Meeting Notes: November 12, 2018

We opened the meeting with a moment of silence to honor veterans.

Kirkland Urban Update
Bill Leedom, the Director of Investments at Talon Private Capital, gave us an update on Kirkland Urban:

• "Urban North", the building in the first phase, will be turned over from the contractor to the tenants on November 14th. Tableau will occupy the top 3 floors and are expected to complete the interior of their space around March 2019.
• Talon is not able to disclose the names of other tenants, but we can surmise from news articles that Google is the second tenant that will occupy the remaining office space at the Kirkland Urban complex.
• The QFC is expected to open in their new location in May or June of 2019. It will be a flagship location with a large format that includes a Starbucks inside.
• Retail, restaurant and services tenants are expected to begin opening for business in late summer of 2019. Food tenants will include a bakery, fast-casual restaurant, burger chain, local coffee shop, a salad place, Chinese dumplings, cocktail bar, and a restaurant that used to be in Parkplace will return. Additional food offerings may include a food hall with sushi, Mexican and "wellness drinks", and possibly a pizza restaurant. Other tenants are expected to be a fitness center, sports-simulation entertainment,  barbershop, pet store and clothing stores. 
• A luxury movie theater is not expected to open until 2021.
• Construction on "Urban South" will begin once QFC has moved into their new space. 
• Parking: there will be 1,150 stalls in the first phase and an additional 500 in the second phase. It will be one of the largest parking garages on the Eastside. The stalls are 6 inches wider than required. 24 electric car charging stations are planned. The parking is set up with a gate system in case there becomes an issue with people parking and then leaving to use the transit center. If deployed, visitors will be issued parking stubs to be validated with one of the retail/service tenants.
• 185 apartments are planned to open in May 2019 and an additional 175 in the second phase. 75% of them will be studio or one bedrooms with an average of 750 square feet. The rest are two bedroom and two-story townhomes. Per Kirkland City requirements, 10% of the units are set aside as affordable housing units. 

Hopelink
Tom Kreinbring shared information about Hopelink and new additions to the Turkey Trot fun run:

• Hopelink's mission is to promote self-sufficiency for all members of our community; we help people make lasting change. 
• Services offered include shelter housing, food assistance, emergency financial help, energy assistance for heating bills, adult education, family development, employment services and financial literacy. 
• You can help by volunteering, participating in food drives and making financial donations. 
• The 18th annual Turkey Trot will be on November 18th beginning at 8AM. In addition to the fun run, there will be a fair with booths and family-friendly activities. 

Crossing Kirkland 2019
The 3rd annual Crossing Kirkland community event will be held September 7, 2019. It will shrink from 6 to 3 locations to make it easier to visit all event stations along the Cross Kirkland Corridor. The leadership team is seeking volunteers for Station Captain roles. Email [email protected] if you are interested.

Developer Update

• The Bartell project at the Wendy's site has gone through Design Review Board approval and moving into the permitting process. They still need approval from the Planning Commission and City Council to determine plans for their rooftop space.
• Milagro Cantina, the TimeOut sports bar and The Slip have closed. We have word that The Slip will reopen in the spring of 2019.
  
• The development planned for the Petco location on NE 85th Street has pushed out their design review until December because of changes with their expected gym tenant.
  

Bike Sharing in Kirkland
Assistant City Manager Jim Lopez presented information about the potential for regulated bike-sharing in Kirkland. We already have Lime bikes in Kirkland because they are established in neighboring towns. The City is determining whether to formally regulate Lime bikes in a pilot program to exert some control over the ability to move bikes causing clutter and other concerns. 

If the pilot program moves forward, there is not expected to be a cost to the City; in fact it may generate revenue. If there were costs, they would be for government-subsidized docking stations, which is not part of the pilot plan. Another option is to paint white-striped areas designated for parking bikes. If approved, the bikes are expected to be an all-electric fleet (pedaling takes less effort).

City Council is actively seeking resident input:

• Those who attended the Moss Bay meeting had an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback to Jim and City staff in-person, as well as filling out a paper survey.
• A community input event is planned for December 6th at City Hall.
  
• You can go to www.kirklandwa.gov and search for Bike Share Pilot program to learn more and provide feedback.
  

Off-Leash Dog Areas
Jim Lopez led us through a discussion on the possibility of expanding off-leash dog areas. By City law, only the Ethan Moulton Park's fenced-in dog trail and Jasper Park allow dogs off-leash. The City is considering options that include creating additional off-leash locations and/or having designated hours for pets to be off-leash in certain areas of parks.

The City now has an animal control officer that provides enforcement. The current enforcement policy is:

• First offense: educate
• Second offense: warn
  
• Third offense: $25 ticket
  
• Ticket fines double with each subsequent offense
  

City Council is seeking resident input:

• Those who attended the Moss Bay meeting provided verbal feedback and had the opportunity to fill out paper surveys.
• You can provide additional feedback at www.kirklandwa.gov/offleashdogs