It is really too bad that the Kirkland City Council has had tunnel vision. They should have been looking at ways to make money rather than spending the money. Yes, I have seen a lot of extravagances. The art budget should be cut until the city is in the green again. And then they need to revisit the subject of parking meters for extra money. We need to all pitch in and start carrying our weight and parking meters are the best way to start. And then they need to collect admission to Concerts in the Park. And so much of each and every event should be put in the City fund to pay for all of the things the council wants to cut.

If people had to pay for parking you could get more people downtown and have more people to shop. Don’t limit it to just parking lots. Put them on the street. If people insist on driving the cars to work and park on the street all day that doesn’t allow for others to be able to shop. And this stuff about not wanting a department store other than Fred Meyer in town is wrong. We need something like a Walmart, Target, Sears or JC Penny store in Totem Lake to get people to shop in our area. The closest Walmart is in Lynnwood, the nearest Target is in Woodinville, closest Sears is in Redmond, and the nearest JC Penney is either in Bellevue or Lynnwood. This would be the best way to cover middle class people as well as the poor people. The rich people have the money for the gas to either go to Lynnwood or Bellevue. We can no longer coddle certain people and have this town free for their use. Maybe if you have to parking downtown you might get rid of a few drunks. I would like to see the new Council take the bull by the horns and start looking for ways to make money in town. Get a famous group to come in for a charity event to help the city to get back on it feet. We have had too many wasteful people on the Council making wrong decisions. The people of Newport Beach, Califor. did not like it when the parking meters were put in on the beach front, but they learned to live with it so they could get their beaches cleaned. Have a contest to find different ways to make money for the city.

Gwen Wood, Kirkland