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.
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.
Issaquah Highlands pedestrian bridge is meant to smooth access
December 13, 2011
The pedestrian bridge across Highlands Drive Northeast is lifted into place the early morning of Dec. 8 after arriving on site the day before in pieces on flatbed trucks from Florida. Contributed
The route is easier for pedestrians to cross a major thoroughfare after crews completed a pedestrian bridge across Highlands Drive Northeast on a moonlit morning last week.
Bellevue College construction in Issaquah could start next year
October 25, 2011
City, college partner to plan Issaquah campus
Bellevue College could start construction on a campus in the Issaquah Highlands as early as next year, college and city officials announced, as the project gains momentum despite budget cuts and a dismal forecast from Olympia.
The college purchased about 20 acres last year in a complicated transfer of development rights designed to preserve Tiger Mountain forestland from construction and open additional highlands land to builders.
“In a time when a lot of the news in our part of world is very depressing, in terms of budget cuts and things, this is something we can look forward to,” Laura Saunders, Bellevue College interim president, said in a presentation to City Council members Sept. 27. “This is a way of building to the future.”
Throughout the summer, crews built and paved a road to access the planned campus.
Keith Niven, city Major Development Review Team program manager, said the timetable for construction is a surprise.
YWCA Family Village at Issaquah opens
August 16, 2011
Lizzie Webb stands aside the railing to top-floor residences at her apartment building looking over the YWCA Family Village at Issaquah and a view of Squak and Cougar mountains. By Greg Farrar
The airy apartment on the top floor at YWCA Family Village at Issaquah, a long-planned affordable housing complex, is a refuge for Lizzie Webb.
The longtime Issaquah resident relocated to the complex before anyone else, in late May, and created a sanctuary from domestic abuse in the cozy space.
Port Blakely announces plan to build highlands shopping center
July 12, 2011
A view east toward Ninth Avenue Northeast shows the 14 acres being considered by Florida-based Regency Centers for a 175,000-square-foot shopping center in the Issaquah Highlands. By Greg Farrar
The plan to add more stores to the Issaquah Highlands, a subject responsible for much grumbling among neighborhood residents and city leaders, lurched ahead July 5, as highlands developer Port Blakely Communities announced a deal to sell 14 acres for a proposed shopping center.
If the deal is completed, as executives hope, construction could start as early as next year. The announcement also prompted some residents to point to similar — albeit unsuccessful — attempts in the past.
The agreement calls for Regency Centers, a real estate investment trust based in Florida, to purchase about 14 acres of highlands land and build a 175,000-square-foot shopping center along Northeast High Street and Northeast Park Drive — a site once set aside for a stylish retail destination called The High Streets.
Regency Centers also plans to acquire a retail-and-office building along Northeast Park Drive. Caffe Ladro and other businesses occupy the building’s 39,000 square feet.
The companies did not disclose terms of the transaction. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
Jacksonville-based Regency Centers owns almost 400 shopping centers from coast to coast, including Pine Lake Village and Sammamish Highlands on the Sammamish Plateau.
City Council confirms, lauds municipal board appointees
May 3, 2011
Onetime City Council finalist Paul Winterstein is going to continue serving the city on the Human Services Commission, the liaison between social service groups and municipal government.
The council appointed Winterstein and 35 other people as members and alternates to city boards and commissions April 18. Terms on the 11 affected boards start May 1. The city does not pay members.
“I am continually amazed at the number of people — and their qualifications — that stepped forward to fill our boards and commissions,” Councilman Fred Butler said before the unanimous decision to appoint the members. “It seems to me in going through the applications and the qualifications of folks, we’ve got an especially strong group of people filling some critical holes on our boards and commissions again this year.”
The city put out a call for board and commission applicants in January. Then, Mayor Ava Frisinger and board officers narrowed the applicant pool, and recommended appointees to the council for approval.
The city is continuing the interview process for alternates to serve on the Sister Cities and Urban Village Development commissions.
Stacy Goodman appointed to City Council seat
March 8, 2011
Stacy Goodman takes the oath of office after the City Council selected her to fill a vacant seat March 7. By Greg Farrar
City Council members appointed attorney Stacy Goodman to the council March 7, ending a monthslong process to fill the seat.
“I believe there is a space up at the dais for you to occupy,” Mayor Ava Frisinger said after she administered the oath of office.
Goodman, a past editor of The Issaquah Press, adds a fresh face — and a long résumé as a civic volunteer and municipal board member — to the seven-member council. The former journalist bested eight other applicants to succeed former Councilwoman Maureen McCarry, and to hold the post until after the November council election.
City Council hears from applicants as contest for open seat nears end
March 2, 2011
NEW — 11 a.m. March 2, 2011
City Council applicants, dressed in suits and skirts, on Tuesday night faced the half dozen city leaders responsible for selecting a resident to serve on the council for the next 10 months.
The council listened for about 90 minutes as the nine candidates in the race to succeed former Councilwoman Maureen McCarry outlined goals for Issaquah.
Then, after the presentations, the council met in a closed-door session to discuss candidates’ qualifications. The decision to appoint a resident to the Position 5 seat is expected to occur Monday.
“I think almost everybody who put their hand up to come be a council member is well-spoken, outspoken and opinionated,” longtime Development Commission member and applicant Mary Lou Pauly said. “We’re all going to participate as actively as we can. That means doing our homework, reading the reports, getting prepared and then coming to the meetings with something to offer.”
City Council interviews applicants Tuesday
February 28, 2011
NEW — 6 a.m. Feb. 28, 2011
The nine applicants for a City Council vacancy face the council Tuesday night, as the process to select a successor to former Councilwoman Maureen McCarry nears a coda.
Candidates face the council in public interviews scheduled for a special council meeting at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers, 135 E. Sunset Way. Then, after the 10-minute interviews, council members could recess into a closed-door executive session to discuss candidates’ qualifications.
Under state law, the council can discuss candidates’ qualifications in a closed-door session, but interviews and the decision must occur in public meetings.
Many candidates bring experience in municipal government or a keen understanding of council business to the interview process.
The vote to appoint a member to the council is scheduled for March 7, though the appointee might not join the council until later in the month. The salary for council members is $700 per month.
