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Fire Chief Joe Sanford will be hosting a live question and answer session from 6 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7, about the November 3 Fire and Emergency Medical Services ballot measure. He'll be showing a series of brief informational videos about response times, firefighter/EMT health and safety, station renovations, and pandemic preparedness. After each video he'll open it up to the audience to ask questions. Register for this event at the Evening with the Chief Eventbrite page.
For more information please visit our website at Kirkland Fire Ballot 2020, or email Andreana Campbell at acampbell@kirklandwa.gov.
Docks, piers and parking currently reopened at Houghton Beach and Brink Park
In response to higher rates of mask wearing and greater attention to social distancing, the City of Kirkland Parks and Community Services Department reopened playgrounds today, Monday, September 21, that had been closed earlier this year to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
PLEASE NOTE: Lake Washington School District playgrounds will remain closed during the school day.
Additional signage has been installed to remind visitors of the importance of wearing a mask, using hand sanitizer, social distancing, and avoiding large gatherings of more than five people. Volleyball and basketball courts and athletic fields will remain closed as they cater to and attract crowds larger than the current group size limit.
“We want to thank the public for following public health’s guidance regarding mask wearing and social distancing,” said Parks and Community Services Director Lynn Zwaagstra. “The community’s attention to the public health orders has resulted in our ability to reopen these important recreational opportunities.”
Additionally, waterfront parks have returned to their regular closing time of 10 p.m. These hours had been shortened earlier this summer to stop late night large gatherings and parties at these parks. The fencing that had been installed to close docks and piers at Houghton Beach and Brink Park piers has also been removed. The Houghton Beach parking lot has been re-opened.
“In order to keep these recreational opportunities open, we need the community to keep up the good work and continue to wear masks and avoid large gatherings,” said Zwaagstra. “If you arrive at a playground that has more than five people, please wait until others leave or choose a different park for your recreation. We hope that through our collective efforts we will be able to open additional amenities in the future.”
For more information regarding how Kirkland Parks and Community Services is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic please visit: www.kirklandwa.gov/playitsafe.
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King County’s Solid Waste Division seeks the public’s input in identifying a location for a new, modern recycling and garbage transfer station scheduled to begin operating in northeast King County in 2027. Applications are now being accepted through October 5 for seats on a Siting Advisory Committee that will meet monthly from October 2020 to June 2021.
A new recycling and garbage transfer station is planned for northeast King County in 2027, and King County’s Solid Waste Division seeks public participation in the process to site and design the new facility.
King County is currently recruiting community members from Kirkland, Redmond, Woodinville, Sammamish, and the northeast portion of unincorporated King County to join a Siting Advisory Committee, which will meet virtually each month from October 2020 to June 2021. This committee will act as community liaisons and provide guidance as King County chooses a location and develops a design for the Northeast Recycling and Transfer Station, which will replace the aging and limited Houghton Transfer Station in Kirkland. The new station will improve access to garbage and recycling services for area residents and businesses, and offer recycling services that are currently unavailable at the 60-year-old Houghton station.
The Northeast Recycling and Transfer Station will be a modern, enclosed facility that meets the latest environmental standards and best practices, and public input will help King County understand community concerns and priorities related to station location and design.
The location of the new recycling and transfer station has not been determined yet. Throughout the site selection, design, and development of the new transfer station, King County will prioritize input and oversight from communities and organizations that have been underrepresented or excluded from government processes in the past, particularly Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities, and people with disabilities.
The Siting Advisory Committee will serve as an advisory group representing a variety of interests and perspectives in Northeast King County, with special emphasis on members who represent historically underserved and underrepresented communities. The committee will help develop and apply site selection criteria, identify community concerns and impacts, create public awareness of the project, provide general review and input, and express opinions and preferences to King County decision-makers.
For information about the Northeast Recycling and Transfer Station Project and applying for a Siting Advisory Committee seat, please visit www.kingcounty.gov/northeast or call King County’s Solid Waste Division at 206-477-4466 or 711 TTY.
Deadline for Siting Advisory Committee applications is Monday, October 5.
RELEVANT LINKS
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Annie Kolb-Nelson, 206-477-5373
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We are expecting very wet weather starting today and extending through the weekend. Please help us prevent flooding by clearing any storm drains near your home. Also, today is a great day to look around your own property and make sure that you're prepared for any winter weather. Visit our website for more information. |
Did you know that due to the COVID-19 pandemic there are over 54 million food-insecure Americans and that 44 percent of Americans are afraid they won’t be able to afford food due to the pandemic?
