SOUTH ROSE HILL/BRIDLE TRAILS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

General Meeting - Tuesday, November 11, 2003

 

President Bruce Feuling called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.

Bruce introduced the SRHBTNA Officers.  He also introduced members of the City Council in attendance:  Dave Asher, Mary Alyce Burleigh, and Jim Lauinger.

Bruce thanked all the Veterans in the audience and wished everyone a Happy Veterans’ Day.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

The Sex Offender Presentation, which had originally been scheduled for this meeting, will be rescheduled to a later date.

 

N.A. Director Imeria Schuler is moving to Gig Harbor, which creates an open position on the Executive Committee.  This meeting’s agenda has a point of contact list on the back if anyone has questions about the Executive Committee.

 

The N.A. meeting date calendar is available and is being passed out at this meeting.

The N.A. roster is being passed around for signing. 

The new Starbucks on N.E. 85th is our new supplier of coffee for the N.A. meetings.

 

REPORTS

SRH/BT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION FINANCES

So far, the N.A. has been receiving a grant of $3,500 yearly from the City and the N.A. Executive Committee determines how that money is spent.  Up until now, the N.A. has been spending this money:  $950 for each meeting notice mailing, the N.A. website, and a mailbox for the NA mail.  The Executive Committee has asked for a discussion on how the N.A. would like to see the funds spent.  Ideas included:

·         Fund three mailings – September and May (election), and another when a very important agenda item comes up 

·         Look into less expensive mailing alternatives, such as postcards (postage same, cardstock more expensive)

·         “Pass the Hat” at the meetings (donation box in the back of the room)

·         Ask other associations (North Rose Hill sends a post card to a set mailing list, emails to a list, and puts out 25 signs)

·         A NRH realtor advertises the NRHNA meetings in her newsletter

·         Have a N.A. picnic, perhaps at the State Park, the SRH Neighborhood Park, the Methodist Church, or Rose Hill Elementary School

·         Utilize leafleting instead of mailings

·         A bulk-mailing permit would cost $150 plus $150 per year, so that was not an option.

·         Put meeting Notices in the King County Journal

·         Utilize the five schools in the neighborhood by running articles in the PTSA newsletters

 

Bruce asked for a show of hands to indicate how people became informed of this evening’s meeting:

Kirkland Courier              2                           Kirkland TV News                1         

Via N.A. email               20                           Previous agendas               5         

Via mailings                  15                           N.A. Signs                             8

 

It was suggested that the mailings are responsible for the large turnout and also gives the N.A. some validity because it is sort of like a newsletter – even people who don’t attend are aware of us and our agenda items.  It was suggested to “Pass the Hat” at each or designated meetings.  It was agreed upon to go with the first and last meeting mailings, plus one in between, and still run the NA. website and the N.A. mailbox.  The N.A. was also going to put articles in the PTSA newsletters and check into advertising.

 

ANNOUNCEMENT

 

A NEW PATHWAY is being built on N.E. 60th Street, between 122nd and Ben Franklin School.  Parents, including Jeannette Simecek, have been working with the City for many years and asking for more gravel for this area.  This year they got a paved asphalt path, having worked with equestrian interests.

 

UPDATES

 

OFF LEASH DOG PARK

Ellen Glauert is serving on the subcommittee of the Off Leash Dog Park Committee.  This committee has been meeting once a week and will make a presentation at the City Council meeting.  A formal letter that the Committee wrote will be presented to Council to see if the Committee should continue investigating an off leash dog park at the landfill site.  The N.A. position is to not do anything until the ballfields are done, and the impact is assessed over a year before anything else is done to this site.  The N.A. now has a subcommittee looking at the 27 acre landfill site and how it can best be used.  For more information, please contact Ellen at 425-739-7361.

 

BALLFIELDS

The Little League is in litigation with Santana, and is apparently going to arbitration.  The contract between Little League and County has a provision providing for one year after fields are in use, mitigation is to be looked at to solve any problems with parking and noise.

 

BEN FRANKLIN ELEMENTARY MODERNIZATION

The School District will be building a new school behind the current school.  The N.A. was part of the process, and while it did not get everything it had hoped for, it did make some achievements in the design of the new school. 

 

ROSE HILL ELEMENTARY MODERNIZATION

The School District announced that it will be building a new school.  Pre-design work has begun.

