The vote to annex into Sammamish was “like an act of God” for Klahanie resident Robert Young.

“King County wrote us off a long time ago,” Young said. “(This) was our last chance.”

Young has lived in Klahanie with his wife and children, now grown, for nearly 30 years. He was part of the initial push to annex into Issaquah, which failed twice before the city signed over the potential annexation area to Sammamish in mid-2014.

In February, the Sammamish City Council put the annexation to a vote, which passed with 86 percent approval and nearly 50 percent voter turnout.

With a majority in the election, Young was hoping the Sammamish City Council would make the merger official sooner rather than later.

While the city had said in past newsletters it was aiming for an Aug. 1 annexation date, City Manager Ben Yazici recently said the sooner date would strain more than city staff and resources.

“We cannot do this annexation on Aug. 1 without jeopardizing service delivery for our current citizens,” Yazici said at a Sammamish City Council meeting June 2. “It’s just not possible to do that. We cannot amend our contracts; we cannot hire the staff members; we cannot get the police officers on board.”

Therefore, Yazici recommended a Dec. 31 annexation date. In the interim, however, he is working with King County to begin certain projects this summer, like care for Klahanie Park and patch some of the damaged roads.

The major commitment the city made to Klahanie residents prior to the election was to lower taxes — which will happen in 2016, regardless of the annexation date. The other promised services will require the city to hire additional staff, purchase additional resources and straighten out all the paperwork. The city also needs six more police officers, only three of which will be available by January 2016.

But Young argues Klahanie residents would be fine annexing earlier; they knew the transition from their current level of service to Sammamish standards would take time, he said.

“It’s no problem. We’ve been doing it for 35 years as it is,” Young said. “What difference does a few months make?”

Young, along with a couple other Klahanie residents, shared this opinion with the council during public comment June 2.

If the city annexes in August, Klahanie residents could vote in the November election. There are three seats up for grabs. Incumbents Mayor Tom Vance and Valderrama-Aramayo are running, with opposition. Councilmember Nancy Whitten has decided not to run for re-election.

Valderrama-Aramayo has pushed for an earlier annexation date, while the rest of the council has shown favor to waiting.

Another point discussed at the June 2 meeting dealt with the nearly $3 million the city expects to receive in revenue this year, if the area is annexed by August.

Young referred to it as missing out on “free money,” as the city would not collect additional revenues this year if it annexed January 2016.

Valderrama-Aramayo said it does not make sense to pass up on that revenue.

Annually, the city has projected an estimated $6.5 million in annual revenues with the addition of Klahanie’s properties. Of that, the city expects to see $1.4 million in net gain annually after subtracting the costs for services.

The city council’s second reading, where it will set the official annexation date and establish a transition committee, will take place at its July 7 regular meeting in Sammamish City Hall at 6:30 p.m.

The Klahanie annexation area, roughly 2 square miles, is populated with about 11,000 people, bringing Sammamish’s total population to about 60,000.