2012 Parks Levy

In September 2011, a group of citizens came forward to ask the City Council to consider a tax measure to restore parks maintenance services that had been eliminated in the economic downturn and to invest in the City’s park system. The Park Funding Exploratory Committee (PFEC) was created to provide recommendations to City Council which ultimately resulted in the Park Levy. The Parks Levy raises approximately $2.35 million annually to fund preservation, maintenance, and enhancement of Kirkland’s parks and natural areas.

The Parks Levy passed in 2011 with funding beginning in 2012. The levy provides funding for various capital projects and restored funding for park maintenance and services that had been cut during the economic downturn. The levy was voted in with the following expectations:

• Provide lifeguards at Houghton, Waverly and Juanita beaches during the summer
• Funding for the Green Kirkland Partnership to restore natural areas
• Maintain O.O. Denny Park
• Create interim bicycle and pedestrian trail along the Cross Kirkland Corridor
• Maintain the Cross Kirkland Corridor (Public Works is responsible for maintenance of the corridor)
• Dock and shoreline renovations
• City of Kirkland - Lake Washington School District Playfield Partnership to upgrade select school playfields for neighborhood and community use
• Replace Juanita Beach bathhouse
• Renovate Edith Moulton Park
• Renovate Waverly Beach Park
• Acquire open space and park land to expand the park system