As the kickoff clock winds down to the start of the 4A state championship game between the Issaquah High School Eagles and the Skyline High School Spartans, students, staff and community members are rallying behind their school colors.

Skyline students and staff are sending the Spartans off with an all-school pep rally assembly Friday at 1:50 p.m. The community will be rallying for Skyline at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the corner of 228^th and Issaquah-Pine Lake Road (Wells Fargo Bank).

The Skyline Gridiron Club is selling state finals T-shirts for $10 each in front of MERCER in the QFC Plaza Thursday from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m.-noon. The school is selling shirts for $5 at the bookkeeper’s office.

Students are planning individual tailgates at the Tacoma Dome, but the school is not coordinating one.

School officials are asking everyone to remember to exhibit good sportsmanship during the game. And the Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association has asked school officials to share tournament regulations for spectators:

•  WIAA tournament managers have the authority to remove fans for inappropriate behavior and comments.
•  Artificial noisemakers (including thunder sticks) are not allowed at any WIAA state event; only cheerleaders may use megaphones.
• Helium balloons are not allowed in the facility.
• Small hand-towels with professional printing approved by the school administration (a sponsor name/logo on the hand towel is permissible, provided it is secondary in size to the predominate school name/logo) are permissible.
• Foam fingers and hand held pom-poms are permissible.
• Only the official school banner may be posted in the stands; no other signs are allowed.
• Face painting is permitted.
• All fans must wear shirts at all times (attire appropriate for a school function is expected).
• Fans will be allowed to wear paraphernalia during the WIAA state tournament contests, only if worn or carried in the hand of the spectator in the facility; boxes/cases or large quantities carried in any manner of any such paraphernalia will not be allowed in the facility.
• Students will be responsible for properly disposing of such paraphernalia at the end of each contest.
• If additional personnel are required to clean up any mess resulting from the paraphernalia, the school will be billed for cleanup.
• Fans are not to bring confetti; participating schools will be subject to paying the additional clean-up expense.

Reach Reporter Chantelle Lusebrink at 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com.

Get tickets

Tickets are $14 for adults, $10 for students with identification and $10 for senior citizens at the Tacoma Dome.

Skyline fans may purchase tickets ahead of time from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Skyline High School bookkeeper’s office in the main commons.

New 10:51 a.m.

After brief debate, City Council voted 6-1 in favor of increasing the property tax by one percent.

State law prohibits the city from increasing property taxes by more than one percent per year.

City projections show the new tax rate would be $2.04 per $1,000 in home value. For a $600,000 home — the median home value in the city — the homeowner would pay about $1,224 in city taxes. Residents can calculate their property taxes to the city and other taxing districts, such as King County, the Issaquah or Lake Washington school districts, the libraries or the Port of Seattle by using the city’s tax calculator.

About 68 percent of the city’s revenue stems from property taxes, according to Finance Director Lyman Howard.

“We’re extremely dependent on property tax,” Howard said.

The increase would add about $180,000 to the $19.5 million the city already receives annual in property taxes, according to Howard.

Unlike other Eastside cities, Sammamish’s sole taxing mechanism is the property tax.

Several council members referenced the crossover point in 2015 when city projections show spending would surpass the city’s current revenue stream.

“At some point, we are going to sit down and talk about how we’re going to fund the city long term,” Councilman Mark Cross said.

City Manager Ben Yazici has suggested at other meetings that the city would need to curb spending or add a new tax establish a more sustainable funding model.

If the city had a utility tax, in addition to a property tax, the one percent increase would be less attractive, Cross said.

“As we are here today, I’m going to support the one percent,” he said.

Councilwoman Kathy Huckabay voted against the increase, explaining that she believed the city should do everything it could to soften the financial hardships of residents at this time.

Councilwoman Nancy Whitten voted for the increase, but said she worried rubberstamping such tax increases would result in residents moving away from Sammamish.

“I do feel that in some ways, a lot of economic hard times that we’re facing, more and more people are going to find it hard to stay in Sammamish,” Whitten said.

