Thanks to all who attended and gave comment during the April 6, 2021 City Council meeting. Here are a few highlights from the meeting:

Study Session: NE 85th St Station Area Plan

At the Study Session, the City Council received a briefing on the results of the NE 85th St Station Area Plan Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) public comment period, current project status, and the project team’s proposal to address previous Council direction with additional tasks, including a fiscal impact and benefit analysis. Council provided direction for the project team to proceed with the supplemental scope of work, and to begin work to narrow the range of options presented in the DSEIS for purposes of the fiscal impacts and benefits analysis. Those “narrowed bookends” will be presented to Council for endorsement at a future meeting this spring. A summary of public comments received during the DSEIS comment period, and the presentation from the April 6 Council meeting are available on the Station Area webpage.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month Proclamation

Sexual violence is a major public health, human rights and social justice issue. Find more information about national Sexual Assault Awareness Month efforts and resources here on the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) website.

Options for Park Lane Closure to Vehicles

The Council received a briefing from staff about cost and other impacts related to options for closing Park Lane to vehicles in the coming months. The Council is considering several options to support downtown businesses and social distancing amidst the continued phased re-opening, including closing the street to vehicles every evening to closing Park Lane all day and night. Similar to the Evenings on Park Lane which closed the street to vehicles overnight each evening during summer of 2020, this program would likely run from early summer to mid-to-late fall. Based on Council feedback at last night’s meeting, City staff will begin collecting feedback from the community about these options, including hosting a virtual community meeting in the coming weeks where all will be welcome to participate and give feedback. Input from the community will be brought back to Council in May to inform their decision on closing Park Lane to vehicles on specified dates and times during the summer of 2021. Please visit the City website for more information on how to provide feedback.

Other items included:

• City Impact Fee Update
• 2021 State Legislative Update #6
• Urban Forestry Six-Year Work Plan
• Surface Water Regulations
• Animal Control Authority
• 2021 Board and Commission Interview Selection Committee

For more information about Council meetings, including the Zoom link and instructions for providing public comment, please visit the City website. To view this council meeting or any past council meeting, go to Watch Council Meetings on the City’s website.

The next City Council meeting takes place Tuesday, April 20, 2021. 

We need your help in becoming a more transparent government! The City of Kirkland is creating new ways to share information with the community about how the City as an organization is performing. Please take our survey here.

This is part of a larger effort of ensuring the safety and respect of Black people and examining and dismantling structural racism in Kirkland. For more information on that effort, please visit the City’s website.

Recycling is only one part of responsibly managing the waste from our community. What we do with our leftover food is just as important as our cans and bottles!

When food gets wasted, so does all the water and energy that went into growing, shipping, and preparing it. American families toss about a quarter of the food they buy. Shopping with a plan, storing food properly, and using the freezer can help.

Food that’s thrown away in the garbage breaks down very slowly. It takes up valuable space in the landfill, and releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Our landfill in King County captures the gas so it doesn’t get into the atmosphere and contribute to climate change, but it would be safer and simpler if we didn’t need to.

Composting food is far better for the environment than throwing it away. When you put food scraps in your gray food+yard waste cart, they’re turned into a rich soil amendment in a matter of weeks. Nutrients from the food are returned to the soil. Compost can also be used to filter pollution out of stormwater from roads, protecting salmon.

As part of the City’s Sustainability Master Plan, Kirkland has goals to reduce how much waste we throw away, and how much waste we produce overall. We need your help to meet them! See our tips for wasting less food and composting food scraps.

April is Earth Month and you are invited to celebrate with the City of Kirkland! Learn more about activities planned throughout the month at www.kirklandwa.gov/EarthMonth.

In February, the City of Kirkland relaunched the un-scooped dog poop reduction campaign, which uses yellow survey flags to raise awareness about how much un-scooped pet waste is left in our parks. This time around, the focus was on Juanita Beach and Peter Kirk parks, using the bright flags to indicate where un-scooped poop was discovered in a roughly four-week observation period. We’re happy to report that as a result of this increased awareness, un-scooped dog waste decreased 64 percent at Peter Kirk Park and 57 percent at Juanita Beach! Way to go!

Kirkland is the proud home to over 20,000 canine community members, who collectively contribute over 6,000 pounds of dog poop per day. Pet waste contains harmful organisms like E. coli, Giardia, and roundworms, which can be transmitted to people and pets if not cleaned up. Additionally, uncollected dog waste on sidewalks, parks, and in public places is unsightly, poses a health threat to people, pets, and wildlife, and pollutes local waters. This is why it’s so important for everyone to do their part and scoop their pet’s waste when they’re out and about in our parks and public spaces. To view the full report on this campaign, visit: www.kirklandwa.gov/petwaste

Huge thanks to local dog walker Nicole Rathje for letting us mingle with her pack! 

The new Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), part of the recently passed American Rescue Plan Act, will provide $28.6 billion in grants to restaurants and bars in need. The Small Business Administration (SBA) will administer and disperse the RRF grants, but the program does not yet have an official launch date as of mid-March 2021. Those interested in obtaining RRF grants should keep a close eye on the SBA’s COVID-19 relief options web portal. Additional information can be found on the US Chamber of Commerce website here.

