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Good morning. Issue six of the Kirkland Dispatch: what moved in Kirkland this week, one item for your own neighborhood, a poll, the market in three numbers, and one practical thing for the house.
Kirkland this week
The 2027–28 budget is out, and council starts on it today. The city calls its preliminary budget balanced: current services kept, key infrastructure funded, and two years of operations added for the Kraken Iceplex and Kirkland Community Center. Council's first work session is today, Thursday, 3 to 9 PM at City Hall, streamed live. Public hearings follow November 4 and November 17; adoption is set for December 8. Comments: [email protected]. City of Kirkland
November 4: a station name and minimum wage options. The 7:30 PM meeting opens hearings on the budget, the 2027–2032 capital plan and the preliminary 2027 property tax levy, then takes up naming the NE 85th Street station area and minimum wage options. Insurance Commissioner Kuderer presents on how wildfires are moving the insurance market. Council calendar
A Catrina procession on Halloween. The Kirkland Catrina Walk fills Marina Park, 25 Lakeshore Plaza, on Saturday, October 31, 11 AM to 8:30 PM, with the cultural procession at 6 PM. Free; Mundo Catrina presents it for the first time. City of Kirkland
Recycle Right, Saturday, November 14. 9 AM to 3 PM at Lake Washington Institute of Technology, 11605 132nd Avenue NE: electronics and small appliances, holiday lights, paper for shredding, clothing and linens. Free. Furniture only if pre-registered; no refrigerators, washers, printers or vacuums. City of Kirkland
Quieter mowing at one park. Parks crews are running electric mowers, edgers and blowers at Phyllis A. Needy Houghton Neighborhood Park in a one-year pilot, reviewed every quarter; it could expand to other parks. Volunteers rake leaves there on Tuesday afternoons this fall. City of Kirkland
Your neighborhood
Central Houghton. Conversations with Council comes to the Northwest University café, 10930 NE 58th Way, on Monday, November 9, 5 to 7 PM. No agenda, no presentation: councilmembers meet residents in small groups or one on one, so bring the question you have. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 15 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.65M (range $253K to $3.59M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 19 days.
Everest. Neal-Landguth Park, 214 10th Street S, has a stewardship morning on Sunday, November 1, 10 AM to noon: blackberry and ivy out, native plants in. Free, tools and training provided, registration requested. Meet at the park sign on 10th Street S; street parking. Under 14 with an adult who stays. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 35 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.70M (range $253K to $4.29M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 9 days.
Evergreen Hill. South Norway Hill Park, 14701 122nd Avenue NE, has a forest restoration day on Sunday, November 1, 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. Meet at the front of the park on 122nd Avenue NE by the Green Kirkland sign. Free, tools provided, registration requested. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 17 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $940K (range $250K to $1.64M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 24 days.
Finn Hill. The city's first community bonfire of the season is at O.O. Denny Park on Saturday, November 28, at 2:35 PM, timed to the Christmas Ship's stop. Bonfires can be called off for weather or a burn ban; the day-of hotline is 425-587-3345. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 13 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $925K (range $326K to $1.83M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 32 days.
Highlands. Highlands Park, 11210 NE 102nd Street, sits where the Highlands water tower stood. The tower went out of service in the 1960s and came down in March 1984; its concrete pads are still there. The 2.7 acres hold a playfield, a playground, basketball and an AED added in 2025. Open 5 AM to 10 PM, street parking. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 23 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.63M (range $675K to $4.29M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 22 days.
Juanita. The Kirkland Turkey Trot is Sunday, November 15, at Juanita Beach Park, 9703 NE Juanita Drive: the 10K starts at 9 AM, a quarter-mile kids' run at 9:05, and 5K waves at 9:15 and 9:18. Both courses start and finish in the park. Race page
Sold near you: 22 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $965K (range $275K to $2.80M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 26 days.
Lakeview. Doris Cooper Houghton Beach Park, 5811 Lake Washington Boulevard, carries the name of Kirkland's first woman mayor. In 1969 she, Judy Frolich and Delores Teutsch ran a telegram campaign to Congressman Tom Pelly for federal money to buy the shoreline from two oil companies, and it worked. The seasonal restrooms run March through October. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 14 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.29M (range $253K to $3.59M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 19 days.
