Meeting Dates

1st Thursday of the month, 7:00 pm at City Hall, 17425 Ballinger Way NE, unless otherwise noted. Meetings are open to the public.

Current Month's Agenda

Meeting Notes

EDC Workplan

Each fall Commissioners prepare an annual work plan for submission to the City Council, including goals and budget requests.

  Click here for 2008-2009 workplan

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MIssion of the EDC

The mission of the EDC is to develop recommendations that promote the long-term economic health of the City in order to provide jobs for its citizens, provide goods and services for local consumers, and strengthen the tax base to fund local public services and facilities.

Current Commissioners

Co-Chairs: Sang-Won Cho, Phil Sluiter
Members: Randi Sibonga, Greg Swint, Jim Hansen, Elizabeth Carney-Maxey, Kathy Hashbarger

City Staff Liaison: Heidi Dunlap

Lake Forest Park Home-Based Business Directory 2008-09

Click here for a copy of the 2008-09 Home -Based Business Directory

The Second Annual Lake Forest Park Home-Based Business Fair

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Do you know the hidden, yet vast resources available to you in Lake Forest Park? There are about 250 Home-Based Businesses in our city. Your neighbors are providing a wide range of goods and services to our community. Our city is rich with resources and opportunities.

The Lake Forest Park Economic Development Commission will sponsor the Second Annual Lake Forest Park Home-Based Business Fair on Saturday, March 14, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Third Place Commons. The fair is FREE!

Last year, eighty business people converged to exchange their experiences, promote their business, network and investigate opportunities. Did you know more than half of all the businesses in the U.S. are home-based businesses?

Mark your calendars now and plan to join your neighbors to discover the resources available in our community. Your neighbor may be just the person you need to hire.

Participate by attending in the informational breakout sessions. This year’s speakers will include:

• Mark McVeety from Shoreline Community College’s Small Business Accelerator Center of Business and Continuing Education.

• Home-based business owners David and Sarah Nicol will share their success story. Tom Heffernan will suggest Internet marketing strategies and tactics for websites and email. 

• Cynthia Seager, MA, will discuss key life skills people can use to address common challenges, such as time management, organization, and life balance. 

• Robbin Block, MBA, Blockbeta Marketing, will offer a jam-packed hour of essential marketing tips and insider website tools to boost your traffic and build your business. 

• Tiffany McVeety, instructor at Shoreline Community College, will teach how to write a 1-page business plan. Her step by step outline gives the new business owner a means to focus and write a business plan that tells the whole story.

Plan to attend the Lake Forest Park Home-Based Business Fair, Saturday March 14, 2009. Hear the success stories of current home-based business owners, be inspired and learn how you can start your own business in Lake Forest Park. There will be prizes to win, friends to make and businesses to access.

More About This Commission

This is a volunteer commission. EDC may have three non-residents who own or work for local businesses, otherwise they must be residents of the City of Lake Forest Park. If a commissioner moves out of the City and/or is no longer employed in the City, the commissioner must resign.

The Mayor solicits people who are interested in serving from a number of sources. Generally the Mayor requests a letter of interest or resume from an interested individual. Typically the mayor and the chair of the commission meet with a prospective commissioner.

The Mayor may then proceed with a formal nomination. The letter or resume is included by the city clerk in the Council packet and submitted to the City Council. The Council must confirm the appointment and interview the candidate. The nomination process continues to the next Council meeting for final action. After final action, the city clerk's office sends a letter confirming the appointment to thw candidate.

The Commissioners serve for three years. There is a total of 9 members. New commissioners begin their term on April 1st of each year. Vacancies are filled throughout the year. Commissioners can be reappointed and can serve for two consecutive three-year terms. After that, there must be at least a 1 year break. Terms are staggered.