City Council hears specifics on demographics, economic challenges
May 17, 2013
New: May 17, 2:19 p.m.
Sammamish leaders already knew that the city was unusually youth and family oriented. Now they have the numbers to back it up.
Chris Mefford of consulting firm Community Attributes, made the latest in a series of presentations to the City Council’s Economic Development Committee May 14 on an economic study his firm is conducting. Read more
Sammamish likely to monitor Ebright Creek
May 15, 2013
Sammamish seems poised to begin monitoring water quality in Ebright Creek.
At the May 7 City Council meeting, Councilwoman Nancy Whitten suggested the city take up monitoring duties that the Friends of Pine Lake plan to stop doing. She said the city could spend $10,000 to do the monitoring. Read more
Sammamish Police Officers will have discretion on impounding cars
May 15, 2013
Following a pair of court rulings about impounding vehicles, Sammamish is poised to make changes to its regulations surrounding the issue. The old laws required that officers would impound the vehicles of people pulled over for offenses such as driving with a suspended license or driving under the influence. Recent court rulings stated that such mandates are unconstitutional, said Sammamish Police Chief Nate Elledge.
The new laws state that the vehicles may be impounded, subject to the discretion of the officer. Elledge said the Sammamish Police impounded 62 vehicles last year. He said the department’s guidance to officers would be to release the vehicle to a co-owner if they have a valid driver’s license.
Mayor Tom Odell suggested the city might want to consider graduated fees for repeat offenders – increasing the impound fee charged by the city if people have their vehicle impounded multiple times.
The council may consider that issue separately in the future.
Public weighs in on Sammamish environmental regulations
May 15, 2013
This time, it was the people’s turn. The City Council spent the past few weeks getting briefings on the Environmentally Critical Areas Ordinance from members of the city’s planning department. On May 7, it opened the formal public hearing on the proposed changes to the law, and heard from both environmental activists and property owners.
The Environmentally Critical Areas Ordinance (the cool kids call it the ECA for short) is an umbrella term for a wide array of regulations. Taken together, they set rules for developing near wetlands, on steep slopes, in areas with soils prone to erosion, near animal migration routes and a few other topics. Read more
Sammamish Reserve Police Officers sworn in
May 15, 2013
Sammamish saw its police department expand by two May 7 when Chief Nate Elledge swore in a pair of reserve police officers. Officers Kyle Rip and David Kretschmer* are volunteers who might eventually put in up to 20 hours a month for the department.
Each has completed 300 hours of training at the police academy and will have another 250 hours of training with an officer in the field. They may eventually be able to assist officers around the city and take on duties such as transporting prisoners to jail and otherwise supplementing the department.
Kyle Rip and David Kretschmer
Police blotter May 15
May 15, 2013
Burglary
Police responded to a home on the 1500 block of East Lake Sammamish Parkway Northeast when the woman who lives there reported missing items.
The woman, who said she is married under Islamic law, but not under U.S. law, has split up from her husband. She was out of town from April 8 to April 24 and says that when she returned, she found items missing from the home. Read more
Issaquah School Board member Marnie Maraldo seeks re-election
May 15, 2013
Issaquah School Board member Marnie Maraldo has announced that she will file for re-election this spring.
Maraldo, of Newcastle, occupies the District 2 seat, representing Newcastle and the southwest portion of the Issaquah school district. She was elected to the board at the end of 2009, taking over for longtime member Connie Fletcher.
Although Sammamish residents do not live in District 2, the race will still appear on their ballots in November. Read more
Troopers to team with truckers to look for aggressive drivers next week
May 13, 2013
New: May 13, 1:54 p.m.
Washington State Patrol troopers will be back out May 20-24 conducting an aggressive driving emphasis in King County. This time, troopers will have help from truckers to look for motorists who are driving unsafely around big trucks.
During the emphasis, troopers will team up with truck drivers and ride with them in their trucks. When a trooper spots a car speeding, cutting others off or driving aggressively around a truck, the trooper will radio ahead to fellow officers to stop the motorist. Read more
Sammamish likely to monitor Ebright Creek
May 12, 2013
New: May 12, 11:16 a.m.
Sammamish seems poised to begin monitoring water quality in Ebright Creek.
At the May 7 City Council meeting, Councilwoman Nancy Whitten suggested the city take up monitoring duties that the Friends of Pine Lake plan to stop doing. She said the city could spend $10,000 to do the monitoring. Read more
Sammamish budget in good shape
May 10, 2013
New: May 10, 1:15 p.m.
“Detroit would kill for this kind of financial picture,” said Mayor Tom Odell at the May 7 Sammamish City Council meeting. Odell and the rest of the council had just heard a presentation on the city’s financial position, including the final report on the 2012 budget.
Joe Guinasso, Sammamish’s finance director started off with the big picture that is the envy of almost anyone who’s done a budget. City revenues in 2012 were 21.9 percent over budget while expenditures were 30.8 percent under budget. Read more
