cm =, OF Department PO Box 1307, Issaquah, WA 98027-1307 425/837-3450 Fax: 425/837-3439 th July 11", 2012 Members of the Commission RE: Commission Meeting Dear Commission Member, The City oflssaquah's Department looks forward to meeting with the Economic Development Commission (EVC) at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 18th in the Pickerine Conference Room located at City Hall Northwest at 1775-12th Avenue NW. Issaauah. Please find attached:. The agenda. The meeting minutes from June 20, 2012 If you haven't done so already, please confimi your attendance by calling me at 425-837-3444 or email: candicebfsjci.issaquah.wa.us. Sincerelx Candy Baer Specialist ec: Ava Frisinger, Mayor (Electronic) Bob Harrison, City Administrator (Electronic) Charlie Bush, Deputy City Administrator (Elecfronic) Keith, MDRT Program Manager Andrca Lehner, Manager Mike Martin, Associate Autumn Monahan, Public Information Officer CElectronic) Connie Marsh (Electronic) David Paullng (Electronic) Bill Horton (Electronic) Kelly Richardson (Electronic) Pam Hughes (Electronic)
CITY ECONOMIC VFTALITY COMMISSIOTsT AGENDA MAYOR Ava Frisinger COUNCIL Tola Marts Fred Butler Eileen Barber Josh Schaer Paul Winterstein Mark Mullet StacyGoodman WEDNESDAY JULY 18th, 2012 5:30 P.M Pickering Conference Rooni 5:30 P.M. Call to Order ECONOMIC VTTALmr COMMISSION Alan Finkelstein Christine Kipp. John Traeger Kari Kristi Tripple MattBott "eter Kahn ^san Gillespie Vicki Orrico Altenutes Richard Gabel Todd Wyatt Tim Diller STAFF Keith, Director Andrea Lehner Manager Candy Baer, Specialist 5:31 P.M. Meeting Minutes 5:35 P.M. Commission Business Employment Profiling Recap - Meeting with Leasing Brokers SWOT (Continuation) BRE 7:10 P.M. New Business/Open Discussion 7:20 P.M. Public Comment 7:30 P.M. Adjournment The Next EVC Meeting will be scheduled for August?? Pickering Conference Room, 1775 - I2UI Avenue NW, Issaquah, Washington
CITY OF ISSAQUAH ECONOMIC VITALITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES June 20th, 2012 City Hall Northwest Pickering Conference Room COMMISSIONERS PRESENT Karl, Chair Susan Gillespie, Vice Chair Peter Kahn Christine Kipp Matt Bott Tim Diller Richard Gabel Todd Wyatt Susan Gillespie Vicki Orrico 1775-12th Avenue NW Issaquah, WA 98027 STAFF PRESENT Keith, Director Andrea Lehner, Manager Candy Baer, Specialist OTHERS PRESENT Connie Marsh Bill Norton Kelly Richardson Pam Hughes CALL TO ORDER Keith called the meeting to order at 5:34 PM. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS asked the commissioners if they were ready to make nominations and elections for Chairman and Vice Chairman. LEIGH was nominated and elected as Chair and GILLESPIE was nominated and elected as Vice Chair. MEETING MINUTES LEIGH presented the May 16th, 2012 meeting minutes. KAHN MOVE to approve the minutes as presented; GILLESPIE SECONDED. COMMISSION BUSINESS asked the commissioners if they wanted to approve the Mission Statement as presented at the May 16 meeting. KAhlN presented the following changes: MISSION STATEMENT: the mission of the Economic Vitality Commission (EVC) is to enrich and develop a the diverse economic, social, and cultural environment for our community. The EVC is committed to fostering a pre-business environment which encourages o growing, sustainablcond diverse fax base growth. ODportunitv. and innovation within the City of Issaquah. The EVC will serve as an authoritative voice on economic vitality within Issaquah through community outreach, public policy recommendations, marketing and communications. The EVC is dedicated to improving the quality of place and resident's quality of life by balancing economic opportunities with the needs of City residents while considering the value of the environment which makes this community special. The EVC will look to facilitate communication between business and City officials.
The Commissioners liked the suggested language changes and requested that the Mission Statement be revisited in 6 months. COMMUNITY ATTACHMENT explained what matters most for community attachment is Social Offerings, Openness, and Aesthetics. He then asked the Commissioners to rank Issaquah between Weak and Strong on the criteria below. 1 - Weak 5 - Strong Availability of Arts & Cultural Events 1 Vibrant Nightlife Availability of Social Community Events Encourages Diversity Beautiful Setting Availability of Parks showed the Commission a video link by the Knight Foundation entitled "An Explanation of Community Attachment - Soul of the Community Project". SWOT - Strengths presented a chart to the Commissioners with different suggested strengths for the City and asked the Commissioners to identify why they believe it is a strength, if there is room for improvement, and if it is a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity or Threat. Strengths Why Room for Improvement SWOT h-tealthcare Access - Healthpoint, Dentalpoint or equivalent. Marketing/communication Mental in & out - patient Swing beds Alps Costco Headquarters stated that the discussion was good but do to time constraints that we will continue this discussion at the next EVC meeting. BUSINESS RETENTION Andrea Lehner used a Powerpoint presentation on Business Retention and Expansion to open up discussion with the Commission because we want our local businesses to stay here, thrive and are a value to this community. Lehner talked about surveying businesses to learn more about them and also to get feedback on what the City can do to assist them with their success.
OPEN DISCUSSION GABEL requested that staff provide the Commission with what data collections has beer: accumulated to see what kind of statistics Issaquah has. stated that we will get what we have together to show the Commission at our next meeting. PUBLIC COMMENT Pam Hughes representing the Business to Business Taskforce, introduced herself.. Hortor1' passed out and read a handout of how he envisions the growth of Issaquah. Some of his thoughts included converting store fronts on Front Street to look more like the late 1800 s. re-developing Gilman Village, and talked about the vision for the Rowley and Hyla Crossing projects. Connie Marsh, stated that she hopes the Commission will remember and focus on the Community. The business doesn't make a town, the people do. She suggested a more humanized approach rather than doing surveys. Kelly Richardson, Rowley Properties, expressed her appreciation for this Commission. She suggested the need for better marketing of what Issaquah currently has. She also suggested that the City's new website should be available in multiple languages. ADJOURNMENT LEIGH closed the meeting at 7:31 p.m. These minutes are a brief summary of the Economic Vitality Commission Meeting. For more information or clarification, please contact the Economic at 425-837-3444. Respectfully Submitted, Candy Baer Specialist