The Kirkland City Council’s next “virtual” meeting takes place Tuesday, June 16. The meeting uses video conferencing technology provided by Zoom in response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order. The regular business meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. and is preceded by a 5:30 p.m. study session.

The agenda for the June 16 meeting will be available on the City website prior to the meeting at: Kirkland City Council agendas. The meeting can be viewed in real time via the live stream on the City website at: http://www.kirklandwa.gov/depart/council/Meetings/WatchCouncilMeetings.htm and is televised on Comcast Cable Channel 21 and Frontier Cable Channel 31.

Here are a few highlights from the upcoming meeting:

Juneteenth Proclamation

During their June 16 meeting, the City Council will proclaim June 19, 2020 as Juneteenth in Kirkland.  Juneteenth recognizes and commemorates the day of June 19, 1865, when enslaved African-Americans in Texas were informed by Major General Gordon Granger that they were “free,” ending 246 years of chattel slavery. The proclamation states that despite that over 155 years have passed since chattel slavery was officially ended in the United States, people of African descent continue to have to fight to dismantle anti-black systems and policies of oppression in our country. The City of Kirkland reaffirms our strong commitment to doing the hard and necessary work to fight injustice and transform our country into one that is more equitable for all.

Fire & Emergency Medical Services 2020 Ballot Measure

For the last six months, the City has been investigating the possibility of two potential November Emergency Medical Services ballot measures. After receiving results of two surveys (available on our website), and considering the uncertain financial impacts of COVID-19, Council directed staff to bring back two options for Council consideration:

Option 1) A 30 year bond measure to finance capital projects and a permanent levy for operating costs that together do not exceed the original ComSAG recommendation cost of $0.225/$1000 of assessed valuation and an annual impact of no more than $200 per year.

Option 2) A single permanent levy to fund both operating and capital ballot measure elements that does not exceed the ComSAG’s original recommendation of $0.225/$1,000 of assessed valuation and an annual impact of no more than $200 per year.

During their meeting on Tuesday, June 16, Council will hear the City Manager’s recommendations for reprioritizing ballot measure elements to keep estimated costs as close to the ComSAG’s original $0.225/$1,000 assessed valuation.

CARES Act Funding

The City Council will also be discussing the City Manager’s proposed CARES Act Funding Plan. The proposal divides the approximately $2.6 million into substantially equal parts, with approximately $867,000 being allocated to each of the three following categories:

• City General Operations COVID-19 reimbursement and preparedness;
• Human Services COVID-19 related expenses; and
• Kirkland Small Business COVID-19 related expenses.

Some of the human services funding proposed would be used to better serve communities of color during the pandemic, help address additional costs the day center and overnight emergency shelter have faced due to social distancing requirements, and provide more support for families with children who may be challenged due to limited summer programming.

Some of the funding options to support businesses being explored include support for small businesses and non-profits during reopening, a direct contribution to the Kirkland Small Business Relief Fund, purchasing personal protection equipment for small businesses, and considering freeing up public and private streets, sidewalks, and plazas for businesses to utilize while maintaining safe social distancing.

All options being proposed will be available in the City Council packet later this week.

Public Participation

As always, the Kirkland City Council welcomes public involvement at its meetings and would like to encourage community members to take advantage of its available options for remote participation. Comments can be provided through voicemail at: 425-587-3090, and email at: councilmeetingcomment@kirklandwa.gov. Comments received by 3 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, will be read into the record during the Council Meeting, with the following caveats:

• When and if a particular agenda item receives a large number of comments, the City will read into the record three (3) comments representing each side of the presented issue. The comments will be selected based on the date and time received, giving priority to the earliest received comments.
• City leadership will read submitted emails verbatim up to a three (3) minute limit, exactly as if the commenter was providing their testimony in person. (Comments from the public received during “Items from the Audience” in a typical meeting are limited to three minutes in length.)
• The deadline for comment submittal for inclusion in the meeting (provided the comment is not related to a heavily commented agenda item as outlined above) is 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16 NOTE: comments received after the deadline will be provided to the Councilmembers for their review at the City’s earliest convenience.

Community members may also attend the meeting via Zoom. Instructions to participate via Zoom will be provided on the City Council webpage prior to the meeting. For more information about the Kirkland City Council, please visit the Council webpage. 