Market. Juanita Bay Park, 2201 Market Street, 110.8 acres, was the nine-hole Juanita Golf Course from 1932 to 1975; Joanne Gunderson Carner learned the game there. The restroom building is typically open March through October, with a portable toilet from about November to March. Open sunrise to 11 PM. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 29 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.97M (range $960K to $7.50M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 20 days.
Moss Bay. Council's November 17 list includes awarding a design-build contract for Peter Kirk Pool, the outdoor pool at Peter Kirk Park, 202 3rd Street. The city's scope: deck repair or replacement, mechanical upgrades, ADA access, structural and interior repairs, a larger bathhouse and a new wading pool, with a total project estimate of $11,685,000. The contract would start at $300,000 for a validation phase. Pool RFQ addendum · Council calendar
Sold near you: 27 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $2.21M (range $540K to $4.35M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 9 days.
Norkirk. City Hall, 123 5th Avenue, closes Wednesday, November 11, for Veterans Day, and again Thursday and Friday, November 26 and 27, the holiday week. Regular hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 31 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.90M (range $915K to $4.35M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 20 days.
North Rose Hill. Mark Twain Park, 10625 132nd Avenue NE, is 6.6 acres with a playground, playfields, a drop-in basketball court, a trail and a restoration area. Open dawn to dusk, street parking only. City of Kirkland
Sold near you: 19 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.60M (range $485K to $3.60M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 28 days.
South Rose Hill / Bridle Trails. The Kraken ground-lease amendment for the Iceplex and community center site, the former Houghton Park & Ride, now sits on council's November 17 list, after October 20 and then November 4. The preliminary budget funds the center's first two years of operations. Council calendar
Sold near you: 15 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.58M (range $935K to $4.58M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 19 days.
Totem Lake. The NE 132nd Street roundabout work at I-405 moved: nightly closures are now the week of November 2, 10 PM to 5 AM, for about a week, weather permitting. Closer to the hospital, crews pave the north side of NE 128th Street between 120th and 124th Avenues NE tonight, 7:30 PM to 5 AM; follow the posted walking detours. City traffic alerts
Sold near you: 12 homes closed within 0.8 mile of the neighborhood center in the last 45 days, median $1.03M (range $235K to $1.60M); the fastest went from listing to closing in 24 days.
This week's poll
Clocks fall back Sunday. What will you do with the extra hour?
The market in 60 seconds
Across Kirkland ZIPs 98033 and 98034, the median home sold for $1.22M over the last 30 days (97 closings). The median home took 53 days from listing to closing, and there are 4.7 months of inventory on the market.
Inventory rose from 4.0 to 4.7 months in a week: closings fell from 116 to 97 while active listings slipped from 460 to 452. The median sale eased from $1.27M, and days on market held at 53. Single-family homes are tighter, at 3.9 months. Still balanced territory: under three months favors sellers, above six favors buyers. 7% of homes closed above asking, against 6% a week ago.
One useful thing: Property taxes are due Monday this year
King County's second-half property tax is due October 31. When that date falls on a weekend, payment is due the next business day, which this year is Monday, November 2. Mailed payments count by postmark. Online, an electronic check costs a flat $0.55; a credit or debit card costs 2.35% ($2 minimum). The county takes no payments by phone. If a lender pays the tax from an escrow account, there is nothing to do. King County Treasury FAQ
Reader asked
A reader in Totem Lake asked what's free to do in Kirkland this month. Here are the dated, free or drop-in picks on the city's own calendar through November. Saturday, October 31: the Catrina Walk at Marina Park, 11 AM to 8:30 PM, procession at 6. Sunday, November 1: Green Kirkland work mornings at Neal-Landguth Park (10 to noon) and South Norway Hill Park (11:30 to 1:30), tools provided, registration requested. Monday, November 9: Conversations with Council, 5 to 7 PM at the Northwest University café. Saturday, November 14: Recycle Right at Lake Washington Institute of Technology, 9 to 3, the closest to Totem Lake. City events · Community events page Know a neighbor asking the same thing? Forward this; they can subscribe at kirklanddispatch.com.
Your turn. With the clocks falling back Sunday, which crossing or stretch of sidewalk in Kirkland do you most want better lit? Hit reply; a person reads every one, and the best answers run in a future issue.
That's the week. Next Thursday: what the budget work session changed, and what came out of the November 4 hearings and votes.
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