/ Mayor / 2006 State of the City
Feature Items
STATE OF THE CITY
Presented at the Council Meeting of January 17, 2006 by Mayor Frisinger
As I highlight some of our achievements in 2005 and plans for the coming year, let me first welcome a new neighborhood into the Issaquah community. South Cove/Greenwood Point voted overwhelmingly to become full partners with Issaquah and will be formally joining us in March this year. I am pleased to welcome you and trust that you will find us a special place that our residents and businesses have come to enjoy.
In my State of the City Address tonight, I will address what we have done and why, who we are, and what I envision us doing in the coming year.
In 2005, we accomplished many notable achievements:
- We launched Phase I of the Intelligent Transportation System. This project will result in 15% reduction in traffic congestion;
- Gilman Boulevard intersection improvements;
New Juniper Street Bridge;
- Ballfields added in Central Park;
- Continued improvements to our Emergency Operations System, notably improvements to our communications network;
- Developed Environmental regulations, strengthening our natural area protections;
- Creek restorations;
- Open Space Acquisition.
Of special note, though, I want to take a moment and acknowledge the single most attribute that makes Issaquah the special place that it is. The City is more than just capital improvement projects and physical assets, no matter how big or important they are. Issaquah, at its center, is a caring community.
As but one example of the many caring sides of Issaquah, I want to speak about our youth programs here in the City. Our Parks and Recreation Department does an outstanding job with its Youth Programs, not only our recreation and youth classes, but in particular, integrating youths with special needs into activities, welcoming diversity and establishing programs like the Youth Track Club, which serves as a model for positive teen involvement.
Our Police likewise do outstanding work with our youth. The Issaquah Police Department has been working with the youth around the City in many positive ways, showing and teaching the youth what takes place in the dispatch center, how and when to call 911, and an overview of what police officers do on a daily basis. The City has a school Resource Officer in the Issaquah High School, Tiger Mountain High School and the Issaquah Middle School, mentoring, teaching, and dealing with different incidents that occur around the schools. The same officer is the DARE Officer for Issaquah Valley and Clark Elementary Schools. The DARE program teaches the importance of making good decisions and choices, increasing self-esteem, talking openly about the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol, and ways to be in charge. The Issaquah Police Department feels that the youth in the area is our greatest natural resource we have and they are happy to be involved in all the activities to keep them safe.
The Katrina disaster response underscored to us all the basic fundamental value of the community. Fourteen or fifteen years ago the people of Issaquah examined community questions and issues: what we value, what we want this place to be. During this time, the community was fully engaged in the development of a City Vision. Our Guiding Principles express that Vision and continue as our hallmarks to this day:
- Environmental Excellence
- Innovative and Integrated Planning
- Community Involvement
- A People Place
- A balanced Community
- Excellence in Governmental Services
The core of all these principles is our community’s values and vision. And the foremost of our values is caring intensely for one another and the place we call home.
My Vision for 2006
Looking ahead in 2006, the City has a number of significant ways to make a difference in traffic safety and mobility. The Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) will see more corridors added to its operation, and the community will start to see real results. The City has a number of very important projects with which to deal: the SE Bypass, I-90 Crossing, and East Lake Sammamish/43rd Roundabout (a project that will, by the way, address one of the higher accident locations in the City). Each of these projects has tough issues associated with it, and the City needs to pursue answers that fit our values and address our traffic problems. These answers needn’t be mutually exclusive.
I welcome you to visit a beautiful new City Park, built in the style of an old-fashioned park, when it opens this summer in the Issaquah Highlands. Grand View Park will be a unique park with walking paths, landscaped areas, great views of Mt. Baker and plenty of open space for old-fashioned kite flying, family games, and relaxation.
The City has unfinished business in addressing the community need for open space, clean water, and parks, yet much more must be done to address the demands on our precious remaining open space.
When I go through a list of what makes Issaquah a special place to live and work, sustainability, the health of our natural environment, is high on the list. We will aggressively continue to work on habitat restoration along our creeks and rivers (the Hope Creek project will reconnect a long broken and interrupted stream flow. I insist that, as a community that highly values the environment, we need to assess and act on the important issues in 2006. We need to protect our clean water, fish and wildlife habitat and natural areas as we grow.
Lastly, I want to address an issue that is paramount to us all and central to our ability to meet our vision for our community, that is, the importance of sustaining and facilitating a vital downtown economy. Economic vitality has been discussed over the last several years and it is vital to our community’s well-being. It is important that we enjoy our downtown and that to be the balanced community we strive to be, we need to take the steps today to ensure a healthy local economy tomorrow. I look forward to working with the Council and the community on these endeavors.
Concluding Remarks
In closing, Issaquah is a vibrant place to live and work, more than just another great Northwest town. What sets Issaquah apart is our ability to come together to meet challenges and achieve community goals. Working together to solve problems is our tradition, one that we are good at. It is imperative for the Council and Administration to respond to the challenges before us.
As highlighted in my remarks, traffic and transportation are all about meeting the needs of our residents and businesses, minimizing traffic congestion and air pollution. And yes, there are difficult trade-offs.
When I speak of economic vitality, I think of community vitality and here the Council has earlier outlined the need for a task force. The Administration is fully committed to moving forward and working with the Council to this end.
Lastly, I cannot emphasize enough that we need to protect our natural areas, our fish habitat and wildlife. Much is expected of us. To this end I believe we also need to fully engage our community and ask for their help as we move forward and work on the issues and opportunities in building a better tomorrow, ensuring a strong, healthy and vibrant community.
Ava Frisinger, Mayor
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