFR Finance Chief Dave Gray said the fee collection is correct. According to Gray, the general partner contributions are separate from fees EFR collects during the building permit process.
If Sammamish wanted the fees included in the overall contribution, the cost of general fire services would go up, he said.
In support of the city’s claim that no one should be paying extra for fire code inspections, Sauerwein points to the 2007 agreement. It says that EFR would provide fire code inspection and enforcement, fire code pre-construction building plan review and fire investigation.
The agreement could be open to interpretation. It refers to those services as “additional services” and does not specify whether they would be covered under the payment for “general fire services.” It also does not explicitly address what “additional services” means.
EFR performs annual maintenance inspections for businesses at no charge, according to Assistant Fire Marshal Mark Lawrence. It does charge for inspecting fire extinguishers and fire suppression systems at local businesses. It also charges for the fire plan review and inspections related to new construction, he said. The fire marshals only handle inspections in cities within EFR’s coverage zone, Lawrence said.
Fire Chief Lee Soptich said he was aware of the issue, but did not know how it would be resolved.
“We’ve not had the discussion with the board yet,” Soptich said.
The topic will be vetted by an EFR finance and operations subcommittee, and then discussed at an EFR board of directors meeting, he said.
Soptich added that each partner in EFR deals with fire code inspections and enforcements differently, which may have led to the confusion in Sammamish’s case.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.

New: July 2, 11:32 a.m.

City officials say Eastside Fire and Rescue has been charging people extra for fire code inspection fees.

Sammamish’s Finance Director Lyman Howard said his department discovered the glitch while reexamining the city’s building permit fee process, which he said is in need of overhaul. Read more »

Sports

Eastlake grad gets some field time with the Mariners
By Christopher Huber
The only close call Laura Bachman has had in her job with the Seattle Mariners was on opening day at Safeco Field April 14 — her first game on the field as a ball girl.
It was the 10th inning and the Mariners and Angels were tied 2-2. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt laid down a bunt toward third base and Angels’ relief pitcher Scot Shields threw the ball wide past first, nearly hitting Bachman at her post along the wall.
The right fielder tried to argue that she interfered, Bachman said, but the game was already over.
Betancourt drove in Franklin Gutierrez to win the game 3-2 for the Mariners.
That was the only legitimate action she saw all game.
“On the first day I didn’t get any foul balls,” she said.
Bachman, a recent Eastlake High School graduate, is one of 11 ball girls on staff with the Mariners organization in 2009.
She works most home games, alternating between on-field duty and various other jobs around the park, including collecting tickets.
Though she spends most of her shifts being on alert for a stray ground ball.
“It’s really cool because the players talk to you sometimes. The opposing teams talk to you a lot,” Bachman said about being on the field with famous players. “It’s really cool walking right next to Ken Griffey Jr. or Endy Chavez.”
She was hired for the rare job after Eastlake head softball coach Al Leaverenz recommended her to the Mariners.
Bachman completed tryouts and a lengthy application and interview process before ever donning a Mariners uniform, she said.
“I love watching baseball and I love the Mariners, and I thought it would be really cool to be on the field,” she said.
Ball girls are part of the team’s fielder program, which takes about 30 applications per year from area high school and college softball players, said Garrett Cook, event services manager.
“Laura is one of the younger ones that made it,” he said.
They don’t just look for strong fielding skills, Cook said, but the girls must have solid customer service skills, as well.
When they’re not fielding ground balls on the field, the girls are interacting with the fans in many capacities around Safeco Field.
Bachman and Cook said the Mariners stress having the best ball girls in the majors.
“If you’re going to do something, you might as well be the best at it,” Cook said. I like watching the girls on the field make a good play and then they show it on ESPN or Fox.”
Eastlake fielded four ball girls in 2008, so Mariners officials knew she came from a top-notch softball program, said Cook.
“We’ve had a lot of success from that program,” Cook said.
Bachman said the most challenging part of being a ball girl is anticipating the ball.
“It’s all really fun, but it really is really nerve-wracking sitting on the stool, waiting for the ball to come. It’s really scary just sitting there,” she said. “Ichiro tends to hit a lot of foul balls so I want to stay on my toes when he’s up.”
Other than hanging out with pro baseball players, Bachman said she enjoys the fan interaction, as well.
She’s had to field some hard ground balls in the first half of the season.
While most are routine, one turned into an error.
“You kind of just stick your glove down and pray you get it,” Bachman said. “I haven’t got any really hard ones. I’ve only made one error; it was bad. It was funny.”
Bachman will work at home games this summer until she leaves in the fall to start college at Ohio University.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.

