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Table of Contents:
The Kirkland City Council’s next “virtual” meeting takes place Tuesday, July 20. The meeting uses video conferencing technology provided by Zoom. 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 July 20 meeting will be available on the City website prior to the meeting at: Kirkland City Council agendas. You can also receive meeting agendas in your inbox by subscribing to City Council Agendas on the Kirkland email lists subscription page.
More ways to watch! Kirkland City Council meetings are streamed live on the City of Kirkland Facebook page and the City YouTube channel, in addition to the livestream on the City website. Meetings are also televised on Comcast Cable Channel 21 and Ziply Cable Channel 31.
Here are a few highlights from the meeting:
Study Session:
Cross Kirkland Corridor Master Plan Update
The City Council will receive an update about the progress made to date on implementing the Cross Kirkland Corridor Master Plan, and about other activities related to the corridor, and will provide guidance about whether and how to update the plan.
Capital Improvement Program—Operational Enhancements
The City Council will receive a presentation and have a discussion during the study session that reviews analyses, comparisons, action items, and steps taken by the Department of Public Works to enhance the operations of the Capital Improvement Program Division to better align service delivery with long-range plans and policy direction and assure quality of work.
Proclamation: Americans with Disabilities Act Awareness Day Proclamation
Americans with Disabilities Act Awareness Day commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990. The law prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities, assuring them of equality of opportunity, full community participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency.
By proclaiming July 26, 2021 as Americans with Disabilities Act Awareness Day in Kirkland, the City reaffirms its commitment to being a safe, inclusive, and welcoming community for people with disabilities and invites the community to celebrate the 31st anniversary of this civil rights law and the many contributions of individuals with disabilities to our community.
Business Items:
Tenant Protections and Rental Relief: On June 15, 2021 the Kirkland City Council passed an eviction moratorium through September 30, 2021, to allow time for tenants and landlords to apply for assistance with unpaid rent during this time. At the upcoming July 20 meeting, the Council will receive an update on tenant protections and rental relief programs.
Affordable Housing: Also at the upcoming July 20 meeting, the City Council will consider adoption of a resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into an interlocal agreement with the City of Seattle for the purposes of permitting Community Roots Housing Public Development Authority (PDA) to provide affordable housing in Kirkland.
The full agenda and details will be available on the Kirkland City Council agendas page. Council will accept live spoken commentary under 'Items from the Audience' or ‘Public Hearings’ at regular meetings via Zoom audio/video on a computer or telephone connection. The connection links are provided on each individual meeting agenda. Please see www.kirklandwa.gov/council for more information on how to provide spoken comments. Written comments can be submitted to CityCouncil@kirklandwa.gov. For additional questions, please call the City Clerk’s Office at (425) 587-3190.
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 The City of Kirkland received Esri’s 2021 Special Achievement Award for its innovative and efficient application of geographic information system (GIS) technology. This award is given to user sites around the world to recognize outstanding work with GIS technology and the City of Kirkland stood out from more than 100,000 other organizations. Kirkland’s GIS program was last awarded the Special Achievement Award in 2008.
The City of Kirkland was one of the first governmental organizations in the region to host its GIS software and data entirely on cloud infrastructure. The City’s GIS is used extensively by almost every department for managing, sharing, and analyzing geospatial related information in addition to providing valuable information for the Kirkland community. The popular public GIS browser allows community members to explore and interact with 70+ GIS data layers as well as Kirkland’s traffic camera GIS application which was released to the public in the summer of 2020.
“From land use to walking maps, zoning to landslide hazards, GIS technology is vital to countless city services,” said Kirkland City Councilmember Jon Pascal. “It’s exciting that Kirkland’s GIS program is being recognized as a global leader for the way it uses this important technology.”
GIS technology is deeply embedded in the City’s many enterprise business workflows. City services frequently depend on easily accessing real-world features, and effectively using GIS technology to plan, assign, track, revise, and report their daily work.
“The most notable highlight of Kirkland’s GIS is the teamwork evident among the GIS staff, users, managers, city council, and community partners,” said Resilience and Technology Officer Xiaoning Jiang. “These excellent working relationships are leveraging the solid technical foundation already in place and promise even more impressive accomplishments in the future.”
To learn more and to discover additional GIS resources visit Kirkland’s CityHub ArcGIS Online site or the GIS Maps webpage.
Esri is the global market leader in GIS and has helped customers improve results since 1969. The organization supports their users’ work with a commitment to science, sustainability, community, education, research, and positive change. Learn more about Esri’s 2021 Special Achievement Award on their website.
Kirkland resident Perry Clawson has always appreciated the City’s lush network of parks and natural areas, but during the pandemic, that appreciation grew into something more.
