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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2022
City of Kenmore Communications
communications@kenmorewa.gov
425-398-8900
Kenmore, WA - On Tuesday, Mayor Nigel Herbig and City Manager Rob Karlinsey delivered the State of the City Address to Kenmore residents and business people at City Hall. The event was hosted in partnership with the Bothell Kenmore Chamber of Commerce.
Mayor Herbig emphasized 2022 as a “banner year” for Kenmore and specifically called it a “ribbon cutting year.”
Mayor Herbig highlighted the voter-approved Walkways & Waterways capital projects that will be completed this year, including the new sandy beach and other improvements at Log Boom Park that were recently completed. He also expressed his excitement about the completed West Sammamish River Bridge and the community celebration event scheduled for August 11.
Mayor Herbig discussed the City’s response to the pandemic, including directing $1 million of federal pandemic funding to direct cash assistance for struggling low-income Kenmore residents. “When Covid relief dollars were made available by the Federal government, we went big. We did the basics—helped our local businesses stay open—but we also did things that no one else was doing. We knew that people were hurting, so we set aside over a million of our ARPA dollars for direct cash assistance to people in need. Over 750 Kenmore residents in need received cash assistance to help them with their rent, their prescriptions, their groceries, or whatever their immediate needs were.”
Another $3.2 million of Kenmore’s federal pandemic funding will help pay for 100 low-income residential units in partnership with Plymouth Housing.
Pedestrian and bicycle safety accomplishments were also highlighted. “In 2014, we lost Sarah Paulson and Caleb Shoop – two young local recent high school grads, who both died within a week of each other while crossing the street,” Mayor Herbig said. “We took action and passed a Target Zero resolution, which states that our goal is zero pedestrian or bicyclist deaths or serious injuries by 2025, and I am proud to report that we have had no pedestrian or bicyclist serious injuries or deaths since 2017.”
Both Mayor Herbig and Mr. Karlinsey stressed the need for urgent action to combat climate change and systemic racism. Mayor Herbig recognized “the existential threat that we face with global climate change” and pointed to the City Council’s recently adopted Climate Action Plan to drive down carbon emissions in Kenmore.
Mayor Herbig pointed to the City’s efforts to advance social and racial justice: “We recognize the systemic racism weaved throughout our society, and have formed a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion taskforce who delivered us a plan last night to root out those issues and ensure that Kenmore is a place where all are welcome and valued.”
Mr. Karlinsey applauded the “fearless pioneering” efforts of the City Council, including the City Council’s top priorities of implementing the Climate Action Plan, increasing affordable housing stock, improving pedestrian and bicycle safety, and embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Mr. Karlinsey offered a definition for the word pioneer: “A pioneer is one who takes action to create the future; not someone who waits for or hopes for a better future, but some who creates a better future for themselves and others.”
He asserted that the City Council and the city staff fit this definition and pointed to the City Council’s and his co-workers’ efforts to advance the organization’s service vision.
“This team creates a future that will improve lives and quality of life for thousands of people for many generations to come,” Karlinsey said. “They more than live up to our service vision: Propelling Kenmore Upward: We create a thriving community where all people love where they live.”
A video of the 2022 State of the City of Kenmore Address is available to watch here.
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