The Rotary Club of Kirkland held a meeting online on January 11, 2021.
Attending were James Nevers, Dave Aubry, Dave DeBois, George Anderson, Joanne Primavera, Gary Cohn, Bob & Gail Auslander, Bill Taylor, Margie Glenn, Mike Hunter, Steve Shinstrom, John Pruitt, Rich Bergdahl, Rick Ostrander, John Woodbery, Patti Smith, Brandon Honcoop, Dan Bartel, Brian Tucker, Amy Mutal, Jim Meniketti, Monica Fratita. Let me know if I missed anyone.
We convened in breakout rooms before the start, giving us a chance to catch up socially with Club members.
President James Nevers rang the bell at 6:16 p.m. Brian Tucker recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
Announcements:
Long-time Club member Bob Webb died last week. He was a past president and member since December 1996.
Dave Aubry announced that the District 5030 Newsletter has an article, complete with photo, on our new Rotary Central Station Pavilion. Thanks to Gary Cohn for making the article happen.
Student of the Month:
Amy Mutal introduced Student of the Month Claire Charvet, a senior at Juanita High School. She is a Kirkland native and very involved in activities at school. She volunteers at various organizations such as the food bank and Hopelink.
She wants to major in Biochemistry – her college choice is undetermined. She also enjoys playing the piano and reading. She is in the Cambridge Program based in Great Britain.
Taking on-line classes has been interesting – the school has done a good job – but the social element is missing. Another very impressive local student!
Program:
Gary Cohn introduced our speaker, Jeremy McMahan, deputy planning director for the city of Kirkland. Mr. McMahan gave us an overview of the major projects in the city. Most of the major projects revolve around continued development downtown and at Totem Lake, and also projects involving public transportation along the I-405 axis.
The principles for Kirkland were identified as Compact and Walkable, Promote Transportation Choices, Mixed Land Uses of an appropriate scale for neighborhoods. The strategy is to concentrate growth into urban centers where there are transportation choices.
The Bus Rapid Transit center at NE 85th timeline was expected to be: bid in 2021; break ground in 2025. This will probably be delayed due to the pandemic.
Other interesting projects include: completing the Cross Kirkland Corridor bridge at Totem Lake in the summer of 2022, and the connection to the County’s Eastrail project between Kirkland and Woodinville this fall.
There were a number of questions – have we met our growth obligations under the Growth Management Act? Yes, on housing, a bit behind on jobs; Google’s growth is beginning to change that trajectory. Some Neighborhood Land Use Plans will be updated in the near future.
Planners are still trying to figure out how to move people from downtown to the Bus Rapid Transit station at NE 85th and I-405.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is next Monday, so there is no Rotary meeting that day.
President James rang the bell and we adjourned at about 7:18 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry - Acting Scribe