The Kirkland City Council is set to vote Tuesday on whether to place a measure on the November ballot for a metropolitan park district (MPD) as a funding mechanism for the Aquatics and Recreation Community (ARC) Center.

Before the vote at their upcoming July 21 meeting, however, the council will decide whether the MPD’s citizen advisory committee would be the park boards or an independently-elected group as a way of making the district more transparent.

The council discussed the issue at their July 7 meeting during the public hearing over the MPD as well as the proposed interlocal agreement that would exist between the MPD and the city, should the ballot measure ordinance be approved by the council and ultimately approved by voters at the ballot box in November. Under the proposed ordinance, the MPD’s boundaries would be the city limits, and the council would act as the governing body.

An MPD is a junior taxing district that, instead of a fixed amount raised, sets a fixed tax rate that all property owners pay per $1,000 in assessed valuation (AV), with a maximum rate of 75 cents per $1,000 AV. The ARC is estimated to cost $48-67 million.

During the council discussion, several councilmembers suggested having a separate body other than the park board as the MPD’s advisory board.

Councilman Toby Nixon reiterated previous proposals on greater accountability for the MPD’s governing body, such as having language included in the interlocal agreement that would have the MPD go to the public before a major increase in the tax rate or significant spending. This would prevent a future council from misusing the funds, as the MPD provides flexibility in where the money is spent.

“Some future council, certainly not us, but some future council might be tempted to use the MPD funds to supplant existing general funds support for parks and recreation,” he said. “And they might be tempted to build some significant capital project without the level of public engagement this council is committed to. We’d like to think this is counter to the culture in Kirkland, but that’s not necessarily so…People would be aware that we’re committed to public engagement and the non-supplantal of funds.”

Councilmember Dave Asher also brought up the idea of having a public vote on major expenditures by the MPD for projects other than the ARC.

One resident who spoke during the public hearing suggested that the governing body of the MPD be separate from the council, something which 11 of the 17 MPDs in the state have, according to Nixon.

The council finally requested that the language in the proposed interlocal agreement and ballot ordinance not state who would comprise the citizen advisory committee.

Mayor Amy Walen said that after investing around half a million dollars into the issue, the time has come for a vote.

“We have to accept the reality that the school district is not in the business of building pools,” she said. “We’ve come up with a model we think will sustain itself… it’s time to call the question… I think I’ll be really proud to recommend this to our voters because we live in a community that has a heritage of parks, and people before us made those investments… and we live with the legacy of that.”

The Lake Washington School District originally planned to be a significant partner with the city on the ARC, but its possible financial involvement came to an end when its $755 million bond measure failed last year.

The city has also sought out other municipalities on the Eastside for possible partnerships but nothing materialized.

While the city prepares for the MPD ballot measure and interlocal agreement, it is also performing a site analysis of a contender for the ARC’s final location, Christ Church’s property in Totem Lake, located at 11725 NE 118th St across the Kirkland Justice Center.

City Manager Kurt Triplett said that although there has been no formal offer or price given by the church congregation, so far the discussions between the city and church representatives have been positive. The city estimates the property would cost $15-20 million to purchase. At the same time, Triplett had said they are cautiously optimistic and are still looking into other sites, such as the North Kirkland Community Center.