Kirkland City Council Regular Meeting - October 7, 2025
Kirkland City Council Regular Meeting - October 7, 2025
The Kirkland City Council convened on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, starting with a study session at 5:30 PM and the regular meeting at 7:30 PM. The meeting covered a wide range of topics including updates on the Kraken Iceplex partnership, speed limit policy, synthetic turf feasibility, a quasi-judicial master plan amendment, reaffirmation of the city's inclusive values, and allocation of 4Culture grant funds. The council also heard public comments, approved the consent calendar, and received reports from council members and the city manager. The meeting adjourned at 11:15 PM after a closed session on collective bargaining.
Study Session
- Kraken Iceplex and Community Center Update: Deputy City Manager Jim Lopez and City Attorney Darcey Eilers presented an update on the Seattle Kraken Iceplex and Community Center partnership. Key points included a 34-year ground lease, ongoing negotiations on financial assurances (letter of credit, guarantee from ownership group Slap Shot), capital cost-sharing, and operational responsibilities. The community center design is benchmarked to the Redmond Senior & Community Center, with the Kraken financing construction and the city responsible for furnishings. A stormwater vault project, partially funded by a $3.7 million Department of Ecology forgivable loan, was discussed. A negotiation summit is scheduled for October 14, 2025, with final council consideration expected in November 2025. Council members emphasized the importance of strong financial guarantees, independent restaurant branding, and community benefits including low-income access to ice time.
- Speed Limit Setting Policy Update: Transportation staff presented an update aligned with Vision Zero goals. Based on crash data analysis (2019-2023), 85% of fatal/serious injury (FSI) crashes occurred on arterials, with speeding a factor in 23% of FSI crashes. Staff recommended reducing posted limits from 35 mph to 30 mph on Juanita Drive NE, NE 132nd Street, and Totem Lake Boulevard NE. For local streets, staff recommended maintaining the default 25 mph and considering 20 mph as part of a future speed management plan. Council discussion revealed differing views; Councilmember Neal Black proposed a policy framework for reducing speeds, but no final decision was made. Staff will bring options to the November 5 meeting to allow adoption of the Transportation Safety Action Plan by year-end to comply with grant funding.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: September 9, 2025 Special Meeting and September 16, 2025 Regular Meeting (revised).
- Audit of Accounts: Payroll $6,293,574.57 and bills $11,543,637.41.
- Claims for Damages: Acknowledged claims from Donald Dana, Vida Kazempour and Ashari Arash, Vi Nguyen, and Grace Von Scheliha.
- Proclamations: Arbor Day (October 16), National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Disability Awareness Month, Walk and Roll to School Month, and Stormwater Awareness Week.
- Other Items: 2025 Third Quarter IT Operations Update, Declaration of Vehicle and Equipment Surplus (four fire vehicles and one trailer), Approval of 2026-2028 Teamsters Local Union No. 763 Collective Bargaining Agreement, Approval of Highlands Water Pressure Options Fiscal Note ($103,000 from Water/Sewer fund), August 2025 Investment Report, August 2025 Sales Tax Report, and Procurement Report.
- Motion: Approved 6-0 (all present).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Synthetic Turf Fields: Multiple speakers (Chris Thomas, Alicia Quaco, Tyler Litzenberger, Leighton Lehrmann, Alexa Licata, Juni Clouse, and others) representing Kirkland American and National Little Leagues expressed strong support for synthetic turf infields. They cited frequent rainouts (75% of spring practices canceled), safety concerns, economic impact (teams traveling to other cities), and the need for reliable playable fields. Children and parents spoke about lost games and practices.
- Paul Quinn: Advocated for a Smart Disposal pilot program to weight-based billing for solid waste to improve diversion rates and fairness.
- Alex Zimmerman: Discussed anti-Semitism and his experiences with Bellevue police; urged Kirkland to remain supportive of Jewish community.
- Phil Allen: Encouraged the council to focus on resident-centered goals and metrics, referencing the Parks Funding Exploratory Committee and Prop 1.
- Ken McKenzie: Criticized the city website for outdated comprehensive plan and code posting; requested timely updates.
- David Haynes: Called for a permanent farmers market location and addressed homelessness and housing policies.
- Joe Kunzler: Asked for improved council decorum and rules regarding public testimony.
