Issaquah will soon complete a study focused on potential impacts of annexing nearly two square miles known as the Klahanie Potential Annexation Area (PAA). Two public meetings will soon be held to help explain the findings:
• 7 p.m. May 8, 2013, at Issaquah City Council Chambers, 135 E. Sunset Way
• 7 p.m. May 22, 2013, at Challenger Elementary School, 25200 S.E. Klahanie Blvd.
The PAA includes the Klahanie master-planned community, which is located northeast of Issaquah, along with more than 12 other smaller neighborhoods nearby. The total area (see map) has a population of about 10,800 people in about 3,900 households.
According to the study’s preliminary reports, it would cost Issaquah close to $5.85 million per year (for the first five years) to annex the area. This includes both annual and one-time costs, and doesn’t factor in sidewalk/gutter improvements, upgrades to Issaquah-Fall City Road or parks improvements.
The City would also receive an estimated $5.3 million in new revenues if the annexation occurred, meaning there would be a funding gap of about $550,000.
However, the City may receive a state sales tax credit for up to 10 years to offset the cost of providing city services to the annexation area. This could fill the funding gap between the City’s cost to provide services and the revenue it would otherwise expect to receive from the annexation area.
For more information, including the detailed draft reports, visit issaquahwa.gov/klahanie.