While she approved of the property tax increase, Whitten indicated that she would probably be opposed to new taxing mechanisms, such as a real estate excise tax or utility tax, in the future. The city would have to demonstrate more conservative spending first, she said.

Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.

Edmonds police have arrested a Pittsburgh, Penn. man, 19, who they say burglarized a home in Sammamish and elsewhere in the state. Several residents have reported encounters with the man, who identified himself as a door-to-door magazine salesman. In the Edmonds case, he was charged with burglary and robbery. 

Detective Bill Albright, of the Sammamish Police Department, filed his case with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in early November. 

Police say the suspect committed three recent burglaries, including the October incident in Sammamish. The other two were in Tumwater in September and Edmonds in October. 

In the Sammamish case, the homeowner came home to find that the second floor window screen had been pried off and the window — which was previously left slightly ajar — was now wide open. 

The suspect then allegedly stole $1,708 worth of items, including a $300 prototype of a new Microsoft Zune, a $700 diamond ring and a $500 pearl necklace.

“The Xbox, the notebook computers, they’re all there,” Albright said. Only small items that can fit in a suspect’s pockets are stolen in these cases, he explained.

There is still a chance that other potential burglars, under the pretense of being door-to-door salesmen, are roaming Sammamish, Albright warned. 

Stan Bump, a resident due east of City Hall, said a stranger came to his door one morning in October, claiming to be a recovered felon who was using the sales job to change his ways. 

“Deep down inside, you really want these guys to reform,” said Colleen Patterson, one of Bump’s neighbors. She and her husband Mike live on Southeast 8th Street and they, too, encountered the magazine salesman with a criminal past. 

Patterson said she believes her neighborhood and ones like it are targeted because the houses are far apart and residents are less likely to notice suspicious activity on their neighbors’ property. 

There is no evidence that connects the arrested suspect with the encounters experienced by Bump and his neighbors, according to police. The events are related only in that they speak to the phenomenon of door-to-door salesmen dropping into Sammamish in the fall. 

In the case of the arrested suspect, a job training company hired him to sell magazines, Albright said. 

“The type of people that they procure for employment might have less than desirable backgrounds,” he said. “Not all of them are bad. Many of them are legitimate door-to-door magazine businesses.”

The modus operandi of these businesses is that they hire employees who are in trouble financially, bus the employees to a specific location, offer them free room and board at a motel, and train them in aggressive advertising tactics, according to Albright.

Sometimes the crime isn’t outright burglary, but some sort of forgery, he said.

Albright said he knows of two cases in King County where a salesman altered the amount on a check from $41 to $4,041. Another classic tactic is to pull a check from the middle of a victim’s checkbook, which will not be obvious to the victim until far later, he said.

Door-to-door salesmen are required to register as a peddler beforehand with the city, according to City Clerk Melonie Anderson. If they do so, they will have proof of their registration on-hand to demonstrate they are legally selling subscriptions. 

The suspect in the Sammamish case did not register with the city, according to Albright. 

Patterson said people have shown up at her home for the last three years with stories of a criminal past and an eye toward reform through door-to-door sales. Each time, the door knocking takes place in late fall, she said. 

Patterson and her husband have started using their home alarm system more, she said. 

A handful of residents have set up a telephone network and agreed to call each other if they notice a suspicious person door knocking in the area, according to Bump. 

Residents should also call the police about suspicious circumstances involving door-to-door salesman, Albright said. 

“We need to know what’s going on. If you don’t tell us, we don’t know,” Albright said. 

“Deep down inside, you really want these guys to reform.”

– Colleen Patterson, 

Sammamish resident –

Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.

The city of Sammamish 2009 budget is remarkable — in a good way. City officials have put together a prudent spending plan that takes into account the current recession and looks to future years.

For months now, the city has been spreading the bad news: A tax hike is coming.

Contrary to what your wallet may tell you, this is not a bad thing. Sammamish has, since its inception, gotten by without some taxes that exist in virtually every other municipality in the state.

