Sween House close to a resolution
June 10, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
Sammamish is close to having a youth counseling center, despite a logistical roadblock between two local public agencies.
Parks Director Jessi Richardson informed the City Council in April that an informal agreement between the city and the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District might prevent the creation of a youth counseling center.
But the water and sewer district staff has since indicated a desire to find a solution, Richardson said in an interview.
“The project needs to move forward. That is key,” she said.
The water and sewer district staff reviewed its policy and told the city it would be willing to see if the district commission would make an exception.
“Five years was mutually agreed upon by the staff, but it was not a recommendation from the commissioners,” explained Ron Little, general manager of the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District.
Little added that the water and sewer district commission would have to vote to allow for a new definition of “temporary” that would allow the Sween House to operate without a sewer line hook up for 10 years instead of five.
“Preliminarily, I haven’t seen an opposition to that,” Little said.
The council had anticipated allocating funds to renovating the Sween House — currently used for storage and located in the lower Sammamish Commons Park — and leasing it to two youth counseling organizations.
Youth Eastside Services and Friends of Youth were lined up to use the facility, Richardson said.
But then Richardson learned that staff at the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District had indicated in 2007 that the Sween House, which uses a septic tank, would have to hook up to a public sewer line if someone used it on a permanent basis.
The water and sewer district’s definition of “permanent” was more than five years, which came into conflict with the youth counseling organizations’ intention to use the Sween House for at least 10 years.
Youth Eastside Services Executive Director Patti Skelton-McGougan said her organization needed to know it could use the facility for at least 10 years.
The city has budgeted $300,000 for renovations to the Sween House, a 1,800 square feet structure, but hooking up to a sewer line would cost an additional $370,000 or more, according to a rough estimate from the water and sewer district.
In general the district requires property owners to hook up to the city’s sewer system when new building occurs, such as the City Hall’s construction, which finished in 2005.
The district’s requirement stems from the 1994 King County Comprehensive Plan, which says properties in urban areas must eventually hook up to a sewer line.
Richardson said that the Parks and Recreation Department still has the Sween House renovations scheduled for late summer, with occupancy planned for January 2010.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
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If the city council is going to allocate money for a teen center, see J.B. Wogan’s article “Saved Money on road projects could bring teen center,” why spend money on fixing up the Sween house that won’t come on line until 2010 or 2011? The existing King County Library building will be available by then and this is money that can be used to improve that facility.
What we have here is a lot of speculation and hot air without concrete plans. During the past year, the city council has not focused on the teen center at all. We don’t need a lot of talk aimed at creating the perception that this city council is on top of key citizen concerns, such as the teen center. What we need is good planning. Who, what, when, and how are questions demanding answers.
Since the failure of the Parks bond issue in November 2008, the city council has not discussed the teen center. What we have heard is discussion about how the Sween House will at least address the need for youth counseling services while the city tries to figure out how it will buy or build and operate a teen center. There is no specific plan and no funding allocated in this years or next years budget. There is no agreement on the purchase of the old library, or land for a new teen center. There is no agreement with an agency to run it and in this economic climate agencies like YMCA and Boys and Girls Club are unsure about funding.
Lets stay focused on some facts. Taking $5.3 million out of the general fund and putting it in an emergency fund negates the savings of several million dollars on road projects. There is no clear picture about how the city will fund a teen center. This talk is little more than an election ploy. After ten years the city council has no specific plan for a teen center.