(re)STARTUP 425 provides businesses with free assistance in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The regional partnership can assist with loans, grants, lender relations, financial and other services. Our partners at (re)STARTUP425 offer free, one-on-one business assistance to Eastside businesses. The Business Response Team can help business owners and nonprofits navigate city, state, federal, and private economic relief programs related to COVID-19.

Sign up for more business updates through Kirkland eBiz News here.

What’s better than a classic game of Cornhole? To kick off our spring programs we are hosting the Cornhole Classic Tournament at Lee Johnson Field on May 8!

Whether you’re a backyard player or a tournament pro, our outdoor tournament will keep you on your toes. Grab a friend and put together a team. The winning team will be awarded prizes and bragging rights.

• Check-in begins at 6 pm, bags start flyin' at 6:30 pm
• Round-robin tournament
• Bags and gloves will be provided
• Register online at https://bit.ly/399I2W2 

In 2021, the Moss Bay and Everest Neighborhood Plan chapters of the Kirkland Comprehensive Plan will be updated to guide the future vision and policies for how each neighborhood should manage growth over the next 8-10 years within the context of the citywide policies. To learn more about the update process, attend the virtual Planning Commission meeting on April 8, 2021 at 7:00 pm or the City Council meeting on April 20, 2021 at 7:30 pm when the Council will be briefed on the process and schedule. See the Planning Commission or City Council webpages for meeting information.

To learn how you can participate and sign up for updates, visit the City’s project webpage at www.kirklandwa.gov/neighborhoodplanning or contact:

Moss Bay Plan: David Barnes, dbarnes@kirklandwa.gov or 425-587-3250
Everest Plan: Janice Coogan-Swenson, jcoogan@kirklandwa.gov, or 425-587-3257

AFTS, the City of Kirkland’s former utility billing vendor, confirmed that City of Kirkland data was not among the data exfiltrated by the ransomware threat actor. The City of Kirkland has received an executive summary of the forensic investigation that AFTS’s outside cybersecurity vendor conducted in response to the ransomware incident they experienced on February 4, 2021. Based on the contents of that executive summary and based on separate representations made to the City of Kirkland by AFTS, we are pleased to report that the City of Kirkland data AFTS had in its possession during the ransomware attack was not impacted by the incident. City of Kirkland utility billing is now processed through different vendors.

For more information, please read the full update and see AFTS Data Issue FAQs.

Many middle and high school students in Lake Washington School District head back to in-person instruction on April 19. We have two important reminders for parents:

First, our school zone safety cameras at John Muir Elementary/Kamiakin Middle School, and Rose Hill Elementary have been recently reactivated. Don't forget to slow down so that our students are safe when they walk and bike to school. More information on this program is available on the City’s website.

Also, our School Resource Officers will be back in Kirkland’s middle and high schools. When Kirkland voters passed Police Proposition 1 in 2018, it allowed us to make several enhancements to public safety and community services, including providing School Resource Officers (SROs) in Kirkland middle schools. The SRO program is a partnership between the Kirkland Police and the Lake Washington School District. To help us understand how the SRO Program is performing, we’re also developing a public dashboard about SROs as part of the City’s work around R-5434. Take our survey to give input on how the City should display SRO data: https://www.research.net/r/NT5LL2N. To learn more about the School Resource Officer (SRO) program, visit our SRO Program webpage.

Totem Lake

Commuters should expect delays on Willows Road Northeast this week while Interwest Construction’s crews pave the new trail that will eventually connect the Cross Kirkland Corridor to the Redmond Central Connector and Eastrail.

The contractor is paving the trail April 6 and repaving a short section of Willows Road Northeast on April 7.

Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/willowsconnection

Cross Kirkland Corridor

A short section of the Cross Kirkland Corridor remains closed while a pair of Kirkland contractors use it to make progress on two of Totem Lake’s most ambitious capital projects. Kirkland’s Totem Lake Connector contractor is preparing for the construction of a pedestrian and bicycle bridge this week.

Part of those preparations include establishing a walking and bicycling bypass route around a short section of the Cross Kirkland Corridor between 120th Place Northeast and Northeast 124th Street. Kraemer North America’s crews will be using that section—along with others—for construction.

Meanwhile, Kirkland’s Totem Lake Park contractor is maintaining its closure of the Cross Kirkland Corridor, between Totem Lake Boulevard and 128th Avenue Northeast.

Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/totemlakeconnector or www.kirklandwa.gov/totemlakepark.

Northeast 132nd Street

Drivers commuting along Northeast 132nd Street, between 100th and 97th avenues northeast should continue to expect minor delays this month while Kirkland’s Fire Station 24 contractor installs a stormwater drainage line, as part of the Fire Station 24 construction.

Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/firestation24

North Rose Hill/South Rose Hill

Drivers should expect construction this week along various sections of Northeast 75th Street and 128th Avenue Northeast while Kirkland’s Neighborhood Greenways contractor closes lanes to establish a variety of traffic-calming features.

Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/greenways

City of Kenmore (Juanita Drive)
The City of Kenmore is closing a two-block section of Juanita Drive from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., starting March 24 and continuing until mid-May.

Kenmore is closing the arterial between Northeast 153rd and 155th places while its contractor continues to make progress on a mile and a half of sidewalk and bicycle lanes. After 3 p.m., Juanita Drive will be open to one lane, two-way traffic controlled by portable traffic signal.

Visit https://kenmoreconstruction.com/juanita-sidewalk-project