All the recent discussions about Proposition 1 really boil down to only one thing: Do we want the ARC [Aquatics, Recreation and Community center] or not? That’s what’s on the ballot in November.
This shouldn’t be a debate about how to fund the Kirkland ARC [Aquatics and Recreation Center], but whether to build it at all, especially lacking a financial commitment form any other Eastside city. Ask yourself why no other city is interested.
I have been following the discussion regarding Kirkland’s Proposition 1 with interest.
I just mailed the second half of my 2015 property taxes and I’m reeling from the astronomical figure my check required.
There are times in life when the words “Thank you” are so insufficient in their ability to convey the level of gratitude Kirkland Place 116 homeowners have for our fire and police departments.
The letter from the Kirkland Parks and Community Services Director that appeared in the Sept. 25 issue of the Kirkland Reporter states, in part: “The estimated revenue for the ARC [Aquatics, Recreation and Community Center] will cover 104 percent of annual operating costs, including funding a healthy replacement reserve account.”
I am a parent with two children in LWSD [Lake Washington School District] and actively involved in the school system. I am also an attorney and have researched the laws related to the Prop. 1 issues. I believe in the public being fully informed about all the potential implications of voting for or against a proposition.
If built, the proposed Kirkland Aquatics, Recreation and Community (ARC) Center will meet critical community needs and become a highly valued city asset. I strongly urge Kirkland residents to support this November’s Prop 1 ballot issue, which will establish a Metropolitan Park District (MPD) as a funding mechanism for this public facility.
It is sad to see that Mike Nykreim, our local Tim Eyman, is leading the charge against the Aquatic Resource Center (ARC). As a local developer, he has profited handily from the quality of our community, whether community resources (like the ARC would be) or the high quality public schools.
In a recent letter to the editor (City of Kirkland not considering operating costs with ARC, Sept. 14), the writer suggests that the city of Kirkland may not be fully considering operating costs for the proposed Kirkland Aquatics, Recreation and Community (ARC) Center project. This is simply incorrect.
The proponents of ARC now wish to create a PAC so they can fund the push to build a municipal park district solely for the purpose of giving us yet another taxing entity. The city limits would be the boundary and the esteemed council the governing body.
The City Council is engaging in trickery on Proposition 1 without full disclosure to Kirkland residents.
The Washington constitution specifically protects taxpayers by requiring tax bonds to be approved by at least 60 percent of the voters.
I think proponents of Prop. 1 understate or don’t understand the impact of approving Prop. 1.
The Kirkland City Council wants us to approve a new taxing authority to pay for the ARC [Aquatics and Recreation Center]. Just a few years ago in 2012, they passed a recreation and road tax to cover their previous budget mismanagement mistakes at a time when their adopted budget showed there was enough money in the budget. More taxes were unnecessary.
I haven’t seen Mr. Asher speak about the cost to taxpayers. But maybe I missed out on something. So, I began wondering what the cost to property owners would be to form this “district.”
I am a lifelong Eastsider – born on Mercer Island, had my first job on the Eastside Journal in Kirkland, raised my children on Somerset, and now live in downtown Bellevue.
I am a fearmonger. This is because at a recent meeting that Council Member [Dave] Asher and I attended I questioned the fact that although we are being sold on the Metropolitan Park District (MPD) as a means to fund the ARC, we are actually authorizing the ability to increase taxes by three times the amount needed.
After some of my neighbors read the article in the Sept. 11 Reporter on the Kirkland Aquatics, Recreation and Community (ARC) Center (“Kirkland residents start PAC for ARC ballot measure”), they asked me why Kirkland is proposing to create a Metropolitan Park District (MPD), what it is, and why aren’t we voting on a bond issue. I wanted to share my response with other Kirkland neighbors.
I was truly shocked and in disbelief that nothing was mentioned about 9/11 in [last Friday’s Kirkland Reporter] paper about the most tragic event that happened in recent US history.
The city of Kirkland Parks and Community Services Department is telling citizens that the proposed Aquatics Recreation Center (ARC) will cover the costs of operations. This is a wildly optimistic projection, not based on what is going on with municipal pools and municipal recreation centers, both regionally and nationally.