Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper
THE ISSAQUAH PRESS
117th Year, No. 21
Thursday, MAy 26, 2016
issaquahpress.com
City may change marijuana shop buffer zones By Scott Stoddard sstoddard@isspress.com The general manager of Issaquah’s first retail marijuana outlet wants the city to ease its restrictions on where pot shops can be located. Clifford Gehrett of Issaquah Cannabis Company spoke to the City Council during audience comments May 16 and asked for a reduction in the city-mandated buffer of 1,000 feet between retail marijuana shops
and certain entities. Gehrett asked the councilmembers to reduce the buffer to 100 feet, which is the state minimum. According to City of Issaquah documents, the administration would like to “maintain 1,000-foot buffer from all uses and other marijuana retail stores.” Those uses include schools, recreation centers, parks, playgrounds, libraries, transit centers, daycares, game arcades, according to city land use code. However, the city’s Planning
Committee hears complaints about East Sunset Way makeover plan
Policy Commission has different recommendations. 4The commission would keep the 1,000-foot buffer between retail marijuana shops and schools and playgrounds. 4It would reduce the buffer to 500 feet for recreation centers, daycares, parks, libraries and game arcades. 4It would reduce the buffer to 100 feet for transit centers. During the May 16 council meeting, Councilwoman Mary Lou Pauly
said the Land and Shore Committee, which she chairs, will take up any changes to city code regarding retail marijuana at its next meeting, which is scheduled for June 2 in the council chambers at City Hall South, 135 E. Sunset Way. Retail marijuana shops are banned in Sammamish, Newcastle and Snoqualmie, but Gehrett cited increased competition from new retailers in Bellevue, Redmond and Renton. He did not mention Issaquah’s second retail marijuana
license, which was awarded to a company, Green Grotto, owned by his father. Gehrett said the shop he manages, which is located at 230 NE Juniper St., has generated $2.5 million in cannabis tax revenue and about $1 million in sales tax revenue since opening on Jan. 30, 2015. In the 15 months since its opening, Issaquah Cannabis Company See BUFFER, Page A2
HISTORY ON DISPLAY AT PICKERING BARN
By April Chan For The Issaquah Press Traffic congestion is a problem on East Sunset Way and in adjacent Olde Town, but a proposed $10.6 million project that would install a middle turn lane along with a multi-use trail for non-motorized use on the stretch of the busy corridor between First and Sixth avenues is not the way to fix it. This was the message 14 citizens brought to city officials’ attention last Thursday during a meeting of the City Council’s Infrastructure Committee, which was reviewing this project, along with eight additional improvements recommended by the citizen traffic task force created by Mayor Fred Butler last year. City Public Works Engineering Director Sheldon Lynne said the thoroughfare serves roughly 14,600 vehicles per day and that in addition to providing benefits to pedestrians and bicyclists, the road needs work to update substandard sidewalks which pose a safety issue for pedestrians. The middle turn lane would alleviate some of the backups that interrupt traffic flow, he said. Councilman Paul Winterstein, himself a cyclist, lauded the generous space allotted the multi-use trail for non-motorized users, explaining it was driven by the desire to provide a safe space for walkers and bicyclists to get out of their vehicles as outlined by the city’s Walk-n-Roll plan. There were no voiced objections to the proposed road upgrades, but the turn lane and multi-use trail would come at a cost: all street parking along that stretch would be eliminated. Citizens were concerned about that effect on local businesses, residents on the street and neighboring streets, as demand for parking spills over. Allen Flintoft, speaking for Flintoft’s Funeral Home, See SUNSET, Page A3
Candidate-filing week sets up state races By Christina Corrales-Toy ccorrales-toy@isspress.com The field is set for the upcoming election. Candidate-filing week came to a close on May 20, setting the stage for federal and state races to come. Offices that have more than two candidates will be whittled down to two in the Aug. 2 primary. The general election is Nov. 8.
Greg Farrar / gfarrar@isspress.com
Sammamish resident Jagger Baldevia, 5, learns about history and firearms at the Cascade Mountain Men club display as he and his dad Eric have a matchlock muzzle-loading rifle described to them by Harry Charowsky during the Hobby and Volunteer Expo May 21 at Pickering Barn. More than 20 clubs, volunteer citizen groups and retail businesses offered information, gifts and products to their visitors at the annual event. VIEW MORE PHOTOS AND VIDEO AT ISSAQUAHPRESS.COM
Worker who died at Atlas site identified By Scott Stoddard sstoddard@isspress.com The construction worker who died in a fall at the Atlas apartments construction site May 16 in Issaquah has been identified as 46-year-old Philip J. Rumsey. Rumsey died of multiple blunt force injuries, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s Office. Rumsey’s hometown was Meridian, Idaho, but he was living temporarily in Gig Harbor. His survivors include a wife and three children. Rumsey was working on the 344-unit project’s brick façade at the time, according to a representative of Seattle’s Andersen Construction, which is overseeing the project. Rumsey worked for a
subcontractor, Fairweather Masonry of Bellevue. “He was working on some elevated scaffolding,” Deputy Chief Richard Burke of Eastside Fire & Rescue said May 16. “Part of the investigation is finding out why he fell.” The state Department of Labor and Industries, the medical examiner’s office and the Issaquah Police Department were at the site Monday as part of the investigation, Burke said. The Department of Labor and Industries is leading the investigation, a source familiar with the situation said. Tim Church, a Labor and Industries spokesman, told The Seattle Times investigations of this type can cake up to six months. He said 58 people in Washington died in
“traumatic work-related” incidents in 2015. They are the leading cause of work-related deaths in the state, he told the Times. Fairweather Masonry has established a Philip Rumsey Memorial Fund at gofundme. com/p-rumseymemorial “to help with funeral expenses and to help his family longterm.” Rumsey’s employer added: “Phil was the consummate professional and a great man and employee. He was loved and respected by all he came into contact with. He will be greatly missed by his friends and extended family at Fairweather.”
Philip J. Rumsey, 46, was a masonry worker at the Atlas apartments construction site on Northwest Gilman Boulevard.
Issaquah Press digital editor Christina Corrales-Toy contributed to this report.
5th Legislative District Terms for all three 5th Legislative District seats expire at the end of the year. The race for the state Senate seat comes down to two Issaquah residents: incumbent Sen. Mark Mullet and current 5th District Rep. Chad Magendanz. Mullet, a Democrat, was elected to his seat in 2012. Prior to that he served on the Issaquah City Council. He owns the Zeeks Pizza and Ben & Jerry’s stores in the Issaquah Highlands. Magendanz is the ranking Republican on the House See FILING, Page A2
REMEMBERING THE FALLEN AND HONORING THOSE WHO SERVED As Memorial Day approaches, we present our annual Lest We Forget special section to recognize local residents who served in our armed forces. Our cover story this year recounts a local World War II infantryman’s experience during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.
See Section B
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