Councilman [Dave] Asher recently wrote [a guest editorial] suggesting that anyone questioning the appropriateness of an Aquatic Regional Center was fearmongering. I would suggest that they were asking pertinent and relevant questions that all citizens and voters should be asking. Your thesis was, trust us and trust us with your tax dollars.
Mr. Asher, let’s talk about trust. When the city authorized a citizen survey asking of the city should ban plastic bags and the majority of citizens were against the ban, the City Council passed a plastic bag ban, overriding public sentiment. In fact, the mayor said that she knew what was best for Kirkland. I have an idea, how about taxing car dealerships that sell cars in the community that pollute the air and add traffic to Kirkland streets. How about taxing businesses that have more than five acres of impervious asphalt, like the mayor’s car dealership, because of the pollution it is adding to our storm drainage system.
Citizens voted for parks and streets maintenance and operations levies to “restore” services.
What was the result? Lower standards as a result of spreading funding to the annexed area of Kirkland. We were assured by the Council that the annexation wouldn’t cause a reduction in services. Mr. Asher, you approved a lowering of standards when you approved slurry seal as an alternative to asphalt overlays. Redmond and Bellevue don’t use slurry seal on public streets, but Kirkland does because it is less expensive. On my street, a year after the city applied slurry seal, on any warm day, the asphalt emulsion sticks to your car tires and shoes. How often do we see street sweepers which use to regularly service our neighborhoods. Why are our sidewalks and roadways falling apart? You asked voters to trust the council on service levels, but we have no reason to trust you. When my wife recently asked if the city could add a single garbage can to a small waterfront park, she was told that they don’t have funding for something like this. Really?
You authorized the construction of the new Justice Center, costing millions, but evidently through poor management, we don’t have enough police to respond to emergencies. When my house was burglarized in June 2015 it took 38 minutes and three calls to 911 to have officers respond. I was told that the delay was a result of a single incident that police were responding to on Juanita Drive. I was told by Kirkland Police that they didn’t have enough officers on the street to respond or to keep up with crime. The police also mishandled the case, mishandled their own protocol for communication and evidence and the now-retired police chief acknowledged this in a letter written to my family. This is another example of trusting the City Council to use tax funding for a justice center, but lowering service standards for the public. Voters should be wary about giving the Council an open checkbook for a pool that has no site, no determined construction costs and no financial partners. Yes, we have reason not to trust the Council, irrespective of the city’s AAA bond rating.
Pat Harris, Kirkland