Sammamish citizens have been getting a good deal for a long time. The government has run efficiently and has made use of other available revenue streams.

As those other steams start to run dry, the city is cutting back to match revenues, cutting three positions – about four percent of the city’s workforce. They have taken grant money and used it to spread funds to other parts of the budget. They’re doing everything they’re supposed to do when times get tough.

But the time is fast coming when even those cuts will not be enough. Within a few years, expenses will exceed revenues. The city council is doing what it can to stall the implementation of new taxes, but we believe City Manager Ben Yazici when he tells us it will happen. He has been giving the council and residents plenty of warning.

Yazici and the council are starting to engage citizens and the business community about what sort of new tax — or tax hike — they will find most palatable. 

We applaud the communications effort. The city is admirable in seeking input well in advance instead of raising alarm bells at the last minute. They are giving anyone who wants to engage in the process a chance to do it. They are not raising taxes now —because they don’t yet need to — but taxpayers are forewarned.

Many more mature municipalities were caught off guard as the economy soured over the past year. Sammamish has shown foresight that should allow the city to avoid some of the most damaging effects of difficult times. 

Let’s hope it is enough.

Good Samaritan Episcopal Church, in conjunction with the Sammamish and Providence Point Kiwanis clubs, are hosing breakfast with Santa with seatings at 8:45 and 10 a.m. Dec. 6 at the church, 1757 244th Ave. NE.

For more information, call 392-8905.

I don’t need to say it; we’re all talking about it. The economy is just plain scary. Now, more than ever, we need to keep focused on our families and our community. We will get through this together.

Those very same people who have been hit by the economic downturn are still out there doing their community service and providing fun and fundraising for the community. One shining example that comes to mind is the Sammamish Rotary and the Nightmare at Beaver Lake. The Rotary is made up of a wonderful group of professionals and caring citizens, many of whom are personally feeling the sting of the failng economy. Yet, they were out there working to all hours of the night to provide some amazing entertainment for our citizens while raising money for programs which support our kids. 

Personally, I’ve encountered more groups, adult, professional, and youth, asking for canned goods this year. We know what needs to be done, and we’re doing it.

Now, that’s what I call the SAMMI Spirit; folks seeing a need, addressing it and strengthening  their community spirit along the way. 

We all know these people, so let’s celebrate their selfless contributions to our community.

Please consider nominating one of these stars for a SAMMI Award. There are nine categories: Arts, Business, Courage, Learning Promotion, Trevor Price, Teen Spirit, Unsung Hero, Youth Advocate, and Spirit of Sammamish. Anyone can nominate and it’s easy. Visit sammiawards.org , or pick up a nomination form at the MailPost or the library. Nominations are due Dec. 10. Then, come to the SAMMI Awards celebration on March 14, 2009 at Eastlake High School. 

Cary Young, 

Executive Director, SAMMI Awards.

Economy presents opportunities

The city of Sammamish has plenty in its budget to cover the shortfall from the bond’s failure. The current economy has already brought new housing to a standstill along with reduced pressure for the infrastructure to support it. 

The city should simply rethink its whole approach to transportation and redirect the East Lake Sammamish Parkway and 244th Avenue funds to do something that really does improve the quality of life here.

The roads are so highly treasured by some of us because everyone needs to go somewhere else, because there is so little to do here in our city.

Why not spend the money on real quality-of-life measures? We need the parks, we need a public pool, we need more facilities that make the place feel like a “town” where people live and play rather than a collection of houses with fast roads around them. 

The transportation solutions can and must be more creative.

For example, we should look at adding more bike lanes, not just more roads. And placing secure bike parking racks closer to bus stops would really make the buses a more effective alternative. 

We should even consider changing the approach to 244th Avenue and create a simple walking and biking bridge that would not only be a better way to connect neighborhoods, but would also take advantage of the beautiful wetlands in that area in a way everyone can actually enjoy them.

