New Kirkland Mayor Joan McBride addressed the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce on the state of the city during its first luncheon of the new year Friday. McBride began by telling the group of business owners that there are no room for jokes right now.

“The council is in a state of complete focus through these trying times,” said McBride, who was first elected to the council in 1998.

But one of the mayor’s major messages to the chamber is that the council wants to work with business owners.

“We want everyone to know that the City of Kirkland is open for business,” said the Mayor. “We must continue to use a robust economic development program.”

Totem Lake Mall, which is up for sale, is one of the major places that the mayor wants to see a focus for redevelopment. She also announced that she is trying to put together a summit between city and business leaders to see what can be done.

“It is a great location and we need to find out why it isn’t working,” said McBride.

One audience member pointed out that the current timeline for redevelopment is 2017 and asked if that date could be moved up.

McBride invited members and anyone in the community to come to a summit that she hopes to put together this summer to discuss those possibilities.

“We want to know why the site continues to be stagnate,” she said, noting an effective date for the summit has yet to be determined. “And we are asking for your assistance. Give us your wise council. We want to be able to attract new businesses to Kirkland.”

McBride said the three primary areas the council will focus on this term are preparing for the annexation of Kingsgate, North Juanita and Finn Hill neighborhoods; budget issues and the search for a new city manager.

She invited the community to come to the forum on Jan. 26 and speak their mind on what is important in the search for a new city manager.

The tone of the speech was not one of excitement but of coming together. The mayor acknowledged the council’s infighting the past two years and pledged a new tone. She touted the three newest members to the council and their business backgrounds.

Given the economic climate, the city’s recent budget cuts have hit hard. One of the biggest areas the city has had to cut are the number of city employees. The city has also added seven furlough days, the first of which will be March 12, in which City Hall will be closed. The mayor said that recent cuts put Kirkland’s AAA rating at risk and with the recent earthquake in Haiti, safety in a disaster has become an issue.

“Cities have a responsibility to respond to a natural disaster and we don’t want to put that at risk,” said McBride. “All cities are struggling with depleted resources. There is a 20 percent reduction in sales tax revenues … This year citizens will see less services.”