To CHNA Members:

It's been a while since our last Central Houghton Neighborhood Association (CHNA) meeting. I wanted to make all of you aware of a couple of upcoming events.

1. August 25 Public Hearing - Houghton Community Council (HCC) Sunsetting

The city's Planning Commission will be holding a public hearing starting at 7:00 PM on Thursday August 25 to receive input on code changes proposed by the City as a result of the state legislation sunsetting the Houghton Community Council, effective July 8, 2022. These include revising the city's procedures to reflect the elimination of the HCC. The other changes are more substantial because they will change the zoning and land use codes within the HCC boundaries to align with the rest of the City. A key part of those changes will be when they actually take effect. People that are in the midst of a development permit could be adversely affected. Use the following link for more information on the hearing and how to participate in the virtual (Zoom) meeting.

Agenda PC 08_25_2022 (kirklandwa.gov)


2. CHNA LABOR DAY PICNIC EVENT - September 5;  12-3PM

Please join us at the fields at Emerson School Campus 10903 NE 53rd Street between 12 and 3 PM on Labor Day to have some end of the summer fun, meet friends and neighbors, and learn more about the role of CHNA with the sunsetting of the Houghton Community Council. 

The postcard invite is provided below.

Looking forward to seeing you there.


3. Next CHNA Meeting Tuesday October 11 @ 7PM

Due to the CHNA 2022  Celebration being held on Labor Day, we have rescheduled our next
meeting to October 11, 2022 at 7 PM.It will be held virtually via Zoom.
Preliminary topics include discussion of the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 grant projects, communication tools, and a short presentation on the Energy Smart Eastside Heat Pump Campaign.
Please let us know if you have any other topics that you would like us to consider for the agenda.


Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

​Central Houghton Community Residents-
 
I want to invite you all to attend the very last meeting of the Houghton Community Council (HCC) on Monday June 27, starting at 7:00 PM. The meeting will be held at the Kirkland City Council Chambers (123 Fifth Avenue). Due to limited seating (approximately 25 people) at City Hall, the meeting also will be available via Zoom.
 
To join the webinar via Zoom:
https://kirklandwa-gov.zoom.us/j/81178177321?pwd=dnE5Mkg4Q1Y4T21JemlGWCtBajIrQT09
Passcode: 591380
 
 
The agenda (with Zoom link) is attached. Also see the note on how to make public comments at the meeting.
 
Please join us and give the Houghton Community Municipal Corporation the sendoff that it deserves after representing our community for over 50 years.
 
While the Houghton Community Council is being sunset, we still have our Central Houghton Neighborhood Association (CHNA) as a conduit / forum for working with the City on projects that affect our neighborhood and greater community. To be most effective, CHNA will need to expand participation and involvement of our residents and businesses. The more people that participate, the more points of view can be considered and discussed and the stronger our voices can be heard. 
 
People that want to be added to our distribution list can email us at centralhoughton@gmail.com. 
 
Please forward this email to others that may want to attend Monday's meeting or want to connect with CHNA.

 
Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association 

​CHNA Members and Guests-


The agenda for the May 10, 2022 (7:00 PM) regular meeting of the Central Houghton Neighborhood Association (CHNA) is attached below. The meeting will be held virtually using the Zoom platform. The Zoom meeting link and passcode provided below:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85429788946?pwd=UkZYVWpDL1BwWnNESnpsbWYzOUtSQT09

Meeting ID: 854 2978 8946
Passcode: 397136
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,85429788946#,,,,*397136# US (Tacoma)



The meeting will begin with brief reports from the City of Kirkland Police Department and Northwest University. Attendees will be able to ask questions.

A key part of our meeting will be discussing strategies for our communications program, possible changes to the CHNA Bylaws (redline version attached), and election of CHNA Officers for the next 12-month term.

We have four Board/Officer positions - President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. We will be losing one of our two current Board members and I will be stepping down from being President within one year. We need members to join our Board, otherwise our neighborhood association will not be able to function to serve our community. CHNA will be even more important as a group with the imminent sunsetting of the Houghton Community Council.

The remainder of the meeting will include updates on our planned Neighborhood Summer Celebration on Labor Day and other ongoing topics.

The other topics include items that have upcoming public meetings, including:

• The La Quinta Inn Homeless Housing - Public Town Hall on May 9 
• Northeast Recycling and Transfer Station Siting Project (to replace/upgrade the Houghton Transfer Station) - Public Meeting on May 12 

Please join us to add to the discussion and help CHNA add value to our broader neighborhood and to the City of Kirkland.

Please let us know if you have any comments, questions, or ideas for future meeting topics.



Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

The notes from our March 8, 2022, regular meeting are provided below. We covered a lot of current and ongoing topics including the Sunsetting of the Houghton Community Council, the La Quinta Inn homeless housing proposal. We also reported on the proposed mailer and 2022 Celebration Event.

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday May10. We will be electing Board members and also discussing proposed changes to our Bylaws to engage younger residents in the neighborhood association.

Please contact us at centralhoughton@gmail.com if you have any questions, ideas for meeting topics, or want to find out more on how you can get involved.

