What's Happening in Kirkland, WA…

Kirkland is getting a new Parks Maintenance Center, and celebrated the start of the project with a ‘wallbreaking’ effort.

City officials recently used sledgehammers to knock holes in a small wall to mark the beginning of the renovations. The wall, about four feet high, is inside the Office Max building on 120th Place Northeast, which will be renovated for the employees of the parks department. Since the building is being renovated rather than built from the ground up, there was no site on which to break ground, so they opted for hammering the wall instead. Banner printing is often used to provide decorations for events like this.

The new facility will make it easier for park maintenance workers to service locations in the city's newest neighborhoods. In 2011, Kirkland annexed Kingsgate, Finn Hill, and North Juanita, adding 154 acres of open spaces and parks that need to be maintained, including Edith Moulton, OO Denny, and 132nd Square parks. The Office Max was chosen because it is handy to all these locations.

Penny Sweet, Kirkland's mayor, spoke at the ceremony, noting that maintenance workers mow four million square feet of grass, on average, every year, and supply restroom facilities with 125 miles of toilet paper. The new maintenance building will make it easier for them to do their jobs by giving them enough space to store materials and equipment, rather than having to rent them as and when needed.