Council Members feel we have a Mob Mentality

I will still fight for the Citizens of Sammamish. We will make ourselves be heard. They do not have to listen to us as demonstrated by their vote on East Lake Sammamish Parkway, but we will be heard.

I would like to thank the citizens of Sammamish who supported me during the last election for the Sammamish City Council. I am disappointed that we did not win the election, but the battle to keep Sammamish for its' Citizens is not over. I was also disappointed the Sammamish Review did not release the story about our Council Members violating the

I was also disappointed the Sammamish Review did not release the story about our Council Members violating the Public and Open Meetings Act on numerous occasions. I serve on two boards for King County and know you do not violate ethics and the Public and Open Meetings Act. If you have more than two people talking about something it becomes a meeting and the Public has a right to know. Now I hope they don’t try to get around the Act by talking to one person at a time. It is easier to comply than it is to avoid the Act. The Citizens of the State of Washington voted the Pubic and Open Meetings Act into place to have open and honest government. Once again the City Council forgot it is Of the People, By the People and For the People. I hope it does not create problems for them in the future. A lawsuit could result in several contracts and purchases, which took place over email being null and void. Hey maybe that is a way to put a hold on the East Lake Sammamish Parkway project. It does call into question the integrity of those involved.

The City Council has voted to continue with the $45 million plus East Lake Sammamish project without looking into valuable alternatives.

The City Council has decided to start the 12 year plus project without completing the 244th project. I have no idea where the traffic will go while the East Lake Sammamish project takes place. During the years of construction it was stated the road will be one lane in construction areas.

The project will not reduce congestion or increase capacity even though the consultants we have paid over a million dollars to have determined through their model that a center turn lane will increase capacity by 27%. I guess they are adding the thousands of people who will walk on the sidewalk and use the bike lanes. Other than that if you have 17,000 trips plus on the parkway per day, I just don't get it on how you add 5,000 trips by adding a partial center turn lane and flower boxes. The people who use the center turn lane are already on the roadway so how do you add to the capacity?

I guess I just don’t have the “Vision” or I have the “Mob Mentality” suggested by Council Member Petitti. I am not a member of a Mob. I am a Citizen who not only would like to have the opportunity to speak, but I would love it is I had a Councilmember who was not rude and would listen.

Council Member Cross inferred this is our first move to make Sammamish an Urban Center. By changing this Rural Road into an Urban Road will take us into the future. I would let him know that by spending over $45 million on a do little project that will be completed when we are all 12 years older and still facing the same congestion is a step backward not a move forward.

Like Councilmember Huckabay, I just don’t get it. Why do we need to spend over $45 million on a project to make it look like Lake Washington Boulevard in Kirkland? We do not have the businesses to support the side traffic like Lake Washington Boulevard, nor do we the citizens of Sammamish want to spend over $10 million per mile and not improve congestion or increase the capacity of the roadway.

Our Council members need to remember it is Of the People, by the People and For the People. I know we need to do something, but like most of the projects we have undertaken in Sammamish this one will come in over budget costing us Millions of Dollars more than we wanted it to, or because we failed to build for the future we will have to redo it in 12 years after spending Millions of our Dollars that could have been spend more important projects.

After running for City Council I still understand the issues facing our local government, and I ran to build community, not to leave a legacy. The issues are still the same and City Council still does not listen and have their own "Vision" not the "Vision of the Citizens".

Here were my issues and still are our issues.

Listen to our citizens and make sound common sense decisions.

Deal with these issues for the betterment of our city.

Commute times and road conditions must be improved. Spending $45 million on a 12-year East Lake Sammamish Parkway project that does not improve traffic congestion or account for projected growth will not work!

Ensure our taxes are spent in the right places to alleviate congestion despite predicted growth.· I support strong public safety agencies and am proud of Sammamish’s Police and Fire Departments.

Cost overruns are hurting our city. Over $54 million in reserve funds 8-years ago goes into the red in about 5-years. We must control spending to stay in line with growth.

Our city needs to run like a successful business. We need a realistic, long-term fiscal plan to protect the priorities of our community.

Our planned town center creates traffic and environmental issues that need to be better addressed.

Our infrastructure is failing and emergency services need to grow with our city.

Develop a strategic plan to improve responsiveness to our citizens, especially to protect and aid our elderly.·

Make certain the city has the necessary services and programs in place to respond to emergencies, especially in order to protect and to help our elderly, physically disabled, and citizens with special needs.

Fight to keep spending in line with city growth so our property taxes will not have to be raised.·

Make sure that proper infrastructure comes with any new development that fits our community.

Create a realistic, long-term fiscal plan to protect the diverse priorities of the Plateau community, including safe neighborhoods, well-maintained parks and trails, recreational facilities and programs, along with a vibrant business district.