Larry Toedtli, president
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

CHNA Members and Guests:


The agenda for our regular meeting on March 8 (7:00 pm) is attached. We will have updates on several topics including:

• State Legislation on Sunsetting the Houghton Community Council -HB 1769
• La Quinta Hotel Homeless Housing Proposal
• CHNA 2022 Mailer and Event Planning
• Potential Changes to Our CHNA Bylaws (see attachment)
• Various City Code and Plan amendments

A couple of the topics will likely evolve between now and the date of our meeting.

1. State Legislation on Sunsetting the Houghton Community Council
HB 1769 (web link above) has passed the State House and is now on the floor of the State Senate. The bill could be voted on any day.. The Legislative session is scheduled to end March 10. 

The bill, as currently written, would effectively sunset the existence of the Houghton Community Council immediately. This would ignore the overwhelming (76%) vote of Houghton residents on November 2, 2021 to extend the HCC until December 31, 2025. You can contact any of the Senators to share your thoughts to express your position on the bill. Senators (wa.gov)

2. La Quinta Hotel for Housing 


I want to make sure that you are aware that the Houghton Community Council Meeting on Monday February 28 includes discussion of the proposed purchase of the La Quinta Hotel for use as a permanent supportive housing facility.


The Chair of the Houghton Community Council has asked for representatives from King County and the City of Kirkland to attend the Houghton Community Council meeting occurring Monday, February 28, 2022, at 7 p.m. via Zoom and provide information on the potential purchase of La Quinta Hotel by King County for permanent supportive housing.  
To view the agenda, including Zoom webinar information, please visit the City's website. 



You can read more about the program at - King County's Health Through Housing Initiative in Kirkland – City of Kirkland (kirklandwa.gov)

I look forward to seeing you at the meeting next week. As always, please let us know if you have ideas for topics for future meetings or would like to be part of our Board.

Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

To all-
​
Thanks to all of the people that attended our meeting last week. some really good discussion on several topics.

A focus was on the proposed legislation moving forward at the state to sunset the Houghton community council (and East Bellevue Community Council).  We discussed how people can track the bill and provide comments. This information and web links are summarized in the meeting notes. If you have any questions or comments, please email us at centralhoughton@gmail.com. 

We also discussed current activities related to our 2021-2022 Matching Grant. If you would like to assist on any of these, please contact us (centralhoughton@gmail.com).

At the end of the meeting, we also discussed possible changes to our Bylaws to allow high school students to be members. We also noted a need for more people to assist CHNA as Board members or volunteers.

Sincerely

Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

Welcome to the New Year! 

The agenda for the January 11 Virtual meeting of the CHNA is attached.

A recent topic that may be of interest to you is the City Council's Legislative Agenda item that asks the State Legislature to Sunset the Houghton Community Council (HCC). You may remember that continuance of the HCC was approved with a 76% YES vote in November 2021.  We will share what we know about the process and schedule and how people can let their views be known.

The meeting will also provide updates on various City grant programs that CHNA is involved with.

We also will provide updates on other City topics, ranging from the Parks Plan, Tree Code, NE 85th Street Plan, and The NE Recycling and Transfer Station.

The Zoom link and meeting information/passcode is included below (as well as on the agenda)

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, as well as ideas for future meeting topics.

Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association

CHNA is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82162627358?pwd=MXZuN0drb0xqOThTRHFkVjdYY1h2Zz09

Meeting ID: 821 6262 7358
Passcode: 316171
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,82162627358#,,,,*316171# US (Tacoma)
+13462487799,,82162627358#,,,,*316171# US (Houston)

​To all-

Here are the notes from the November 9, 2021 meeting of the Central Houghton Neighborhood Association.

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday January 11 via Zoom (starting at 7:00 pm). Please let us know if you have ideas for meeting topics.

We are also setting up a brainstorming session to explore options for a Celebration/Event next summer to (hopefully) celebrate the return to a new Post Covid normal and to re-introduce CHNA to our community members.
At that same meeting we also will be brainstorming ideas for a way to create a Sense of Place or Historical Marker for our Central Houghton neighborhood. As an example, the Everest neighborhood just installed a Train Depot along the Cross Kirkland Corridor Trail.

Please let us know (centralhoughton@gmail.com) if you have any ideas and if you would like to participate in a brainstorming session. I promise, your participation in the brainstorming session will NOT commit you to helping with implementation (although that would also be great).    

​To All:

The agenda for the virtual meeting of the Central Houghton Neighborhood Association is attached. The Zoom link is provided below. Please forward to others that may be interested.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87861398908?pwd=YkNMVjdFK0IrV09DTWxLdStSNnoxdz09

Meeting ID: 878 6139 8908
Passcode: 438624
One tap mobile
+12532158782,,87861398908#,,,,*438624# US (Tacoma)


We are excited to have a presentation from  the City on the upcoming remodel of Fire Station 22, including the use of a temporary station during construction.

We hope to have a member of the Kirkland Parks Board also join us so we can hear what is happening related to Parks and so we can share our comments to take back to the Board.
You can provide your input through the City's current Park's survey which closes November 11.
Kirkland Comprehensive Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Master Plan Survey (rrcresearch.com)

The other major topic for discussion is the selection of CHNA's project for the 2022 Neighborhood Safety Program (NSP). 

We also will have additional information on a few ongoing topics of interest to the neighborhood.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Larry Toedtli, President
Central Houghton Neighborhood Association