Kirkland City Council Regular Meeting - November 15, 2022
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Kirkland City Council Regular Meeting - November 15, 2022
The Kirkland City Council met on November 15, 2022, beginning with a study session at 5:00 p.m. and the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m., adjourning at 11:18 p.m. The agenda covered the preliminary 2023-2024 budget, a permanent supportive housing agreement with King County, the NE 85th Street Station Area Plan, honors, public hearings on the budget and planned action ordinance, a consent calendar, and multiple business items including budget amendments, a parks ballot measure feasibility study, and other topics.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes from October 25 and November 1, 2022.
- Accepted audit of accounts: payroll $3,819,938.10 and bills $5,605,916.52.
- Acknowledged claims for damages from three individuals.
- Accepted the 108th Avenue NE Water and Sewer Replacement Project as completed, establishing a lien period and approving a fiscal note transferring $2,341,359.11 to the South Reservoir Seismic and Recoating Construction project.
- Acknowledged Small Business Saturday Proclamation, Athletic Field Policy Update, 2023-2024 Human Services Grants Funding Recommendation, 2022 Annual Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Map Amendments.
- Approved Ordinance O-4822 granting Comcast Cable Communications a non-exclusive franchise renewal.
- Approved Ordinance O-4823 amending school impact fees.
- Acknowledged September 2022 Financial Dashboard, 2022 3rd Quarter Financial Management Report, 3rd Quarterly Investment Report, and Procurement Report.
- All consent calendar items were approved by a 7-0 vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Items from the Audience: Richard Goodman, Ingrid Salmon, Wendy Stewart, Ginger Chien, Lara Kropp, Ron Snell, Alex Zimmerman, Lisa Berenson, and Karina O'Malley spoke. Topics included support for a permanent dog park at Snyder's Corner, active transportation funding, appreciation for the Transgender Day of Remembrance proclamation, concerns about Imagine Housing affordable housing management, and support for the Health Through Housing initiative at the La Quinta site.
- Public Hearing on Preliminary Budget and Property Tax Levy: Debbie Lacy (East Side for All) requested funding for the Health and Wellness Fair; David Malcolm supported funding for sustainability master plan staffing; Ron Snell highlighted missing staffing for key sustainability actions; Jeanne Large urged funding for climate actions; Lisa Berenson criticized jail medical costs and tree removal. No further testimony. The hearing closed and Ordinance O-4824 establishing the 2023 property tax levy was adopted 7-0.
- Public Hearing on NE 85th Street Station Area Planned Action Ordinance: Lisa McConnell spoke supporting urban flex zone revitalization, maintaining height limits, and incorporating Cross Kirkland Corridor standards. No further testimony. The hearing was closed; no action was taken that evening.
Discussion Items
- Preliminary 2023-2024 Budget and Capital Improvement Program: Financial Planning Manager George Dugdale and Supervisor Kevin Pelstring presented potential amendments. Council discussed four proposed amendments: Amendment 1 (funding multiple items except Fire Station 27 refurbishment, total $957,212), Amendment 2 (special events, teen programs, parks planning support, ~$1M), Amendment 3 (Kirkland Downtown Association kiosks, $65,000 – deferred for more data), and Amendment 4 (jail medical costs increase, $436,000). Council also considered funding the Health Fair ($80,000 total for 2023-2024) from 2022 council contingency. After debate, Amendment 1 (7-0), Amendment 2 (7-0, after an amendment to remove parks planning support failed for lack of a second), and Amendment 4 (7-0) were adopted. A separate motion to suspend rules and authorize the Health Fair funding from contingency passed 7-0.
- Draft Permanent Supportive Housing Program Agreement with King County: Deputy City Manager James Lopez and Assistant City Attorney Darcey Eilers presented two draft agreements: a Permanent Supportive Housing Agreement (PSHA) between the city and county, and a Services Agreement (SA) between the county and the future operator. Discussion focused on screening processes, sex offender prohibitions, background checks, and dispute resolution. Council provided feedback supporting individualized assessments over mandatory exclusion, requested more details on criminal screening, and emphasized public access to operational plans. Staff will continue negotiations and return for a public hearing in January 2023.
