OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Kirkland City Council Regular Meeting - April 16, 2024

City Council — Tuesday, April 16, 2024
BodyKirkland, Washington
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, April 16, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:51:29

Transcript — Verbatim
0:36

Thank you.

0:39

Hello, everyone.

0:40

I would like to call to order the city council meeting of April 16th, 2024.

0:45

Happy Earth Month, everyone.

0:47

Tonight's meeting is a hybrid meeting.

0:49

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

0:55

Councilmember Falcone is joining us remotely.

0:59

Clerk, will you please call the role?

1:00

Councilmember Tim Chizon.

1:03

Councilmember Black.

1:04

Here.

1:04

Council Member Sweet.

1:05

Here.

1:06

Council Member Falcone.

1:08

Here.

1:08

Council Member Pascal.

1:10

Here.

1:10

Deputy Mayor Arnold.

1:12

Here.

1:12

Mayor Curtis.

1:13

Here.

1:14

We're going to switch our agenda this evening and we're going to do the Arch study session first and then follow that up with the city's commitment to addressing homelessness through a person-centered approach, resolution R 5631.

1:28

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

1:32

City Manager.

1:34

Okay, thank you, Madam Mayor.

1:36

Thank you, Councilmembers, for joining us down here at our study session.

1:39

We're still learning on this, so we'll welcome your feedback at the end as to ways we can make this experience even better.

1:45

We're very lucky tonight to have Lindsay Masters, the executive director of Arch here to talk about our strategic plan.

1:52

I was just asking Lindsay, she is coming out on our fifth year as executive director.

1:56

So it's an awesome I was one of the people who had the privilege of hiring her on the board.

2:01

Well, part of that, she actually talked about the need to do an update to our strategic plan.

2:06

We hadn't done a strategic plan in I don't even know when.

2:10

And so over the past year, I was the chair of the subcommittee, the strategic planning subcommittee for Arch that led to this recommendation.

2:18

This was passed by the board as a document and it's being presented to all the member jurisdictions.

2:23

And so Lindsay was hadn't been here for a while to see you all in person, so I wanted to just remind you of her and uh have an opportunity for you to ask questions at the end.

2:31

So with that, I'll go ahead and turn it over to Lindsay Masters.

2:34

Thank you.

2:34

Great, thank you.

2:35

Can you hear me okay?

2:37

Okay.

2:37

Um it's great to be here in person.

2:39

I I've missed coming recently.

2:42

And um to walk you through our strategic plan, I have some some slides to share.

2:47

Um, I'd love to spend a little time talking about kind of the context in which we were starting the planning process, some of the boards, the the board's goals for what we were hoping to get out of it, um, how we really use the process as a way to help better define Arch's identity and clarify our role in some of the work that we do.

3:06

Um, and then and then would love to dive into the specific strategies that we're actually hoping to move forward in the coming years.

3:14

So with that, um, I'll just talk about really big picture planning context for Arch is we've spent the last five years since I've since I've come really looking at our organizational resources, our staffing levels, um, right sizing our programs and services to our staff capacity, um, working on improving our policies and procedures, becoming more efficient, um, more proactive with monitoring, a lot of kind of internal improvements, um, at the same time still trying to scale up our impact in our mission and growing how much affordable housing we're producing.

3:50

Um, so we did a various consultant studies over the last few years that was very helpful in laying the groundwork for the board to be able to look longer term.

3:58

Um, and then in 2022, we were um really excited to celebrate 30 years as an organization of our founding and take a look back at some of our major accomplishments in that time.

4:09

And so um also kind of setting uh some some framework for what has been the successful efforts, um, how can we grow some of those?

4:18

This chart here just kind of shows you the relative affordable unit production under all the Arch member programs over time, and you can see um a lot of a lot of progress has been made, and we've we're coming over 9,000 affordable units produced in that time, which are permanent um long-term assets to the community.

4:39

Um and that said, there is a continuing growing gap in um availability of affordable housing that you all are well aware of.

4:48

Um, and we are approaching kind of a new some new set of benchmarks around the number of homes that local jurisdictions are needing to plan for, not just at a broad scale, but also sp at specific affordability levels to different income groups that are kind of laid out in state legislation.

5:06

Collectively, as Arch members, if you tally up how many homes we need at those low to moderate income levels, it's over 80,000 additional homes, so it kind of puts our production in context of how much more growth and need is really out there that we're trying to accommodate.

5:35

So that's kind of another key piece of context that was worked into the strategies.

5:43

Specific goals that the board um tried to clarify at the outside of outside of the process and help kind of shape how we were gonna develop these strategies.

5:52

Um as Kurt mentioned, it had been a long time since we did a process like this as a coalition.

5:58

We really felt it was an opportunity to reaffirm commitments from all the members to participate in Arch.

6:05

Um we wanted to have more consensus on what is Arch's lane, what are our roles and responsibilities?

6:11

Um, how do we differ from other entities out there doing similar work?

