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Amateur musicians enjoy Open Mic Night — Page 6
District embraces the new — Page 10
The IssaquahPress
Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper
Attorneys fire volleys as funding deadline looms for senior center By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com An attorney representing people barred from the Issaquah Valley Senior Center has demanded a public apology for a letter sent out by the center board of directors. If that is not done, attorney Inez Petersen said, she will file a libel suit against the board. But an attorney representing the board says his clients were doing their duty in reporting alleged mistreatment or harassment of “vulnerable adults,” and that his clients are protected from libel laws while doing so. In the meantime, the center board had until Aug. 25 to apply for its annual grant from the city for 2016 or possibly face losing $99,000 in funding, which represents a significant portion of its yearly budget. Citing what he called “the ongoing concerns that have developed with the Issaquah Senior Center,” Mayor Fred Butler informed the center board by letter on July 30 that he will place a number of conditions on city funding for next year. He stated that if the board did not comply with the conditions, he would not recommend center funding be included in the city’s 2016 budget. In an emailed answer to a question from The Issaquah Press, Butler said that as of last
week, his office had not heard from the board or from the senior center. In the email, Butler set the deadline for grant applications to the city as Aug. 25. Center Board President Craig Hansen did not respond to a request for comment. The board’s newly hired attorney, David Adler, of Seattle, said in a phone interview he expected the board to apply for city funding the same as it has for numerous years. “There’s no reason for them not to apply,” Adler said. The conditions Butler placed on the center’s 2016 city funding include a performance, fiscal and management review of the center by a third party to be named by the city. Butler also stated the city must be given a nonvoting seat on the center board. In a letter to the center board dated Aug. 13, Petersen, of Starfish Law PLLC of Renton, demanded the board “publish a full and complete, unqualified apology to the small group of concerned citizens targeted in the June 30th Newsletter.” In bold letters, Petersen added: “Take notice that in the event that you chose to ignore this demand, a lawsuit will be filed against you. In fact, satisfactory retraction and apology are the only means to avoid a lawsuit.” See SENIOR
www.issaquahpress.com
Thursday, August 27, 2015
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT
By Greg Farrar
Connor Smith (left), Issaquah High School senior offensive and defensive lineman, holds a tackling pad as senior right tackle Jordan Minnix jumps out of a tackling cage during team practice Aug. 20 at Gary Moore Stadium. Read previews of each high school’s football program on Page 11.
May Valley Road reopens early Southeast May Valley Road reopened to commuters Aug. 19. The King County Department of Transportation completed work to repair the landslidedamaged road more than a week ahead of schedule. Workers completely closed a section of road between 223rd
Avenue Southeast and 229th Drive Southeast beginning July 20 while crews removed unstable soil from the site, rebuilt the roadway and installed new guardrails. A 2014 landslide damaged the road, requiring its partial closure for more than a year before
construction began. Temporary signals directed traffic through the area in alternating directions during that time. Southeast May Valley Road was supposed to be closed until Sept. 1, but King County officially finished repairs and reopened the roadway at 7 p.m. Aug. 19.
CENTER, Page 3
Future transit plans include Corner Bakery Cafe to bringing light rail to Issaquah replace Issaquah Denny’s
After sitting vacant for nearly a year, plans for the vacated Denny’s property on Northwest Gilman Boulevard are beginning to take shape. Retail Properties of America Inc., owners and operators of the Heritage Square shopping center, announced in an Aug. 24 news release that Corner Bakery Cafe will fill that spot. Described as a “neighborhood gathering for people to relax, meet up with friends and enjoy great food,” Corner Bakery Cafe focuses on innovative and flavorful offerings featuring artisan breads, freshly baked sweets, sandwiches, soups and salads. The Issaquah site will be the state’s first, but there are more than 185 locations across the country.
“We are thrilled to bring Corner Bakery to the community of Issaquah,” Stacy Short, Retail Properties of America Inc. assistant vice president, Western Division, said in a statement. “This first-to-market lease is a critical step in rebranding the merchandising mix of the center and will be a catalyst to attract new retailers and consumers to Heritage Square.” Heritage Square is a 53,000-square-foot neighborhood shopping center situated in the major retail corridor of Issaquah. Denny’s, at 720 N.W. Gilman Blvd., closed in late 2014. The new Corner Bakery Cafe will open in spring 2016. Learn more about Corner Bakery Cafe at www.cornerbakerycafe.com.
By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com
Visiting city after city and holding numerous public meetings, King County Metro and Sound Transit officials are working on long-range plans that might spell out the backbone of local mass transit through 2040. In the case of Sound Transit, the planning process dubbed ST3 likely will lead the agency to placing a funding question on the ballot in November 2016. Perhaps most noticeably for Eastsiders, Sound Transit’s plan might well include longdiscussed light rail service to
By PRNewsFoto/Retail Properties of America Inc.
future, we must consider how transit will keep us moving and connected to the larger region.” Sound Transit recently conducted a survey asking different parts of the area to rank transit priorities. For the Eastside corridor, light rail between Kirkland and Issaquah topped the list. According to a Sound Transit survey summary, 93 percent of respondents reported supporting mass transit expansion across the region, either “strongly” or “somewhat.” Residents in specific areas were further asked to rate all proposed projects on See TRANSIT, Page 2
Traffic safety study moves forward By Tom Corrigan tcorrigan@isspress.com
The state’s first Corner Bakery Cafe, like the one pictured, will fill the spot vacated by Denny’s in Issaquah’s Heritage Square.
Issaquah, rail service that easily could impact other local communities, such as Sammamish. Building light rail from Kirkland to Issaquah, via Bellevue, is currently on a list of projects that Sound Transit will study further as it develops its ST3 package, Issaquah Mayor Fred Butler said. Butler has been a member of the Sound Transit Board since 2003 and serves as chairman of the board’s capital committee. He further served on the King County Regional Transit Committee, 2000-2014. “Connecting Issaquah to light rail is extremely important,” Butler said. “As we plan for our
Already underway and involving more than 20 crosswalks and intersections around Issaquah, the city’s promised and highly publicized traffic safety study will look at any number of factors, from average car speeds to the crosswalk “treatments” already in place. At the same time, city staffers will look at numerous additional crossings around the city, said Autumn Monahan, assistant to the city administrator. “Each of the corridors we’ll be looking at has a different character,” said David Markley, founding principal of consultant Transportation Solutions Inc. Mayor Fred Butler authorized the safety study following a fatal June accident involving 4-yearold Haochen Xu at the intersec-
ON THE WEB See a complete list of the streets to be studied by consultant Transportation Solutions Inc. at www.issaquahwa.gov/ pedsafety. tion of Newport Way Northwest and Northwest Oakcrest Drive. An intersection’s character consists of numerous traits including traffic volumes and pedestrian traffic, Markley said. Though in the past, TSI might have hired someone to sit at an intersection and count cars and people, cameras help do most of the counting nowadays. Once the basics about an intersection or crosswalk are known, consultants will do what Markley called a field review.
What is the curvature of the street, for example? One key is the traffic “treatment” already in place. In other words, what types of markings make up the crosswalk, if there is one? Are there pedestrian lights? What sorts of traffic-control devices are in place? What is the timing on any lights? “You want to look at the current state of the street,” Markley added, which clearly will help determine what sort of new traffic-control devices might be needed or what existing controls need adjustment. In making their decision, Markley said traffic engineers routinely rely on the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Published by the Federal HighSee STUDY, Page 2
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