By David Kappler

We know the level of service the county provides Klahanie and can only expect it to not improve and likely decline. We know that the level of service Issaquah is planning by the Nesbitt Study is pretty minimal. The council went out of its way to make it very clear that any transportation projects for Klahanie were going to the bottom of the list that includes the Providence Point signal from 2002 and safety improvements to NW Sammamish for the Greenwood Point annexation from 2005, which in both cases are now shown in the “Beyond 2019” column.

Klahanie would only be a suburb for Issaquah and will only be neutral in cost with the limited service levels in the Nesbitt study, essentially no transportation improvements and an uncertain state subsidy.

For Sammamish, Klahanie is an important part of their city to make it as efficient and sustainable as possible.

Sammamish has over three miles of important roads adjoining Klahanie and their residents in the northeast part of their city have a great need for Issaquah-Fall City Road improvements.

Sammamish has essentially no bonded indebtedness and a huge amount in the bank. I heard a couple Sammamish council members say they would annex Klahanie without the state sales tax subsidy. I couldn’t figure out why they would leave that money on the table. I suggested that money would be great for park improvements and helping Eastside Fire and Rescue with the big loss to District 10 revenue with present Klahanie revenue only being replaced by about 40 percent by Issaquah.

After further investigation I find out that Sammamish can so efficiently and sustainably serve Klahanie that it does not even qualify for the state money meant for poorer cities that cannot afford an annexation without state subsidy.

I gag over this “I love Issaquah, I love Sammamish” talk. Klahanie people need to start talking about loving Klahanie and what is in its best interest long term.

Sammamish has suggested it can do great things for the residents of Klahanie and the residents of their city by annexing Klahanie. I think it is time to have Sammamish put their commitment through a public process. I find myself aligning very uncomfortably with those opposed to Issaquah’s annexation of Klahanie because they oppose the “nanny state Issaquah” over the plastic bag issue. There are others opposed to annexation because of the water/sewer assumption issue.

It looks like the fire service issue is resolving itself. By delaying an annexation vote Issaquah can force Sammamish to come up with a comprehensive plan for what it would do and perhaps come to some agreement on water/sewer issues.

Issaquah is proposing pretty minimal services to Klahanie, is ignoring huge future transportation costs and, unlike Sammamish, is claiming to be too poor to annex the area without state subsidy.

It is time to look at what is in the best interest of Klahanie, Sammamish and Issaquah over the long term. That requires time and putting some pressure on Sammamish. By delaying the vote Issaquah still holds most of the cards. It can help get the best deal for Klahanie residents and can potentially avoid annexing an area that is hard to serve and comes with huge future costs.

Dave Kaplan is a former member of the Issaquah City Council.