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The next meeting of the Kirkland City Council is on April 5, 2022. More information about the meeting will be included in next week’s edition of ‘This Week in Kirkland.’
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The City has several exciting positions open across our organization. Now’s the time for you to find your next role doing great work with great people. Here’s a sampling of some of our open positions:
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Manager (Full Time)
The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Manager will be responsible for the diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives for the City of Kirkland and the community-at-large. They will guide implementation of the City’s DEIB 5-Year Roadmap, conduct on-going reviews, support community relations, and advise the City Council and leadership on matters related to DEIB. To learn more about this opportunity, visit the listing here.
 Parks and Community Services (Seasonal, Part Time)
Make a difference in your community and join the Parks team. Kirkland Parks and Community Services offers a variety of rewarding employment opportunities including positions as Day Camp Leaders, Swim Instructors, Lifeguards, Maintenance, Harbor Master, Facility Attendants and more. For more information, current opportunities, and to apply, visit www.Kirklandwa.gov/ParksJobs.
Kirkland Fire Department (KFD)
KFD is hiring 20-25 new Firefighters over the next three years. Must be at least 19 years old, have a high school diploma or GED, and be a U.S. Citizen or lawful permanent resident or have the ability to legally work in the U.S. Apply to KFD online.
Kirkland Police Department (KPD)
KPD is hiring entry level, lateral and corrections officers. KPD has three vacancies for Commissioned Police Officers and five vacancies for Corrections Officers. Entry level applicants can apply online here. Lateral applicants can apply online here.
For more employment opportunities with the City, visit our Government Jobs page.
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What are the benefits and drawbacks of body-worn cameras?
If you missed last night’s virtual town hall on a potential Kirkland Police Department body-worn camera program, you can sign up for a follow-up focus group or provide online comment at: www.kirklandwa.gov/BodyWornCameras.
 How can the City make parks more accessible to all?
The City of Kirkland Parks & Community Services has published an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan for parks and park facilities in Kirkland. This plan will help Kirkland’s parks be more accessible through guidance of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please provide feedback on this plan by April 8, 2022.
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The City of Kirkland is now accepting grant applications from local agencies that support human services for 2023 and 2024. All applications must be submitted online before 4:30 pm on Thursday, April 28, 2022.
The City’s Human Services programs are divided into five areas, and the City invites agencies that support any of these areas to apply for funding:
- Housing Stability & Food Security
- Supportive Relationships within Families, Neighborhoods, and Communities
- A Safe Haven from All Forms of Violence and Abuse
- Health Care to Be as Physically and Mentally Fit as Possible
- Education, Job Skills and Supports to Help Individuals Reach their Full Potential.
Grant applications will be reviewed by the Kirkland Human Services Commission, which makes recommendations to the City Council. Agencies will be notified of final allocations following City Council approval of the City’s 2023-2024 biennial budget in December.
The City welcomes all first-time applicants and recommends contacting City staff (see contact information below) to discuss your proposed program(s) as soon as possible. City staff are available to answer any process related questions as well as general questions and are here to help.
Kirkland participates in a joint, online application process with 15 other cities in King County in order to make the application process easier for agencies. To apply or learn more about funding priorities and guidelines, visit www.share1app.org/application.
For questions, contact Human Services Coordinator, Antoinette Smith, at amsmith@kirklandwa.gov or call 425-587-3307. You can also see the 2021 grant-funded programs or find out more about the City’s Human Services programs.
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 Are you interested in the conditions of employment of City police and fire personnel? Do you have an interest or background in the fire service, law enforcement, or human services? Join the Civil Service Commission.
The Commission consists of three members and meets the second Tuesday of every month. Members ensure that Police Officers and Firefighters are hired on the basis of merit and disciplined/terminated for cause.
To qualify, you must:
- Be a registered voter in King county,
- Be a citizen of the United States or lawful permanent resident,
- Have lived in Kirkland for three years prior to appointment, and
- Be at least 18 years of age.
The vacancy is open until filled. For more information, and to apply, please visit the Current Recruitment Positions webpage, or call the City Clerk’s Office at (425) 587-3190.
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King County Women: Come join the Kirkland Fire Department April 23-24 as we host King County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and 11 other fire agencies to provide you an opportunity to explore a career in Fire or EMS service. It’ll be a weekend of hands-on fire and EMS activities, discussion panels, live demos and networking with EMTs, Firefighters, and Paramedics in our region. Must be 18+ to apply, King County residency preferred. Apply at: https://bit.ly/KFDFWIEF by April 2, 2022. Questions? futurewomenems@kingcounty.gov.
