There are many forces at play when it comes to the annexation of Klahanie to the city of Issaquah, including fire service, water service and assuming city debt.

A memorandum of understanding dated May 6, 2002, signed by officials with the cities of Issaquah and Sammamish, states that the city of Issaquah agreed to initiate an amendment to its comprehensive plan to remove all or part of Klahanie as a potential annexation area to the city of Issaquah.

At that same time, Rav Gilmore, then city of Sammamish community development director, said the purpose of the memorandum (consideration by Issaquah to amend the annexation areas), was to acknowledge that no one can proceed without public process, and that it did not finalize the potential annexation areas.

On Aug. 5, 2002, the Issaquah City Council, based on the recommendation of Issaquah’s Planning Policy Commission, agreed to keep the potential annexation agreement in the city’s comprehensive plan and fund a fiscal study of the annexation.

The Sammamish City Council passed a resolution by a 6-0 vote on June 11 this year, stating its interest in annexation of Klahanie and other incorporated neighborhoods in the annexation area if Issaquah fails in its current effort to annex the area. On Sept. 4, the city of Sammamish sent a letter to the King County Boundary Review Board with its official position that the city wishes to explore annexation if Issaquah is unsuccessful, said Sammamish Mayor, Tom Odell.

“Klahanie should have a choice,” Odell said.

The issue comes before the review board Sept. 18.

Sammamish Deputy Mayor Ramiro Valderrama believes residents of Klahanie are concerned about water quality, fire service and debt if the area is annexed to Issaquah.

Sammamish is debt-free, whereas Issaquah is not, although a study completed by consultants Tom Nesbitt and Cynthia Stewart concluded that with annexation, Klahanie’s levy rate is expected to drop, which would result in the owner of a home assessed at $320,000 paying $383 less in property taxes.

Valderrama also is concerned about safety for the residents of Sammamish.

Eastside Fire and Rescue, which provides fire and emergency services to the area, has station No. 83 – within two minutes of Klahanie. The station – the building, land and equipment – all belong to the city of Sammamish.

Wes Collins, deputy chief at EFR said nothing will change if Issaquah is successful in annexation.

“It does not change our operation at all,” he said. “We don’t plan to close it (station 83).”

Collins said hypothetically if Sammamish decides to leave EFR and start its own fire department, that would be the only reason for EFR to leave the station.

Odell put it more succinctly.

“If Sammamish remains in EFR, nothing changes,” Odell said. “(But) we’re not happy with the business arrangement with EFR. We pay a good deal more for services because it’s based on assessed valuation, not calls.”

Odell said he has been told that Sammamish is the only city in the country where fire service is based on assessed valuation rather than call volume.

David Kappler, a former Issaquah City Council member who does not support annexation, said there are direct ties to EFR, Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District and the city of Sammamish with annexation.

He said EFR will lose revenue as a result of the annexation because Issaquah doesn’t plan to replace the money that Klahanie has been paying to EFR District 10 (unincorporated and rural areas). The city anticipates paying EFR .70 cents per thousand of assessed valuation for fire service as opposed to the present $1.50 per thousand of assessed valuation that Klahanie has been paying into EFR as an unincorporated area. EFR does not collect taxes on its own.

“They are collecting a lot of money from Klahanie, but that money is being used for the whole district, which includes huge areas of undeveloped and public land from Cedar River to Carnation that doesn’t command any revenue,” Kappler said.

Odell said 42.5 percent of calls in 2012 went outside Sammamish city limits, to partner cities. A total of 1,386 calls answered by Sammamish stations were calls going to a partner city outside of Sammamish city limits (primarily Klahanie).

Calls for Issaquah mainly went to Providence Point, a retirement community. EFR partners responded to 124 calls in Sammamish. A total of 1,737 calls within the city were answered by EFR stations in Sammamish — 81, 82 and 83, which is the closest one to Klahanie.

“If Issaquah annexes Klahanie and we can come to some sort of funding agreement other than what we have now, we may well stay in (EFR),” Odell said. “Otherwise we’ll look at other options — setting up our own fire stations in 81, 82 and 83. We have 40 percent ownership of the vehicles in EFR. There’s a very strong possibility we’d relocate the station to better serve Sammamish and sell 83.”

Valderrama said Sammamish asked Issaquah if it would buy station 83 from Sammamish if annexation of Klahanie is successful and the answer was no.

However,  an email from Issaquah City Manager Bob Harrison to Mike Sauerwein, assistant city manager for Sammamish dated July 13 this year, said Issaquah “does not believe it is beneficial to the partnership to participate in a variety of what-if scenarios. As such, we are declining to participate (in discussions regarding changing the funding formula).”

“The fire issue should be of interest to residents of Klahanie. Many think it’s their station — it’s not,” Odell said. “We’ve been trying for many, many years to sit down with our partners to discuss funding.”

An assessed valuation formula doesn’t make sense he said, because the areas that most heavily depend on EFR’s service — a “calls generated” formula — should pay for service. He said only North Bend was willing to keep talking about changing the funding model.

Also unresolved is a water issue that concerns Sammamish residents, Valderrama said.

The state Department of ecology is still working on a draft permit for the city of Issaquah to inject storm water runoff into the ground above an aquifer. All of Klahanie and 80 percent of Sammamish gets its water from the Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District. The injection would occur 600 feet uphill from three wells owned by the water district that serve 54,000 people. However officials at ecology and Issaquah argue that the water, which would settle in an area called the Lower Reid Infiltration Gallery (LRIG), will be safely treated through filtration of sand and gravel before it reaches any wells.

Odell said the city of Sammamish is very interested in the water situation.

“We have a number of citizens in (the water district),” Odell said. “Anything with the remotest possibility of effecting the water is of interest of us.”

He said Sammamish has notified ecology that it wants to be a party to discussions.

“We wouldn’t do anything to put drinking water at risk,” said Sheldon Lynne, Issaquah’s public works engineering director.

Valderrama isn’t so sure. He said Klahanie residents deserve better than more debt, questionable water quality and slower emergency response, which would occur should Sammamish leave the fire district, because the nearest station to respond to Klahanie is in the Issaquah Highlands.