OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Kirkland City Council Regular Meeting - June 6, 2023

City Council — Tuesday, June 6, 2023
BodyKirkland, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, June 6, 2023
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:44:40

Transcript — Verbatim
0:35

Thank you.

0:36

We're live, Mayor.

0:37

Thank you.

0:38

I'd like to call to order the city council meeting of June 6th, 2023.

0:43

Tonight's meeting is a hybrid meeting.

0:45

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

0:50

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

0:52

Council Member Nixon.

0:54

Here.

0:55

Council Member Black.

0:56

Council Member Curtis.

0:57

Here.

0:58

Council Member Falcone.

0:59

Here.

0:59

Council Member Pascal.

1:01

Here.

1:01

Deputy Mayor Arnold.

1:02

Here.

1:03

Mayor Sweet.

1:04

Here.

1:04

Thank you.

1:05

Our study session tonight is a discussion on potential parks ballot measures.

1:09

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

1:14

City manager.

1:15

Okay, thank you, Madam Mayor.

1:17

So tonight we have a lot to talk about with the parks ballot measure.

1:20

We're not looking for final decisions, but we are looking for some indications of where council uh wants to go.

1:26

Particularly want to focus on elements of the ballot measure and also uh begin the conversation about uh type of ballot measure and length of ballot measure, but those are things we'd want to bring back on June 20th.

1:38

Um before we started, we wanted to actually have a little bit of a legal discussion about the ballot measure options, and I'm gonna go ahead and turn over to Lynn's Wagstra, our uh parks director to kick us off.

1:48

And we'll be looking for council questions and input throughout the presentation.

1:53

Great.

1:53

Thank you, Lynn.

1:54

Good to see you in person.

1:56

Yes, hello everybody.

1:57

How are you?

1:59

Uh interestingly, I seem to have two versions.

2:02

Oh, that's a different different PowerPoint.

2:06

Um, all right.

2:10

I'm trying to move the mouse.

2:12

Sorry, my fingers are going slowly today.

2:15

Um good to see everybody.

2:16

Thank you, madam mayor and deputy mayor, uh city council.

2:20

We're gonna be chatting with you again this evening about uh ballot measure items.

2:25

Um a couple of things that we have on the agenda.

2:27

Well, first I'll introduce some folks.

2:28

We have a few folks speaking speaking to you this evening besides myself.

2:32

We have Hilary de la Cruz, our management analyst.

2:35

We also have George Dugdale, our financial planning manager, and then virtually we have Deanna Gregory, uh, our bond counsel with a Pacifica law group.

2:45

Um she's actually gonna be speaking to us momentarily.

2:52

So we have uh a few topics for you this evening, specifically four topics.

2:57

Um we're gonna talk about the preferred facility selection, the priority elements selection, funding mechanism discussions and draft ballot measure language.

3:07

Uh we do have a couple critical, uh, maybe not decisions, but areas of feedback that would be uh the preferred facility and preferred elements to be included in the ballot measure.

3:18

Um, George also then has some critical elements for feedback on funding, although the majority of that piece will be on June 20th.

3:25

Before we get started though, I'm gonna kick it to Deanna to talk to you about some few uh specific issues.

3:35

Thank you, Lynn.

3:35

Uh hi, everybody.

3:37

Um, hope you can hear me okay.

3:39

Um, I'm Deanna Gregory.

3:41

I'm a partner with Pacifica Law Group, uh, and we serve as the city's bond council.

3:47

So I'm part of the bond council team um over at Pacifica.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████29%
Fiscal Sustainability████████████12%
Procedural███████7%
Public Safety██████6%
Public Engagement██████6%
Community Engagement██████6%
Transportation Safety█████5%
LGBTQ+ Rights████4%
Public Art████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Kirkland City Council Regular Meeting - June 6, 2023

The Kirkland City Council held a regular meeting on June 6, 2023, starting with a study session on a potential parks ballot measure at 5:30 PM, followed by the regular meeting at 7:30 PM. The council addressed a range of topics including proclamations, public comments, consent agenda, and several business items. Key actions included approving supplemental funding for affordable housing, adopting Juneteenth as a city holiday, and accepting the Parks Funding Exploratory Committee report.

Study Session: Potential Parks Ballot Measure

  • Staff and bond counsel reviewed facility options, with council expressing preference for an 86,000-square-foot aquatics and recreation center at the Houghton Park and Ride site.
  • Priority elements discussed: year-round restrooms, enhanced park safety (rangers and automated gates), green loop trail segments, sports courts (pickleball, volleyball, tennis, basketball), teen programs/K-Tub operations, and water safety education.
  • Legal overview of levy lid lift options (permanent vs. temporary) and potential impact of a possible 20% decline in assessed valuation was presented.
  • Council agreed to reconvene the Parks Funding Exploratory Committee (PFEC) before finalizing the ballot measure and requested additional financial analysis for the June 20 meeting.

Honors and Proclamations

  • Pride Month: Proclamation read by Councilmember Pascal, accepted by community member John Bailey and others.
  • Juneteenth: Proclamation read by Councilmember Nixon, accepted by Washington State Commission on African American Affairs representative Sheila Stanton.
  • National Gun Violence Awareness Day: Proclamation read by Councilmember Black, accepted by Moms Demand Action representative Rebecca Elbaum.
  • Following the Juneteenth proclamation, the council adopted Ordinance O-4850 (7-0) amending the Kirkland Municipal Code to recognize Juneteenth as a paid city holiday, effective 2023.

