While I have great respect for Issaquah Mayor Ava Frisinger and City Councilman Fred Butler, I was surprised and disappointed by their endorsement of Sound Transit Proposition 1 (Issaquah Reporter Oct. 24) which passed on Nov. 4. The article briefly discussed the benefits to Issaquah and the estimated costs per year under the new proposition. However, they fail to mention the total cost that Issaquah families will ultimately pay for light rail that doesn’t guarantee an extension to Issaquah.

Frisinger and Butler point out that Prop. 1 is good for the Eastside as light rail will come to Bellevue and Redmond 2020 and 2021. Furthermore, Prop. 1 includes a study that will include the feasibility of bringing light rail to Issaquah and interim expanded bus service. All of this for a mere $138 per family per year ($69 per adult).

But if we include the existing Sound Transit sales tax for the 1996 approved light rail project, which will include service from Seattle to SeaTac airport and a three-mile extension north to the University of Washington, the total per household sales tax increases to more than $300 per year. Total sales tax for light rail will now be .9 percent plus $30 per $10,000 per car for the light rail project. The earliest the sales tax could be rolled back is 2038. If we optimistically assume that the sales tax is rolled back after 2038 (when has sales tax ever decreased in King County?) and we adjust for inflation, the total paid by the average Issaquah family will be $14,000 during the 29-year life of the project.

I do believe that the immediate increase in bus service will be a benefit, but this immediate benefit cannot justify the increased cost to families in Issaquah.

Frisinger and Butler conclude by saying if Prop 1 doesn’t pass, it will be 40 years before we have an opportunity to provide traffic relief to the Eastside and that $138 per family ($69 per person) is a small price to pay for improving our commute. I am not sure why expanded bus service, which will also improve our commute, couldn’t come to Issaquah before 40 years. However, I would argue that $14,000 per family over the life of the project for a study of feasibility of light rail is ridiculous. If we add on the discussed tolling of the Interstate 90 and State Route 520 bridges, we might find that living on the Eastside is becoming financially unsustainable solely due the cost of transportation.

– Dan Jedda

Issaquah