Meeting Notes - September 19, 2005

Heritage Hall

Moss Bay Co-Chair Don Winters called the meeting to order and noted the great turnout.


Our first speaker was Carolyn Hayek, chair of the Kirkland Planning Commission and a Moss Bay NA member,  who briefed us on  the newly revised Kirkland Tree Ordinance. This is a wide-reaching regulation that affects all property owners and residents, not merely new construction projects. Trees on property should not be cut down or drastically altered any without checking with the City of Kirkland on the requirements. There are also requirements for “street trees”, those trees on public sidewalks fronting our properties.


Downtown Action Team (DAT) – Carolyn reported that this group recently met for the first time in many months. The DAT had previously worked on a preliminary proposal for Lakeshore Plaza,  which would be located on the present Marina Park lot. They will now proceed with the next stage of planning. The DAT will also be involved in the Transit Center project. The new plan will revise and expand the Transit Center at its current location on Third Avenue, just south of Peter Kirk Park. Carolyn also announced that the DAT is seeking more professionals to serve on it, especially anyone with an architectural or planning background. (Note: a new rep for the MBNA may be needed). The DAT meets once every two months.


Second and State Street development – Brian Fritz of Trammell Crow updated us on their proposed
project, slated for the site of Cypress Tree Furniture and the parcel directly east of it, known as the 'old post office' site. They are proposing about 120 condo units. Unlike their project immediately north of this on the old Safeway (thrift store) site, this development will not have first floor retail -- only residential units.


Public Safety Staffing – Marilyn Beard, Kirkland Director of Finance and Administration, presented a proposal for higher levels of fire and police department staffing. Fire Chief Jeff Blake and Police Chief Stan Ashton also contributed. They told us that response times for medical and fire calls are below an acceptable level, and the police have little staff time to proactively work on crime prevention and safety measures. Kirkland has fewer police and fire per capita than several other Eastside cities. They suggested that property taxes could be increased about $50/year on a $500,000 house to pay for these improvements. They will be presenting this information to more groups in the future.


Kirkland Centennial Party – Dan Krehbiel of our group mentioned our 2005 matching grant, which we have donated  to the Kirkland Centennial Committee.  Moss Bay needs to produce 250 hours of 'in kind' volunteer work to satisfy our grant requirements, of which we currently have about 220. There will be more volunteer opportunities at Kirkland's 100th Birthday Party on Oct. 12, a series of events at Peter Kirk Park, the Performance Center, and the Senior Center, culminating with a fireworks display at the park. Members will be notified when these opportunities are available.


Kirkland Candidate Forum October 9th – Bea Nahon of CiViK (Citizens for a Vibrant Kirkland ) and Glenn Peterson of KAN (Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods) told us about the upcoming political forum that these two organizations are sponsoring. One set of questions has already been submitted to candidates, and the answers posted on the CiViK site. More questions will be asked at the forum. See the CiViK website at www.CiViK.org for more information.

Our next meeting will be held November 21.