 

SOLID WASTE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Ray Schlienz reported good news – that the Solid Waste Division’s 2004 business plan acknowledges that there is a problem in the Northeast County service area.  Two transfer stations process most of the waste throughout the system.  There are four options to solve the problem. The bad news is none of the options include closure of the Houghton transfer station.  There had been two options to close it, one was to get a new site somewhere else but King County didn’t want to do this.  There are two options to keep it open, one with limited use and expanding Factoria, the other was build small improvements at Factoria and expand the Houghton station. 

 

Bellevue City Council meeting heard negative comments about expanding Factoria Station (just north of I-90).  Also, the Bellevue Council is negative on the $7 million rent Solid Waste is to pay King County, feeling it will eventually be dumped back on the cities.  King County’s current thought is to use12 acres on Harbor Island and all County solid waste needs to be funneled through Harbor Island.  (This would add 20,000 plus vehicle trips into Seattle.)  The N.A. emphasizes the need is for an intermodal site on a rail line.

 

N.E. 85TH STREET SOUND TRANSIT PROPOSAL

Sound Transit wants to redo two intersections.  At 132/85th, they would like to add 700 more feet on the turn lane.  At 124/85th, they would add an eastbound doubled-up turn lane. The proposal is for $3 million for both intersection and $1.5 million for sidewalks.  The N.A. subcommittee has met with N.R.H.N.A. and given conditional approval.  As part of this proposal, Sound Transit would add sidewalks from 80th to 90th on 132 and 124.  (On 124th, sidewalks would complete on west side on 124th (between 90 & 85) and between 80 & 85, which side has not yet been determined.  The goal of the proposal and per the Comprehensive Plan would be to add planning strips, medians, etc.  Sound Transit proposes to pay the first $1.5 million, while City of Kirkland is to add $1 million more.  The City gave authorization for Sound Transit to go to the 30% level. 

 

BREAK

 

UPDATES

 

122ND AVENUE N.E. BIKE LANE

Ellen McMahon, of the City of Kirkland Neighborhood Traffic Control Program, discussed the new bicycle lanes on 122nd Ave N.E., between 60th and 70th.  These lanes were painted to add traffic calming on the street.  Comparing traffic counts before study, and a follow-up study, speeds actually went up in one area and the volume remained steady.

·         The 85% speed at the 6300 block rose from 31.5 to 32.7

·         The 85% speed at the 6700 block rose from 33.0 to 33.7

One added benefit is that the children now stay in the bike lane.

It was also noted that the jog in the new bike lane 132nd seems to have slowed the traffic.

 

TRAFFIC CALMING

Doug Love and Don Samdahl have chaired the N.A. Committee which is pursuing slowing traffic in the neighborhood.  The Committee has come up with a goal statement regarding traffic and is working to find a set of options that everyone can agree on.  The group is hoping to come up with agreed-upon solutions.  One of the options being pursued is speed watch volunteers from the community to monitor our neighborhood streets with radar guns.  The Committee is brainstorming ways to recruit more members of our community to work our neighborhoods streets. 

 

EXPANSION OF HONDA

Karen Tennyson, president of the North Rose Hill Neighborhood Association, issued a Call to Action and a request to rally support at the December 9thCity Council meeting.  The Council would be voting on the Honda of Kirkland expansion.  Karen gave some background of this private amendment request.  Five years ago the City began the NE. 85th Comprehensive Plan process.  (At this time, Larry Mallory and Honda opted out of the process.)  The Plan includes wording to limit “commercial creep” both north and south of N.E. 85th Street, and not to expand commercial zoning into the neighborhood.  Also, in May of this year, North Rose Hill Neighborhood Comprehensive Plan was just passed which also limits commercial expansion into the neighborhood.  Larry Mallory and Honda have bought the property to the north of the Honda dealer and have asked to have it rezoned to commercial.  Many people have been involved in these discussions for quiet some time.  However, the 85th Street Plan has never had the zoning completed and now someone is asking to change it.  It was also noted there were other properties that wanted to become commercial properties.  This private amendment request by Honda was rejected 5 to 1 by the current Planning Commission but will go to a vote of the City Council on December 9th.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Deirdre DeWan Johnson

Secretary