Welcome to Summer!

Hard to believe how quickly the year is flying by. While our neighborhood meetings will be taking a hiatus until September, there are still plenty of things happening that we want you to be aware of. Speaking of summer, our BIGGEST EVENT OF THE YEAR is coming on Sunday July 20th from 4p-8p. The Houghton Summer Soiree is back!! Live music, food trucks, games for the kids and an opportunity to spend an amazing afternoon with your neighbors. Thanks once again to the wonderful folks at Northwest University who allow us to use their campus and to our amazing donors and volunteers!

Here’s an update on where a few thing stand:

Metro’s K-Line and BAT lanes on 108th - Upcoming meeting alert:

On Tuesday, June 17th at 9:30am, the King County Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee (TEE) will have the K-Line on their agenda. The meeting will be hybrid (in-person and on-line). They will discuss and forward a recommendation to the full King County Council for their consideration and vote. The date for full council consideration has not been determined at this point, but we suspect it will follow shortly thereafter. While the TEE committee generally does not accept public comment, they are making an exception, and WILL be accepting public testimony. All comments will be welcomed - it’s most important that the committee hear from those of you who will be directly impacted by BAT lanes, northbound between 62nd and 68th. Certainly, the more the merrier! (NOTE: Earlier, Metro stated that the initially proposed BAT lane between 53rd and 60th has been removed from consideration). Each individual who speaks will have a 2 minute limit. You may show up in person in Council Chambers (room 1001), 516 3rd Ave in Seattle. To join the meeting virtually, sign into ZOOM, https://zoom.us/join and use the ID# 828 3304 6944 NOTE: Our King County rep, Claudia Balducci is a member of this committee. Full documentation of what Metro has presented to the County Council can be found here: https://kingcounty.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7404045&GUID=6D80E9CB-3C50-4EDC-9275-F1248ABAC0E8 

NOTE: 50% of the proposed funding for the K-Line will be coming via a grant from the federal government. There’s deep concern from all levels as to if this funding will even be made available.

Stolen Signs: Several weeks ago some one stole every yellow No Bus Lanes on 108th sign from 108th over a 2-3 day period. Neighbors have ordered new signs.

Houghton Village

On March 20th, the city issued a request for proposal (RFP) for Houghton Village. According to the city: “This RFP is to seek interested development teams who have a creative vision, demonstrated experience, qualifications, and the organizational and financial capacity to plan, build and develop a city-owned property into a mixed-use project with affordable housing, retail uses, community space, and open space that will benefit the community”. The initial deadline for submissions was April 28, which was then extended to June 2nd because the were no bids submitted by the first deadline. At a City Council Study Session on July 1st at 5:30pm, Council will receive a report from what we’ve heard are 3 submissions that have been received, as well as discuss potential next steps. All are welcome to attend the Study Session.

La Quinta:

The County, City, Plymouth Housing, as well as neighbors, schools, and businesses (including HNA’s Dietmar Schimmel), continue to meet monthly to work on a “Code of Conduct” that will serve all interested parties, but most importantly, ensure safety and protection throughout our community. There’s new language that comes forth that would prohibit any sort of drug use in a resident’s room, but more work is continuing to be done to strengthen this even further. At last report, the slated summer opening has been moved to the end of this year. Also of note is how might any reductions to state of local federal funding impact a project such as this.

***Houghton in the news: FOX 13’s David Rose aired a recent story regarding a felon with 57 prior arrest warrants and multiple convictions living in a county funded Plymouth Housing facility in the Eastgate neighborhood of Bellevue. Click here for the story: https://www.fox13seattle.com/video/1646034

HNA continues to advocate for the implementation of national criminal background checks, recurring background checks and have asked for lessons learned and what precautions will be put in place at the La Quinta to prevent a situation like the one described in the local Fox story.

Update on Emerson School construction project:

Neighbors Molly Working and Karen Todd attended last week’s LWSD open house to discuss and get a look at initial construction plans. They report back that the construction will take place on the existing soccer field and will be 2 stories vs the initial 3. There will be fewer classrooms and students as originally proposed. The main entrance will be off 108th, as well as added parking on the south side of the new building. There will be a play field added upon the demolition of an old existing building. Thank you Karen and Molly!

Artist renderings and additional information can be found here: https://www.lwsd.org/services/facilities/construction/building-excellence-construction-levy/rebuild-and-enlarge-emerson-campus

Get Out and Vote!

The HNA joins our city and county leaders in encouraging you to make your vote count in BOTH August and November. 4 of our 7 Kirkland City Council seats are up for grabs, as well as the election of a new King County Executive. Based upon our State’s election rules, 2 of the City Council seats will appear in the August 5th primary, as both have 3 or more candidates running in each. The top 2 vote getters will then move onto the November 5th general election, along with the other seats. Once again, the Houghton Neighborhood Association will be holding a general election candidate forum so you can hear from all who’ll be running in this year’s City Council election. Mark your calendar for Monday October 13th at Northwest University.

Houghton Calendar:

June 17th - 9:30a. King County K Line Meeting in person or virtual

July 1st - 5:30p.   City Council study session to discuss proposals received from any development team(s) in reference to Houghton Village.

July 4th:  Kirkland's 4^th  of July Parade

July 20th:  HNA Summer Soiree at Northwest University 4p-8p

August 5th:  Primary Election for Kirkland City Council

September 9th:  HNA Meeting

October 13th - 7:00p HNA Candidate Forum.  Northwest University

November 4th:  General Election 

Thank you for helping to make our neighborhood such a special place!