Scheduled face-lifts at a handful of Kirkland parks will have to wait until after this weekend’s expected storm.
The Green Kirkland Partnership, which helps restore natural habitat in Kirkland’s green spaces, cancelled three volunteer events slated for Friday and Saturday.
Tree planting was scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon at Josten Park and at O.O. Denny Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. Volunteers typically plant trees in the fall during the rainy season, but it’s not the forecast for rain that will have volunteers staying indoors.
“We hold events on rainy days, it’s just with the high winds predicted, we want to make sure we don’t have volunteers in parks in case of a branch or limb falling off of trees,” said GKP program assistant Katie Cava.
The concerns are especially for areas where the forests include larger, older trees — areas like O.O. Denny Park.
GKP also cancelled an ongoing event, normally scheduled on Fridays at Juanita Bay Park.
While the cancelled tree planting is a setback, there are still several scheduled events later in the fall season where volunteers can catch up. GKP has events set for Nov. 5 and Dec. 3 at Josten Park, and the partnership plans to add an event at O.O. Denny Park on Nov. 12.
City employees, especially those in the Parks and Public Works departments, can expect to be busy this weekend. Keeping the public right-of-way clear of debris and water is the main concern, but Parks Maintenance Manager Jason Filan said his department will monitor Kirkland parks throughout the weekend.
“Most of our focus is after the storm,” he said. “We just go through north to south and clean — lots of limbs, leaf matter, debris — lots of stuff.”
When trees or limbs fall in natural areas, such as the marsh at Juanita Bay Park, the Parks department won’t step in unless there’s damage to native plants or structures.
Downed tree branches are typically recycled, Filan said, and used as chips for landscaping or pathways around the city.
The city has asked residents to help keep surface water to a minimum by clearing storm drains. The city is providing free sand bags — sand not included — at the North Kirkland Community Center and the Maintenance Center.
Downed power lines should be reported to Puget Sound Energy.
