Kirkland residents interested in serving on the City Council have until 4 p.m., Tuesday, January 29 to apply to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Councilmember Amy Walen.  

Applications are available on the City website. To be considered for this appointment applicants must have been a resident of the City of Kirkland for at least one year as of  November 5, 2019, and must be registered to vote. The individual that is selected will serve on the Council through the certification of the November 2019 election. Any individual appointed may also file to retain the seat in that election. The Council intends to fill the position no later than March 1, and sooner if possible.

A Council subcommittee consisting of Mayor Penny Sweet, Councilmember Dave Asher and Councilmember Toby Nixon will review the applications and recommend applicants to be invited for an interview. Recommendations will be reviewed at the February 5 meeting and the Council will determine which candidates should be interviewed. Interviews will be conducted prior to the regular Council Meeting on Tuesday, February 19. The candidate that is appointed will begin their service at the Council retreat on March 1.

Applicants are encouraged to visit the City website and read about the role and responsibilities of serving on the City Council. Specific questions regarding the application process or the requirements of serving on the Council can be directed to Kathi Anderson, City Clerk at kanderson@kirklandwa.gov or 425-587-3197.

Dear Kirkland Residents and Businesses:

On November 19, 2018, I joined Kirkland Police Chief Cherie Harris in issuing a joint statement and apology concerning an investigation being conducted regarding the Kirkland Police Department’s response to an “unwanted persons” dispatch call at the Totem Lake Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt Shop. The incident resulted in Mr. Byron Ragland feeling unwelcome in Kirkland.

Our initial assessment of the interaction showed that we did not meet the expectations of the Kirkland community or the high standards held by the City and the Kirkland Police Department.

On January 11, 2019, Kirkland Police Chief Cherie Harris issued a final report for Investigative Complaint #PO-0002 regarding the Totem Lake Menchie’s incident. In the report, Chief Harris comes to the following conclusions:

• The officers responding to the call missed the opportunity to mediate the situation by not initially determining why Mr. Ragland was present prior to informing Mr. Ragland that the store’s owner wanted him to leave.
• The officers involved did not violate any department protocols or polices or act out of racial bias.
• The incident demonstrated the need to implement a new formal protocol regarding “unwanted persons” dispatch calls.
• On November 27^th, the Kirkland Police Department implemented new guidelines that direct officers to determine the facts of a situation before they initiate any actions to remove an individual from a business and to mediate misunderstandings whenever possible.

I have reviewed the report and supporting materials and I concur with Chief Harris’s conclusions. I commend Chief Harris for her thorough evaluation of the incident and for her quick action to implement the new protocol.  I also want to thank the exceptional men and women of the Kirkland Police Department for the work they do to keep our community safe.  These events highlight how complex the job is and remind us how fortunate we are that we have a police department that always strives to learn and improve.

Chief Harris and I determined at the onset of the investigation that regardless of its outcome, we would use these events to reinforce our commitment to be a safe, welcoming and inclusive community. Therefore, the City of Kirkland will proceed with the following comprehensive series of actions:

• Provide all officers in the Kirkland Police Department with bias training from Dr. Bryant Marks, a nationally recognized expert in this field. Marks is the founder and Chief Training Officer of the National Training Institute on Race and Equity.  He is a professor in the Department of Psychology at Morehouse College. Dr. Marks served on President Barack Obama’s Board of Advisors with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans and was a contributor/trainer with the Obama Administration’s My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) and 21st Century Policing programs. Dr. Marks has provided implicit bias training to over 2,000 Police Chiefs and executives and several thousand patrol officers in local police departments. More information on Dr. Marks is available on his website: https://www.ntire.training/.
• Provide all other City employees and the City Council with initial diversity and bias training from Chanin Kelly-Rae, a local trainer with extensive experience working with municipalities and companies across the country. As a nationally recognized subject matter expert in diversity, inclusion and equity policy and strategies, Chanin has also served as Senior Director of Inclusion and Equity for the National Court Appoint Special Advocate (CASA) Association, and Diversity Manager for Catholic Community Services of Western Washington. She was Washington’s subject matter expert in Diversity policy in her role as Statewide Diversity Manager where she served Governor Jay Inslee during his term of office. Chanin Kelly-Rae Consulting will also guide the City of Kirkland as we explore ways to improve our organizational strategies in the areas of cultural awareness, equity, inclusion, and workforce management.
• Accelerate and enhance current and long-term strategies integrating training on race, culture and bias into our ongoing human resources training program.
• Partner with James Whitfield and Leadership Eastside to facilitate critical community dialogues with Kirkland residents and businesses around issues of race and equity in Kirkland.

I want to personally thank our Kirkland community for being extraordinarily helpful during this difficult time. Many talented and experienced people have provided us with advice, information and support about these challenging topics. Creative ideas have emerged, such as sharing training videos that we develop on race and inclusion with local businesses and organizations. 

We recognize that these actions are only the beginning, and that the journey ahead is a long one.  As a first step, I will be joined by all City Department Directors in receiving our diversity and bias training on January 29. This will allow us to experience the program directly before we implement it throughout the City.  As we move forward, we hope to share the information and ideas we discover along the way with the entire community.

The City of Kirkland recognizes that to be the safe, inclusive, and welcoming community we all strive for, we must address the issues presented by this incident. We know that overcoming issues of race, bias and achieving inclusion will require the entire community to respond together. We are committed to being part of that effort, now, and in the future. Working together we can keep Kirkland the best place in America to live, work and play for everyone.

Sincerely,

Kurt Triplett

City Manager, City of Kirkland

The City of Kirkland has issued its 2018 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Report, which includes an inventory of 2017 GHG emissions for the entire Kirkland community and for City government operations. The report shows that overall community-wide and government emissions have decreased from their 2005 levels, despite a significant increase in population during this same period. The overall community emissions decreased from the 2005 amount calculated at 815,242 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases (MTCO2e) to 640,900 MTCO2e in 2017. This equates to a community-wide emissions decrease of 21.4 percent. Emissions from City government operations have decreased from the 2005 levels calculated at 5,100 to 3,530 MTCO2e in 2017, a 31% reduction.

In 2007, the City Council adopted Greenhouse Gas reduction targets via Resolution R-4659. This resolution targeted a 20 percent reduction below 2005 levels by 2020. As of 2017, the City of Kirkland government operations have met the 2020 target for reduction. The report states that the Kirkland Community appears to be trending toward the 2020 emissions reduction goal. However, the report does recommend additional steps to ensure that 2020, 2030 and 2050 GHG emission reduction targets are met. Some of the recommendations include:

• Encourage businesses to promote ride-sharing, work from home, and alternative forms of transportation such as bike share.
• Look for opportunities to create additional “10-minute neighborhoods” and incorporate sustainability principles into long range planning efforts.
• Plan effectively for Transit-Oriented Development around regional transit investments.

Additional recommendations and details of the report will be presented to the City Council during their meeting on January 15. A full-version of the report can be found on the City website at: https://www.kirklandwa.gov/Assets/City+Council/Council+Packets/011519/8a_SpecialPresentations.pdf. Questions and comments can be sent to David Barnes, Senior Planner at dbarnes@kirklandwa.gov.