The downturn in the economy has a large downside to it, but the city should take advantage of the opportunity to stop “business as usual” and rethink how to really make this a real community that the neighbors will envy.

David Dallaire

Sammamish

Time for change

In the Nov. 26 Sammamish Review on page 2, Parks Director Jessi Richardson said, “I can tell you that I don’t know. I can tell you that the master plan will proceed as planned.” That was in reply to attendees asking where the money will come from for Sammamish Landing now that the Parks Bond has failed.

Jessi, the answer can be found on page 11 of that newspaper, where Ben Yazici has plans to adopt a new city tax.

In that same article Mr. Yazici states “66 percent of respondents said they are pleased with the city’s progress on road project”. Mr. Yazici used that quote to justify pushing through East Lake Sammamish Parkway. However, when you read that quote you will realize that the above quote had nothing to do with the parkway.

Perhaps a poll conducted by the citizens for the citizens, especially after they hear that we are now being limited to written comments only at the upcoming council meeting, would reveal a different level of satisfaction (or most likely dissatisfaction) with the way we are being handled. Yes, handled. The people that we hired and voted in to work for us are handling us.

This is our city and we have a council (two council members do hear us) and city manager with their fingers in their ears. 

It is time they listen to us. Please contact us at citizensforsammamish@gmail.com.

Lori Barnett

Sammamish

Member of Citizens For Sammamish

City Council and staff took a step closer to increasing bus service in Sammamish at the Nov. 18 council meeting. But a report issued just before Thanksgiving calls for a new way of allocating bus routes. If its recommendations are adopted, it could become harder to add routes to Sammamish in the future.Councilwoman Kathy Huckabay asked the council to request increased service from King County Metro Transit. The funding for developing cities, such as Sammamish, already existed, but council first had to authorize its city manager, Ben Yazici, to ask for more service. 

The council agreed with Huckabay, and Yazici said he would take action in the near future.

“I’m hoping that we’re going to get it,” Huckabay said. 

Metro already expanded service to Sammamish once this year. As of Sept. 22, the 269 bus started running once more per hour, bringing it to three runs. The 269 bus runs from 6-9 a.m. and 3:30-7 p.m., traveling between the Issaquah Park-and-Ride and the Overlake Park-and-Ride in Redmond, crossing Sammamish along the way. 

Council discussions have revolved around a six-hour gap in the middle of the day when riders cannot take a bus.

Jeff Brauns, senior transportation program engineer for Sammamish, said he and Yazici met with officials from Metro back in March, discussing ways to add public transportation to 228th Avenue and its cross streets. After the completion of Town Center, Metro might build a park-and-ride at the north end of city, Brauns said.

Some time in December, Kevin Desmond, Metro’s general manger, will probably come to Sammamish to discuss the bus service request with Yazici and Brauns. 

The council’s request came just as the Municipal League of King County issued a report calling for Metro to retool its allocation of future bus routes across the county. 

Specifically, the report called into question the logic of Metro’s policy of increasing the service to the east and south ends of the county, while the western urban area — Seattle and Bellevue in particular — represent the highest demand and need. Furthermore, the report suggested that Metro should supply routes based on demand and need, not by proportioning service to generalized geographic regions such as the south, east and west. The current Metro policy proportions 40 percent of its new service to the east, 40 percent to the south, and 20 percent to the west.

This policy had been developed to attempt to make up for historically underserving those areas. The league says it may have outlived its usefulness.

The league listed several reasons for why it called for Metro to change its new service allocation policy, which would likely result in slowing the rate of increased service in suburban communities — like Sammamish — and hastening the rate of increased service to urban ones: 

•  Population density in the west is more than double the density in either the south or east.
• The median household income is almost 50 percent less in the west, which makes those residents more dependent on inexpensive public transit, the league argued. 
•  A higher percentage of the population in the west use public transit than in the east and south.
• The cost of funding routes to the east and south, and subsequently the cost for riding buses in the east and south, is too high, discouraging ridership.

