The city of Kirkland Parks Board has decided to extend their discussion on possible sites for the Aquatic and Recreation Center (ARC) after Juanita residents voiced their opposition to placing it at Juanita Beach Park.
Jennifer Schroder, the director of the parks and recreation department, said the parks board decided that although they strongly support a new community center, there are significant concerns about which site to recommend to the city council. Among their recommendations was also to have a 50-meter pool, as well as two gyms.
“There needs to be more time to look for other properties,” she said. “Even if that means purchasing land. [The Parks Board members] are concerned about the loss of the way Juanita Beach Park is today.”
The other possible location for the ARC was North Kirkland Community Center, though residents have stated it is too small to accommodate the facility.
Two weeks ago, roughly 60 Juanita residents attended a meeting with Kirkland city officials to express their dissent for reasons ranging from traffic issues to the desire to keep the northern part of Juanita Beach Park clear of large structures.
Elaine Darling, a Juanita resident since 1979, said the consensus of attendees at the meeting was against having the ARC in Juanita. She said residents were also afraid the ARC would negatively impact the park’s environment.
“One of the guys next to me said it was a travesty,” she said. “Parks have intrinsic value. You don’t put a price tag on it.
I thought it was the best comment all night.”
Darling said traffic near the park is already bad. Placing the proposed Kirkland Aquatic and Recreation Center in the northern section of the beach would only make traffic worse.
Darling’s view is shared by other Juanita residents, including the Juanita Neighborhood Association (JNA), which recently sent a letter out to Juanita residents explaining why they opposed both possible locations of the ARC. Ken Albinger, who is the chair of the Juanita Neighborhood Association, wrote a followup letter to the board dated Sept. 10 further articulating their rationales. Albinger suggested the former Albertsons site in north Juanita and the former Costco offices as other possible locations.
“As many members of the Park Board have expressed, this project has been on a fast track due to the anticipated loss of the Juanita High School pool,” Albinger wrote. “Since the rebuild of JHS is delayed, now is the time to slow down and undertake this city-wide search.”
Not all Kirkland residents share this view, however. Renew The Legacy, an organization of Eastsiders committed to maintaining public access to swimming pools, has created an online petition to rally support for placing the ARC at Juanita Beach Park. As of Wednesday, the petition had around 250 signatures.
“We understand the concerns of Juanita Beach Park and North Kirkland Community Center neighbors,” the petition reads. “However, many private properties have already been considered and failed to accommodate the type and size of facility the Kirkland community envisions, adding considerable cost to the project and wasting money and progress made to date.”
The petition further states the ARC would not be appropriate in an industrial area, either.
“Traffic is bad everywhere,” it reads. “Delaying progress forward is not warranted.”