A Kirkland community member for 20 years, Perry lives in the Finn Hill area with his family and their dog Angus. He and Angus have routinely taken to the local trails to enjoy the outdoors. He and Angus have routinely taken to the local trails to enjoy the outdoors, but during the pandemic those escapes into nature proved invaluable in helping to counter the stress of the state-imposed stay at home orders. A bit of an adventurer at heart, Perry’s outdoor journeys sparked a desire to branch out and explore other Kirkland parks not typically on his route. As he began looking at maps, locating parks and plotting courses, an idea started to form. He wondered if anybody had ever walked to every park in Kirkland.
It seemed like a fun thing to do, so he figured, why not?
Perry began his mission of walking to every Kirkland park on June 1. He carefully crafted routes meant to include as many parks as possible on each day. All told, it took him a total five days to walk to all of Kirkland’s parks, plus a couple parks in Kenmore and Bothell for good measure. His mileage each day varied, totaling 80 miles by the time he was done. His shortest day came in at around six miles, his longest, a showstopping 22 miles. To commemorate and document his experiences, he deployed a small tripod and camera at each park and snapped a picture of himself in front of the official park sign.
Way to go, Perry! We hope your adventurous spirit inspires others to do the same!
Watch for the full story on the City’s Facebook page. For more information on Kirkland’s parks, please visit:
https://www.kirklandwa.gov/Government/Departments/Parks-and-Community-Services.
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After a one-week closure due to elevated bacteria levels, Public Health – Seattle & King County has recommended that the City reopen Juanita Beach Park for swimming, wading and other water activities.
Water quality staff from the King County Water and Land Resources Division tested the water on Tuesday, July 6, and found the waters along the eastern shore of the beach safe for recreational use. King County crews will return weekly to the beach throughout the summer to take samples to ensure that the water is safe. City lifeguards are on duty at Juanita Beach every day from noon to 6 p.m., July through Labor Day. Learn more about Kirkland’s lifeguarded beaches here.
For additional details, visit King County’s Lake Swimming Beach Data webpage. For more information about Juanita Beach please watch our video, which explains the science behind what causes these perennial closures and provides all of us with suggestions on what we can do to help avoid closures like this in the future.
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 Huge thanks to Associated Underwater Services, King County Marine Patrol, the Kirkland Police Department and Parks & Community Services maintenance staff for working proactively to keep our Juanita Bay wildlife habitat area protected and safe!
In June, Parks worked with our partners at King County Marine Patrol to redeploy the Juanita Bay buoys, which help to remind recreational Lake Washington users that Juanita Bay Park is a protected wildlife habitat area. In addition to being wonderfully accessible and breathtakingly beautiful any time of year, Juanita Bay Park is alive with bald eagles, beavers, muskrats, numerous species of ducks, fish and birds, turtles, amphibians and more!
The Juanita Bay buoys serve as an important reminder that lake users may not enter the designated Juanita Bay wildlife habitat area, whether by boat (motorized or non-motorized), raft, floatation device, or swimming, per Kirkland Municipal Code Chapter 14.16.050.
Thank you for helping us preserve this wonderful natural area for all to enjoy.
To learn more about Juanita Bay Park and to see a map of the designated wildlife area, visit: https://www.kirklandwa.gov/Government/Departments/Parks-and-Community-Services/Online-Parks-Guide/Juanita-Bay-Park.
Community members may have noticed increased fish die-off on our lakeshores in May, June and July. These small fish are typically minnow-sized sticklebacks or yellow perch, and the die-off is a natural phenomenon that occurs annually. The die-off is not the result of a toxic spill or other water quality problem. May through July is spawning season for many fish species in the lake, which is a stressful time for male and female fish and often results in the death of some fish after the spawning period.
Fish that die after spawning are often washed up, and can be found in concentrated groups in shallow waters and on our beaches. Fish die-off can be exacerbated by hot temperatures, and can affect other fish species in addition to stickleback and yellow perch.
For more information on this natural process, please visit the King County website.
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98th Avenue Northeast – Juanita
Late-night and early-morning travelers should expect lane-closures until August along 98th Avenue Northeast, between Forbes Creek Drive and Northeast 116th Street, as a Kirkland contractor prepares to repair and repave the roadway.
Lakeside Industries will be working in the roadway between 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Search “98th Avenue Northeast repairs on www.kirklandwa.gov.
108th Avenue Northeast – Houghton/Lakeview
Drivers along 108th Avenue Northeast should continue to expect traffic delays into July as Marshbank Construction completes Kirkland’s upgrade of water and sewer systems.
The contractor’s crews are working 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. between Northeast 53rd and 68th streets to replace the maintenance hole lids they removed before they began the paving process.
Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/108thavewatersewer
Totem Lake Boulevard – Totem Lake
Drivers traveling south on Totem Lake Boulevard will encounter, beginning July 19, the closure of the right turn slip lane that connects to westbound Northeast 124th Street.
Drivers will take a right turn at the signalized intersection. Commercial trucks will have a detour, as they cannot make the turn at the intersection.
The lane closure facilitates construction activity for the Totem Lake Connector bridge project.
Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/totemlakeconnector
Cross Kirkland Corridor – Totem Lake
A detour around the Cross Kirkland Corridor between 120th Place Northeast and 128th Lane Northeast remains in effect while a pair of Kirkland contractors use the corridor to make progress on two of Totem Lake’s most ambitious capital projects: renovation of Totem Lake Park and construction of Totem Lake Connector pedestrian and bicycle bridge.
Totem Lake Park is expected to be completed this summer and the Totem Lake Connector is expected to be completed later in 2022.
Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/totemlakeconnector or www.kirklandwa.gov/totemlakepark.
Cross Kirkland Corridor – Everest/Moss Bay
Cross Kirkland Corridor travelers will continue to encounter a short detour around the trail between Seventh Avenue South and Sixth Street South as construction of the Feriton Spur Park expansion continues.
The short detour is directing travelers to a protected pathway along Fifth Place South. The park’s developer, SRM Development, expects the detour to continue for five months. During that time, SRM Development will restrict parallel, on-street parking along the north portion of Fifth Place South.
SRM Development expects to open Feriton Spur Park to open to the public in September. The new park will extend the developed section of the Cross Kirkland Corridor to Sixth Street South with 14 improvements, including a pickleball court, urban farm and the corridor’s first bathroom.
Northeast 132nd Street - Juanita
Drivers commuting along Northeast 132nd Street, between 100th and 97th avenues northeast should continue to expect minor delays while Kirkland’s Fire Station 24 contractor and Puget Sound Energy work in the street to connect and upgrade utilities for the new Fire Station 24.
Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/firestation24
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Recycle, Reuse and Shred on July 24
Saturday, July 24, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. (or until truck is full)
Northshore Church parking lot, 10301 NE 145th St, Kirkland 98033
Recycle household electronics and old clothes and textiles (even ripped or stained) at this free recycling event hosted by Waste Management and the City of Kirkland. Shred confidential papers and donate usable household items for reuse. Co-hosted by Waste Management and City of Kirkland. See event listing for all accepted items and event details: https://www.kirklandwa.gov/Whats-Happening/Community-Events/Public-Works-Department-Events/Think-Green-Recycling-Event
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Kirkland Cornhole Classic Tournament
Friday, August 6, 7 p.m.
Under the lights at Lee Johnson Field, join us for a cornhole competition for the ages! Limited space available, sign up your team early to reserve a spot.
Bags start flyin' at 7:00 p.m. Check-in begins at 6:30 p.m. at Lee Johnson Field on Friday, August 6.
- Round Robin Style Tournament
- Championship shirts to the winners
- We provide the cornhole bags
- $20/Team for Residents
- $24/Team for Non-Residents
Register today at https://bit.ly/3j7029x
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Sun, Set, & Spike Grass Volleyball Tournament
Wednesday, August 25 and Friday, August 27
Join us for our first Sun, Set, & Spike Grass Volleyball Tournament at Lee Johnson Field at Peter Kirk Park!
We will be hosting a round robin tournament on Wednesday, August 25 and Friday, August 27. We will be offering a COED and Women's division. COED teams must have 2 men and 2 women to participate.
This is a 4 on 4 tournament and all levels are welcome! Team managers will register their team under the division of their choice. Game times will be sent out one week before the tournament starts.
The winning team from each division will win a prize!
Register your team today at https://bit.ly/35Mis7B
For tournament rules visit: teamsideline.com/sites/kirklandwa/downloads
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TTECH Talks: Electric Vehicles
Wednesday, July 21, 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (online event - register by 7/20)
https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/events/60b65abb83629137003bf139
Thinking about buying an electric vehicle? Learn what's different about owning an EV and what to consider when choosing the right EV for you at this free online event hosted by King County Library System.
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Juanita Friday Market
Juanita Beach Park west parking lot
3 to 7 p.m. every Friday
The Juanita Friday Market takes place 3 to 7 p.m. every Friday rain or shine from June through September. Held at the newly renovated Juanita Beach Park, the market offers hot food, local fruits and veggies, decadent, handcrafted confections, baked goods, beautiful cut flowers and much more. We are thrilled to announce increased accessibility: new in 2021, we accept Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) coupons for both Senior and WIC participants. The market takes place at Juanita Beach Park (9703 N.E. Juanita Drive) in the west parking lot.
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Kirkland Wednesday Market
Kirkland Downtown Association
3 to 7 p.m., Wednesdays in Marina Park
Shop for fresh fruits and veggies, artisan baked goods, pasta, handcrafted jewelry and much more...right on the shores of Lake Washington!
The Kirkland Wednesday Market at Marina Park features over thirty vendors every Wednesday. New in 2021, WIC and Senior FMNP coupons are accepted at the Kirkland Wednesday Market, as well as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and SNAP market match programs. Bringing local produce and goods to downtown Kirkland all summer long, the Kirkland Wednesday Market is presented by the Kirkland Downtown Association. More information can be found at kirklandmarket.org.
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