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Record of Proceedings

Kirkland City Council Special Meeting - October 3, 2022: Transportation Benefit District Proposal

City Council — Monday, October 3, 2022
BodyKirkland, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, October 3, 2022
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:37

Thank you very much.

0:39

Oh we're recording in progress.

0:42

I'd like to call to order the special city council meeting of October the 3rd, 2022.

0:48

Clerk, will you please call the roll for tonight's meeting?

0:51

Councilmember Nixon.

0:57

That was a thumbs up.

0:59

Councilmember Black.

1:00

Here.

1:01

Councilmember Curtis.

1:03

Here.

1:03

Councilmember Falcone.

1:05

Here.

1:06

Councilmember Pascal.

1:08

Here.

1:08

Deputy Mayor Arnold.

1:10

Here.

1:10

Mayor Sweet.

1:12

Here.

1:12

Thank you very much.

1:15

This is a special meeting to receive public comments on the topic of enacting a $20 vehicle license fee to accelerate pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements.

1:26

This revenue would be used to improve safety for students, families, and workers by investing in safe pedestrian and bicycle routes for getting to school, stores, and offices.

1:39

This would also be used to fund a team of debt dedicated to tree and median maintenance across the city.

1:47

The council's role this evening will be to listen and learn from our community.

1:52

There will be more opportunities for our community to engage on this topic in the coming weeks.

2:05

And with that, I will turn it over to Deputy City Manager Lopez.

2:10

Thank you so much, Madam Mayor and Council.

2:13

And good evening, everyone, and welcome to tonight's community forum on the use of the city's transportation benefit district.

2:20

As the mayor noted, my name's Jim Lopez.

2:22

I'm the deputy city manager for external affairs, and I'll be facilitating tonight's discussion.

2:28

Now I'll be turning the meeting over to the city manager in just a minute, but before I do, I'd like to briefly walk you through tonight's agenda and how you can participate in the conversation.

2:40

So we're gonna bring up our slide uh show and I'll take you through tonight's form.

2:48

Oh I do want to remind everyone you might want to mute uh your uh monitors.

2:54

Thank you so much.

2:56

So tonight's agenda.

2:57

This will be we'll go over our introductions now and we'll talk about uh transportation benefit district, this proposal.

3:04

We'll give an overview of that.

3:06

But most of the night is really designed to get community comments uh from all of you and to get subject matter expert responses to those comments.

3:16

We have a good deal of time devoted to the public comment period.

3:20

Uh and we really hope to have a uh robust and detailed discussion about the issues.

3:28

Next slide.

3:29

So tonight's meeting, as you uh can see, the city council is in attendance, and the council is here to listen and to learn uh from all of you.

3:39

Council will be discussing this throughout the budget process.

3:42

Uh the budget comes to a conclusion at the end of this year in the month of December.

3:48

And your feedback tonight will help inform the council's decision.

3:53

Um as the clerk noted, tonight's meeting is being recorded, so we will have a good reservoir of information from tonight.

4:01

But there are other ways that you can provide feedback.

4:04

You can go to the Kirkland Law.gov TBD slash TBD site.

4:10

We like to think of everything you need to know about what the council is considering can should be able to be found right on that website, and you can use that website to communicate with us.

4:20

We're also having follow-up small group meetings.

4:23

We'll be posting at least two dates for folks to come in and continue the conversation.

4:28

You can text us at 4253051305, and you can contact the city council directly at Kirklandlaw.gov slash council.

4:38

So various mechanisms to get us information and thank you for that.

4:44

Now, in these meetings, uh we um continue to note that there are three community principles we live by, and we have not been let down, and those principles are um arrive as a community, leave as a community, uh speak your mind and respect others and identify common ground.

5:06

And I will say this is the time in the night where I always remind everybody that we live in the best city in America, and I know I'm often subject to hyperbole, but Money Magazine has just published and noted uh that they ranked us the number three city in America, and we're going to be sending out a press release on that tomorrow.

5:28

So I have a little data to back up my uh my hyperbole.

5:32

So thank you.

5:33

And please let's let's treat, let's be robust, speak our mind, but treat people with respect and always try to find common ground.

5:42

So, how can you uh participate?

5:44

Well, we're gonna do our best to list people on a first come first serve basis.

5:51

So you raise your hand, star nine for those on the phone, and we have a staff who's gonna who are gonna um list that out.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Transportation Safety████████████████████████████████████36%
Public Engagement████████████████████████24%
Community Engagement████████8%
Transportation███████7%
Budget Equity Analysis███████7%
Fiscal Sustainability█████5%
Public Safety█████5%
Active Transportation█████5%
Procedural███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Kirkland City Council Special Meeting - October 3, 2022: Transportation Benefit District Proposal

Meeting Date: October 3, 2022, 6:30 - 7:38 PM Location: Virtual with public seating in Kirkland City Council Chamber

This special meeting was convened to receive public comment on a proposed $20 vehicle license fee (car tab) to fund pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements and a dedicated tree and median maintenance team. The Council heard a presentation from City Manager Kurt Triplett and then listened to public testimony from 13 speakers. No formal votes were taken; the Council will use the feedback during the upcoming budget process.

Introductions and Transportation Benefit District Overview

City Manager Kurt Triplett presented the proposal. The city has identified $26 million in priority safety projects from the Safe Routes to School Action Plan and Active Transportation Plan, developed with over 2,000 community members. Current funding provides $800,000 per year ($5 million over six years). The proposal would:

  • Enact a $20 per vehicle fee, generating approximately $1.34 million annually.
  • Use $1 million per year to pay debt service on a $20 million bond to fund 45 high-priority projects (new sidewalks, filling gaps, flashing beacons, bike lanes, ADA ramps).
  • Use $340,000 per year to hire a dedicated two-person tree and median maintenance team. The remaining $340,000 would be used for debt service and median maintenance. The bond would be repaid over six years, accelerating project timelines from 30 years to six.

