 The Kirkland City Council met on September 20, 2022, in a hybrid meeting. Here’s a brief overview of some of the items from the meeting:
Kirkland Municipal Court Update – Municipal Court Judge John Olson provided an overview of the structure of the Kirkland Municipal Court, impacts of the pandemic on operations, and information on Community Court.
Closure Options for Kirkland Ave & Lake Street Intersection Improvements – The Kirkland Avenue and Lake Street Intersection Improvements project will improve safety, reduce pedestrian crossing times, implement a “pedestrian scramble phase,” improve sight distance for vehicles, and enhance surface water facilities. The City Council received information about options for roadway closures necessary for the construction of the Kirkland Avenue/Lake Street Intersection Improvements Project and provided direction to staff on a preferred traffic control option.
Station Area Plan Planning Process, Phase 2 Deliverable and Schedule – The Council received a briefing on the remaining Station Area Plan planning process. The City began the planning process on the Station Area Plan in 2019. With input from the community, and elected and appointed officials, several planning phases of the project have been completed. The briefing on September 20 included a summary of the decisions made and work completed in Phase 1, as well as an overview of Phase 2 deliverables and schedule.
Houghton Community Council Sunsetting Phase 2 Code Amendments – The Council adopted two ordinances that amend various sections of the Kirkland Zoning Code and Kirkland Municipal Code. The ordinances reflect the necessary procedural and regulatory code amendments to eliminate references to the former Houghton Community Municipal Corporation (HCMC) and Houghton Community Council and achieve regulatory consistency between the former HCMC area and the rest of the City.
Prior to the above business agenda, the Council held a Study Session starting at 5:30 p.m., where they discussed a Regional Community Mobile Crisis Response. The City Council considered and provided feedback on a draft interlocal agreement and articles of incorporation to form a new, regional Community Mobile Crisis Response Agency. If adopted, the City would become a member of a separate legal entity that would merge the RADAR Navigator program with Kirkland’s Community Responder program to provide community crisis response services to the cities of Bothell, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, and Shoreline.
How to watch: Kirkland City Council meetings are streamed live and can be watched after the fact 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.
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 October 4, 2022.
Community Forum on October 3 to Discuss Accelerating Safer Routes to School with a Potential $20 Car Tab Fee
The City Council seeks to accelerate Safer Routes to School and Active Transportation investments and is considering implementing a $20 car tab to pay for the 45 highest priority projects identified in the City’s Safer Routes to School Action Plans and Active Transportation Plan. Those projects would make walking and bicycling around Kirkland's 15 elementary schools and its business districts safer for students, families and workers. Read more and register for the community forum on the City’s website.
Kirkland’s Draft Surface Water Master Plan is now available.
Two weeks left to provide your feedback! Are you interested in protecting creeks and wetlands for our local fish and wildlife? Do you want to ensure that pollutants stay out of our local waterways? Are you concerned about flooding issues in Kirkland? Then we want your input.
The Surface Water Master Plan is a five to ten-year strategic plan for managing storm and surface water in Kirkland. The plan was last updated in 2014 and is being updated to reflect current community, environmental, and infrastructure needs.
Wondering what's going on in your neighborhood?
Kirkland Neighborhood Associations are your connection to sustaining and improving the sense of community that Kirklanders enjoy. Your association represents your neighborhood in communication with the City Council and staff, can offer valuable input to the City on neighborhood planning, and can receive funding from the City to help enhance the quality of life in your neighborhood. For information on how to get involved, check out the Neighborhood Associations page on the City website.
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The Kirkland City Council adopted the 2022 Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan at its regular City Council meeting last night, September 20, 2022. The Plan is a six-year guide and strategic plan for managing and enhancing park and recreation services.
This 2022 version is a comprehensive update to the 2015 PROS Plan. It identifies numerous goals and objectives informed by the feedback from more than 4,000 Kirkland community members who took part in focus groups, interviews, community conversations and survey opportunities. The 2022 PROS Plan’s goals and objectives, together with the City's capital improvement plan, outlines a path for the City’s continued investment in maintaining, sustaining, and enhancing Kirkland’s parks, recreation, and open spaces.
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National Hispanic Heritage Month
At the September 6 City Council meeting, Mayor Sweet proclaimed September 15 through October 15, 2022, as National Hispanic Heritage Month in the City of Kirkland.
Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by commemorating the histories, cultures, contributions, and influence on American society by those whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Twenty-three countries consider themselves either Hispanic, Latinx or both.
 Recovery Month
The purpose of National Recovery Month is to highlight those living in recovery of mental health and substance use disorders while promoting prevention through systemic changes, evidence based treatment and recovery practices, the emergence of a strong and proud recovery community, and the dedication of service providers, support systems, and community members who make recovery in all its forms possible.
Full proclamation.
Mayor Sweet has proclaimed Eastside Welcoming Week alongside other Eastside cities since 2016. Eastside Welcoming Week is part of national Welcoming Week, created by the organization Welcoming America. The cities of Kirkland, Bellevue, Issaquah, Redmond and Sammamish are joining communities across the country in exploring ways to capitalize on diversity as an asset and striving to create a culture and policies that ensure everyone can belong and thrive by addressing disparities, countering hate, understanding history, and helping neighbors come together.
