MINI FOOTBALL CAMP
CHALK FULL OF TALENT
Liberty hosts summer youth program — Page 9
Chalk Art Festival draws out crowds — Page 6
The IssaquahPress
Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper
www.issaquahpress.com
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Amid controversy, mayor places conditions on future budget for senior center By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com Mayor Fred Butler says he will recommend continued city funding for the Issaquah Valley Senior Center, but only if the center board accepts various conditions on that funding for 2016. In a letter to the center’s board of directors dated July 30, Butler wrote that “given the ongoing concerns that have developed with the Issaquah Senior Center” he would be placing “at a minimum” seven conditions on funding that could amount to $99,000 next year, the same amount given the center in 2015. (Read the full letter at www.issaquahpress.com.) The city’s contribution represents a major percentage of the center’s budget. Butler’s letter comes in the midst of ongoing controversy at the center, most especially back-and-forth accusations of misconduct on the part of various people. On one side of the controversy are primarily center Executive Director Courtney Jaren and the board of directors. The other side consists of seniors now banned from the center, including one former board member, and their
various supporters. Accusations contained in the public record so far include everything from alleged sabotage of the center kitchen to a lack of transparency by center officials. Phrases such as “elder abuse” and “bullying” have been leveled at people now banned from the center. Butler’s comments were a direct response to a request by the center board of directors that the city guarantee funding for the center for the next five years. He wrote that such a guarantee would violate city rules, but said he would recommend funding the center in 2016, subject to a number of requirements and conditions. For the coming year, Butler’s plan is to split the city funding contract into two terms, the first covering Jan. 1 to June 30, 2016. “The second term may or not be renewed based upon the performance of the Issaquah Senior Center in the first term,” Butler wrote. Center officials would need to work with a third-party consultant chosen by the city to conduct a performance, fiscal and manSee SENIOR
CENTER, Page 3
Projects to benefit from state funding By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com The state budget passed earlier this month includes funding for major transportation projects in Issaquah and Sammamish. Dollars will open extra lanes on Interstate 90, help add lanes to Issaquah-Fall City Road and pay for a study of the I-90 ramps off Front Street in Issaquah. The funding package also includes dollars for parks in Issaquah and Lake Sammamish State Park. “I’m excited,” said State Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah. “It was a good result… There’s a lot of state money coming into the community.” Some of the major road projects include: 4From Eastgate to Issaquah, drivers eventually will be able to use shoulders on both east- and
westbound I-90 during peak traffic hours. Mullet noted that anyone driving I-90 during rush hours know the area has a traffic congestion problem. “We can’t afford to sit back and watch as our roads get more congested and we lose more time we could be spending with our families,” Mullet said in a press release announcing the transportation projects. In May, Mullet told the Issaquah City Council that he helped trim more than $50 million from the I-90 project in order to make sure it received funding by steps including eliminating sound walls in certain locations. Mullet later said the shoulder work should get underway in 2017 and noted a less congested See PROJECTS, Page 2
By Tom Corrigan
Mary Hammerly and husband Joe Verner (second and third from left), neighbors of the young boy killed in a recent traffic accident on Newport Way Northwest, talk about traffic issues on their street during a public meeting July 27 with consultant David Markley, of Transportation Solutions Inc.
Mayor says Newport Way speed limit may decrease in September By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com Mayor Fred Butler said come September, he would recommend the Issaquah City Council lower the speed limit on Newport Way Northwest. Butler added the move would come prior to completion of a crosswalk safety study being launched by the city. The City Council has the final word on any change in the speed limit and Butler did not say what new limit he would suggest. In any case, the announcement drew applause from some of the 60 or so residents jammed into Tibbetts Creek Manor on June 27 for a public meeting regarding pedestrian safety in the city. City officials organized the
session following the death of 4-year-old Haochen Xu after the boy was struck by a car while crossing the intersection of Newport Way Northwest and Northwest Oakcrest Drive on June 26. He died the next day. At the public meeting, any good feelings generated by Butler’s announcement seemed short-lived. Several outspoken residents took issue with the format for the meeting, saying they wanted and expected an open forum where they could express their opinions and be heard by city officials and their neighbors alike. Instead of calling upon individual speakers, tables were set up around the room each with a map of a different part of the city. Residents were invited to place pins on intersections or crosswalks they feel are prob-
lematic. City staff members then took comments from residents. The set-up was meant to allow for specific comment on specific problems, City Administrator Bob Harrison said in trying to explain the format to those gathered. Many in the crowd seemed unimpressed. Tina Conforti, a neighbor of Haochen’s, clearly was unenthusiastic about Butler’s comments. “We’ve lost a life,” she said. “How much effort does it take for them to go out there and change some signs?” Conforti was referring to the speed limit signs on Newport and said there didn’t seem to be any reason to wait until September to make a change in the See SPEED
LIMIT, Page 2
Volunteers needed to raise funds for new park With “the best playground in the state” coming to Lake Sammamish State Park, volunteers are needed immediately to work on raising the remaining needed funds. Meetings with a Washington State Parks development team have already begun with a targeted playground installation in late spring 2016. At that time, there will be a volunteer call to the community so people can work together to install the
playground over five days. However, organizers need to raise $250,000 to match the $750,000 the state has allocated to the effort. Organizers are setting up a website for information and donations. Watch for it at www. playground4all.com. They will publicize the website on Twitter and on the Friends’ Facebook site, and ask that you share it with your friends when you see it. If you would like Friends to
speak with your community group about the playground, contact Debbie Berto at debbieberto1@hotmail.com or 392-5393. “Including the community playground in your family’s legacy planning would be exciting,” organizers said in a news release. “Please contact us to meet with you individually to describe the various opportunities for sponsoring any part of the playground, from zip line to park bench.”
Aegis breaks ground on unique Chinese retirement community By Christina Corrales-Toy newcastle@isspress.com History is one of Newcastle’s greatest assets. The Eastside suburb’s story dates back more than 150 years, when it was the second largest town in King County. During that time, coal was king, and Newcastle had plenty of it. That history was at the forefront of attendees’ minds July 30, when nearly 300 people gathered in Newcastle to celebrate the groundbreaking of a unique Aegis Living retirement community. Aegis Gardens, a luxury senior living community built for Chinese-American retirees, is on the shores of Lake Boren, not far, incidentally, from Newcastle’s China Creek.
China Creek was named for the Chinese mine and railroad workers who built small huts along the creek, away from the main mining camp, in the late 1800s, according to Rich Crispo, a Newcastle Historical Society member and City Councilman. “It’s fitting that this facility is in Newcastle. Right here on this very ground is where the first Chinese immigrants came to our part of the world,” King County Executive Dow Constantine said at the groundbreaking ceremony. Billed as the first project of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, Aegis Gardens is a 110-unit waterfront community sitting on a little more than seven acres. The facility will offer the same high-quality assisted-living and memory care that Aegis Living is
known for with an added emphasis on the Chinese culture, which will be reflected in everything from the building’s construction to the staff. Chinese design aesthetics, the principles of Feng Shui and Northwest craftsmanship make up the elements incorporated in the facility’s architecture. Programming will include everything from celebration of Chinese holidays to sit-down Tai Chi classes. The resort-style community will also have a central Zen garden and a tea room. Additionally, Aegis Gardens will feature an activity center By Greg Farrar with daycare services. An amphiFormer Gov. Gary Locke (right), former U.S. ambassador to China, is greettheater and movie theater will See AEGIS,
ed up close by one of the four lion teams performing their dance for best wishes, fortune, prosperity and congratulations during the groundbreaking Page 2 celebration July 30 for Aegis Gardens in Newcastle.
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