Special Presentations

  • CERT Class #31 Graduation: Emergency Manager Heather Kelly recognized three graduates (Angela Turk, Rod Smith, Alex Nikulkov) for completing 40+ hours of disaster preparedness training.
  • EvergreenHealth Update: CEO Dr. Jeff Tomlin reported on quality achievements (e.g., five-star CMS rating, #1 hospital for outcomes in 2022), current challenges including capacity constraints and staffing shortages, and a deferred decision on a potential $800M bond for a new patient tower.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes of May 16 and May 31, 2023 (7-0).
  • Acknowledged audit of accounts: payroll $4,955,637.41 and bills $9,549,923.51.
  • Acknowledged claims for damages from Scott Miller, Pamela Zackula, and Ziply Fiber.
  • Acknowledged reports: 2022 Q4 Fire Department Dashboard, 2023 Q1 Police Department Dashboard, 2023 Q1 Police Animal Services Report, 2023 Q1 Automated Safety Camera Program Update, April 2023 Sales Tax Report, and Procurement Report.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Charlie Liban described being seriously injured when a car door struck his bicycle on Lake Washington Boulevard; called for safer bike infrastructure.
  • Anna Cavender shared photos of dangerous bike lane conditions and urged protected bike lanes along Lake Washington Boulevard.
  • Kurt Dresner echoed safety concerns and advocated for interim striping improvements.
  • Mark Chatalas (owner of Cactus Restaurant) opposed the permanent closure of Park Lane to vehicles, citing unified opposition from business and property owners and negative impacts on access, deliveries, and parking.
  • River Carlson spoke about bullying of transgender youth in Kirkland schools and asked for continued support for LGBTQ+ students.
  • Alex Tsimerman made comments about Amazon's expansion and criticized the council; the mayor stated the council does not condone his language.

Business Items

  1. Polaris at Totem Lake Affordable Housing Supplemental Funding: Approved $800,000 (7-0) — $630,000 from General Fund balance and $170,000 from the Housing Trust Fund — for completion of the 344-unit affordable housing project.
  2. Juneteenth City Holiday (Ordinance O-4850): Approved (7-0) adding June 19 as a paid city holiday.
  3. 2023-2028 Transportation Improvement Program (Resolution R-5589): Adopted (7-0) the program, incorporating prior council feedback and clarifying it formalizes previously adopted capital priorities for state and grant reporting.
  4. Parks Funding Exploratory Committee Report (Resolution R-5584): Accepted (7-0) the PFEC report, thanking the 45-member committee for 14 meetings and over 50 hours of work.
  5. Authorization to Advertise for Ballot Measure Pro/Con Committees: Deferred (7-0) to the June 20, 2023 regular meeting.

Reports

  • Councilmember Reports: Highlights included tours of fire station renovations, Pride crosswalk celebration, downtown clean sweeps, mock council meetings with students, attendance at various community and regional events, and concerns about bicycle lane encroachment and enforcement.
  • City Manager Reports: Addressed technology improvements for council packets (font change and new legislative management software) and noted upcoming refinements to the Legislative Request Memorandum (LRM) process.
  • Legislative Request Memorandums (LRMs):
    • Directed staff (7-0) to develop a work plan for a Utility Box Art Wraps program, in partnership with the Cultural Arts Commission, with incremental implementation and potential developer requirements.
    • Directed staff (7-0) to prepare an LRM analyzing amendments to allow electric motorized foot scooters, electric unicycles, and similar devices on the Cross Kirkland Corridor.
    • Directed staff (7-0) to prepare an LRM analyzing the potential to deploy publicly accessible AEDs at active recreation sites, including partnerships with sports leagues.

Key Outcomes

  • All consent calendar and business items passed unanimously (7-0) except the deferred pro/con committee authorization.
  • Council will reconvene PFEC before making final decisions on the parks ballot measure.
  • Three LRMs were authorized; staff will report back within two council meetings for most, though the AED LRM may take longer due to staff workload on the ballot measure.
  • Council entered executive session at approximately 10:15 PM to discuss the potential acquisition of real property; the meeting adjourned at 10:35 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you. We're live, Mayor. Thank you. I'd like to call to order the city council meeting of June 6th, 2023. Tonight's meeting is a hybrid meeting. Community members are welcome to join us either in person or remotely through Zoom or on telephone. Clerk, will you please call the roll? Council Member Nixon. Here. Council Member Black. Council Member Curtis. Here. Council Member Falcone. Here. Council Member Pascal. Here. Deputy Mayor Arnold. Here. Mayor Sweet. Here. Thank you. Our study session tonight is a discussion on potential parks ballot measures. We expect to reconvene our regular meeting at approximately 7 30. City manager. Okay, thank you, Madam Mayor. So tonight we have a lot to talk about with the parks ballot measure. We're not looking for final decisions, but we are looking for some indications of where council uh wants to go. Particularly want to focus on elements of the ballot measure and also uh begin the conversation about uh type of ballot measure and length of ballot measure, but those are things we'd want to bring back on June 20th. Um before we started, we wanted to actually have a little bit of a legal discussion about the ballot measure options, and I'm gonna go ahead and turn over to Lynn's Wagstra, our uh parks director to kick us off. And we'll be looking for council questions and input throughout the presentation. Great. Thank you, Lynn. Good to see you in person. Yes, hello everybody. How are you? Uh interestingly, I seem to have two versions. Oh, that's a different different PowerPoint. Um, all right. I'm trying to move the mouse. Sorry, my fingers are going slowly today. Um good to see everybody. Thank you, madam mayor and deputy mayor, uh city council. We're gonna be chatting with you again this evening about uh ballot measure items. Um a couple of things that we have on the agenda. Well, first I'll introduce some folks. We have a few folks speaking speaking to you this evening besides myself. We have Hilary de la Cruz, our management analyst. We also have George Dugdale, our financial planning manager, and then virtually we have Deanna Gregory, uh, our bond counsel with a Pacifica law group. Um she's actually gonna be speaking to us momentarily. So we have uh a few topics for you this evening, specifically four topics.

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