The Kirkland City Council met on March 1, 2022 – here’s a brief overview of some of the items from the meeting:

Study Session – Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Plan Update: Staff from the Parks & Community Services Department and the City’s consultant provided a presentation on the executive summary, goals and objectives of the City’s Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces (PROS) Plan. The PROS Plan provides a vision for Kirkland’s park and recreation system and establishes a path forward for providing high-quality, community-driven parks, trails, open spaces and recreational opportunities. City staff and consultants have been working since June 2021 on engaging the community to update the PROS Plan. The Council is anticipated to review the final PROS Plan for potential adoption in May 2022.

Public Hearing on Emergency Moratorium on Autonomous Personal Delivery Devices: The Council held a public hearing on the City’s emergency moratorium regarding permitting and use of autonomous personal delivery devices in the City. Because this new technology was raising more questions for staff than it could answer, the Council adopted an emergency 6-month moratorium by unanimous vote in February. The moratorium placed a temporary ban on permits and applications related to autonomous personal delivery devices and their dispensers. After the public hearing, the Council took action to maintain the moratorium for up to six months to give the City time to conduct the necessary review and analysis. This additional work will inform the City’s local regulations for these uses.

Council Approves Terms and Conditions for Support of La Quinta as a County Health Through Housing Site: This Council item is covered in a separate article later in this newsletter.

Potential Changes to Development Services Fees: Council will review proposed changes to both Building Permit and Fire Plan Review fee schedules. This is part of a development fee study that is looking at exploring full cost recovery for development services fees. The City conducts a development fee study every three to four years, usually alongside the 2-year budget process. The current fee study will inform the development of the 2023-2024 Budget.

2-Year Planning Work Program: The Council gave direction to staff about the proposed 2023-2024 Planning Work Program, which covers the Planning and Building Department’s work over the next three years on long-range planning projects that will help shape the future of Kirkland. The Council is anticipated to adopt the final work program at an upcoming Council meeting.

Exploring Potential Park ballot measure for November 2023: The Council updated the 2021-2022 Priority Goals and City Work Program to include: “Explore potential comprehensive Parks ballot measure options to be placed before Kirkland voters in 2023 for the purpose of maintaining and expanding natural areas, open spaces, aquatic and recreational facilities, and program opportunities that enhance the health and wellbeing of the community to further the goals of abundant parks, open spaces, and recreational services.”

100th Avenue NE Roadway Improvements – Project Update: Staff provided an update to Council about the 100th Avenue NE Roadway Improvements Project. This project provides safety, capacity, and surface water control improvements on 100th Avenue NE between NE 139th Street and NE 145th Street. The Council directed staff on the preferred option to proceed with the project.

How 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. Please note: City Council meetings will remain virtual until further notice.

To watch the Council discussions on the specific agenda items outlined above, visit the City's website. The full agenda packet with information on each item is located on the City’s website.

The next regular City Council meeting is on Tuesday, March 15, 2022.

The City highly values community involvement in our decision making. The “Community Conversations” section will highlight some of the current opportunities for Kirkland community members to get involved in decisions that affect them. Do any of these interest you? Please join the conversation - we want to hear from you!

Share your thoughts on how to make safer, connected transportation in Kirkland
The City is updating the Active Transportation Plan as well as the Transportation Master Plan. The first three goals include improvements to safety, walking, and biking. Visit the Active Transportation Plan webpage to review the Plan and submit comments by March 11.

Do you have suggestions for the Kirkland Native History Document?
The City has composed a hyper-local Native history of Kirkland that will serve as a guide to the City to make informed choices on practices, policies, official documents and public signage. You can review the document and provide feedback at the Native History Document webpage.

Help shape bus service on the Eastside
King County Metro and Sound Transit are asking for input from Kirkland residents and transit riders about future bus and Link light rail service connecting the Eastside with Seattle in 2023. Visit the Proposed Network Survey to learn more and share your input by March 7.

Inform changes to our Use of Force Dashboard
The City of Kirkland welcomes input on a draft Police Use of Force Dashboard that makes available to the public data on use of force incidents from 2016 through 2020. To access the dashboard and provide input, visit the City’s website.

For more opportunities to provide feedback, please visit our Community Conversations page.

