Council Meetings Streamed Online
Limited socially-distanced seating is now available on site and in the Council Chamber.
To ensure accessibility for the public, in addition to in-person attendance at City Hall, City Council meetings are live-streamed on a variety of platforms such as the City website and the City of Kirkland's YouTube and Facebook pages. Community members can also tune in on their television with Comcast Cable Channel 21 or Frontier Cable Channel 31.
Members of the public may address the City Council live during the ‘Items from the Audience’ subject to the Council protocol of a limit of three speakers on each side of a particular issue, for a maximum of three minutes each, or during scheduled Public Hearings, via the Zoom connection link provided on each agenda.
Meetings
There are two types of meetings, both of which are open to the public. Regular meetings are those in which the Council makes local laws, policies, and basic decisions relating to the city. Study sessions are public meetings in which the Council conducts more informal and in-depth discussions of special projects and issues of interest. No official action may be taken by the City Council at a study session.
Time
The City Council holds regular meetings on the first and third Tuesday of each month, at 7:30 p.m., in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 123 5th Avenue. Study sessions are held at 5:30 p.m., prior to the regular meetings, in the Peter Kirk Room at City Hall.
Community Participation
The City Council encourages all community members to express their opinions on any matter within the Council's authority. Oral presentations and written communications are both appropriate methods of expression during public meetings. Written communications also may be directed to the City Council or City Manager at City Hall. All such communications will be answered.
On each regular Council meeting agenda there is an item called "Items from the Audience". This is the time in which a person may present an issue, raise a question or concern, voice a complaint, or even compliment the City. Comments may be made at this time on any subject which is not quasi-judicial in nature or scheduled for a public hearing. Quasi-judicial subjects are specifically noted with an asterisk (*) on Council agendas. (Quasi-judicial matters are typically those which involve obtaining a legal permit for a specific development or land use for which a public hearing has previously occurred.)
Speakers are asked to limit their remarks to three minutes apiece. No more than three speakers may address the Council on any one subject. However, if both proponents and opponents wish to speak, then up to three proponents and up to three opponents of the matter may address the Council. To participate at a City Council meeting, the speaker must step to the microphone and lectern placed in front of the Council and, after receiving recognition from the Mayor, state their name and neighborhood if it is relevant to the topic you will bring up. All remarks should be addressed to the Council as a group, not to any particular Council member or any member of the City staff or audience.
Whenever a group wishes to address the Council on a subject, the Mayor will normally request that a spokesperson be chosen to speak for the group. Applause or other displays of approval or disapproval are inappropriate and are not permitted during Council meetings.
Neighborhood Associations
The City of Kirkland is committed to sustaining strong relations with neighborhood associations and residents.
Kirkland's Neighborhood Associations serve as an important communications link between the City and its residents. They also provide an effective way for neighbors to improve the quality of life in Kirkland’s Neighborhoods. There are currently eleven associations meeting on a regular basis. For additional information on organizing, Programs, and upcoming meetings check the Neighborhood Services Web Page. Stay connected to Kirkland by subscribing to Neighborhood E-Bulletins by going to www.kirklandwa.gov and click on the Kirkland Email Alerts icon.
Volunteer Program
The City operates a volunteer program, which allows the City to take advantage of the extraordinary reserve of knowledge, talent, and skill possessed by volunteers within our community. The City's volunteer program involves interested residents in local government by providing the opportunity to perform work of value to the community. To learn more about available volunteer opportunities with the City of Kirkland, please contact the City's Volunteer Services Coordinator at 425-587-3012.