6:16

Um three, we wanted to make sure we properly resource the strategies and add the capacity where it's needed for us to be more effective.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Homelessness██████████████████18%
Affordable Housing██████████10%
Community Engagement██████████10%
Procedural█████████9%
Public Safety██████6%
Budget Equity Analysis██████6%
Sustainability Initiatives█████5%
Climate Change████4%
Public Engagement████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Kirkland City Council Regular Meeting - April 16, 2024

The Kirkland City Council held a regular meeting on April 16, 2024, beginning with a study session at 5:30 PM and the regular meeting at 7:30 PM. The meeting covered a broad range of topics including a proposed homelessness resolution, the ARCH strategic plan, Earth Month proclamation, public comments on various issues, approval of a consent calendar, updates on community surveys, expansion of the Mobile Integrated Health program, adoption of an organizational statement on international conflict, a sustainability strategic plan report card, changes to the Tourism Development Committee, and a community flag initiative. The meeting concluded with council reports and adjournment at 9:52 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes: Approved the minutes of the April 2, 2024 regular meeting.
  • Audit of Accounts: Approved payroll ($4,356,284.18) and bills ($6,013,317.52).
  • Claims: Acknowledged claims from John Busuttil and Julie Day.
  • Agreements: Approved the Interlocal Agreement with the City of Redmond to co-locate paramedics at New Fire Station 27 in Totem Lake.
  • Reports: Acknowledged the First Quarter 2024 Capital Projects Completed and Accepted Report.
  • Surplus Equipment: Approved declaration and disposal of surplus equipment.
  • Electric Leaf Blower Initiative: Acknowledged the update.
  • Financial Dashboard: Acknowledged the February 2024 Financial Dashboard Report.
  • Procurement Report: Acknowledged the Procurement Report.
  • Vote: Motion carried 7-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Juanita Public Pathway: Multiple speakers (Mahdi El Husseini, Kayleigh Flaks, Nora Myers) advocated for a 500-foot trail segment south of Juanita High School, citing safety and environmental benefits. Anthony Jonas opposed the northern route, citing safety concerns for students. Joella Bennett-Gold supported extending the Burke-Gilman Trail.
  • Housing Affordability: Kyle Sullivan urged the city to rezone for more housing, remove parking minimums, and expedite permitting to address cost burdens.
  • Business Impact: Ozcan Saribas, downtown restaurant owner, reported a 75% sales loss due to construction, requesting faster work hours and relocation of a portable toilet.
  • Homelessness: Susan Davis cautioned about costs of expanded homeless services and suggested designated camping areas.
  • International Conflict: Alex Zimmerman made controversial remarks about Bellevue's deputy mayor; Mayor Curtis disavowed the comments, affirming Kirkland's commitment to inclusivity.
  • Sustainability: Ronald Snell and Sarah Richards from People for Climate Action Kirkland expressed support for the city's sustainability efforts.

Discussion Items

  • Proposed Resolution R-5631 on Homelessness: City Manager Kurt Triplett introduced a person-centered approach and a continuum of care framework. Staff presented data on homelessness trends (124 households contacted, 9 moved to permanent housing). Discussion focused on philosophy, action plan development, safe camping, and legal context (Martin v. Boise, Grants Pass pending Supreme Court). Council provided feedback; continuation planned for future meetings.
  • ARCH Strategic Plan: ARCH Executive Director Lindsay Masters presented a strategic plan focusing on building affordable housing faster, policy advocacy, governance study, and stakeholder engagement. Council discussed the need to address political risk, streamline decision-making, and explore governance changes. The plan aims to support the region's need for over 80,000 affordable homes.
  • Biennial Community Survey Check-In: Communications Program Manager David Wolbrecht reviewed the survey process. Council considered adding a question on belonging (DEIB goal) and discussed potential changes to questions on crisis responders, homelessness response, and climate change. Staff will incorporate feedback and finalize for fielding by April 29.
  • Mobile Integrated Health (MIH) Program Update and Expansion: Social Worker Taryn Robinson presented data: 76% reduction in 911 calls from top users, 456 referrals in 2023. Staff recommended $232,637 to fund a temporary firefighter/EMT position through 2025 using King County Medic One Levy funds. Council approved the fiscal note (7-0).
  • Organizational Statement on International Conflict (Resolution R-5630): Deputy City Manager James Lopez presented the updated resolution, adding veteran status and clarifying that international conflicts are beyond city scope. Council adopted the resolution (7-0).
  • Sustainability Strategic Plan Year Three Report Card: Senior Planner David Barnes highlighted progress: 10 actions completed, including youth transportation outreach, tree canopy mapping (40% goal requiring ~62,000 trees), circular economy events, electric leaf blower advocacy, and Energy Smart Eastside heat pump program (24 units at Kirkland Plaza). Council acknowledged the work and emphasized the need to track metrics to meet 2030 emission targets.
  • Tourism Development Committee (TDC) Membership Increase: After tabling previously, council removed the issue from the table. Substitute Ordinance O-4874 (adding an alternate member) failed 2-5 (Pascal, Tymczyszyn in favor; Arnold, Black, Curtis, Falcone, Sweet opposed). Original Ordinance O-4874 (adding a voting member) passed 6-1 (Pascal opposed). The ordinance amends KMC 5.19.220 and 5.19.250.
  • City Flag Creation: Council approved Option A as modified by Deputy Mayor Arnold to launch a community engagement process at City Hall for All and conclude by July 4, 2025 (unveiling at parade). Motion carried 7-0.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously (7-0).
  • MIH Program Expansion: Fiscal note of $232,637 approved (7-0) for temporary firefighter/EMT position.
  • Resolution R-5630 (International Conflict): Adopted (7-0).
  • Ordinance O-4874 (TDC Membership): Approved (6-1) to increase voting membership; substitute ordinance failed (2-5).
  • City Flag Process: Approved Option A with extended timeline to July 4, 2025 (7-0).
  • Homelessness Resolution: No action; discussion to continue at future meetings.
  • Community Survey: Staff to finalize instrument based on council feedback for fielding by April 29.
  • ARCH Strategic Plan: Received; staff to return with budget and work plan recommendations.