Have other feedback, questions, or requests for service? You can always contact City staff through the Our Kirkland service portal, available on the web and mobile app.

During their meeting on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, the Kirkland City Council approved Resolution 5522, which sets terms and conditions necessary to maintain City support of La Quinta Inn as a King County Health Through Housing site. R-5522 was drafted based on community input and requirements by the City Council.

“Permanent supportive housing is one strategy in a continuum of care for our unsheltered neighbors that will help save and change lives,” said Councilmember Kelli Curtis. “The Council is listening to the feedback from our community, and we are dedicated to a robust process of involvement with all stakeholders to ensure this project is a success. By adopting this resolution, the Council ensures that the City will be a full partner with King County on addressing community questions about a permanent supportive housing site at the La Quinta Inn.”

R-5522 includes a detailed Conceptual Term Sheet that outlines some of the most important terms and conditions that are necessary to maintain City support for the HTH project. Those terms and conditions include, but aren’t limited to:

• City opportunity to review and approve County selection process and criteria for the Facility Operator.
• City approval of terms and conditions of the Facility Operator agreement, such as resident screening criteria, operating standards, compliance with laws, and standards of care.
• A safety and security plan to be developed in consultation with and approved by the Kirkland Police Department.
• A community relations plan to be developed to address potential impacts on nearby schools, businesses, and/or residences including a proposed resolution and mitigation approach.
• Input on development of a tenant code of conduct in consultation with the Facility Operator, service providers, and those who have a lived experience of homelessness.

R-5522 also requires a vigorous process of community engagement including town hall meetings and other opportunities for community feedback to help inform the agreements between the City, King County, and the future Facility Operator of the permanent supportive housing site at the La Quinta Inn.

The resolution aligns with the City’s support of permanent supportive housing in Kirkland - with the appropriate operating conditions and community engagement - which Mayor Penny Sweet and City Manager Kurt Triplett have said in public statements since January. Permanent supportive housing is part of the City Council’s longstanding commitment to actions to support those experiencing homelessness and is one of the City’s 2021-2022 City Work Program items.

More information is available on the City’s website. Any community members wishing to be involved in this process can also sign up for updates.

The City of Kirkland invites the community to discuss a potential Kirkland Police Department body-worn camera program during a meeting on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. The City Council intends to implement a body-worn camera program in order to increase police accountability and transparency and would like to hear from the community on policies and other considerations before making that decision.

“Research has shown that body-worn cameras can lead to reductions in use-of-force incidents and may encourage officers and community members to maintain a higher standard of behavior during an incident,” said Councilmember Neal Black. “It’s important that, as a community, we carefully consider all of the potential benefits and drawbacks of a body-worn camera program. Your input is critical and will directly influence how such a program might be shaped to work best for Kirkland.”

In addition to exploring the benefits, opportunities, costs, and concerns of a body-worn camera program, the community engagement process will also explore policy considerations. Some of the considerations to be discussed include who within the Kirkland Police Department should wear body-worn cameras, when recording with the cameras should occur, if and when recordings should be stopped, and under what circumstances the footage should be shared. Community input is essential for developing policies for Kirkland that balance privacy and the public’s right to know.

The City began discussions about body-worn cameras in 2014. However, experience, best practices, and the legal environment concerning body-worn cameras were underdeveloped and not well defined at that time. On August 8, 2020, the Council adopted Resolution 5434 to improve the safety and respect of Black people, which included a goal of developing a police body camera pilot program. The topic of body-worn cameras was included as part of the R-5434 community engagement process of late 2020 and early 2021. In December 2021, the City of Kirkland was notified that it was awarded a grant by the U.S Department of Justice toward a body-worn camera program should the City decide to move forward with such a program. A decision of whether to implement body-worn cameras is anticipated in May 2022, after the community engagement process.

For more information, to register for the meeting, and for additional ways to provide feedback, please visit www.kirklandwa.gov/BodyWornCameras.