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 The King County Fire Chiefs Association will hold its second semi-annual Diversity and Recruitment Workshop on April 9 in Seattle. The one-day workshop will help potential applicants navigate the hiring process to become a firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
This workshop is open to anyone 16 or older and is geared towards recruiting members of the BIPOC community, women, bilingual adults, LGBTQIA+ or those with no prior fire service experience. For more information and to sign up for this opportunity: https://www.kingcountyfirechiefs.org/king-county-diversity-and-recruitment-workshop-event-registration/
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 Kai Vanderlip, a junior at Tesla STEM High School, is doing his part to educate young students about the civil rights violations against American citizens of Japanese descent during World War II. Using grants from the Lake Washington Schools Foundation and the City of Kirkland, Vanderlip purchased a collection of children's literature about the Japanese American incarceration which have been made available to over 14,000 students in 33 elementary schools in the Lake Washington School District. In addition, Vanderlip and other student volunteers have provided remote story time sessions and prerecorded video lessons to elementary school classrooms throughout the district.
Vanderlip project was in part funded by the Kirkland Youth Council Mini Grant Program. The Kirkland Youth Council (KYC) is a group of 45 middle and high school students who serve as the official advisory board on youth-related matters to our City Council. Every year, the KYC awards funds through its Mini Grant Program to schools, groups, and individuals with a project that benefits Kirkland youth. Have an idea for a project? The next grant review deadline is April 15, 2022. More about the KYC and the Mini Grant Program can be found on the Youth Council webpage.
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 Our landscape today looks very different from the lush, natural landscape of 100 years ago. When rainwater can’t soak into the soil, it runs over hard surfaces, washing pollutants from our roofs, roads, and parking lots down our storm drains and into the stormwater system.
Did you know all rainwater runoff in Kirkland eventually ends up in Lake Washington? How about that 38% of Kirkland’s landscape is made up of hard surfaces like roadways, rooftops, and driveways? The health of a watershed can be negatively impacted when these hard surfaces make up more than 25% of the area, and the City of Kirkland is working hard to help protect the health of our waterways.
Check out our informative story map and explore:
- The path of rainwater runoff through Kirkland's stormwater drainage system and into our local creeks and lakes,
- the impacts of rainwater runoff including water pollution and flooding impacts,
- and what the City of Kirkland is doing to prevent rainwater-related problems.
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Northeast 132nd Street – Juanita
Construction to build a new right turn lane onto 108th Avenue Northeast began the week of March 14 at 108th Avenue Northeast on Northeast 132nd Street. Removal of street trees between 108th Avenue Northeast and 109th Avenue Northeast will be the first signs of construction. The project design includes planting street trees in the new sidewalk.
Drivers will experience a lane-shift to provide area for construction activities. A pedestrian detour will direct people who are walking around the construction, and people who are riding bicycles will merge with traffic.
The City is building this right turn lane to increase vehicle capacity at the intersection to support effective functionality of the new Interstate 405/Northeast 132nd Street interchange.
Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/Government/Departments/Public-Works-Department/Construction-Projects/NE-132nd-Street-108th-Ave-NE-RTL
Northeast 132nd Street – Totem Lake
Construction on Fire Station 27 has closed the parking lot that once connected Northeast 132nd and 128th streets. As such, the City is encouraging drivers to use the surrounding streets—rather than the adjacent parking lot—to reach their destinations.
The City is building a new fire station on Northeast 132nd Street to improve response times and protect firefighters’ health.
Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/firestation27
Market Street – Moss Bay
All aspects of the Market Street and Central Way intersection remain open to pedestrian and vehicular traffic while a Kirkland contractor awaits the end of a labor dispute that has halted the delivery of concrete to construction projects throughout the region.
Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/2020nsp
Cross Kirkland Corridor – Totem Lake
Kirkland’s Totem Lake Connector contractor will maintain the detour around the Cross Kirkland Corridor between 120th Place Northeast and 128th Lane Northeast while construction on the pedestrian and bicycle bridge remains in suspension.
Maintaining the detour helps the City of Kirkland avoid the costs it would incur if it ordered Kraemer North America to restore the Cross Kirkland Corridor’s permanent route during the work-stoppage and then to re-establish the detour when work resumes.
