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Issaquah outlines resilience-hub network, reports ~2,000 trained CERT participants
Summary
Issaquah emergency manager said the city has about seven resilience hubs (three city-owned, four partner-run), is missing west-side coverage in Talus/Montreux/South Cove, and reported about 2,000 people have taken CERT training, with roughly 250 active and about 90 pre-registered as permanent emergency workers.
Issaquah's emergency manager told council on July 13 that the city currently identifies about seven resilience hubs—three owned by the city and four run by community partners—and is working to add sites to improve coverage on the west side of the city, including Talus, Montreux and South Cove.
Jared Schneider said resilience hubs are being formalized in the city's comprehensive emergency management plan (CEMP) update and that the city maintains a public landing page listing hub locations and amenities. "We're in the process of updating this comprehensive emergency management plan'… one of the things that will be added is resilience hubs," Schneider said.
On volunteers, Schneider said about 2,000 people have received Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training since the program began; approximately 250 are currently active and about 90 are registered as permanent emergency workers who receive pre-event L&I protections when registered. Those permanent emergency workers are the core surge capacity the city calls on when events exceed staff capability.
Schneider outlined activation methods and volunteer communication channels: Code Red alerts, an established radio network of volunteer operators, email and text, and a virtual EOC link. He said the city offers supplemental trainings and appreciation events to keep volunteers engaged and is partnering with neighboring jurisdictions (for example, King County search-and-rescue) to provide additional deployment opportunities.
Council members pressed for distribution detail and how hubs would be staffed; Schneider said distribution generally follows population density and volunteer availability (highs in Highlands, Talus, Old Town and Providence Point) and that long-term goals include having a resilience hub within walking distance of every Issaquah resident. He noted the city is working with sustainability staff and community partners to close west-side gaps.
Schneider said volunteers are typically called when needs exceed staff capacity and are asked to perform nontechnical tasks at hubs, not specialized tactical operations. The Committee then moved into a tabletop exercise to practice these coordination steps.
