The Sammamish City Council turned its focus to future budgets, storm water regulations and emergency planning during its retreat at Suncadia Resort in Cle Elum.

While specific decisions won’t happen until issues come before the planning commission and city council, Mayor Tom Vance summed up the two-day getaway as “overall, a very successful retreat.”

The retreat, called Sammamish 2040, was “a chance for us to take a broader, higher look at long-term policy goals,” Vance said.

The agenda included a look at the 2015-2016 budget, storm water regulations, electronic connectivity, preservation and sustainability, emergency planning and other various topics.

“We did not take on all subjects, since we have our own on-going work at the planning commission and later at the council on our comprehensive plan,” Vance said. “Many of those topics will be discussed in study decisions over the next 15 months or so.”

Vance said they did discuss stormwater management, particularly how it relates to neighborhoods with poor or no storm water drainage facilities. He said the council also looked at challenges the Town Center plan brought about due to recent stormwater decisions at the Department of Ecology and the federal level.

As far as preservation and sustainability, the council voiced general approval of on-going efforts to expand and preserve open space in order to expand Sammamish’s trail system. This includes work by the city as well as local non-profits to create the “emerald necklace” of trails and preserved open space on the eastern edge of the city.

“We had a long discussion of future and ongoing needs in our growing city, including social services and recreational services,” Vance said. “With the building of the Community Center, some services will be offered. What will that entail? What more can we offer in the future?”

Some of the other bigger issues the council discussed included emergency services – “What do we have now? What is being developed? What will we need in the future?” – as well as long-term capital projects beyond the Community and Aquatic Center.

“There were some other smaller topics, but those were some of the major themes,” Vance said. “Of course, we were not making final decisions. We were looking for directions for the future as well as giving staff an idea of our thoughts on these various issues.”