As the city of Kirkland continues to look for potential sites for the Aquatics Recreation Community (ARC) Center, it is also seeking out possible partnerships to help pay for it.
At a recent joint meeting between the Kirkland and Redmond City Councils, members discussed the possibility of creating a Metropolitan Park District (MPD) that would finance and manage new facilities both cities are looking to build.
Yet, while the city of Kirkland plans to discuss the matter further, Mayor Amy Walen said she is doubtful an MPD with Redmond is feasible due to different stages of planning, as well as siting location preferences. Redmond, which started working on their Recreational Building Master Plan in 2013, has yet to complete it. They also have expressed a preference for their recreation center to be in their downtown, where they are currently conducting a site analysis. Kirkland, on the other hand, completed their Indoor Recreation Facility Plan in 2011 and hopes to place the ARC somewhere in the Totem Lake neighborhood. One potential site is the Christ’s Church at 11725 NE 118th St, across from the Kirkland Justice Center. The owners have expressed interest in possibly selling the property, according to Kirkland City Manager Kurt Triplett.
In the meantime, Kirkland is also looking at other cities to partner with, as well as local school districts, which for some seems appropriate due to the regional use of current Kirkland recreation facilities, such as Juanita Pool. The council has a planned joint meeting with the city of Bellevue in May, according to Triplett, and they’ve also had informal conversations with other neighboring cities.
“We continue to actively solicit as many partners as possible,” he said. “We are definitely wanting to see partners, but we’re continuing forward to keep the conversation going.”
Other possible partners include the Lake Washington and Northshore School Districts. LSWD was originally planned to be a significant partner with the city on the ARC, according to Triplett, but their financial involvement was stifled when their $755 million bond measure failed last year. Nevertheless, they still may be able to contribute to funding aspects of the ARC, such as the swimming pool. The city is planning on 32-meter pool in the current estimate, but have kept the option for a 50-meter pool, which would cost an additional $3 million. The overall facility is estimated to cost between $48-67 million.
“One of the things we’ve said to the school district is we haven’t decided (between a 32- or 50-meter pool) but would be more likely if the school districts said we’d be able to come up with the difference, because they’d be the prime beneficiary,” Triplett said. “It’s not clear we would actually do that.”
For LWSD, even $3 million may be a bridge too far for them to cross financially, as they have been struggling to make do with their current budget by rezoning school boundaries and repurposing modernization funds.
Additionally, some consider a partnership in the form of an MPD is also a pragmatic approach to the situation. An MPD is run by a board of park commissioners and funded through a property tax, authorized to levy up to 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. As of 2015, there are about 17 MPD in the state.
Kirkland City Councilmember Penny Sweet remarked during the joint meeting that a MPD can meet multiple needs for various cities on the Eastside while alleviating the financial burden if all pitched in.
“Each one of us is going to struggle with funding on our own,” she said. “We all live on lakes and we all have responsibilities to teach our kids to swim. I think it’s an important element of growing up.”
Acquiring funding and finding a good location have been among the top challenges the city has faced with the ARC. When the city looked into siting the ARC at Juanita Beach Park, the idea was met with criticism from Juanita neighborhood residents, including the neighborhood association. Finally, the Parks Board voted to recommend the council drop Juanita Beach Park, as well as the North Kirkland Community Center, from consideration. Days after the parks board vote, a petition was sent to the city with 600 signatures against siting the ARC in Juanita Beach Park.
The council accepted the parks board’s recommendation for Juanita Beach Park at their March 17 study session, though a formal vote via a resolution is planned at its April 21 meeting.
If city finds a partner for an MPD, other challenges may arise, such as how the levy structure would be set up in correlation with the recreation facility’s location, a challenge mentioned by Redmond City Councilmember Tom Flynn at the joint meeting. He said a levy would need to be structured so that some residents don’t feel as though they’re paying the same for less access to the facility compared to residents in other cities within the MPD.
Whatever the city decides to do, some hope they take action in the near future.
At the joint meeting with Redmond, Councilmember Dave Asher stated there was a lot of energy behind the ARC in the community, and the sooner they take action to harness that energy, the better.
“I can just tell you from the Kirkland point of view, there’s energy here now to look at it if we could get something moving,” he said.
