[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6192196,"mediaKeyId","4125663-ac94b4576f0ac7cd59fef3ba47249b6a","parentId",4125663,"title","Council hears options for CWU-owned facility as residents push thrift shop and senior uses","audioSeconds",3414,"startMs",258000,"endMs",3672000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=4125663-ac94b4576f0ac7cd59fef3ba47249b6a&start=258&end=3672","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/4125663-ac94b4576f0ac7cd59fef3ba47249b6a/thumbnail_258000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6192196/Sammamish-City/King-County/Washington/Council-hears-options-for-CWU-owned-facility-as-residents-push-thrift-shop-and-senior-uses","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6192196-217361f62f71c1dc12d6120d0d9c7006/orig.mp4?Expires=1771125169&Signature=I79EK3zw2LCSmRbN3azYQ9iMPfyB5lrkEWjZvWrbJcvWmdt9p-wNEBVbWGBGHYanSp0QpCv4sVYKKRpm7Ahmy38BcD~jMbOhsCp3yqLXuCxPiwYh3UsVx08pTMF9Dma902VEceG5osyTM1BCb50vg4ZFPxUe9sfGzND4Esxt4zace62speGZjA~j2Vi9KWqpRY7G39v-9w2HNyeXOehyr49F8~le-I--xxDwHhSggA~XByjhfWpbXcTSp3vSOgrVt68pLV2zZ387IMgzgs4SYmB85K7jft25sY4wn6ZeNkJdk1fpcTFuG9IFegSir6hLpGpmSfxfFfe2FQ30JBS90A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Sammamish City, WA","date","2025-06-18T14:32:39Z","article","City staff told the Sammamish City Council on May 13 that Central Washington University will vacate the city‑owned facility at 122 20th Avenue NE at the end of the school year and presented three broad options for the building’s future: find a single anchor tenant to lease the entire facility, sell the property, or keep ownership and operate the building as a city or community facility.

The issue matters because the building is currently a subleased community hub that houses programs including the YMCA, tutoring groups and a Microsoft commuter parking program; it sits on roughly 22 acres adjacent to wetlands and will require zoning or a new conditional use permit for continued community use. Staff told council the short‑term transition costs if the city maintains ownership are estimated at $175,000–$275,000, with ongoing basic operations about $190,000 a year and an additional planning estimate of roughly $350,000 annually if the city amortizes the facility condition needs identified in a 2022 assessment (about $5,000,000 over 15 years).

At the start of the meeting, multiple members of the public urged the council to use the CWU property for community services. Sally Farrell, introduced as the board president of Sammamish Friends, said the nonprofit has a formal proposal for a thrift shop and wants space at the CWU campus. \"We will have a formal advisory board for the thrift shop, and we want it to be under the oversight of our 501(c)(3),\" Farrell said. Joyce Botenberg described an Edmonds example and said an off‑site thrift shop produced substantial gross sales there. High school volunteers Ayush Agua and Andrew Wang told the council they expect the thrift shop would engage youth volunteers and generate revenue to support local programs.

City staff described the building’s background and constraints. Janie Walzer, management analyst in Parks and Recreation, said the building was constructed in 2008, measures about 31,000 square feet, and that the city purchased it in 2015 \"for a little over $6,000,000.\" Walzer said the site is zoned residential, and the university operated under a conditional use permit (CUP) issued in 2017; once CWU vacates, the building will be nonconforming and may operate for up to 12 months before being considered abandoned unless the city rezones or secures another CUP. Walzer added that the 2022 facility condition assessment identified roughly $5 million of needs over a 15‑year horizon, and that the transition‑related expenses presented to council do not include potential additional deficiencies the city may find upon takeover.

Staff outlined tradeoffs among the three options. Leasing the facility to an anchor tenant could approach market rent that might bring the city close to breaking even but would still leave the city responsible for capital needs and management; selling would remove future capital obligations but is complicated by wetlands, residential zoning and unknown market interest; retaining ownership would allow community programming but requires new staffing, operating budget and a longer public engagement process to define community uses and capital improvements. Staff noted possible interim uses, such as converting a classroom to records storage to eliminate Iron Mountain off‑site storage costs (estimated at $30,000–$40,000 per year), and emphasized that expanding uses now would require adding staffing resources that are not in the current work plan.

Council members spoke in favor of maintaining ownership and exploring community uses while recognizing costs. Council member Sid Gupta said he \"supports the city maintaining ownership and operations\" and asked whether market rent for a single tenant would be enough to avoid subsidy; staff estimated annual market rent in the range of $400,000–$500,000 but said even full market rent would likely just approach breakeven. Council member Rosheen O'Farrell urged the city to \"imagine what the future of this building could be\" for teens and seniors. Council member Stewart asked whether removing and reinstalling a commercial kitchen would be included in the $5 million assessment and whether the city has considered contracting staffing rather than hiring; staff said kitchen re‑fit costs would be additional and that contracting is a potential option to evaluate.

