Applicants Jamming New Passport Office -- Eastside Has Another Gateway To The World

ISSAQUAH

The questions have not stopped since the Issaquah City Clerk's Office began accepting passport applications a few weeks ago.

The people pour in from the Sammamish Plateau to Woodinville and Monroe, all day long, one after another. One day, there were a record 28 applicants.

"It was insane," said Donalee Pickrel, administrative assistant in the clerk's office. "I don't think we anticipated this type of turnout."

In an effort to relieve the crush of passport seekers jamming into Bellevue's main post office downtown, the U.S. Department of State's Seattle Passport Agency asked other cities to help out. Until recently, the only passport location on the Eastside was in Bellevue.

"They're overwhelmed by the demand," said Francisco Carmona, customer-service manager for the Seattle branch of the passport agency.

Last year Bellevue's post office handled 20,000 of the 60,000 Seattle-area applications. In 1995, about 12,000 people stopped in for the service.

Carmona said his staff wanted to expand service to an ever-growing Eastside, and a suitable location was in the heart of that growth - Issaquah.

Last month Issaquah became the first city hall in the state to offer the passport-application service. In the first eight days passports were offered in Issaquah, 125 people took advantage of the program. An average of 16 people a day have stopped in to apply.

The program's growing popularity has been a boon and a burden for the city staff. The city gets $10 for each passport application. But that's a small benefit for the extra work that processing a passport application creates, city staff members said. In addition to their regular daily responsibilities, they now field dozens of questions from people who want to know what they need to get a passport and how much it costs.

Workers in the clerk's office say they're doing this more as a favor to the community. Residents don't have to pay for parking or wait in long lines in Issaquah.

"It's definitely worth it for the citizenry," Pickrel said. "There're such long waits in Seattle and Bellevue."

But the lines in the Bellevue post office have not thinned.

"We've had close to 200 on Mondays and Fridays," said Dorothy Reddaway, a general clerk who occasionally helps three full-time staff members who handle passports.

Carmona said passport applications are on the rise for several reasons: More people have moved to the Puget Sound area, they have more money to spend, and some are just taking advantage of cheap air fares.

Carmona has asked several other King County cities to offer the service. He hopes community centers in Seattle also will agree to take on the task.

Until then, staff members in the clerk's office take the extra workload in stride.

"The public seems to be tickled" we're doing this, Pickrel said. "We're overwhelmed with compliments."

Eastside Update is an occasional series checking back on people and issues in the news.

-------------- Where to apply --------------

The Issaquah City Clerk's Office accepts passport applications from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays at City Hall Northwest, 1775 12th Ave. N.W.