Visit www.kirklandwa.gov/totemlakeconnector
Northeast 132nd Street at I-405 – Juanita/Kingsgate
Drivers may encounter single lane-closures between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. this week on and around Northeast 132nd Street at Interstate 405 while the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) contractor continues to prepare for the start of construction this spring.
WSDOT is building a new on-ramp for northbound Interstate 405 traffic and a new off-ramp for the interstate’s southbound traffic. The project will enhance sidewalks and bicycle lanes and will create roundabouts at the ramps’ Northeast 132nd Street intersections.
For questions about these closures, call WSDOT’s project hotline at 425-224-2433.
Visit https://wsdot.wa.gov/construction-planning/search-projects/i-405northeast-132nd-street-interchange-project
Sixth Street – Moss Bay
Drivers can expect intermittent delays on Sixth Street, east of Kirkland Urban, while private developers prepare Sixth Street’s intersection with Fourth Street for improvements that include traffic signal upgrades and a new right turn-lane. The concrete drivers’ strike is likely to delay completion of the work.
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 until the park is completed. The concrete drivers’ strike is delaying completion of the park. During that time, SRM Development will continue to 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 2022. 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.
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Nowruz Celebration
Date: Sunday, March 27, 2022
Time: 12 – 5 p.m.
Location: Marina Park, 25 Lakeshore Plaza, Kirkland 98033
Ages: All ages
Join the Iranian Society of Washington State in celebration of springtime and learn about this holiday which celebrates the Persian New Year. Bring your family to Marina Park where you can enjoy a traditional haft-seen, festive music, dancing, face painting, and magic show.
For more information, visit the Community Events page.
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Join Green Kirkland Partnership for Forest Stewardship at Crestwoods Park
Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022
Time: 2 – 4 p.m.
Location: Crestwoods Park, 1818 6th Street, Kirkland 98033
Pre-registration is requested.
Volunteers will help restore critical habitat by removing invasive plants such as blackberry or ivy, planting native plants, and pitching-in with stewardship tasks like mulching and weeding. With your help, this park will have healthy and thriving natural areas for years to come. All experience levels and ages are welcome following the safety and event guidelines. Tools and training are provided. Events are 100% outdoors and occur rain or shine.
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Kirkland Wine, Beer & Spirits Walk
Date: Friday, April 1, 2022
Time: General Admission 6 – 9 p.m., Early Admission 5 p.m.
Location: Check-in at Heathman Hotel, 220 Kirkland Avenue, WA 98033
Ages: 21 & Over | Cost: $25
Grab some friends and embark on a wine adventure of downtown Kirkland galleries, boutiques, and businesses. Choose from a wide selection of wines, beer, and spirits.
To buy tickets, and for more information, visit: https://www.tickettomato.com/event/7423/kirkland-wine-beer-amp-spirits-walk.
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2022 Drive-In Movie Series at Juanita Beach – "Lion King"
Date: Friday, April 22, 2022
Location: Juanita Beach Park (NW parking lot) - 9703 NE Juanita Drive
Times: Movie starts at 7 p.m. (Parking lot opens at 6 p.m.)
Ages: All are welcome | Cost: $20 per vehicle
Bring along your family/friends to watch the 2019 live action "Lion King" on our new giant 12 foot LED movie screen in the comfort of your own vehicle. All ages are welcome and movies are rated PG-13 and under. Snack vendors will be on site. The event will be held rain or shine, with no refunds. Cars and trucks are acceptable, but please do not bring limos, RV's, buses, or alcohol. Please register for this event based on the size of your vehicle to help insure the best possible viewing for all. Advanced registration is required.
Register online here.
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Save Our Salmon Mural Paint Day
Date: Saturday, April 2, 2022
Time: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: SPUD Fish & Chips
Ages: All are welcome
Kirkland is getting a new mural! The Save Our Salmon Mural, featuring regional Kokanee salmon, will be painted on the 112 foot long wall of SPUD Fish & Chips in Juanita Beach. The goal of the Save Our Salmon Mural is to raise awareness for salmon sustainability in Juanita Creek and other North Lake Washington creeks.
Volunteer painting spots are all full, but the community is invited to come and share in the festivities, check out the mural progress, and learn more about the SalmonWatchers program.
Read more about the project at the Save Our Salmon Mural webpage: https://www.austinsart.net/salmonmural
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Free Gardening Classes with Cascade Water Alliance
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: https://cascadewater.org/water-efficiency/cascade-gardener/
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