The Gist
Home

Ballot question

City of Issaquah Proposition 1: $18 million parks and trails bonds

On the ballot in
City of Issaquah
Vote
Yes or no
Election
Nov 3, 2026

The question, as printed on the ballot

The Issaquah City Council adopted Ordinance No. 3142, concerning bonds for parks, trails, and recreation projects. If approved, this proposition would authorize the City to: complete various projects, including sports fields and courts, new trails, trailhead improvements, restoration of Confluence Park's Ek House, playground improvements, a new dog park, and related capital improvements; issue no more than $18,000,000 of general obligation bonds maturing within 20 years; and levy annual excess property taxes to pay and retire such bonds, all as provided in Ordinance No. 3142. Should this proposition be approved?

A “Yes” vote means

Issaquah may issue up to $18 million in 20-year bonds, repaid by property taxes, for sports fields, trails, the Ek House, a playground and a dog park.

A “No” vote means

Issaquah does not issue the park bonds; the retiring park bonds are not replaced.

Official plain English statement

The City of Issaquah is proposing to issue up to $18 million of bonds for various park, trail, and recreation projects. If approved by voters, these park bonds would replace the City's retiring park bonds and mature 20 years after they are issued. The proposed park bond projects include: sports fields and courts at a variety of locations; new trails on Cougar and Squak mountains that connect to surrounding regional trails, trailhead improvements for West Tiger Mountain; restoration of Confluence Park's Ek House; playground improvements and a new dog park at Tibbetts Valley Park; and related capital improvements. All of these projects were identified as community priorities in the adopted 2024 Park System Plan. The City proposes issuing the new bonds as the prior bonds mature to keep property taxes similar, meaning the estimated cost to a $1 million homeowner would average about $80 per year. Low-income seniors, certain veterans and others who qualify for tax exemptions from the retiring bonds would continue to be exempt. For more information, go to issaquahwa.gov/parkbond. For questions about this measure, contact: Jeff Watling, Parks & Community Services Director, (425) 837-3325, [email protected]

Sources

The question and plain English statement are copied word for word from official election materials. The Gist does not take a side on ballot questions.