Notes from Kirkland City Council’s Special Meeting
The Kirkland City Council held a Special Council Meeting to answer questions of the Juanita neighborhood held Thursday evening at the Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Juanita. Each council member spoke briefly about an issue and the audience was allowed to ask questions. Some interesting pieces of information were revealed along with some lively conversation.
Notes from the evening:
Superior Court – SRM Development v. City of Kirkland
SRM has indicated to the City that it is interested in pursuing a settlement. The two parties may request a 60 day stay in order to attempt to agree on a settlement. Oral argument for the case is scheduled to begin October 17, 2008 at 11:00 AM before the Honorable Catherine Shaffer, Superior Court Judge. SRM has submitted a revised plan with drawings of the BofA / Merrill Gardens project to the City.[CORRECTION: the City and SRM have agreed to a stay. They are attempting to settle out of court.]
The City Council has chosen to vigorously defend their position in court. They are considering the settlement offer proposed by SRM.
Moratorium
City has scheduled three meetings before December. It is likely that all Central Business Districts (CDBs) other than CDB 1 and CBD 2 could be released from the moratorium at the first meeting.
“Not down-zoning anything”
“No one is going to lose anything here”
Budget
Year to date, sales tax revenues to the City are down 9.5%
29% of the City’s revenue comes from sales tax
City claims it has “budgeted conservatively” and has implememented an economic development program to prepare for the looming budget deficit.
City plans to raise taxes
- Increase property taxes by maximum 1% per year plus use “banked” taxing capacity which was not used in prior years
- Increase utility tax by 3%
- Increase tax on private utilities by 1.5% (requires voter approval in 2009)
- Implement a business “head tax” – estimates have been at $90 per FTE
Combined impact of all tax increases on average home in Kirkland is $9.65 per month or $115.80 per year, not including the costs of any tax increases businesses will pass on to the consumer.
No word on how many jobs will be eliminated in City Hall
No word on which services will be cut
The next budget meeting will be held on Monday, September 29, 2008, 7:00 PM at City Hall.
Annexation
Annexation was punted into 2009 until after the City of Kirkland can fix its own budget crisis. This is the wrong time for Kirkland to be considering this issue.
Starting in 2009, King County will work with Bothell to annex the Potential Annexation Areas (PAAs).
Annexation, if Kirkland attempts it, will mean “guaranteed tax increases for both Kirkland citizens and PAA residents.” One audience member likened Kirkland service levels to that of a “Porsche” and service levels of the PAA to that of a “Yugo.” To play with this analogy further, Kirkland would need to sell its Porsche and then Kirkland and the PAA would both be riding bikes. Annexation would require lower service levels and higher taxes in Kirkland.
Transportation
Proposition 1 – Sound Transit 2
- Largest tax increase in Washington State history – $17.9 Billion
- No roads, only public transit heavily tilted toward light rail
- Light rail would connect Seattle with Bellevue via I-90 and then end out at Overlake. Kirkland will not have light rail service. Primarily benefits Bellevue and Microsoft.
- Will increase Metro bus service
- Will not reduce congestion
The fare paid by riders only covers 20% of the cost of riding on a Metro bus.
Metro bus fares will be raised 25¢ each year for the next two years.
Passenger Ferry
The proposed King County passenger ferry from Kirkland to Seattle has a new twist: bikes. The idea of providing bike racks onboard the ferry would create a simple solution to the biggest problem vexing Kirkland over the ferry — parking. Downtown Kirkland does not have the parking needed near the marina for commuters of a passenger ferry, so if people could easily bike to the dock, they could stow their bikes onboard and then take off on the other side. Fewer cars, fewer buses to take, and less parking needed. The idea was proposed by a certain city employee known for his fondness for bike riding.
Posted by Rob Butcher on Friday, September 26, 2008 at 6:33 am
Filed under Council · Tagged with Annexation, Bicycling, Budget, City Council, Development, Downtown, Ferry, Moratorium, Sound Transit, Taxes, Transportation
Print This Article
Related Stories:
|
|
|
|
|
Rob,
Maybe the idea of selling the Porsche isn’t such a bad idea. I support rolling back service levels to the 1950’s like they were when I got here. We still have many of the old buildings and houses and heavens knows not all the septic tanks have failed! We could keep tax rates where they are with no need for an increase and the City would have money left over to annex!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
The foot ferry with bikes is perfect! We can practice the green that we preach and not need traffic jams around the marina. What I want is a shuttle around Kirkland that goes from the new Park Place to Google to Carillon Pt to the Marina through downtown and back on a continuous loop. Extend it to a Park and Ride and let everyone in the Seattle Metro area know about it. We would bring in new vistors and eliminate our biggest concern which is parking downtown.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I wish the City would consider exploring this idea. It would help CBD merchants also.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Dave Asher got Metro to put a similar circulator in place about 10 years ago- but very few people were riding it so it eventually got discontinued. Not sure if the citizens of Kirkland are ready to try it again and really not sure they could talk Metro into putting it back in.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Doesn’t make sense if one is a Yugo and one a Porshe, that we combine for a bike. Unless the city continues its poor management strategies that enabled them to leverage everything to buy the Porshe. Seems we could settle with a functioning pick-up truck if we combined. Imagine the extra taxed Kirkland would get if these increases were extended across the entire PAA, but service levels were rolled back a bit? Ain’t no one going to buy Kirkland out of its mess, might be time to think bigger.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0