December 28, 2011 Locally owned Founded 1992 50 cents
The Review’s review A look back at 2011 By Caleb Heeringa
Sammamish added several amenities for its citizens in 2011, even as the county, state and federal government cut back in the face of a continued sluggish economy. The “15th best small town in America” also continued looking forward, embarking on a major study of the possibility of a large community and aquatic center. And city officials made headway on one of the more intractable issues in city history – taking down one of the road barricades that separate Sammamish’s many neighborhoods. Teen center opens The Sammamish EX3 Teen and Recreation Center opened for business Nov. 3 and was near capacity with teens and their parents admiring the pingpong and billiards tables, computer lab and deluxe performance stage. The long-awaited facility is a joint venture between the city of Sammamish, which purchased the old library building from King County, and the Boys and Girls Club, which raised more than $1 million to remodel the inside. Officials continue to fundraise in hopes of collecting the more than $3 million it will take to add a 7,000 square foot gymnasium behind the current building. Community and aquatic center Sammamish teens got their place to call home in 2011, so city officials turned their sights to the rest of the population. After a series of meetings, in which the public got to construct a wish list of amenities and pick an ideal location, the city came up with a 98,000-square-foot facility featuring both competitive and recreational swimming pools, a gym, workout rooms and community meeting space on the Kellman property behind the library.
But the $64 million price tag for such a facility proved to be too much to stomach for just about every elected official in the city, so the City Council resolved to look at other options. City officials vowed to look into partnering on a facility with the YMCA, which already owns property near Pine Lake Middle School. Stay tuned. Shoreline regulations The city closed the book on environmental regulations around its lakes after hundreds of hours of public meetings dating back to 2006. The Washington State Department of Ecology officially signed off on the regulations in August, though not until the city made a laundry list of changes to the document that it had carefully crafted alongside a vocal and well-organized contingent of shoreline homeowners. Several shoreline homeowners complained that the regulations make them bear the responsibility for the health of a lake that is affected by development across the region, though city staff point out that the city was able to get some significant concessions from Ecology – particularly in regards to building setbacks near Lake Sammamish. Wheels of democracy turn The Sammamish City Council will have two new faces in 2012 after the retirement of veteran Councilmembers Mark Cross and Michele Petitti. Former Planning Commission Chairman Tom Vance and Citizens for Sammamish organizer Ramiro Valderramma won election and will take their place, while Councilwoman Nancy Whitten will take a third term behind the podium after winning reelection. The November election also See REVIEW, Page 5
Photo by Caleb Heeringa
A landscaped patch sits where yarn-covered tree stumps used to generate controversy.
Swan song for the tree stumps By Caleb Heeringa
The saga of Sammamish’s tree stumps came to an unassuming end when the city removed the barren sentinels Dec. 17. The city lopped the tops and limbs off the five dying cedar trees in front of Eastlake High School and Starbucks on 228th Avenue in late 2009. But the City Council, led by Councilwoman Michele Petitti, suggested the city leave about 20 feet worth of the trunks standing with the intention of turning them into some sort of permanent sculpture.
That idea floundered in 2010 when the council balked at the $15,000 to $20,000 price tag for carving one of the stumps, waterproofing it and mounting it on a concrete pedestal. With the stumps in limbo, local artists Suzanne Tidwell and Beth Newfield took it upon themselves, with the Sammamish Arts Commission’s blessing, to “yarn bomb” the stumps in December 2011. The pair spent close to $2,000 of their own money to knit the first installment of “tree socks” for the stumps before getting thousands of dollars of grants and donations throughout the
Scouts will take your old Christmas trees Sammamish residents whose Christmas trees are getting crispy can leave them curbside for local Boy Scout troops Jan. 7.
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year to cover the costs of two more “seasons” of tree socks – springtime pastels gave way to autumnal reds and browns. The project was a bit of a hot button issue, at least as far as public art in Sammamish goes. Deputy City Manager Lyman Howard said the city received dozens of letters and emails about the tree socks, with about 60 percent in support. Sentiment was far from unanimous though – a “Cut Down the Tree Stumps Near Sammamish’s Eastlake Starbucks” group on Facebook had nearly 400 followSee STUMPS, Page 3
For the 27th year in a row, local troops will be recycling old trees to raise funds for Boy Scout events. The suggested donation is $15 to $30 per tree, left inside a plastic sandwich bag attached to the tree. Trees must be out by 9 a.m. For more information, visit http://www.ScoutTreeDrive.org.
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