The City of Kirkland and EastWest Food Rescue partnered this summer to provide fresh produce at no cost to Kirkland residents in need. Since the program started, community members have picked up over 8,000 pounds of food.
On Friday, October 2, 2020 from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. we will be hosting the Great Grocery Giveaway and will be giving away boxes of produce, meat and dairy. The boxes will available on a first come, first served basis while supplies last.
The boxes will be available in the parking lot of the North Kirkland Community Center, 12421 103rd Ave NE., Kirkland.
To help maintain a safe environment for the community and staff, this will be a drive-through event. Staff will be on hand to help direct traffic flow. When you pull up let a team member know which type of boxes you would like; they will then load the boxes into your trunk. To make this event as safe as possible we ask that you remain in your vehicle. Recipients will be allowed to pick up an extra three boxes for their neighbors and friends unable to attend the event.
Please note that the food boxes are not for resale.
We look forward to seeing you on October 2!
Special thanks to our partners EastWest Food Rescue and HopeLink for helping make this event possible.
Additional food resources are available to Kirkland residents:
Hopelink continues to provide three weeks of food at a time for households at their foodbanks on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. The Kirkland foodbank is located at 11011 120th Ave. N.E., Kirkland.
Kirkland residents who are housebound and need food delivered can call the Sound Generations call center at 425-207-4777.
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Please join us on Saturday, September 26 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for the Eastside Race and Equity Summit. Please register on the Eventbrite webpage.
The City of Kirkland, alongside the cities of Bellevue, Redmond, Issaquah, and Sammamish, is co-sponsoring the Eastside Race and Equity Summit, Bridging History and Story: Building the Next Chapter for Racial Equity. This virtual community summit is presented by the Eastside Race and Leadership Coalition and Eastside For All and will explore historical legacies and learn about local anti-racism efforts. What stories will connect, sustain, and guide us into our next chapter? What actions can we commit to taking within our community circles?
All community members are invited to attend this free event. High school age and up.
The event will feature keynote speaker, Delbert Richardson. The event will also include small group conversations, resources for taking action, and performances by Ocheami, a group of artists and educators who share and perform West African culture to support healthy perspectives of life. For additional information or accommodations request, please contact eastsideraceandleadership@gmail.com or call 425-452-7886.
Please Note: Except for the small group conversations, the event will be recorded.
Blood donation remains an essential action. While the need for blood in the over 90 hospitals in Western Oregon and Washington that Bloodworks serves remains critical, Bloodworks is experiencing a drop in those who are donating blood. Donated blood is a tangible way that people can help their communities. Due to the co-occurring challenges of COVID-19 and now the destructive wildfires, the need for blood is even more vital. Burn patients may need blood and platelets to recover.
Visit the Bloodworks website to find a Pop-Up Donor Center in your neighborhood. For a complete list of Bloodworks donor centers and information on how to schedule an appointment, visit to Donor Center webpage.
COVID-19 CONVALESCENT PLASMA (CCP) REMAINS THE BEST TREATMENT OPTION UNTIL A VACCINE BECOMES AVAILABLE
COVID-19 has changed life as we know it, and Bloodworks is committed to the fight. Since April 2020, Bloodworks’ CCP Program has helped patients recover from COVID-19 and has contributed to science’s understanding of how the human body responds to the novel coronavirus through research, blood collection, and transfusion medicine. Please visit the Bloodworks website to learn more.
COVID-19 ANTIBODY TESTING
Could you help COVID-19 patients? Give blood now through October 31st and Bloodworks will test your donation for COVID-19 antibodies, a key component of the immune system that appears in blood after fighting an infection, to identify people who may be able to donate to our CCP program and help COVID-19 patients directly.
Your test results will determine if you were infected with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), whether you realized it or not. Donors will be notified of the results by mail within two weeks of donation. Everything you need to know about COVID-19 antibody testing is on the Bloodworks website.
The fight is in us! Book your donation appointment at any Bloodworks Donor Center or Pop-Up Donor Center.
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Totem Lake
Drivers should expect minor traffic delays until May on Willows Road Northeast. Kirkland’s contractor, Interwest Construction, is building a 1,900-foot-long and 11-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian path along the road’s northbound lane. Interwest is planning in mid-December to close for two weeks Willows Road Northeast, just south of its intersection with 141st Avenue Northeast.
Visit: www.kirklandwa.gov/willowsconnection
Drivers will continue to have access to one northbound and one southbound lane on Totem Lake Boulevard between Northeast 124th Street and 120th Avenue Northeast until Sept. 30, when Kirkland’s contractor expects to complete the Totem Lake Gateway project.
