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Record of Proceedings

Kirkland City Council Special Meeting - December 13, 2022: Budget Adoption, Proclamation Policy, and Transportation Fee

City Council — Tuesday, December 13, 2022
BodyKirkland, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, December 13, 2022
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:38

Good live mayor.

0:58

December the thirteenth, two thousand twenty-two.

1:01

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

1:02

Councilmember Nixon?

1:04

Here.

1:04

Councilmember Black.

1:06

Here.

1:06

Council Member Curtis.

1:07

Here.

1:08

Councilmember Falcone.

1:09

Here.

1:09

Councilmember Pascal.

1:11

Here.

1:11

Deputy Mayor Arnold.

1:12

Here.

1:13

Mayor Sweet.

1:14

Here.

1:15

Thank you.

1:16

Recording in progress.

1:17

Waiting for that.

1:19

Tonight's meeting is a hybrid meeting.

1:21

Community members are welcome to join us in person or remotely, either through Zoom or by telephone.

1:28

Our study session tonight is a city council discussion on the proclamation process, flag policy, and the cultural event calendar.

1:36

We expect to reconvene our regular meeting at approximately 7:30 PM.

1:42

City manager.

1:44

Okay, thank you, Madam Mayor, members of the council.

1:46

Welcome to the last council meeting of the year.

1:48

Very exciting.

1:49

A lot of fun things ahead of us.

1:51

But we start with the study session.

1:53

It's going to be MC'd by our deputy city manager of external affairs, Jim Lopez.

1:57

He's also joined by David Wolbrecht, our communication manager.

2:00

Erica Muscoro, our uh DIB manager, and Darcy Eilers from the City Attorney's Office.

2:07

Uh tonight is about getting input and insight from the council, not final action during the study session.

2:13

We'll be bringing these issues all back to the council in January.

2:16

So with that, I will turn it over to Mr.

2:18

Lopez to kick us off.

2:20

Thank you very much, City Manager.

2:22

And thank you, Madam Mayor and Deputy Mayor and Council.

2:25

It's really a privilege to be here before you tonight in the study session.

2:29

Um as the city manager noted, I have just a lot of gratitude to David Wahlberg and Erica Mascoro and our assistant city attorney Darcy Ellers and uh Andriana Campbell as well, who did a lot of work preparing this deck for tonight's presentation.

2:46

Um thank you all for your hard work.

2:49

It's an interesting presentation tonight.

2:51

It's kind of a smorgasburg of interesting constitutional issues as they apply to our policies and processes, specifically the proclamation process and the flag policy.

3:05

We're also gonna talk about some ideas, some diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging ideas around our cultural calendar and a discussion about an anti-Semitism definition, which we hope to use in the future.

3:16

So we'll move through tonight's presentation in that order.

3:21

Not surprisingly, we've uh divided up tonight's presentation into four sections.

3:27

And um they're uh identified here.

3:30

Uh proclamations what we'll start with.

3:32

There are 22 slides tonight, council, as part of this presentation.

3:36

So let's jump right into the proclamations.

3:40

The mayor issued 38 proclamations in 2022.

3:44

Um some council meetings had two or three.

3:48

Uh as we um we were asked to, I think Councilmember Pascal had asked us to try to quantify that.

3:55

I think we have uh preparation for each proclamation with a memorandum basically counting up to about two to three hours of staff time.

4:05

That's kind of the full proclamation process, the reading of the proclamations out loud as well extends the duration of council meetings.

4:14

I think those were kind of the issues that the council was looking to um get to as you um gave us guidance as to how we might um amend our process or think through a new ways to do it.

4:28

And that kind of manifested with Deputy Mayor Arnold.

4:31

Um, I think the deputy mayor came forward with a uh uh an LRM.

4:36

I think the next slide has that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Community Engagement████████████████████20%
Public Engagement█████████████13%
Procedural████████8%
Transportation████████8%
Cultural Celebrations██████6%
Public Safety██████6%
Affordable Housing█████5%
Parks and Recreation████4%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Kirkland City Council Special Meeting - December 13, 2022

The Kirkland City Council held a special meeting on December 13, 2022, starting with a study session at 5:30 p.m. and the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. The council addressed numerous items including updates to proclamation policies, flag policy, cultural calendar, antisemitism definition, extensions of moratoriums, transportation fee, budget adoption, and comprehensive plan updates.

Study Session: Proclamation Process, Flag Policy, Cultural Calendar, and Antisemitism Definition

  • Staff presented proposed updates to the proclamation process including categories for priority and a community request process.
  • Council discussed flag policy: recommended non-governmental flags be rare, with examples like the pride flag; debate on defining "political" and religious flags.
  • Cultural calendar: staff proposed a list of 15 significant religious holidays to avoid scheduling meetings; council suggested including Christmas and Easter and clarifying sunset-based observances.
  • Antisemitism definition: staff proposed adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition; council requested outreach to Jewish community members before decision.

Public Hearings

Extension of Moratorium on Personal Delivery Devices

  • Council approved Ordinance O-4833 extending the moratorium for up to six months, with a vote of 6-1 (Councilmember Pascal opposed). The moratorium was initially enacted in January 2022 and extended once before. Staff plan to return with regulations in January 2023.