Governor Jay Inslee convened a meeting on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, at Kirkland City Hall with the mayors and executive staff from Kirkland, Bothell, Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, and Shoreline to discuss the need for a regional crisis stabilization clinic. These five cities make up the North Sound RADAR Navigator Program, which stands for Response, Awareness, De-escalation, and Referral. This program pairs Social Worker Navigators in the field with law enforcement officers to help address the needs of people experiencing behavioral health crisis or developmental disabilities and connect them to care.

The discussion at Tuesday’s roundtable focused on each city’s challenges in meeting the current needs of their communities, with the biggest focus being the need for a crisis stabilization clinic in North King County. The RADAR Navigator Program gives north end cities the ability to launch mobile responses for those experiencing behavioral health crises, but each city’s approach would be far more effective if there were a community-based crisis stabilization clinic to address individual’s needs in their moment of crisis. Currently, the only options in a moment of crisis is jail or emergency rooms, neither of which are suited to treat individuals experiencing behavioral health crises.

The City’s goal is to work with the County and the State to site a crisis stabilization clinic in North King County. This meeting furthers that goal, which supports other investments by the City of Kirkland on how best to provide a continuum of care to those experiencing behavioral health challenges in the community. Recently, the Kirkland City Council authorized $2.2 million to create a Community Responder program that will pair mental health professionals, a dedicated team of EMTs, and police to respond 24/7 to 911 calls where a behavioral health response is warranted. In addition to responding to 911 calls, Community Responders will also help connect the people they encounter to services to address underlying behavioral health concerns that led to the 911 call in the first place.

For more information about the City of Kirkland’s investments in human services, please visit the Human Services Dashboard.

The Kirkland Police Department is one of nine law enforcement agencies to announce a new joint task force that’ll focus on a growing crime problem on the Eastside – thieves stealing catalytic converters from parked cars. The nine law enforcement agencies on the task force include Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Bothell, Medina, Clyde Hill, Mercer Island, Issaquah and the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Police Chief Cherie Harris says the increase in thefts is dramatic - Kirkland saw a 271% increase in “cat-con” thefts in the last year. Thieves steal catalytic converters for the precious metals, which can cost car owners thousands of dollars to replace. The Kirkland Police Department’s work with other local police agencies to share information will help lead to more arrests and assist law enforcement in putting together cases for prosecutors.

For more informational resources provided by the Kirkland Police Department – including tips on how to prevent crime – please visit the City’s webpage.

In concert with King County Public Health’s decision to lift the vaccination verification requirement for indoor recreational establishments on March 1, 2022, the City of Kirkland no longer requires proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to participate in indoor recreation activities, effective March 1, 2022.

Vaccinations and booster doses are still an effective tool to lessen the spread of COVID-19. For more information or to locate a vaccination site, please visit https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/vaccine/distribution.aspx

The City will continue to follow state and local guidelines, including the lifting of the indoor mask mandate on March 11. Starting March 12, 2022, masks will no longer be required in most City indoor recreation programs. Masks will still be required for programs that include group transportation, during health services appointments, and other specific programs as indicated in the program registration information. Read more about our COVID-19 safety protocols for recreation programs at www.kirklandwa.gov/PlayItSafe.

As we move forward carefully and cautiously, King County Public Health Insider blog writes:

Lifting the indoor mask mandate does not mean COVID is over. The use of high quality, well-fitting masks still make sense in certain settings. It is very reasonable to continue to mask if you are at increased risk, are in contact with someone at high risk, out of consideration for people who may be at higher risk in public settings, or if you want to reduce your own risk for any reason.

We need to be aware that COVID-19 is still circulating and some risk still remains. Layered protections continue to be important, including staying up to date on vaccination and boosters, improving indoor air quality through ventilation and filtration, and for high-risk persons especially, masking and limiting time in crowded and poorly ventilated indoor spaces.

For more information, please visit www.kirklandwa.gov/PlayItSafe

Demolition began Feb 22 on the building that currently occupies the site of the future Fire Station 27. The City’s contractor is preparing the Northeast 132nd Street parcel for a state-of-the-art emergency response facility that can withstand significant earthquakes, that will help first responders reduce response times to the Totem Lake, Kingsgate and North Rose Hill neighborhoods and that will protect their workplace health. Kirkland’s project engineers expect to complete the fire station in summer 2023. 

