IHCA Maintains Strong Partnership with City of Issaquah

BY Sarah Hoey, IHCA Executive Director

Issaquah Highlands Community Association (IHCA) is proud of its relationship with the City of Issaquah. Last summer, we met with Issaquah Mayor Mary Lou Pauly to discuss our partnership as well as what is working and not working in our master planned community.

Discussions included traffic, safety, code violations, crime, trees, sidewalks and water use. We commend the city for repaving and restriping Highlands Drive, which was desperately needed. The remainder of Highlands Drive and Ninth Avenue NE will be completed in the near future.

Additionally, IHCA staff contacted the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) on the community’s behalf to push for the much-needed repaving work on the I-90 on-ramp. We also connected with King County Metro to secure maintenance and landscaping work for the Issaquah Highlands Park and Ride.

We also met with Issaquah City Administrator Wally Bobkiewicz and Public Works Director Emily Moon to discuss tree and sidewalk issues. Moon also advocated for streetlights to be repainted in the Grand Ridge Plaza area.

Other highlights throughout the year include working with King County on several trespass issues, attending two events hosted by the city’s Office of Environmental Sustainability, and meeting with Issaquah Police Department on crime prevention tactics.

Notable Upcoming Projects

Off-Leash Dog Park

As identified through a public engagement process, residents think adding an offleash dog park within Issaquah city limits will provide a unique community asset within the city’s park system. Insights gained from community feedback and use patterns will help to shape the scope of this project.

Park Funding

As part of the Community Investment Strategy, Issaquah City Council allocated $4 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to plan and implement improvements to one or more of the city’s primary parks. The Parks Board will recommend several city parks to consider during deliberations on the 2023–2024 budget. The proposed project budget is $500,000 in 2023 and $3,500,000 in 2024.

Sewer Main

The city plans to design and construct a redundant sewer main from Issaquah Highlands to the I-90 undercrossing to provide a larger capacity conveyance system for the community. Work will include revising or replacing the existing energy dissipater and drop structures behind the Public Works Operations facility to create a safer and more reliable system that can handle the sewer flow from Issaquah Highlands. The proposed budget is $200,000 in 2023 and $1,400,000 in 2024.

Pole Painting

City crews will clean, prep, prime and paint 25 signal poles, 34 mast arms, and 22 pedestrian poles in Issaquah Highlands. The green paint on these poles is shedding due to poor initial workmanship. This work will be the third and final phase of the project that began in 2021. The proposed budget is $320,600 in 2023.

Capital Improvements

This ongoing project strategically designs and constructs early implementation of small-scale capital improvements to complete “near-term connections and efficiencies in the mobility system,” as outlined in objective MO2 of the city’s strategic plan. The project will focus on sidewalk and bicycle gaps as well as safety improvements. The proposed budget is $831,500 in 2023 and $318,000 in 2024.