What's Happening in Kirkland, WA…

At a recent meeting, the Kirkland City Council voted to name the Marina Park pavilion after Allen Locke, Kirkland's first city manager, according to an article in the Kirkland Reporter.

The honor recognizes Locke's role in guiding the development of Kirkland's waterfront. The vote was unanimous.

Bill Woods, a former mayor of Kirkland, said Locke saw Lake Washington as the front door of the city, and acted accordingly, recognizing the need for a pavilion, activity centers complete with areas for play, and parks. Tom Neir, a member of the city council, called Locke the “founding father of our modern Kirkland.” Neir remembered that during his 20-year tenure (1965 to 1985), Locke was instrumental in the creation of Marina Park, and expanded the acreage in the city devoted to parks, from fewer than 30 acres in 1968 to more than 70 by 1980, 12 of which are on the waterfront.

Mayor Woods wrote that the waterfront was a dump when Locke first took office, with raw sewage flowing into the lake at the point where Marina Park stands now. Instead of seeing the problems, Locke saw opportunity, and wrote the city's first parks master plan, which enabled the city to get a federal grant of $328,000, with which it built the iconic park in 1970.

Changes like this have an impact on an entire community, so officials might like to work with a flyer printing company to create an informative mailer for residents.