Thank you to everyone who came out for our first day of the Juanita Beach Friday Market last week! We are pleased to announce that beginning June 12, customers can shop the market on foot. Please allow for extra time as Public Health Seattle & King County is limiting the number of customers allowed in the market at any given time. Thank you for your patience!

Drive-thru and preordering is still available. Please read about pre-ordering your purchases directly with our vendors, and see how we'll be handling health & safety issues. And while we'd love to see everyone, if you're in a high risk group please stay home and send a friend to do your shopping. Stay home, stay healthy!

In recent days, community members joined protests locally and across the country in response to the death of George Floyd and so many Black lives that have been taken through senseless, violent and racist acts. This racism and hate comes on top of the stress, burden and illness being inequitably experienced by Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other people of color during the pandemic, the result of centuries of systemic racism. 

These sentiments are felt deeply across our Public Health leaders.

“The deep-seated racial bias woven through virtually every institution in our society will take an extraordinary, united, sustained toil to extract and destroy," said King County Executive Dow Constantine. 

We understand the difficult choices that people were faced with this past weekend. Many in our community grappled with attending protests to stand up against these injustices while also wanting to keep our community safe from further spread of COVID-19.

For people who have attended protests or large gatherings, we’ve provided some answers to questions about the protests and the spread of COVID-19.

Q: If people chose to attend a protest, are there steps to take to help lower the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in our community?

A: Outdoor gatherings are lower risk than indoor gatherings. The larger the gathering, and the longer you’re there, the higher the risk of catching or spreading COVID-19.

People who have been at group gatherings should monitor their health for 14 days afterwards. Anyone who develops symptoms of COVID-19 should get tested right away, whether they’ve been at a protest or not.

Remember that physical distancing and other measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 are not all-or-nothing – even if you attended large group gatherings, it’s just as important that you continue to stay home whenever possible, remain at least 6 feet away from others and wear a face covering when in public, wash your hands, and avoid touching your face.

Q: Do people who have attended protests need to get tested for COVID-19?

A: If you currently don’t have any symptoms, you do not need to get tested right now. However, if you develop even mild symptoms such as a cough, congestion or runny nose, you should contact your health provider to help evaluate symptoms and need for testing. There are numerous low-barrier testing sites for people who cannot access testing through their regular health care provider. 

Anyone who has been in contact with someone with COVID-19 should also be tested. 

If you’re having trouble accessing COVID-19 testing, or have other medical questions related to COVID-19, call our info line at: 206-477-3977.

Q: During protests, what should I consider about how to protect myself and our community?

• Do not attend any gatherings or protests if you are ill or have symptoms of COVID-19. And, remember that COVID-19 can spread from people who do not have symptoms as well as from those who do.
• Wear a cloth mask or face covering. This helps protects those around you, and others wear face coverings to help protect you.
• Stay 6 feet or more away from others.
• Carry hand sanitizer and use it often.
• Avoid touching objects and surfaces that others have touched.
• Do your best to avoid situations where people are shouting or singing, as these activities can spread more virus into the air.

Q: What are the ways to reduce risk of exposure when traveling to an event?

A: Public Health continues to recommend that people stay home as much as possible. If you must go out, walking, biking, or driving alone in a personal vehicle are the best travel options to reduce risk of COVID-19. However, these options are not available to everyone. If you need to drive multiple people in a private vehicle, here are tips to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. If you’re using public transportation, remember to wear a face covering, enter through the back door, maintain 6-feet of distance between yourself and other passengers, and reserve the front for passengers in need of priority seating.

Q: Will these protests affect King County plans to begin safely reopening, as announced on Friday?

A: No. As Executive Constantine announced, Public Health is planning to submit an application to the State to reopen to a modified Phase I. We will continue to closely monitor disease trends in the coming weeks to determine whether we can continue to move forward safely with reopening.

Q: How do we collectively support emotional health in this difficult time?

A: This is an extremely difficult time for many, and may place a particular burden on Black people in our community. Tending to the emotional and mental health needs of your community and yourself are an important part of public health, especially now. Witnessing this trauma repeatedly effects mental health, especially for communities of color. Check in on friends, family and community, as well as checking in with yourself. The Washington Counselors of Color Network lists therapists of color in Washington state. Take a look at this blog post for more mental and emotional health resources.

Originally published on June 1, 2020.