Fred Butler launches campaign for Issaquah mayor
January 17, 2013
NEW — 6 p.m. Jan. 17, 2013
Fred Butler, a City Council stalwart for 13 years and a voice in important debates about the future of Issaquah, entered the race for mayor Thursday.
Fred Butler
The contest could hinge on the vision for the decades ahead, as city leaders seek to position Issaquah for redevelopment and attract more jobs to the community.
Butler, 72, served on the council at major junctures in recent history, as members debated the defunct Southeast Bypass road link, how to preserve forested Park Pointe on Tiger Mountain, and late last year, a 30-year redevelopment blueprint called the Central Issaquah Plan.
Legislators’ priorities reflect education, transportation needs
January 15, 2013
Lawmakers confronted a familiar scenario as the Legislature convened Jan. 14 — a budget shortfall, opposing pressures to preserve essential services and rein in government spending, and a court mandate to spend more money on education.
Mark Mullet
Chad Magendanz
Observers expect education and transportation to rank as the dominant issues in the 105-day session. The state faces a $900 million budget shortfall for 2013-15 and, in the meantime, faces a court order to increase education funding by 2018.
In addition to the statewide issues on legislators’ docket, a lobbyist hired by city leaders to represent Issaquah is in search of support for local projects, including dollars to upgrade transportation infrastructure and Lake Sammamish State Park.
Issaquah is also focused on securing state dollars for a transportation improvement district in North Issaquah near Costco headquarters and high-traffic retail centers.
State hosts meetings on Interstate 90 tolling proposal
January 15, 2013
The state Department of Transportation is evaluating potential impacts of tolling Interstate 90, and the public can learn more about the proposal at a series of meetings on the Eastside and in Seattle.
City Council seeks applicants for open seat
January 8, 2013
From the moment Mark Mullet declared victory in a state Senate race in November, other City Council members started planning for the process to fill Mullet’s seat once the Democrat departs for Olympia.
Now, council members have put out a call for applicants for the open seat. The position is not expected to remain open for long.
The city is accepting applications until Jan. 16. The council plans to interview applicants Jan. 22 and, after interviews, members could recess into a closed-door executive session to discuss candidates’ qualifications.
Mark Mullet reflects on City Council term
January 8, 2013
Mark Mullet claimed a historic first in January 2010.
Mark Mullet
The entrepreneur and former banking executive ran unopposed for a City Council seat in 2009 and won election as the first Issaquah Highlands resident to serve on the council.
The highlands added thousands of residents as construction escalated in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but the neighborhoods existed for more than a decade before a resident achieved citywide elected office.
In the years Mullet served on the council, members hired City Administrator Bob Harrison, oversaw a major staff reorganization at City Hall, approved a long-term redevelopment plan for the business district, inked development agreements with Lakeside Industries and Rowley Properties, and approved a retail plastic bag ban.
City purchases creekside land to protect salmon habitat
January 8, 2013
City leaders agreed to spend $380,000 last month to purchase 3.9 acres along Issaquah Creek and connect municipal parks.
The parcel, the Stacy-Flewell property at 10029 Issaquah-Hobart Road S.E., is between Squak Valley Park and Squak Valley Park North. The acquisition should protect the habitat along the creek and enable the city to extend creek restoration work at Squak Valley Park North.
Joshua Schaer is first City Council member from Talus
January 8, 2013
Councilman Joshua Schaer moved to Talus late last month and, in the process, became the first City Council member from the Cougar Mountain urban village.
Joshua Schaer
The change offers Schaer a perspective on city issues from the quiet urban village perched above state Route 900.
Construction escalated in the late 1990s and early 2000s in Talus and the Issaquah Highlands, both hillside urban villages, but the neighborhoods existed for more than a decade before a resident achieved citywide elected office.
In 2010, Mark Mullet became the first resident from the highlands to join the council. (Mullet, a state senator elected in November, recently resigned from the post to serve in Olympia.)
City Council questions Interstate 90 tolling proposal
January 1, 2013
The prospect of tolling on Interstate 90 received a cool reception from the City Council, as state officials consider the idea as a way to generate dollars for the state Route 520 bridge replacement project.
The state Department of Transportation is at work on a $4.1 billion project to replace the 49-year-old floating bridge across Lake Washington and overhaul the 12.8-mile corridor between Interstate 5 in Seattle and state Route 202 in Redmond. The floating bridge is scheduled to open in traffic by early 2015.
Editorial
January 1, 2013
2013 goals are imperative for Issaquah
Our news staff and editorial board put their heads together each year to create a list of 2013 goals for the Issaquah area. Some are repeats from former years, but are still waiting to be accomplished.
Issaquah receives creek restoration grant
January 1, 2013
Issaquah recently received a $225,000 state grant to restore salmon habitat along Issaquah Creek at a downtown parks site.
The grant is meant to supplement city dollars to restore aquatic and creekside habitat for chinook, coho and kokanee salmon, as well as cutthroat trout and steelhead, at the confluence of Issaquah Creek and the East Fork of Issaquah Creek. The city plans to contribute $45,000 to the project.
Plans call for crews to remove about 1,000 feet of rock creek banks, reconfigure 1,900 feet of channel, add logjams to form pools for fish, restore wetlands and replant vegetation along the creek.
