October 2, 2013 Locally owned 50 cents
City issues stop work order after pair of trees felled By Ari Cetron
What started as a bit of confusion over parking led to the city of Sammamish issuing a stop work order for a property under construction on 207th Avenue. Construction vehicles had parked on a road marked as a private street, Development Director Kamuron Gurol told the City Council Sept. 16. Neighbors had complained about the situation and the city went to investigate. Eventually, officials determined the road was actually a public road — and the city had erroneously put up a sign saying it was private –but also noticed other problems. In the course of developing the property, construction crews had put up inadequate fencing to contain erosion, and they’d gone beyond the limits of clearing, taking out vegetation they were supposed to preserve, including
a pair of significant trees, Gurol said. He noted that the property is a difficult one to develop, and he does not think he’ll be issuing any other building permits in the area. Gurol issued a stop work order. The city is working with the applicant, Paul Northwest, to fix the issues. “We want them to get in and complete the work on site. We just want him to do it in a proper fashion,” Gurol said. Stop work orders are fairly rare in Sammamish. The city first engages in a practice called “knock-and-talk.” In most cases, building officials notice a violation of building codes and works with builders to fix them. Stop work orders only come in more serious situations. “They are issued when all See WORK, Page 2
Plateau showdown
Photo by Neil Pierson
Eastlake teammates Lea Hogdal, left, and Anna Carskaden donned their war paint for a Sept. 25 cross-country race against Skyline and Ballard. For race details, see Page 8.
Meryweather, Callan vie for Issaquah School Board By Neil Pierson
Alison Meryweather and Lisa Callan are familiar with each other, having been finalists for the Issaquah School Board’s vacant position earlier this year. The School Board appointed Meryweather to the Position 4 post – left open by Chad Magendanz’s move to the state’s House of Representatives – in March. But Meryweather will have to impress voters to keep the job, and Callan will be challenging her again on the Nov. 5 ballot. Meryweather has lived in
Issaquah for more than 25 years, and she has served with various PTA groups for nearly half that time. She has spent time in Olympia as a PTA advocacy representative, and was part of education reform efforts in 2009 that led to the McCleary decision that is currently revamping the state’s funding of basic education. Meryweather is also a board member for Volunteers for Issaquah Schools, a citizen group that works on bond and levy campaigns; and she’s a trustee for the Issaquah Schools Foundation, which raises private donations for classroom learning purposes. She
has two daughters who attend Issaquah High School. Callan’s educational background includes a math and science degree from Northern Arizona University, and she spent 14 years with Boeing as a software development consultant. Callan serves with the Grand Ridge Elementary School PTA and helped create a cultural diversity council there. None of the current Issaquah board members have a child attending elementary school, but Callan has a son at Grand Ridge, which she believes gives her a unique
perspective. “The current directors are really doing their best to look after all kids in K-12, but I think it’s really nice to have that representation,” Callan said. Both candidates said they’re supportive of the district’s February 2014 ballot measures. Issaquah will be asking voters to approve three levy packages – a $193 million maintenance and operations plan, a $1.7 million transportation plan for new buses, and a $51.9 million plan for various technology upgrades. Meryweather said she wouldn’t make any changes to
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the three measures, and believes all of them are critical to the district’s operations. In regard to the transportation levy, failing to pass it would mean “we would not be updating our fleet of buses according to the depreciation schedule with the state,” she said. Callan has a similar position. She was part of the district’s levy committee, listening to feedback from parents, students, teachers and administrators. “I’m comfortable with it,” she said. “The committee really pushed hard in asking the dis-
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See BOARD, Page 3