Discussion Items
- Consideration of Synthetic Turf Feasibility Study at Field #1 - 132nd Square Park and Field #4 - 6th Street Crestwoods Park: Parks staff presented the feasibility study, noting 86% community support. Cost estimates for full-depth synthetic turf infields were provided (e.g., ~$1.5 million per field, with life cycle costs). Staff recommended continuing design and funding at least one field in 2026. Councilmember John Tymczyszyn moved to amend the motion to direct staff to bring back an option for simultaneous turfing of both fields, which passed 6-0. The amended motion to approve staff recommendation and return with funding options for one or two fields carried 6-0.
- [Quasi-Judicial] Northwest University Davis Building Master Plan Amendment: Senior Planner Tony Leavitt presented the Hearing Examiner's recommendation to approve a change of use to administrative offices for a community facility, with conditions (limit use to administrative offices, require additional review for other uses, cap enrollment at 1,965 FTEs). Council suspended Rule 3.23 and voted 6-0 to adopt Resolution R-5696 approving the permit.
- Reaffirming Kirkland as a Safe, Inclusive, and Welcoming City for All People: DEIB Manager Erika Mascorro presented Resolution R-5693, updating the 2017 resolution to reflect current DIB work and legal context. Councilmember Amy Falcone proposed amendments to clarify references and add a mechanism for annual community input during the DIB roadmap update. The amendments passed 6-0, and the amended resolution was adopted 6-0.
- Consideration of the Kirkland Cultural Arts Commission’s Recommendation for 4Culture Grant Fund Use: Erika Mascorro presented the Commission's recommendation to use $108,000 in increased 4Culture funding to install public art (sculptures) in art desert neighborhoods. Councilmember Falcone proposed expanding the art call to include murals and utility box wraps. The motion to accept the recommendation with expansion passed 6-0.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved 6-0.
- Synthetic Turf Study: Approved staff recommendation to continue design and direct City Manager to present funding options for one or two fields in 2026 (motion carried 6-0).
- Northwest University Master Plan Amendment: Resolution R-5696 approved 6-0.
- Safe, Inclusive, Welcoming City Resolution: Resolution R-5693 adopted as amended, 6-0.
- 4Culture Grant Use: Accepted Commission recommendation with expanded art types, motion carried 6-0.
- Grocery Store Retention/Attraction: Council approved Option 3 (stakeholder roundtables) as proposed by Councilmember Tymczyszyn, directing the City Manager to initiate roundtables in first quarter 2026 and report findings in second quarter 2026 (motion carried 6-0).
- Closed Session: The council entered closed session at approximately 10:30 PM to discuss collective bargaining, reconvening at 11:15 PM only for adjournment.
Meeting Transcript
I'd like to call the order of the city council meeting October 7th, 2026, before asking the clerk to call tonight's roll. Is there a motion to excuse Councilmember Sweet? So moved. Second. All those in favor, please say aye. Any opposed? Motion carries zero. City clerk. Councilmember Tim Chisholm. Here. Councilmember Black. Here. Councilmember Falcone. Here. Councilmember Pascal. Here. Deputy Mayor Arnold. Here. Mayor Curtis. Here. Our study session tonight is on two items. First, we'll receive an update on the Kraken Iceplex and the community center. Second, we will receive an update on the speed limit setting policy. We expect to reconvene our regular meeting at 7 30. City manager. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Deputy Mayor, members of the council. So as I said, we have two topics tonight. We're going to hopefully have about 45 minutes for each topic, but we'll keep an eye on that. To make the presentation tonight, we're going to update you on what's happening with the Seattle Kraken partnership discussion. Our presenters are going to be our deputy city manager of external affairs, Jim Lopez, and our city attorney, Darcy Eilers. But as you saw in the packet, there's a list of all of the staff working on this. There's there's a dozen or more folks who've been working really hard, and uh this represents a lot of their work. So appreciate all the team, but these two are going to give you the presentation. Others are all standing by to help if needed. So with that, Mr. Lopez, take it away. Thank you, City Manager, Madam Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Council. It's great to be here tonight presenting on the Kraken project. Uh one of many presentations we've made. This is a continuum of that. And we're going to go through what we hope to be some of the high-level issues for your review as we can move towards a very big negotiation session that we're going to have with them on October 14th. And we'll talk a little bit more about that. I'd also like, as the city manager noted, to call out Deputy City Manager Julie Underwoods here for questions about particularly about the uh vault uh surface water vault. And our Parks Director Lynn's Waxcher could talk in more detail about the negotiations we're having around the recreational center, community center. So jumping into the agenda tonight. We have several items. Uh project context. We'll talk a little bit about the project context for folks that are coming into this new. It's a very uh forward thinking public-private partnership.
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