Staff requested council direction on next steps; they said short‑term work to secure basic functionality (new locks, back‑lot safety lighting, safety inspections) is needed before July 1 when CWU vacates, and that a fuller program and budget proposal would follow in the fall if the council directs the city to maintain ownership. Staff also noted rezoning or a new CUP would fall to Community Development’s work plan. Several council members suggested pursuing a community co‑created planning process, seeking grant funding and engaging volunteers and nonprofits to help with implementation and fundraising. No formal vote on the building’s disposition occurred; staff explicitly asked for direction and said they would return with more detailed cost estimates and a community engagement plan if council chose to retain ownership.

Ending: Council members repeatedly said they saw the property as an opportunity to fill gaps in local meeting, senior and teen space even as they acknowledged the building will require ongoing subsidy and capital investment. Staff will proceed to document short‑term transition work needed to take over operations July 1 and return in the fall with options for staffing, permitting and longer‑term planning if the council directs the city to retain ownership.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","May 13th, 2025 - City Council Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","City staff told the Sammamish City Council on May 13 that Central Washington University will vacate the city‑owned facility at 122 20th Avenue NE at the end of the school year and presented three broad options for the building’s future: lease to a single tenant, sell the property, or keep ownership and operate the building.","taxTitle","Sammamish City, King County, Washington","taxId",5127,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6192185,"City clerk outlines public records workload, proposes 'offboarding' declarations and 'Project Elephant' to reduce paper storage costs",686,5144000,5830000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=4125663-ac94b4576f0ac7cd59fef3ba47249b6a&start=5144&end=5830","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/4125663-ac94b4576f0ac7cd59fef3ba47249b6a/thumbnail_5144000.jpg","/articles/6192185/Sammamish-City/King-County/Washington/City-clerk-outlines-public-records-workload-proposes-offboarding-declarations-and-Project-Elephant-to-reduce-paper-storage-costs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6192185-452ebabee1e14424bb96a89d433cfc1e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771125169&Signature=Rg8J1EAXZpAYYO08r5bIGmSU9r0k~i0-FUHigpOwg0E211FIVqSVRo79Ewbx1rm~0lfSvk7UAOvweprDmDnCsCTRKL0M~lj4FN9kr9aHPgfYWlDvChTPrgL7WMLAWSauLVfhc1hGgq8PCp7dH3UaVS4DcKo97ICjoTA1cAVgzTn2Rzlcprv8M~oGxnPJEpKRrI9bvseECy20-2hkXHil0W9nllOzqK34MkAFtpkiT7yejTPzPnAzTu3d3mULs3Q6OOJorCp17CSVfyeHyRjxbMg74OOYL4Xmjs7dplaKQOilKhYDObyDedokpfZo-sRJHAVdNGTP6mWvETKCKk1iuA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Sammamish City Clerk’s Office updated the council on May 13 about public records workload trends, proposed policy changes for offboarding personnel, and launched \"Project Elephant,\" a multi‑year plan to retrieve and manage approximately 1,300 boxes of paper records currently stored off site.

Rachel Bianchi, deputy city manager, introduced the presentation and Amber Anderson, deputy city clerk, and Sabrina Otnis, public records officer, reviewed the city’s public records process. Otnis said the city receives requests across a broad range of record types and that the Public Records Act requires an agency to respond within five business days with at least one of the enumerated responses. She said most requests are category 1 (small, easily retrievable records) but the city is seeing more category 2–4 requests that require multi‑department searches, legal review and installment production; category 4 requests can take more than a year to fulfill.

Anderson summarized trends: she said the city typically has 40–55 open requests in process weekly, many category 3 and 4, and that recent category 3/4 requests often bundle multiple subjects and date ranges and seek many forms of communications (emails, texts, Teams messages, social media and personal devices). Staff said the increased complexity leads to large search volumes and significant staff time. The presentation noted the city reported to the Legislature’s audit committee (JLARC) that 2023 public records costs exceeded $912,000, with more than $340,000 attributed to litigation related to public records.

To reduce future workload and improve access, the clerk’s office proposed two measures. First, staff said they would present a policy amendment (planned for council consent on June 3) to require departing staff, elected officials and commissioners to sign an offboarding declaration confirming they have turned over public records from personal devices and accounts. Second, the office introduced \"Project Elephant,\" a records management effort to retrieve roughly 1,300 boxes from Iron Mountain (storage costing about $30,000–$40,000 per year), apply the updated state retention schedule, digitize frequently requested records and create a public repository to allow some records to be accessed in a self‑service way.

