Meet Issaquah’s board, commission appointees
May 1, 2012
City leaders appointed a group of civic-minded citizens to boards and commissions April 16.
120 years of Issaquah
April 24, 2012
Click on the image to view the full-size timeline.
1892
- Issaquah is founded as Gilman. The city is named for railroad baron Daniel Hunt Gilman.
1893
- The postmaster called for mail sent to Gilman to be addressed to Olney, Wash., to avoid confusion between Gilman and Gilmer, another city in the state.
1895
- Townsfolk start calling the frontier town Issaquah, or “the sound of water birds” in the language of the American Indians native to the region.
1899
- State lawmakers approve official name change from Gilman to Issaquah.
Commission to consider Issaquah Highlands retail plan
April 10, 2012
Residents can offer input soon on the latest plan to build a retail complex in the Issaquah Highlands.
The plan for the proposed Grand Ridge Plaza, a highlands retail center, is scheduled to go before the Urban Village Development Commission April 17 and May 1. (The commission oversees large-scale development in the highlands and Talus.)
The proposal is the latest in a long-running effort to add more retail offerings to the hillside neighborhood.
The commission is due to consider the Grand Ridge Plaza site development permit April 17. Then, commissioners plan to hold a public hearing on the permit May 1.
The commission meets in the Council Chambers at City Hall South, 135 E. Sunset Way, at 7 p.m.
The developer, Florida-based Regency Centers, intends to transform 14 acres into shops, restaurants and parking areas. The proposal also includes a cinema and a grocery store, although the city approved both projects in separate actions.
Effort to boost local economy focuses on competitiveness
April 3, 2012
Issaquah faces ‘much more aggressive’ cities in hunt for businesses
In another step to attract businesses to Issaquah and encourage existing entrepreneurs to remain in the city, leaders promised a more robust economic development effort March 27 in a series of other changes to City Hall.
In recent months, officials unveiled a plan to streamline the permitting process for businesses, create a municipal Economic Vitality Commission and add employees dedicated to economic development.
The effort is meant to turn Issaquah into a more desirable place to do business than other Eastside cities. The competition among cities for businesses is fierce, especially since the recession caused construction to lag.
“Communities are much more aggressive and much more competitive for the amount of economic development that exists out there,” City Administrator Bob Harrison said in a presentation to the City Council.
Issaquah Highlands retail plan comes up for review
March 20, 2012
Residents can offer input soon on the latest plan to add retail offerings to the Issaquah Highlands.
The plan for the proposed Grand Ridge Plaza, a highlands retail center, is scheduled to go before the Urban Village Development Commission in April and May. (The commission oversees large-scale development in the highlands and Talus.)
The commission is due to consider the Grand Ridge Plaza site development permit April 17. Then, commissioners plan to hold a public hearing on the permit May 1.
The commission meets in the Council Chambers at City Hall South, 135 E. Sunset Way, at 7 p.m.
The developer, Florida-based Regency Centers, intends to transform 14 acres into a cinema, shops, restaurants and parking areas.
Issaquah balloons from small town to boomtown
February 21, 2012
Most citizens did not need a decennial update from the U.S. Census Bureau to recognize Issaquah as a boomtown.
The dramatic increase in population is a recent phenomenon.
Issaquah started as a pinpoint on maps, a remote hamlet in the rough-and-tumble Washington Territory.
Even as Seattle boomed amid World War II and into the postwar era, Issaquah did not crest 4,000 people until the late 1960s.
The population growth continued at a deliberate pace until a Microsoft-powered population explosion caused Issaquah and other Eastside cities to expand as the last century barreled to a close.
Mayor focuses on economy in State of the City address
February 7, 2012
Mayor Ava Frisinger highlighted a more muscular economic development effort and a reshuffled City Hall structure in the State of the City address — the speech to set Issaquah leaders’ agenda for the months ahead.
The address, delivered Feb. 6, days after the city announced employee layoffs, echoed a top priority from the City Council — a concerted effort to attract businesses to Issaquah and convince established businesses to remain in the city. The effort to remake City Hall functions also dominated the speech.
Ava Frisinger
“A major focus for 2012 will be enhancing our economic vitality, which is a community’s capacity to be economically competitive, resilient and attractive to both private and public enterprise,” Frisinger said.
Under a reorganization plan prepared by Seattle consultant Moss Adams and delivered late last year, the city focused on efficiency and effectiveness. The consultant discovered different cultures, expectations and management styles across municipal departments. Moss Adams pointed out the differences in coordination, scheduling and tracking across departments.
“In the end, our goal is to enhance customer service, find efficiencies and prepare our city for the years and decades ahead,” Frisinger said.
Though the reorganization emerged as a strong theme, Frisinger also used the address to spotlight ongoing projects.
City seeks applicants for municipal boards, commissions
February 7, 2012
City leaders need civic-minded citizens to offer advice on key issues as municipal board and commission members, even as officials remain undecided about just how many such groups Issaquah needs.
Issaquah mayor focuses on economy in State of the City address
February 7, 2012
NEW — 8 a.m. Feb. 7, 2012
Mayor Ava Frisinger highlighted a more muscular economic development effort and a reshuffled City Hall structure in the State of the City address — the speech to set Issaquah leaders’ agenda for the months ahead.
Ava Frisinger
The address, delivered Monday, days after the city announced employee layoffs, echoed a top priority from the City Council — a concerted effort to attract businesses to Issaquah and convince established businesses to remain in the city. The effort to remake City Hall functions also dominated the speech.
“A major focus for 2012 will be enhancing our economic vitality, which is a community’s capacity to be economically competitive, resilient and attractive to both private and public enterprise,” Frisinger said.
City seeks applicants for municipal boards, commissions
January 30, 2012
NEW — 6 a.m. Jan. 30, 2012
City leaders need civic-minded citizens to offer advice on key issues as municipal board and commission members, even as officials remain undecided about just how many such groups Issaquah needs.
The city needs applicants for openings on 12 boards and commissions. The groups advise the City Council on issues related to the arts, cable TV, development, parks and, in more specialized realms, city cemetery operations and sister-city relationships.
Officials need regular and alternate members. Applicants for board and commission posts do not need to reside in Issaquah.
Applicants undergo interviews before Mayor Ava Frisinger recommends appointees to council members for confirmation. The council usually confirms appointees in the spring. Terms for appointees start in May.
