Issaquahpress120116

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Issaquah’s only locally owned newspaper

THE ISSAQUAH PRESS

117th Year, No. 48

issaquahpress.com

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Commission: Facilities plan ‘not accurate or helpful’ Planning Policy chairperson says city is basing plans for the future on 10-year-old data By Lizz Giordano lgiordano@isspress.com Issaquah’s Planning Policy Commission is urging the City Council to update its master plans, such as the 2014-2019 Capital Facilities Plan, and impact fees to ensure adequate infrastructure is provided for the

existing community as growth continues. In a letter sent to the City Council dated Oct. 13, commissioners said, “Our work was frustrating this year, as the data we needed to make solid and thoughtful plans was not available.” Joan Probala, the chair of the Planning Policy Commission, said,

“The city is basing plans for the future on data collected in 2006. “Get the extra data, because the future of the city depends on it.” The CFP, passed by the City Council in 2013, is a tool the city uses to set proprieties for projects to maintain a required level of service in the city’s transportation networks, utility services, parks and public buildings. In the letter, the commission called the level of service established by the CFP “not accurate

or helpful for decision-making.” Stacy Goodman, the president of the City Council, said councilmembers don’t keep track of impact or mitigation rate studies. She has requested more information from the city’s staff regarding how often rate studies are required to be updated and when the last time rate studies were done for specific impact fees. Probala said the city has evolved over the last few years and any future plans should take into consideration today’s traffic

congestion. Probala, a real estate broker and past president of the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, has sat on the Planning Policy Commission for more than 10 years. Probala said this year the commission had to approve the city’s updated GMA plan based on old data. According to the letter, an update to the impact fees for police See PLAN, Page 8

TWELVE DOWN, ONE TO GO

Mark Mullet

Chad Magendanz

5TH DISTRICT SENATE Mark Mullet (D) ✔ 37,301 50.3% Chad Magendanz (R) 36,792 49.7% Results as reported by the Secretary of State through Nov. 27. Final election results were certified Nov. 29, after press time for this edition.

Magendanz concedes; Mullet retains Senate seat By Stuart Miller smiller@isspress.com Mark Mullet unofficially won re-election to the 5th District’s state Senate seat Nov. 21, 13 days after Election Day. Challenger Chad Magendanz conceded after waging a significant comeback, narrowing the margin between the two candidate to less than 600 votes. The first election results Nov. 8 opened with Mullet leading Magendanz by nearly 3,000 votes, but every subsequent release of results from King County Elections saw Magendanz chipping away at the gap. Mullet’s shrinking lead inspired both candidates to examine disqualified ballots in last-ditch efforts to secure votes. Results released through Nov. 27 had Mullet with a 509-vote edge. In a Facebook post, Magendanz implied the presence of Donald Trump on the ballot was detrimental to the former state representative’s candidacy. “Losing by such a tight margin is always difficult to accept,” Magendanz wrote, “but we ran a great campaign that in any other year would have won handily.” Mullet’s victory keeps the Republicans from gaining a Senate seat the party desperately wanted. The GOP will still retain control of the Senate by a one-vote margin — 25-24 — because Sen. Tim Sheldon, a conservative Democrat, caucuses with the Republicans. Next year, the 45th District’s Senate seat held by the late Andy Hill will be up for election. A Sammamish-based group called Working Families funded by the political action committee set up by Republicans in the state Senate spent more than $600,000 in attack ads against Mullet. Issaquah Press editor Scott Stoddard contributed to this report.

Scott Stoddard / sstoddard@isspress.com

Liberty players dash toward their fans waiting in the stands at Yakima’s Zaepfel Stadium as they celebrate their 2A football state semifinal victory over Ellensburg on Nov. 26. The 12-0 Patriots defeated the Bulldogs 35-26 and advance to Saturday’s 1 p.m. championship game at the Tacoma Dome against 13-0 Archbishop Murphy, which made national headlines this season as five opponents decided to forfeit games instead of taking the field to face the Wildcats. SEE STORY AND PHOTOS, PAGE 9; MORE PHOTOS ONLINE AT ISSAQUAHPRESS.COM FOLLOW OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF SATURDAY’S TITLE GAME ONLINE AT ISSAQUAHPRESS.COM, ON TWITTER (@ISSAQUAHPRESS) AND ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

City Council approves property tax increase By Lizz Giordano lgiordano@isspress.com The Issaquah City Council unanimously approved a 1 percent property tax levy increase for 2017.

With the increase, the city expects to collect about $81,000 in additional property taxes citywide next year. “For me, that 1 percent means an extra $7 for my home,” said Councilmember Paul Winterstein

during the council’s Nov. 7 meeting, when the 2017 increase was first discussed. State law says a city can raise its property tax by no more than 1 percent of the previous year’s tax revenue.

No other tax increases are proposed in the preliminary version of the city’s 2017 budget. After a brief presentation by the See INCREASE, Page 8

Her bottom line — collect 30,000 diapers in a month By Christina Corrales-Toy ccorrales-toy@isspress.com

Christina Corrales-Toy / ccorrales-toy@isspress.com

Bethany McKinnon, seen here at Eastside Baby Corner, is hoping to donate 30,000 diapers to the nonprofit over the next month.

Bethany McKinnon was born with a maternal instinct, and it shows as she lovingly eyes a wall of diaper-lined shelves at Eastside Baby Corner’s Issaquah hub. Motherhood was always a goal for the 1999 Issaquah High School graduate, but that’s not in the cards after she was diagnosed

with chronic illnesses that require consultation with doctors at the Mayo Clinic’s Arizona campus and daily intravenous medication. “I’ve always wanted to be a mother,” she said. “I’m not in that place, but I have an abundance of love to give.” Over the past four years, that See DIAPERS, Page 2 FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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