On the other hand, the report also acknowledged that part of the reason for the current bus service structure is that a disproportionate amount of tax revenue flows from the south and east areas.

Brad Meacham, chair of the league, said the report isn’t trying to pit the south and east against the west, nor does it call for depleting resources in places like Sammamish, Issaquah and Redmond. There could be a way to reshuffle existing routes to maintain current levels while achieving higher efficiency, he said. 

But the report does suggest that dense urban areas of Seattle need more service, he added.  

Huckabay, who is also a representative on the Regional Transit Committee for the Suburban Cities Association, said she was troubled by the report, but did not expect it to affect Sammamish’s current request for more service. 

“It’s far enough down the road,” Huckabay said. 

She added that she believed Metro would fold the league’s report into a larger discussion some time next year, one that would also address overall budget concerns.

In response to the league’s report, Metro did publish a Nov. 17 letter from Desmond, which acknowledged the dispute over resources in the south and east, but did not rebut or accept the league’s criticisms as valid.

Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.

Margaret Rosenow holds up a map she drafted of her neighborhood and its existing resources in case disaster strikes. Photo by Gary Rosenow

Margaret Rosenow has a plan to protect your neighborhood. Actually, it’s not her plan, per se — it’s a state program called Map Your Neighborhood — but ever since she took a class in March, this Sammamish resident has sought ways to help residents prepare for disaster situations.

“This is what you use when you don’t have access to fire and police. When 911 does not work. When you’re on your own, this is what you do,” Rosenow said.

Map Your Neighborhood offers small communities a contingency plan in case an earthquake, or something on a similar scale, rattles the region.

Rosenow held a meeting Nov. 19 at her home on Northeast 4th Street for 12 neighbors. After watching an informational DVD and reading through a set of guidelines for disaster preparedness, the neighbors inventoried resources they have in their local community. 

The inventory process included items such as extra bedding, fire extinguishers, a private generator, and skills such as first aid training or plumbing experience. Each resident left with a map of the neighborhood, with names, ages, and the special needs — diabetes, for example — of people living in the community.The program also recommends that residents keep protective gear such as helmets, gloves and an extra pair of shoes underneath their beds, Rosenow said.

“It was quite an eye-opener, in fact,” said Dave Richardson, a neighbor who attended Rosenow’s meeting.

Richardson explained that Map Your Neighborhood sobered him to the probable reality that widespread disasters would leave normal emergency response agencies overwhelmed.

“Something like a 7.2 earthquake affects the whole infrastructure. It’s completely unreasonable to expect the normal EMT folks to be able to deal with it. In the true emergency, you are going to be dependent on yourself and your neighbors,” he said.

As a member of the Sammamish Hills Lutheran Church, Rosenow has managed to spread the word outside of her own neighborhood. Rosenow’s idea is that the November meeting would encourage more communities throughout Sammamish to communicate and prepare for disasters, she said. In January, she plans to host another neighborhood meeting to keep the momentum going.

The program is growing locally and nationally, according to Rosanne Garrand, state public education coordinator for the State Emergency Management Department. 

Since the program started in the state three years ago, more than 5,000 people have been trained to organize neighborhood meetings on disaster preparedness, Garrand said. 

The program, which began in California as a way to soften the blow of earthquakes, has spread to 12 states nationwide, she said. 

Eastside Fire and Rescue Chief Lee Soptich said he wasn’t familiar with Map Your Neighborhood, but similar programs already exist around the Eastside.

“What’s it do for us? You know, it’s huge,” said Soptich, who added that if a natural disaster struck the region, his 28-person staff could not reliably meet the needs of 106,000 people.

“Anything that local communities can do on their own, it not only takes pressure off of us, but it should build a greater sense of security for them,” Soptich said.

To learn more about the Map Your Neighborhood program, or to download its free instructional materials, go to http://emd.wa.gov/myn/index.shtml. 

“This is what you use when you don’t have access to fire and police. When 911 does not work. When you’re on your own, this is what you do.”

– Margaret Rosenow, 

Resident –

Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.