Visit: www.kirklandwa.gov/totemlakegateway or www.kirklandwa.gov/totemlake
Market
Kirkland’s street paving contractor is resuming next week its plans to detour Market Street traffic onto Third Street while its crews repave Market Street, between Ninth and 16th avenues.
Lakeside Industries will detour commuters from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., each weekday. The contractor will attempt to keep open Market Street’s southbound lane while it is repaving its northbound lane and vice versa.
Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/streetpreservation
Houghton
Two of 108th Avenue Northeast’s three lanes remain open to people who are driving between Northeast 68th and Northeast 53rd streets.
Marshbank Construction is replacing water and sewer systems—both more than five decades old—to increase their capacities to serve Kirkland’s growing population and to reduce the systems’ needs for maintenance.
Marshbank expects to complete the upgrades by spring 2021.
Visit: www.kirklandwa.gov/108thavewatersewer
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Kirkland Performance Center Presents: A live virtual concert with Zan Fiskum
8 p.m., Thursday, September 17
Online, virtual event
Maple Valley Raised Singer/Songwriter Zan Fiskum uses her haunting and beautifully controlled singing to craft ethereal and brooding folk/pop songs.
Zan grew up playing make believe, wedged between the aisles of musty red velvet seats at Auburn Ave, the dinner theater her family volunteered at. It was there that Zan developed a yearning for performing and the arts. At the age of 12, Zan stayed connected to her roots in musical theater while also exploring songwriting and joining her church’s worship team where she met Alec Shaw. As high schoolers, Zan and Alec started writing together and performing as a duo in small coffee shops in their hometown. Over the years they have expanded to venues in Seattle and completed their first NW tour the summer of 2019 as The Alec Shaw Band. Zan, now experimenting in her personal musical journey, has released 5 Indie/Christian singles including her debut song “How Can I” and is currently working on a Synth driven Indie/Folk album expected to be released in the spring of 2020.
This live performance can be seen on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitch.
You can find more about Zan’s music here.
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Kirkland Parks & Community Services Presents: Kirkland's Treasured Past Scavenger Hunt
September 2 through October 9
Self-guided event
This amazing historical adventure is the result of a partnership between Kirkland Parks and Community Services and the Kirkland Heritage Society and Museum. History comes to life as you hunt down clues, unravel mysterious riddles and solve intriguing puzzles! There are over $1,000 worth of awesome prizes, including a gorgeous waterfront guestroom at the Woodmark Hotel & Still Spa and much more.
Sign up in the Kirkland Parks & Community Services Catalog.
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King County Library System Presents: Cooking from the Garden with Lisa
2 to 3 p.m., Tuesday, October 6
Online, virtual event
Presented by Lisa Taylor, our favorite garden educator! For information about Lisa see Garden With Lisa
It isn’t an edible garden unless you eat it. In this class you will make some fantastic yard food. You will explore the edible plants that grow in our fall garden and how we can eat them in different easy-to-make dishes.
You’ll make a rustic pesto and a gourmet fall salad with homemade dressing, sing songs and have fun.
More information and registration can be found online on the King County Library Services page.
Register in advance by 11 p.m. the day before the program and we will send you a Zoom Invitation to join the class the morning of the event.
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Kirkland Wednesday Market presented by the Kirkland Downtown Association
3 to 7 p.m. every Wednesday through October 28
Marina Park
Face masks are required to enter the market.
The Kirkland Downtown Association Wednesday Market takes place 3 to 7 p.m. in Marina Park. Please see the new market rules. If possible, please order from market vendors in advance. More information about the Wednesday Market is available at http://kirklandmarket.org/.
NOTE: The Kirkland Wednesday Market you have all come to know and love needs your support! Join the market as a volunteer and help the Kirkland Downtown Association bring this event to the community this summer!
Due to COVID-19, the KDA needs a slightly larger group of volunteers than in the past to ensure they are complying with current health department requirements.
Click here to sign up to be a volunteer!
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Juanita Friday Market
3 to 7 p.m., every Friday through September 25
Juanita Beach Park
Face masks are required to enter the market.
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! There are big changes this year so before you go, be sure to pre-order your purchases, check-out the drive-thru plans, 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.
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Evenings on Park Lane
6 p.m. to 7 a.m. every evening through September 30
Park Lane
*Extended through the month of September
In an effort to support downtown businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, the City closes the west end of Park Lane between Lake Street and Main Street to vehicles from 6 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., seven days a week. This pedestrian friendly environment aims to increase patronage at businesses in the heart of our downtown shopping district. Enjoy unique clothing boutiques, delicious restaurants, decadent desserts, art galleries and fine furniture stores at your leisure!
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