With school back in session, there are likely more of us plugging in our electronic devices at school, home, and work. As the weather gets cooler, heaters are also coming on again. This uptick in power use could lead to inappropriate use of multi-plug adapters and extension cords - common fire code violations often seen in businesses. These hazards become even greater in homes, since fire inspections are not done in private homes.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, at least 47,000 home fires in the U.S. are caused by electrical malfunctions every year. These fires lead to more than 400 deaths, 1,500 injuries and more than $1.4 billion in property damage. Overloaded electrical circuits are a major cause of homes fires. Help lower your risk of electrical fires by not overloading outlets, power strips and extension cords.
How do you know your circuits are overloaded? Here are some warning signs:
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Flickering, blinking or dimming light
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Circuits frequently trip or fuses are blown
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Warm or discolored outlet plates
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Crackling, sizzling or buzzing from outlets
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Burning odor from outlet or wall switch
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Mild shock from appliances, outlets or switches
Here’s how you can help prevent electrical overloads:
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Never use extension cords or multi-plug converters for appliances - major appliances should be plugged directly into an outlet, and only one appliance per outlet
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Replace worn and frayed cords and extension cords
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Replace outlets that move when plugging items in - this indicates connection problems and can result in electrical shorts or arching in wall spaces
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Relying on extension cords could mean you have too few outlets - contact a qualified electrician to inspect your home and add new outlets
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Remember: power strips only add more spots to plug into, they don’t change the amount of power received from the outlet
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Thanks to all who came out to help celebrate Welcoming Week in Kirkland on Saturday, September 17! In the morning, the City hosted City Hall for All, where community members shared their thoughts on how Kirkland can be a place where everyone feels like they belong.
Also on Saturday, the community gathered at Edith Moulton Park for the Welcome to Juanita Event to enjoy food, games, live music, and booths while building a community where all feel welcome.
Thanks to everyone who attended and participated!
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The Parks Funding Exploratory Committee (PFEC) was established by City Council in August to lead the community input process and provide recommendations for a potential ballot measure(s) to Kirkland City Council by March 2023.
PFEC is chaired by Councilmember Kelli Curtis and comprised of more than 40 diverse stakeholders that have an interest in Kirkland’s parks and recreation services. The Committee will meet twice a month from September 2022 through February 2023.
The Parks Funding Exploratory Committee kicked off its process at its first meeting on September 15, 2022, at Juanita Beach Park.
Councilmember Curtis, Parks and Community Services Director Lynn Zwaagstra, and City Manager Kurt Triplett gave an overview of the process, highlighted the timeline and explained why City Council established the group. The committee then broke into small groups and participated in a team building activity. The small groups toured Juanita Beach Park and learned about the picnic shelters, the northern side of the park and pop-up dog park, the newly renovated playground and bathhouse, and the restoration of Juanita Creek. The meeting ended on time as the sun was setting.
Learn more about PFEC and follow along on the Parks Ballot Initiative website.
Learn more about the process at www.kirklandwa.gov/parks2023ballot
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Kirkland’s 2022 street paving contractor is planning on Sept. 26 to close Third Street between Central Way and Seventh Avenue so its crews can more efficiently grind and repave the street.
The daily closures begin at 7 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. Watson Asphalt plans to maintain the closures until Sept. 28.
Northeast 124th Street – Juanita
Construction has resumed at 116th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 124th Street, where a Kirkland contractor is constructing a new right-turn only lane to improve traffic flow.
Interwest Construction is working from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday through Thursday. The contractor is also building a wide sidewalk with street trees and street lighting along the northwest side of 116th Avenue Northeast.
Northeast 132nd Street at I-405 – Juanita/Kingsgate
Drivers continue to encounter traffic control that has been in place since last winter as the Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) contractor completes the first phase of major construction for this project. Drivers and pedestrians should be aware that the upcoming shift in travel lanes and sidewalk closures will be implemented in the next few weeks.
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 intersection.
For questions about this traffic control, the schedule, or other questions about this project, call WSDOT’s project hotline at 425-224-2433.
Date: Tuesdays through October 25
Location: Virtual on Zoom
Autumn is the perfect time to begin your next gardening steps. Cascade Gardener Presents a Fall Class Series on planting fall trees, weed maintenance, climate change gardening and more!
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Date: Every Evening through October 2, 2022
Location: Park Lane, Downtown Kirkland
Don’t miss out on the final Evenings on Park Lane as the program wraps up on October 2. The west end of Park Lane between Lake Street and Main Street will be closed to vehicles nightly from 6 to 11 p.m and open to people walking and wheeling until the Park Lane restaurants close for the night.
What an enjoyable way to stroll downtown and shop local.
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Juanita Friday Market
Date: Every Friday from June 3 to September 30
Location: Juanita Beach Park, 9703 NE Juanita Drive, Kirkland 98034
Two Fridays left of the season! Come with your friends, or meet new ones, and enjoy shopping for delicious and nutritious foods, as well as fine wines and locally brewed craft beers. Then try one, or more, of our hot food vendors for a varied menu of offerings. We look forward to seeing you at Juanita Beach.
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