Following an update from City Manager Lyman Howard on the city’s discussions with Central Washington University about occupying the city-owned Mars Hill property, the Sammamish City Council moved to explore alternatives for the property should the city not have a signed formal agreement from the university by its January retreat.

The move, proposed by Councilmember Tom Hornish as an amendment to a prior motion by Councilmember Kathy Huckabay regarding discussion of alternative options for the property, passed by a 4-3 vote. Huckabay and Councilmembers Bob Keller and Tom Odell were the dissenting votes to the amendment.

The move comes nearly two years after the city purchased the property in March 2015.

Sammamish and Central Washington appeared on their way to forming a partnership at the end of October. Central Washington President James Gaudino sent a letter to the city Oct. 27 stating that the university’s board of trustees directed Gaudino to develop a plan for the university to come to Sammamish. But no official agreement was made.

In September, council members expressed frustration with the lack of progress being made toward a partnership. The council unanimously passed a motion allowing discussions with the university about securing a lease for the building to continue through Nov. 15. The motion stated that should Central Washington not formally commit to the property by then, the council would discuss possible alternatives for the property.

At the council’s Nov. 15 meeting, Howard commented on the slow pace of the partnership talks. He said he was optimistic about the process moving forward, though acknowledged no deal was yet in place.

“One of the comments made to me by the Central Washington University team is that they’re not used to working this fast. For them, they’re moving very quickly,” Howard said. “They said that they tend to move at a glacial pace in higher education and they are enjoying picking up the pace and trying to keep up with us on this.”

Howard said he saw three phases of an agreement with Central Washington: an immediate phase, an intermediate phase and a long-term phase, which he said potentially included the purchase of the facility. He added that work on both a financial model and traffic model for those three phases was currently taking place. He proposed to continue working with Central Washington to further define an agreement and report back to the council on Dec. 13.

Hornish reiterated a statement he made in September that “if Central Washington was not ready, willing and able to sign an agreement [on Nov. 15], then we would look at other options.”

“The motion in September was to open it up to alternative discussion. It doesn’t mean we shut down Central Washington. But it does say let’s look at some other options as well,” Hornish said.

Huckabay moved for the council to delay discussion of potential alternatives until the January retreat so the council would have the opportunity to “fully discuss” its options with the property. Hornish proposed the amendment to Huckabay’s motion, which stated that without a signed agreement from Central Washington, the council would seek alternative options for the property.

After the amendment passed, Huckabay’s motion passed 6-1, with Odell serving as the dissenting vote.

During council discussions, Odell requested the council show patience in seeking alternative options for the property, citing strong enthusiasm for a partnership shown by Central Washington officials. He added he saw no reason to upset the process by “reopening the door” for suitors.

“They are a government institution just like we are, although they’re also an academic institution. If we were trying to do this with the University of Washington or some large institution like that, we wouldn’t be at this point this quickly. It just does not happen,” he said.

Odell stated he did not agree with the motion’s amendment because he believed it put the city, particularly the city manger, at a disadvantage in terms of negotiation with Central Washington.

“The last thing you want to do is have your chief negotiator be under the gun on a deal like this,” he said. “It would be, in my mind, a serious mistake.”

Howard told the council he expected to have more information regarding the traffic impacts of bringing the university to Sammamish on Dec. 13.

Council unanimously adopts 2017-18 biennial budget

The Sammamish City Council unanimously adopted its 2017-18 biennial budget at its Nov. 15 meeting at City Hall.

The biennial budget showed a total balance of $216,947,606, with a beginning balance of $62,516,968. Revenues for 2017-18 showed a balance of $154,430,638 and expenses of $199,293,394 for an ending balance of $17,654,212.

City Finance Director Aaron Antin noted the only changes to the budget from the first reading on Nov. 1 were to reflect the motion approved by the council on Nov. 8, which would earmark $750,000 to address Louis Thompson Road drainage issues. Budget revenue was also updated to recognize a grant from the flood control district.