Transportation Benefit District – Establish $20 Annual Vehicle Fee

  • Council approved Ordinance O-4834 imposing a $20 annual vehicle fee effective January 1, 2024, with a vote of 6-1 (Councilmember Nixon opposed). An amendment was added requiring annual reporting on how revenues are invested and progress on Safe Routes to School and Active Transportation projects. The fee will accelerate $26 million in pedestrian and bike safety projects.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Several residents spoke in favor of reopening the Snyder's Corner Pop-Up Dog Park, citing community value and equity concerns (three dog parks in North Kirkland, none in South). They requested staff further explore mud and parking issues to reopen the temporary park year-round.
  • Heather Ewald requested the city fly the Christian flag, citing a Supreme Court ruling (Shurtleff v. Boston) and the city's equity policy. She argued denial based on the Establishment Clause was incorrect.
  • Carol Castell expressed concerns about a proposed homeless shelter at La Quinta, citing proximity to schools and potential crime increases.
  • Alex Tsimerman spoke against the transportation fee and criticized government spending, calling it wasteful.

Consent Calendar

  • Council approved the consent calendar unanimously (7-0), including minutes, audit of accounts ($8,383,784.64 payroll and $14,032,065.25 bills), acceptance of the Cross Kirkland Corridor to Redmond Central Connector project, a Universal Human Rights Month proclamation, and several reports (Animal Services, Safety Camera, Crime Dashboard, surplus vehicles, noise ordinance best practices, financial dashboard, sales tax, and procurement).

Business Items

2021-2022 Final Budget Amendments (Ordinance O-4829)

  • Approved unanimously (7-0). Adjustments included uses of human services reserve, council projects reserve, and capital adjustments for Redmond Medic One, Fire Station 27, and Sound Transit funding.

2023 Property Tax Levy Adoption (Ordinance O-4827)

  • Approved unanimously (7-0). Final levy for 2023, repealing earlier Ordinance O-4824.

Creation of General Services Department (Ordinance O-4832)

  • Approved unanimously (7-0). Necessary to house employees for the Regional Crisis Response Agency.

2023-2024 Budget Adoption (Ordinance O-4830)

  • Approved unanimously (7-0). The $1.02 billion biennial budget closes a $14 million shortfall without service cuts, includes funding for human services, sustainability, parks planning, and $600,000 for a low-income utility discount.

2023-2028 Capital Improvement Program (Resolution R-5566)

  • Approved unanimously (7-0). Includes $10 million for Houghton Park and Ride, new projects for Safe Routes to School, and acceleration of projects via the transportation benefit district fee.

2022 Amendments to Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Map (Ordinance O-4828)

  • Approved unanimously (7-0). Updates capital facilities plan, park acquisitions, urban center designation, and historic landmarks list.

Draft Legislative Support Agenda

  • Council discussed the draft 2023 state legislative support items. Councilmember Curtis requested adding the Sound Cities Association (SCA) legislative agenda and Washington State Conservation District. Councilmember Nixon expressed opposition to a state bank, jaywalking legalization, and rent control. No action taken; will return in January.

Kirkland 2044 Comprehensive Plan Update

  • Consultants presented community engagement plan and equity review. Council provided feedback emphasizing outreach to renters, workers, young adults, and businesses; avoiding "planner speak"; and ensuring inclusive language.

Reports and Other Actions

  • Councilmember Pascal requested a legislative memo to explore options for a temporary dog park at Snyder's Corner and Taylor Fields. Motion passed unanimously (7-0).
  • Council approved a motion to create a subcommittee (Councilmembers Curtis, Falcone, and Deputy Mayor Arnold) to revise a letter to the Growth Management Planning Council regarding affordable housing needs, to be brought back on January 17, 2023.
  • City Manager Kurt Triplett updated on the Health Through Housing public hearing moved from January 3 to January 17, 2023.
  • Councilmember Pascal also requested review of packet release timing for meetings after holidays.
  • The meeting adjourned at 10:56 p.m.

Meeting Transcript

Good live mayor. December the thirteenth, two thousand twenty-two. Clerk, will you please call the roll? Councilmember Nixon? Here. Councilmember Black. Here. Council Member Curtis. Here. Councilmember Falcone. Here. Councilmember Pascal. Here. Deputy Mayor Arnold. Here. Mayor Sweet. Here. Thank you. Recording in progress. Waiting for that. Tonight's meeting is a hybrid meeting. Community members are welcome to join us in person or remotely, either through Zoom or by telephone. Our study session tonight is a city council discussion on the proclamation process, flag policy, and the cultural event calendar. We expect to reconvene our regular meeting at approximately 7:30 PM. City manager. Okay, thank you, Madam Mayor, members of the council. Welcome to the last council meeting of the year. Very exciting. A lot of fun things ahead of us. But we start with the study session. It's going to be MC'd by our deputy city manager of external affairs, Jim Lopez. He's also joined by David Wolbrecht, our communication manager. Erica Muscoro, our uh DIB manager, and Darcy Eilers from the City Attorney's Office. Uh tonight is about getting input and insight from the council, not final action during the study session. We'll be bringing these issues all back to the council in January. So with that, I will turn it over to Mr. Lopez to kick us off. Thank you very much, City Manager. And thank you, Madam Mayor and Deputy Mayor and Council. It's really a privilege to be here before you tonight in the study session. Um as the city manager noted, I have just a lot of gratitude to David Wahlberg and Erica Mascoro and our assistant city attorney Darcy Ellers and uh Andriana Campbell as well, who did a lot of work preparing this deck for tonight's presentation. Um thank you all for your hard work. It's an interesting presentation tonight. It's kind of a smorgasburg of interesting constitutional issues as they apply to our policies and processes, specifically the proclamation process and the flag policy. We're also gonna talk about some ideas, some diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging ideas around our cultural calendar and a discussion about an anti-Semitism definition, which we hope to use in the future. So we'll move through tonight's presentation in that order. Not surprisingly, we've uh divided up tonight's presentation into four sections. And um they're uh identified here. Uh proclamations what we'll start with. There are 22 slides tonight, council, as part of this presentation.

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