Public Comments & Testimony

Public commenters expressed a range of positions:

Support (full or conditional):

  • Bhaj Townsend (bicyclist): Suggested taxing bicyclists instead of or in addition to cars, arguing for shared cost.
  • Hamilton Anderson (renter, business owner): Supported the car tab, opposed a bike tax, emphasized maintenance and safe bike lanes.
  • Kurt Dresner (parent of 11-year-old cyclist): Fully supported, willing to pay more than $20, noted safety from cars is the issue.
  • Kyle Butler (resident 9 years): Supported, provided specific project suggestions (NE 128th, NE 120th), opposed bike tax.
  • Faith DeBolt (resident 11 years): Supported, highlighted benefits for safe routes to school and reduced traffic congestion.
  • Chris Kagan (KCCC resident, Kirkland Greenways member): Supported but urged focus on protected bike lanes rather than painted lanes; suggested voluntary bike registration.
  • Matt N. (resident with young child): Strongly supported, emphasized risk to children from cars, favored higher density and connectivity.

Opposition or concerns:

  • Ken MacKenzie: Opposed new tax, argued the city can fund projects from existing budget (1% trim), called the tax regressive.
  • Susan Davis (resident 22 years): Opposed, skeptical of city's financial priorities (citing parking lot purchase, connector bridge), worried about angering voters.
  • Brad Williamson (resident 10 years): Concerned about potential to increase fee to $40 without vote; questioned proximity of bike projects to Cross Kirkland Corridor.
  • Calvin (resident): Asked about impact on vulnerable communities, whether projects benefit non-residents, and comparison to other cities' TBDs.
  • Nicole MacKenzie (West of Market resident 13 years): Opposed adding new perpetual tax, urged city to live within means.
  • Tanya Dimpsey (resident 19 years): Requested data on actual safety incidents; perceived streets as safe.

Discussion Items

  • Panel responses: City Manager Triplett and staff addressed questions about budget trade-offs, the Houghton Village inter-fund loan, and the flexibility of the fee (no future increase assumed).
  • Active Transportation Plan Manager Joel Pfundt clarified that projects were selected for connectivity and safety, not just geographic spread; the city is a Vision Zero city.
  • Public Works Deputy Director John Starbard noted that existing $800,000/year will continue.
  • Council members listened but did not question speakers; Deputy City Manager Lopez facilitated.

Key Outcomes

  • No vote or action taken; meeting was for public input only.
  • Council will consider feedback during the budget process (October-December 2022).
  • Additional small-group meetings on the TBD are scheduled for October 12 and October 20, 2022.
  • Residents can engage via the city's budget simulation tool ("Balancing Act") and attend the revenue public hearing on October 4, 2022.
  • The recording of the meeting and further information are available at Kirklandwa.gov.
  • The meeting adjourned at 7:38 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you very much. Oh we're recording in progress. I'd like to call to order the special city council meeting of October the 3rd, 2022. Clerk, will you please call the roll for tonight's meeting? Councilmember Nixon. That was a thumbs up. Councilmember Black. Here. Councilmember Curtis. Here. Councilmember Falcone. Here. Councilmember Pascal. Here. Deputy Mayor Arnold. Here. Mayor Sweet. Here. Thank you very much. This is a special meeting to receive public comments on the topic of enacting a $20 vehicle license fee to accelerate pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements. This revenue would be used to improve safety for students, families, and workers by investing in safe pedestrian and bicycle routes for getting to school, stores, and offices. This would also be used to fund a team of debt dedicated to tree and median maintenance across the city. The council's role this evening will be to listen and learn from our community. There will be more opportunities for our community to engage on this topic in the coming weeks. And with that, I will turn it over to Deputy City Manager Lopez. Thank you so much, Madam Mayor and Council. And good evening, everyone, and welcome to tonight's community forum on the use of the city's transportation benefit district. As the mayor noted, my name's Jim Lopez. I'm the deputy city manager for external affairs, and I'll be facilitating tonight's discussion. Now I'll be turning the meeting over to the city manager in just a minute, but before I do, I'd like to briefly walk you through tonight's agenda and how you can participate in the conversation. So we're gonna bring up our slide uh show and I'll take you through tonight's form. Oh I do want to remind everyone you might want to mute uh your uh monitors. Thank you so much. So tonight's agenda. This will be we'll go over our introductions now and we'll talk about uh transportation benefit district, this proposal. We'll give an overview of that. But most of the night is really designed to get community comments uh from all of you and to get subject matter expert responses to those comments. We have a good deal of time devoted to the public comment period. Uh and we really hope to have a uh robust and detailed discussion about the issues. Next slide. So tonight's meeting, as you uh can see, the city council is in attendance, and the council is here to listen and to learn uh from all of you. Council will be discussing this throughout the budget process. Uh the budget comes to a conclusion at the end of this year in the month of December. And your feedback tonight will help inform the council's decision. Um as the clerk noted, tonight's meeting is being recorded, so we will have a good reservoir of information from tonight. But there are other ways that you can provide feedback. You can go to the Kirkland Law.gov TBD slash TBD site. We like to think of everything you need to know about what the council is considering can should be able to be found right on that website, and you can use that website to communicate with us. We're also having follow-up small group meetings. We'll be posting at least two dates for folks to come in and continue the conversation.

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