The only close call Laura Bachman has had in her job with the Seattle Mariners was on opening day at Safeco Field April 14 — her first game on the field as a ball girl.

It was the 10th inning and the Mariners and Angels were tied 2-2. Shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt laid down a bunt toward third base and Angels’ relief pitcher Scot Shields threw the ball wide past first, nearly hitting Bachman at her post along the wall.

The right fielder tried to argue that she interfered, Bachman said, but the game was already over.

One of the perks of being a ball girl, Laura Bachman gets her own baseball card. Courtesy Seattle Mariners

One of the perks of being a ball girl, Laura Bachman gets her own baseball card. Courtesy Seattle Mariners

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Schools

Who created the electric motorcycle?
By Lauren McLaughlin
Eastlake High School senior Jordan Brunner turns heads while cruising around town on his unusual motorcycle.
“It’s been pretty cool,” Brunner said. “When it goes by, people wonder what it is.”
For his senior project Brunner built a silent running electric motorcycle.
Brunner said he originally wanted to build an electric car for the project but it was simply too overwhelming.
He then decided on an electric motorcycle instead.
Brunner started doing research for the project in September and completed the motorcycle in mid-May.
The motorcycle can go up to 50 mph and charges overnight.
“The farthest I’ve gotten is about 27 miles,” Brunner said.
Brunner’s mother, Marianne Brunner, said she was not surprised that her son chose to build an electric motorcycle for his senior project.
“He was born to be an engineer,” Marianne said.
According to Marianne, Jordan started building things when he was eight years old.
“He was into robotics in middle school,” Marianne said.
“When he was younger it was a bit overwhelming to keep challenging him,” Marianne said. “But now I look forward to seeing what he can do.”
The teachers on his project panel, Sarah Walker and Elise Meilleur, were impressed by Jordan’s project.
“I thought it was awesome,” Walker said. “He really put a lot of work into (his motorcycle).”
Meilleur said when she first heard about his project she thought it sounded really exciting, but she was concerned about whether or not he would be able to finish it.
For the senior project the students are required to spend 60 hours on their project, but Jordan easily put in twice that on his, Walker said.
Jordan enjoys motor biking and engineering, so combining the two seemed like a good idea for the project, Jordan said.
Jordan’s favorite part about building his motorcycle was seeing the wheel first spin.
“It actually didn’t work when I first had it wired together,” Jordan said. After a few more tries Jordan did wire it together correctly.
“I hit the throttle and the wheel turned,” Jordan said. “The wheel turned backwards but it was still turning. It was great.”
Walker enjoyed watching Jordan debut his electric motorcycle.
“The look on his face was priceless,” Walker said. “He was so proud, so proud.”
“Hearing about it is one thing. Actually bringing it in was a whole different thing,” Jordan said.
Meilleur was eager to see the finished product.
“It was really exciting to see it in action after hearing about all the challenges he had to overcome for this project,” Meilleur said.
“My friends think it’s pretty cool. With the price of gas being so high they all want one,” Jordan said.
Jordan received a partial merit scholarship to Gonzaga University and will be attending there this fall.
He plans to major in mechanical engineering.
Intern Lauren McLaughlin can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 244 or samrev@isspress.com. To comment on this story visit www.sammamishreview.com

Eastlake High School senior Jordan Brunner turns heads while cruising around town on his unusual motorcycle.

“It’s been pretty cool,” Brunner said. “When it goes by, people wonder what it is.”

For his senior project Brunner built a silent running electric motorcycle.

Jordan Brunner prepares to ride the electric motorcycle he built.

Jordan Brunner prepares to ride the electric motorcycle he built. Contributed

Read more »

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