Council members asked operational questions and offered support. Council member Stewart asked about use of AI to assist with requests; staff said scanning and metadata work is a prerequisite to self‑service and that they were monitoring AI developments but want to follow state clerks association guidance and law before adopting AI tools for public records review. Deputy Mayor Amy Lam asked for JLARC 2024 numbers (staff said the 2023 JLARC report is public and 2024 will be available after summer reporting). Staff said when installments are produced they provide a download link and will close requests if an installment is not downloaded within a specified timeframe.

Ending: The clerk’s office will bring a proposed offboarding policy amendment to council and seek approval for next steps and funding for Project Elephant; staff said retrieval and review will be phased because of workload and cost, and that better access should improve service and reduce long‑term storage costs.

","The city clerk's office reported rising complexity and costs for category 3–4 public records requests, previewed a proposed offboarding declaration for departing officials and staff, and described 'Project Elephant' — an effort to remove ~1,300 boxes from Iron Mountain and create a more accessible repository.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6192191,"YMCA reports increased visits, scholarships and program reach despite pool closure",560,2108000,2668000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=4125663-ac94b4576f0ac7cd59fef3ba47249b6a&start=2108&end=2668","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/4125663-ac94b4576f0ac7cd59fef3ba47249b6a/thumbnail_2108000.jpg","/articles/6192191/Sammamish-City/King-County/Washington/YMCA-reports-increased-visits-scholarships-and-program-reach-despite-pool-closure","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6192191-d6f5247d932409297d4248bb146ca40a/orig.mp4?Expires=1771125169&Signature=W3YGvmF5zRqKxdet8nUfpd~zKL9u7DilsJRwu3kYGoIwI1i-qCvk0HrczllCuYuqGi3xmvK4213BjZqhpRUbIXmW0wuc3oUF2HAtlC6RtIK86UPoVSQBMVlVU6v~p7XXiQGHNW2nDtk2LSfBHONEG6V45aUw2vrX-OHGzx-V33fZoQ-ripTAaNmnWBSta7HXbt8wq7OaPrZkgTydpPqBPBvt9wiOMuS0e0eH4QNTucADwAqf9BsqnAAMwOdcvNn4sFBkNn8ZJfG7x9fb-5MWFltPkJnWMBl91yoHuZd2QfhN9xPshpSfG9ALDKBNCQdnKkq-O79I7T8kPbVMblMOoA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Kelly Martin, branch executive for the Sammamish Community and Aquatic Center with the YMCA of Greater Seattle, told the Sammamish City Council on May 13 that the branch recorded increased participation and broad program impact in 2024 despite a prolonged pool tile project and leadership transitions.

Martin said the branch saw \"over 489 hundred thousand visits to the Y\" in 2024 and that the YMCA awarded more than $185,000 in scholarships for memberships and programs. The branch taught more than 7,100 swim lessons and served over 13,000 meals to the Sammamish community, Martin said. She highlighted fundraising that generated about $134,000 and noted nearly $200,000 in scholarships and program support across the branch.

Anjali Meyer, the city’s director of Parks and Recreation, introduced the presentation and reminded council that the city is a contract city and that the YMCA operates under an agreement to provide recreation services in the city‑owned facility. Martin credited staff and the local YMCA board for the branch’s reach and described signature community events — Extravaganza and Fall Festival — that drew thousands of residents. She said the branch ran free community swim sessions and offered wide age‑range programming including chronic disease programs such as Pedaling for Parkinson’s and Active Choices Together (ACT).

Council members asked about operating costs and grant pressures. Council member Sid Gupta asked why reported utility costs were lower despite higher membership; Martin said the lower costs were likely related to the pool closure and that some wraparound services across the YMCA federation have been affected by federal grant reductions. Martin said local branch operations had not yet been impacted but that the YMCA’s social impact center (wraparound services) had seen grant changes; she said the branch had communicated potential impacts to partners and donors.

Council members thanked the YMCA for programming and asked staff to track federal grant impacts that might reduce wraparound services. Deputy Mayor Amy Lam and Council member Stewart noted efforts to reach local high schools for swim practice and to promote the YMCA’s free and low‑barrier programs to Sammamish residents. The presentation concluded with council appreciation and no formal action requested.

Ending: The council received the YMCA’s annual report and asked staff to monitor grant pressure effects on wraparound services and to support outreach so residents understand YMCA program availability in Sammamish.

","YMCA of Greater Seattle’s Sammamish branch reported strong program numbers for 2024 — including more than 489,000 visits, over $185,000 in scholarships, 7,100 swim lessons and 13,000 meals served — and updated council on tile/pool repairs and grant pressures affecting wraparound services.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Council hears options for CWU-owned facility as residents push thrift shop and senior uses

City clerk outlines public records workload, proposes 'offboarding' declarations and 'Project Elephant' to reduce paper storage costs

YMCA reports increased visits, scholarships and program reach despite pool closure