- Potential 2023 Parks Ballot Measure Feasibility Study Update: Parks Director Lynn Zwaagstra, Park Planning Manager Mary Gardocki, and Analyst Hillary De La Cruz presented site evaluation results for four potential aquatics/recreation facility locations. After considering consultant scores and PFEC (Parks Facility Exploratory Committee) input, staff recommended narrowing to two sites: Houghton Park and Ride and North Kirkland Community Center and Park. Council concurred, expressing support for exploring two facilities and noting the need to address aquatic needs and transportation connections. The recommendation was adopted by consensus.
- NE 85th Street Station Area Plan – Phase 2 Briefing: Deputy Planning Director Allison Zike and Transportation Planner Victoria Kovaks updated council on the form-based code development for the remaining districts (neighborhood mixed use, urban flex, civic mixed use) and the 120th Avenue NE corridor study. Topics included height transitions, parking ratios, affordable housing incentives, ground-floor activation, and bike/pedestrian improvements. Council requested more visual examples of activated frontage and further exploration of Cross Kirkland Corridor connectivity.
- Interview Selection Committee Recommendation: Council suspended rules and accepted the committee’s recommendation to forward four names for board and commission interviews (7-0).
- Other Items Deferred: The 2044 Comprehensive Plan Status Update and Personal Delivery Device Operation Draft Ordinance were deferred to future meetings.
Key Outcomes
- Adopted Ordinance O-4824 (2023 property tax levy) with a 7-0 vote. The preliminary levy request totals $43 million, with a rate under $1.00 per $1,000 assessed value.
- Approved four budget amendments (all 7-0): Amendment 1 funds multiple initiatives (e.g., sustainability master plan actions, human services, trail connections); Amendment 2 funds special events, teen programs, and parks planning support; Amendment 4 funds jail medical cost increases; a separate motion funded the Health Fair from council contingency.
- Authorized the Mayor to sign a letter to Imagine Housing executive leadership requesting a response to tenant concerns (7-0).
- Directed staff to focus the park ballot measure feasibility study on Houghton Park and Ride and North Kirkland Community Center, with additional concept development expected in early 2023.
- Scheduled future meetings for the deferred 2044 Comprehensive Plan update, Personal Delivery Device ordinance, and a Puget Sound Energy infrastructure update.
- Council also provided direction on the Sound Cities Association legislative agenda, offering revised language regarding municipal court impacts and vehicular pursuits.
Meeting Transcript
I'd like to call to order the City Council meeting of November the 15th, 2022. Tonight's meeting is a hybrid meeting. Community members are welcome to join us either in person or remotely through Zoom or by telephone. Our study session tonight is a big one. It is on three topics. The first is the preliminary 2023-2024 budget and preliminary 2023-2028 capital improvement program. The second is on a draft permanent supportive housing program agreement with King County. And the third is for a Northeast 85th Street Station Area Plan Phase 2 briefing. We expect to reconvene a regular meeting at approximately 7 30. City manager. Okay. Thank you, Madam Mayor. So as you said, we have three uh complex topics tonight. We're going to try to do them in about 40 minutes each. Uh some of them may go faster, some might go a little slower, but I'll be keeping an eye on the clock. Um, point of order amendment is going to be done. We need to do the roll call, our financial. Oh, and I see we're also our financial money manager. George Dougnell is here as well. Hold on, just one second, city manager. I think we need to do the roll call. Ah, thank you. Councilmember Nixon? Here. Councilmember Black. Here. Councilmember Curtis. Here. Councilmember Falcon. Here. Councilmember Pascal. Here. Deputy Mayor Arnold. Here. Mayor Sweet. Here. Thank you. Sorry, see the manager. Back to George and listened to Mark. So I wanted to explain a little bit how this is going to go. So the study session is going to be talking about potential amendments to the budget process, which we'll then bring up under the business section of the budget. So we're not looking for action at the study session, but we will be looking for action later on tonight. So with that, I will go ahead and turn it over to George first and then Kevin. Okay, thank you, City Manager. Good evening, Council. Hopefully everybody can see my screen already. So we have 18 slides for you today. About half and half on the 2324 budget and 2328 CIP. As this is primarily follow-up from the previous study sessions on public hearings on these items. So as I said, we're split in two.
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