An important decision is ahead for the Issaquah City Council.
After several years of review and discussion, the council will soon vote whether to annex the Klahanie neighborhood into the city. You might not know, but the 10,843 residents of Klahanie are not part of Issaquah, but rather unincorporated King County.
It is clear, from both sentiment and various financial analysis, that annexation is in the best interest of Klahanie residents and businesses. Put simply, Klahanie folks will see decreases in their tax burden and increases in services, to say nothing of the importance of “officially” affiliating with a local municipality. But it is also clear that Issaquah stands to benefit from this policy decision, and this should not be overlooked.
Annexing Klahanie would make official an already existing (and strong) connection between Klahanie folks and Issaquah. Many Issaquah employees, customers, business owners and community volunteers live in Klahanie. We share the same fire services, school district, and residential connections. We also largely share the same economic future.
The businesses we will compete for in the future, as they compare Issaquah to other municipalities, will include Klahanie in their analysis for employee housing, recreation and quality of life. Klahanie and Issaquah are intertwined in many ways.
Annexation also makes good financial sense for Issaquah. A recent independent financial analysis shows that the annexation is an economic-plus for Issaquah’s coffers, given the property, sales and other taxes expected to accompany the annexation, which assumes an annexation sales tax credit from the state.
Just as important, it will automatically enhance Issaquah’s ability to compete for state/federal infrastructure dollars, for new resources and for regional attention. It will reinforce the vision and goals of the Central Issaquah Plan in providing a broader tax base to support the plan’s density, transportation, open space and economic vitality goals.
Klahanie is in Issaquah’s “Potential Annexation Area,” as provided by King County. The city, somewhat recently, also annexed another neighborhood, South Cove, into Issaquah. So this annexation is not necessarily controversial. It is somewhat assumed in the regional growth plan.
Twenty years down the road, I believe that we will look back and realize that, for all involved, annexation of Klahanie was the right thing to do. As fellow citizens, I encourage you take time to make your voice is heard, and hopefully, share your support for Klahanie annexation providing public comment at an upcoming council meeting or by taking a few moments to e-mail our elected leaders at citycouncil@issaquahwa.gov.
Matthew Bott is the CEO of the Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce. He writes on topics including the economy, community enhancement and business success.
