Meeting Notes: May 13, 2019

The [email protected] email address has not been receiving email – we are looking into this asap. In the meantime, you can message or add a comment to the Moss Bay Facebook page.
 
We are approaching the time when the Moss Bay Neighborhood Plan will be updated. We don’t have an official neighborhood meeting in July but we may need to call a special session with the City to provide feedback.
 
Officer elections
We voted to approve the officer slate:

• Aimee Voelz – Chair
• Brad Haverstein – Co-Chair
• Leslie Keller – Treasurer
• Bea Nahan – Member-at-large
• Dan Ryan – Member-at-large

 
Crossing Kirkland event
We will have 3 stations instead of 6 and combine neighborhoods. Moss Bay will be at Google. Station 2 will be just south of Kirkland Avenue (near the overpass). Station 3 will be just north of NE 85th overpass. Visit Crossingkirkland.org for updates and if you’d like to volunteer.
 
We participated in four City-led feedback sessions that David Wolbrecht and Christian Knight coordinated: 
 
Sustainability Master Plan

• This is part of the 2019/2020 master plan. The City is collecting feedback to get feedback and prioritize action items. David Barnes is heading this initiative for the City.
• You are invited on June 22 9AM – 12 PM at City Hall for a session on the Sustainability Master Plan.
• Neighbors suggested these topics be addressed as part of this initiative:
  • Affordable housing
  • Increasing composting options and possibly requirements for multi-family housing
  • Traffic and transportation
• For more info, visit https://www.kirklandwa.gov/sustainabilityplan

Community Policing

• The Kirkland police department completed a strategic plan in 2016. The plan included an increase in Community Policing.
• Citizens put forth a ballot measure in 2018, Proposition 1, to increase police staff, which passed. Now the Police Department is reaching out to residents and businesses for feedback on strategies.
• Community Policing generally includes developing relationships with community members and schools to strengthen connections vs. only being visible when residents call police.
• Resident feedback: there used to be more of a “beat cop” style of interaction with residents and would like the police to feel more accessible.
• Part of Proposition One was to add a mental health professional that assists people in crisis; Susie Cole is in this role. Many calls are from people who are in a mental health crisis. By having an MHP on staff, this enables the police to continue patrolling while the MHP can take responsibility for and provide them with resources.
• The City assigns officers to one of eight districts that they typically patrol for six months to a year. Residents think it would be nice to see the same officers in the neighborhood so we could get to know who is patrolling our area.
• https://www.kirklandwa.gov/communitypolicing

Citywide Connections

• The City is creating a citywide transportation connections map that identifies potential areas where future public and private development could facilitate connections for driving, walking, bicycling and emergency response. 
• The City has sought safer school routes, better routes for emergency vehicle access, improved traffic flow and access to services. In the past, new connections were identified one at a time. Now, the City is mapping all of the identified connections for a resilient transportation network. The final map is scheduled for the 2019 comprehensive plan.
• City staff is seeking feedback from residents and businesses about the draft connections map. Residents provided feedback:
  • The map is hard to read because we can’t zoom in and see what streets are impacted.
• A community meeting will be held June 15th. Learn more at https://www.kirklandwa.gov/citywideconnections

 
Safer Routes to School Action Plans

• The City is collaborating with neighborhoods, students, parents, and school district staff to develop safer routes to school action plans for elementary, middle, and high schools in Kirkland. The action plans will update existing designated routes to school, identify and estimate costs to remove physical barriers to walking, biking, and taking the bus, develop programs to encourage alternatives to driving, and improve enforcement around schools to enhance safety for all modes of transportation.
• Action plans will be done for all schools. They City will prioritize safety, filling gaps, the proximity to schools and attempt to increase the ability for children to walk to school.
• Over the next year, the city will survey parents and communities, and hold an open house on June 15th at City Hall.
• Resident feedback included:
  • Will the City consider changing school start times to better enable parents’ ability to walk with their kids vs. driving?
  • Parents are also facing a challenge getting kids from school directly to their after-school activities.
• Learn more at https://www.kirklandwa.gov/safer2school