Sammamish Forum October 14
October 13, 2009
By Administrator
Rip Van Winkle awakes
I rather enjoyed the Review article on Sept. 30 comparing Tom Odell and Jack Barry. Especially amusing was that Barry believes he still has time to ‘educate’ the Municipal League about the real Jack Barry to improve his ratings.
If I understand this correctly, Barry has slept his way through the past four years and wants us to believe that he is actually serious about the City Council. After all, his friend convinced him to put up signs. Yup, he must be serious.
I was not amused, however about Barry’s statement that ‘a comprehensive recreation center with an aquatic facility in the Towne Center area is “wishful thinking.” As far as I can tell, a recreation center has always been “wishful thinking” to Barry. Of course, we would already have a center had the council, which Barry has been a member of since the founding of Sammamish, made it a priority in the beginning.
It is well past time for Barry to move on and to give others the opportunity to deliver on what Sammamish families actually need.
Michael J. O’Connell
Sammamish
Community center
a good start
The Sammamish City Council’s decision to move forward with the purchase of the old library building for a recreation center is long overdue. It has been needed for a very long time!
The lack of a community and teen center has been by far the most frequently mentioned item by our residents. The need is further evidenced by the popularity of the skate park next to city hall.
However, at best the old library is an imperfect, interim facility to our very real need for a community center that begs for a long-term solution.
The best thing about using the old library for a “recreation center”, even on an interim basis, is that it is available now and the building, while needing modification, can meet some of the community’s immediate needs. Then, in a few years, the city could either convert the old library building to other city purposes or dispose of it and use the funds to partially offset the construction of a pool and new and larger community center. It is in an extremely desirable commercial location.
In the long run, the city needs a much larger facility specifically constructed as a community center with a pool – facilities that should be capable of serving Sammamish residents well beyond the end of the city’s second decade. This is a much better use of city funds than some other recent proposals from the council.
An ideal location for a new and larger community center would be in the Town Center area adjacent to City Hall, the skate park and the new library. The city could begin by constructing a highly desired pool and aquatic center with enough adjacent land reserved to develop the larger Community Center for all – teens, families, young adults, seniors – which could be used for many purposes including recreation, Running Start, and adult education
Let’s not lose sight of where we really need to be going to meet our city’s future needs!
John Stilz
Sammamish Resident
Fire coverage unfair
The Board of Directors of Eastside Fire and Rescue and the fire chief went out in a boat on Lake Sammamish. The wind came up and blew the hat off one of the directors and it went out into the lake. The fire chief volunteered to fetch the hat. He proceeded to get out of the boat, walk across the water and retrieve it for the grateful director.
The next day, the headline on J.B. Wogan’s article on the event proclaimed “Fire Chief Can’t Swim.”
Rick Gaines
The writer is chairman of Fire District 10 and a former member of the EFR Board of Directors
Caution — heavy
lifting ahead.
Sammamish faces important and complex issues in the upcoming years, including finishing the details and developing a financing plan together for the town center, working on our relationship with Eastside Fire and Rescue as they pursue a regional fire authority and the collapse of King County funding for many of the services they have provided. This is not the time to elect lightweights to the council.
Tom Vance has shown, over a long period of time, a commitment to public service in Sammamish and a real ability to digest both the details and the big picture of public policy.
He has served for two years on the Sammamish Planning Commission, one year as chair, and the Planning Advisory Board before that. He has distinguished himself not only by his work on the issues, but also for his work with citizens, fellow planning commissioners and staff. Tom Vance will be a new face on the council, but he brings a steady voice, an analytical eye for public policy and an open hand to all of those who want to be involved.
Mark Cross
The writer is a member of the Sammamish City Council
Rip Van Winkle awakes
I rather enjoyed the Review article on Sept. 30 comparing Tom Odell and Jack Barry. Especially amusing was that Barry believes he still has time to ‘educate’ the Municipal League about the real Jack Barry to improve his ratings.
If I understand this correctly, Barry has slept his way through the past four years and wants us to believe that he is actually serious about the City Council. After all, his friend convinced him to put up signs. Yup, he must be serious.
I was not amused, however about Barry’s statement that ‘a comprehensive recreation center with an aquatic facility in the Towne Center area is “wishful thinking.” As far as I can tell, a recreation center has always been “wishful thinking” to Barry. Of course, we would already have a center had the council, which Barry has been a member of since the founding of Sammamish, made it a priority in the beginning.
It is well past time for Barry to move on and to give others the opportunity to deliver on what Sammamish families actually need.
Michael J. O’Connell
Sammamish
Community center a good start
The Sammamish City Council’s decision to move forward with the purchase of the old library building for a recreation center is long overdue. It has been needed for a very long time!
The lack of a community and teen center has been by far the most frequently mentioned item by our residents. The need is further evidenced by the popularity of the skate park next to city hall.
However, at best the old library is an imperfect, interim facility to our very real need for a community center that begs for a long-term solution.
The best thing about using the old library for a “recreation center”, even on an interim basis, is that it is available now and the building, while needing modification, can meet some of the community’s immediate needs. Then, in a few years, the city could either convert the old library building to other city purposes or dispose of it and use the funds to partially offset the construction of a pool and new and larger community center. It is in an extremely desirable commercial location.
In the long run, the city needs a much larger facility specifically constructed as a community center with a pool – facilities that should be capable of serving Sammamish residents well beyond the end of the city’s second decade. This is a much better use of city funds than some other recent proposals from the council.
An ideal location for a new and larger community center would be in the Town Center area adjacent to City Hall, the skate park and the new library. The city could begin by constructing a highly desired pool and aquatic center with enough adjacent land reserved to develop the larger Community Center for all – teens, families, young adults, seniors – which could be used for many purposes including recreation, Running Start, and adult education
Let’s not lose sight of where we really need to be going to meet our city’s future needs!
John Stilz
Sammamish Resident
Fire coverage unfair
The Board of Directors of Eastside Fire and Rescue and the fire chief went out in a boat on Lake Sammamish. The wind came up and blew the hat off one of the directors and it went out into the lake. The fire chief volunteered to fetch the hat. He proceeded to get out of the boat, walk across the water and retrieve it for the grateful director.
The next day, the headline on J.B. Wogan’s article on the event proclaimed “Fire Chief Can’t Swim.”
Rick Gaines
The writer is chairman of Fire District 10 and a former member of the EFR Board of Directors
Caution — heavy lifting ahead
Sammamish faces important and complex issues in the upcoming years, including finishing the details and developing a financing plan together for the town center, working on our relationship with Eastside Fire and Rescue as they pursue a regional fire authority and the collapse of King County funding for many of the services they have provided. This is not the time to elect lightweights to the council.
Tom Vance has shown, over a long period of time, a commitment to public service in Sammamish and a real ability to digest both the details and the big picture of public policy.
He has served for two years on the Sammamish Planning Commission, one year as chair, and the Planning Advisory Board before that. He has distinguished himself not only by his work on the issues, but also for his work with citizens, fellow planning commissioners and staff. Tom Vance will be a new face on the council, but he brings a steady voice, an analytical eye for public policy and an open hand to all of those who want to be involved.
Mark Cross
The writer is a member of the Sammamish City Council
Other Stories of Interest: Community Center, Eastside Fire & Rescue, Election 2009, Sammamish City Council
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