The relocation of Fire Station 27 from the west side of Interstate 405 to the east side is part of the vision Kirkland’s voters supported when they approved Proposition 1 in 2020. Along with the construction and relocation of fire stations on Finn Hill and in Juanita, the plan includes renovations to fire stations in Central Houghton, North Rose Hill and Forbes Creek Drive. The purpose of these renovations is to improve emergency response times throughout the city, to protect the workplace health of those who are responding and to ensure these fire stations will continue to serve their communities for decades to come.

You can watch the demolition on the City’s YouTube page. More about the Fire Station 27 project can be found here on the City’s website.

Civil Service Commission - Do you have an interest or background in the fire service or law enforcement? Are you interested in the conditions of employment of City police and fire personnel? Join the Civil Service Commission. The vacancy will be open until filled, with a first review of applications occurring on Friday, March 4 at 5 p.m.

Salary Commission - Do you have a background in finance or human resources? Are you interested in promoting transparency and fairness? Share your talents with the Salary Commission. The Salary Commission sets the salaries of the Mayor and City Councilmembers. This advisory group helps ensure the compensation structure for the City’s leadership is fair, competitive, and continues to attract outstanding talent. The deadline to apply has been extended to Friday, March 4 at 4 p.m.

For more information on these positions, and to apply, please visit the Current Recruitment Positions webpage, or call the City Clerk’s Office at (425) 587-3190.

Want to save money and help the environment? Reduce your waste! In 2021, everyone in Kirkland threw away about eight pounds of garbage each week. Our goal is to reduce that to five pounds. Garbage is linked to consumption -- how much stuff we buy -- so our waste is a snapshot into our broader environmental impact. Every new thing we bring home took energy, water, and natural resources to make and transport. When it's thrown away, no more use comes from those resources.

We also need to toss less trash because our landfill is filling up. Once it's full, King County will have to choose a new way to get rid of our garbage. All the other options are more expensive, so we want to keep using the landfill as long as possible.

How could you throw away half a pound less garbage next week? Try these five ideas:

1. Compost food scraps in your gray food+yard waste cart instead of throwing them away (food is heavy!)
2. Replace single-use products with reusable options (like bringing your own mug to the coffee shop, or carrying a refillable water bottle)
3. Use drop-off recycling options instead of throwing things away (see kirklandwa.gov/whatdoidowith)
4. Get and give items secondhand (buy from consignment, thrift, and antique shops; use neighborhood swap services like Buy Nothing)
5. Repair broken items instead of replacing them (see ifixit.com)

Check out our detailed tips and guides for more ways to reduce your waste.

You can lower your cost for waste pickup by dropping down to a smaller garbage cart. Your waste collection service includes weekly recycling and food+yard waste, no matter what size garbage cart you have. See rates at kirklandwa.gov/sfutilities. Change to a smaller garbage cart by contacting Waste Management at pnwrsservices@wm.com, 1-800-592-9995, or their online chat at wmnorthwest.com/kirkland.

Take a free gardening class with Cascade Water Alliance and garden smarter. Running March through April, this annual series offers classes to help you have beautiful, healthy landscapes while using water efficiently.

The list of classes include:

• March 19: Sustainable Gardening, A Better Way to Beautiful, by Peggy Campbell
• March 26: Gardening for Wildlife, by Greg Rabourn
• April 2: How to Use Mulch for a More Drought Resilient Garden, by Christina Pfeiffer
• April 9: Heavenly H Plants, by Marianne Binetti
• April 23: Let’s do Easy to Grow Plants that Beneficial Creatures Love, by Lisa Taylor
• April 30: Weeds and Water: Wisdom for Resiliency, by Jessi Bloom

The 2022 Cascade Gardener classes will be held through Zoom.

For more information, and to register, visit the Cascade Gardener 2022 Classes webpage.

Are you an artist over the age of 50? The Kirkland Senior Council is hosting its 12th Annual Art Show and welcomes entries from seniors 50+. The art show will run from May 5 to 25, 2022, at the Kirkland Merrill Gardens.

Categories for the show include:

• Oil & Acrylics
• Watercolor
• Drawing and Pastels
• Quilts
• Photography
• Other Media

If you would like more information or would like to enter this event, please contact Penny Kahn at (425) 761-5489.