Council’s Corner

Word Has Gotten out

Word has gotten out - Washington is a great place to live! Our city, named after President George Washington, was founded in 1857 as part of the Cotton Mission. You can still see the old sandstone Cotton Mill along the banks of the Mill Creek, now home to Star Nursery. Our predecessors, many of whom came to work at the Mill, were better at keeping our secret. In fact, from 1857 to 1969, over a 112 year span, we grew to a population of only about 1,000 residents! Historically we haven’t had to worry much about growth because we weren’t experiencing it. That has changed. Today over 30,000 residents call Washington home, with about 20,000 of us having moved here within the last 15 years or so. Last fiscal year our city issued 686 residential permits. So far this current fiscal year, from July through December, we have already issued 443 residential permits, and that’s only the halfway point. The city issued 97 permits in October of 2020, which is the highest number of permits in a single month in our history. The city is clearly on track for a record year, and the trend doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.  As we grow your City Council is committed to providing and supporting the essential services we need in terms of public safety (police and fire) and in terms of public services (water, sewer, power, etc.) We also recognize the need to maintain and improve public spaces (roads, parks, trails, etc.) All of these components exist as part of the city for the well-being and quality of life of each of us who lives here. Commercial growth follows residential growth, so be on the lookout for some exciting announcements about new commercial projects on the horizon. In the meantime let’s try a little harder NOT to let the secret out about our great city.

        –Kress Staheli, Washington City Council

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