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HOUGHTON COMMUNITY COUNCIL | Debate of whether or not HCC should cease to exist is back in Olympia [7]
Top hotel | The Heathman Hotel in Tent City 4 | Homeless encampment moves to Kirkland ranks among top hotels in America [8] FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012 Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Kirkland [3]
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Council considering $20 car-tab tax as ‘Band-Aid’ for roads Other options include property tax or sales tax increase BY MATT PHELPS mphelps@kirklandreporter.com
T
he winter storm that hit Kirkland last week brought many things to the city – sanding trucks, plows, snow tires and chains, which wreak havoc on the durability of roads. But while many were chaining up on Jan. 17, the Kirkland City Council and city staff were revisiting the idea of creating a Transportation Benefit District (TBD), or car-tab tax, to help main-
tain and improve Kirkland roads and curb a $71 million funding issue during the next decade. Kirkland roads are currently below standard and the city’s main arterials are even worse. City officials use a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) to determine the condition of the roads in Kirkland. On the scale, it is acceptable to have the roads maintain a 70 and ideal is around an 85. Kirkland roads are currently ranked at a 65. It would cost
the city approximately $71 million over the next decade to get all the roads up to, and maintain, a 70. “If you look out about 10 years, which is about what our modeling can do, with existing revenues our road condition index will decline to about 60 overall,” said City of Kirkland Public Works Director Ray Steiger. “… We are growing the backlog and our pavement condition index is dropping.” Steiger said the city has already began implement-
ing some street preservation techniques, including using Slurry Seal to help preserve the pavement. The city has also taken a small amount of the solid waste utility fund to help offset the impact from garbage trucks on the pavement. “A Transportation Benefit District, that would be spent broadly across the city essentially on those projects that are either arterials or collectors, would stabilize our pavement condition index overall,” said Steiger, adding that the index would stay [ more ROADS page 2 ]
Road maintenance has fallen behind for the City of Kirkland, which is contemplating a $20 car-tab tax to catchup on the backlog . CITY OF KIRKLAND
Reschedulings due to snow storm LWSD semester changed, City of Kirkland events and meetings impacted “Each school will communicate to their students any changes in the schedule for Kirkland was hit hard by tests,” said LWSD spokesperthe snow storm that rolled son Kathryn Reith. through the area last week. Along with the school Many places in Kirkland closure, many LWSD events reached a total of 10 inches were canceled or reschedof accumulation. The snow, uled. ice and wind caused damage “Last week wreaked havoc to trees and homes on our carefully “Last week wreaked scheduled school and resulted havoc on our in many road information nights closures and event carefully scheduled and meetings for school information the community to cancellations. The biggest cannights and meet superintencelation came from meetings for the dent candidate Dr. the Lake Washcommunity to meet Traci Pierce,” said ington School superintendent Reith. District, which candidate Dr. Traci Last Thursday’s closed its doors to Pierce.” community recepall Kirkland public tion hosted by the Kathryn Reith schools for three City of Kirkland days, Jan. 18-20. and LWSD to The district has not meet Pierce was announced when or how the canceled and will be rescheddays will be made up. Check uled. Kirkland residents hopwww.kirklandreporter.com ing to meet with her can also or the district website at attend the meeting hosted by www.lwsd.org for updates. the City of Sammamish. That The district has anmeeting has been reschednounced that due to the uled from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Feb. snow days, the end of the 7 at Sammamish City Hall. semester for junior high The LWSD School Board and high schools has been meeting and work session, changed from Jan. 27 to Feb. originally scheduled for Jan. 3. [ more SNOW page 2 ] BY MATT PHELPS
mphelps@kirklandreporter.com
Kerri Strug, above, won gymnastic’s gold during the 1996 Olympics. She visited Kirkland Tuesday to promote the Pacific Rim gymnastics competition and sign some autographs for local youth ahletes. MATT PHELPS, Kirkland Reporter
Kerri Strug talks to kids about sport she loves, promotes Pacific Rim gymnastics BY MEGAN MANAGAN mmanagan@kirklandreporter.com
Kerri Strug became famous in the summer of 1996 at the Atlanta Olympic games, after winning a gold medal in gymnastics. To a younger generation who sees her now, she is famous for being on YouTube, where they watch her iconic
second vault at the Olympics, with a sprained ankle. Speaking to the Northwest Aerials gymnastics club in Kirkland on Tuesday, Strug admitted most in the room probably weren’t even born when she earned her medal. “It feels good to have [ more STRUG page 13 ]