Council Reports & Calendar Updates

  • Councilmember Reports: Included updates on Eastrail Regional Advisory Council (e-bike regulation, King County Parks Levy), Bellevue Light Rail opening (April 27), meeting with Highlands Neighborhood Association, Youth Council, and TDC, State of the City address, AWC DEIB forum, Lake Washington High School Green Team tour, legislative session debrief, Regional Transit Committee (Metro safety, Metro Flex), and Eastside Transportation Partnership (ST3 progress).
  • City Manager Reports: Informed of a conversation with King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci regarding potential county ballot measures (no climate action measure in 2024; exploring human services measure). Upcoming retreat on Comprehensive Plan on May 3, 2024. Future housing discussions scheduled.
  • Legislative Request Memorandum: Approved community engagement process for a new city flag, concluding by July 4, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you. Hello, everyone. I would like to call to order the city council meeting of April 16th, 2024. Happy Earth Month, everyone. Tonight's meeting is a hybrid meeting. Community members are welcome to join us either in person or remotely through Zoom or by the telephone. Councilmember Falcone is joining us remotely. Clerk, will you please call the role? Councilmember Tim Chizon. Councilmember Black. Here. Council Member Sweet. Here. Council Member Falcone. Here. Council Member Pascal. Here. Deputy Mayor Arnold. Here. Mayor Curtis. Here. We're going to switch our agenda this evening and we're going to do the Arch study session first and then follow that up with the city's commitment to addressing homelessness through a person-centered approach, resolution R 5631. We expect to reconvene our regular meeting at 7:30. City Manager. Okay, thank you, Madam Mayor. Thank you, Councilmembers, for joining us down here at our study session. We're still learning on this, so we'll welcome your feedback at the end as to ways we can make this experience even better. We're very lucky tonight to have Lindsay Masters, the executive director of Arch here to talk about our strategic plan. I was just asking Lindsay, she is coming out on our fifth year as executive director. So it's an awesome I was one of the people who had the privilege of hiring her on the board. Well, part of that, she actually talked about the need to do an update to our strategic plan. We hadn't done a strategic plan in I don't even know when. And so over the past year, I was the chair of the subcommittee, the strategic planning subcommittee for Arch that led to this recommendation. This was passed by the board as a document and it's being presented to all the member jurisdictions. And so Lindsay was hadn't been here for a while to see you all in person, so I wanted to just remind you of her and uh have an opportunity for you to ask questions at the end. So with that, I'll go ahead and turn it over to Lindsay Masters. Thank you. Great, thank you. Can you hear me okay? Okay. Um it's great to be here in person. I I've missed coming recently. And um to walk you through our strategic plan, I have some some slides to share. Um, I'd love to spend a little time talking about kind of the context in which we were starting the planning process, some of the boards, the the board's goals for what we were hoping to get out of it, um, how we really use the process as a way to help better define Arch's identity and clarify our role in some of the work that we do. Um, and then and then would love to dive into the specific strategies that we're actually hoping to move forward in the coming years. So with that, um, I'll just talk about really big picture planning context for Arch is we've spent the last five years since I've since I've come really looking at our organizational resources, our staffing levels, um, right sizing our programs and services to our staff capacity, um, working on improving our policies and procedures, becoming more efficient, um, more proactive with monitoring, a lot of kind of internal improvements, um, at the same time still trying to scale up our impact in our mission and growing how much affordable housing we're producing. Um, so we did a various consultant studies over the last few years that was very helpful in laying the groundwork for the board to be able to look longer term. Um, and then in 2022, we were um really excited to celebrate 30 years as an organization of our founding and take a look back at some of our major accomplishments in that time. And so um also kind of setting uh some some framework for what has been the successful efforts, um, how can we grow some of those? This chart here just kind of shows you the relative affordable unit production under all the Arch member programs over time, and you can see um a lot of a lot of progress has been made, and we've we're coming over 9,000 affordable units produced in that time, which are permanent um long-term assets to the community.

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