KAN, The Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods group, met this past week.  Much is happening in the coming months in Kirkland and the meeting is a great way to hear about what makes Kirkland tick and to keep on the inside track. I’ve learned interesting things about Kirkland, upcoming events, the neighborhoods, and local merchants.

Here’s most of what was discussed at the last KAN meeting:

Kevin Nalder, the new Fire and Building Chief for the city introduced himself to the group. He and his family just moved here, literally, from Salt Lake City. He’s currently looking for a home and it was clear this group of neighborhood reps was interested in hearing what neighborhoods Mr. Nalder was interested in.  Each of us thinks, of course, that our neighborhood is the best.

Mr. Nadler comes with 24 years of experience and his last position was Deputy Fire Chief in Salt Lake City.  He’s excited about his new position here because he’s both the Fire Chief and Director of the Building Department.  Kirkland is one of the few cities with one person “manning” both departments.  Mr. Nalder believes the two departments are the perfect fit together and with his skills.  Many of the issues the building department focuses on are safety issues, meeting fire codes, and maintenance issues.  He’ll also be responsible for the plumbing, electrical, planning departments, all things having to do with construction in the city.  Welcome!

Kirkland’s Fire Camp:  July 20-24th, 2009, 8:30-4:30 PM is open to 12-15 year old junior high school students. Participants will learn about fire behavior, hose handling, rope knots and rappelling, the use of firefighting gear and equipment, vehicle extrication, and team building.  Participating in the program will help students to earn first aid, CPR, and water safety cards.  Hmm… maybe there should be an adult camp for Kirkland citizens to learn some of these safety techniques so more people can help in emergencies.  Applications can be found on the Kirkland city website.

Local merchant, Vic Swan, who is the owner of EcoCartridge in Totem Lake did a fabulous presentation about the marketing of printer ink and how profitable it is for tech companies. His company helps the consumer save money on ink and reduce waste by refilling and reusing ink cartridges.  Buying a new ink cartridge can set you back by about $35.00.  Buying a refilled cartridge costs about $15.00. I thought his topic would be very dry, but in fact, it was fascinating.  Many of us KAN reps had questions and he had all the answers.  His company has saved 17,000 pounds of plastic from being dumped into landfills over the 4 years he has been open in Totem Lake.  Mr. Swan is actively involved in the community as part of the “Green Kirkland Partnership, Sustainable September, and gives back to the community in many other ways.  He had a great fund raising idea for PTA groups.  He’ll buy cartridges from the PTA for cash.  It’s great to support a local  merchant who is eco-friendly and can also help save you money! Here’s a link to his company website. You can also follow him on Twitter!

Do you know how many homeless teens there are on the eastside? No one knows for sure, but Friends of Youth worker, Norene Roberts helps support homeless teens.  The organization is contracted to help 50 teens, but is aware of about 90 more out there who need help.  No one really knows how many others are out on the streets and unaccounted for.

Friends of Youth has a van called Big Bertha which supplies teens with food, clothing, and sleeping bags.  The 1st and 3rd Friday of each month, Friends of Youth serves 50-60 teens dinner at the Kirkland Teen Center.  Volunteers provide food, sometimes serving the teens.  Papa John’s graciously gives the group Pizza for 1/2 off, but the group is always looking for help and support either with food or money.  It’s a great opportunity to give locally to a group which few are familiar with.  It’s even more critical because more teens will be heading this way as the weather warms up.

Did you know Kirkland’s successful food drive last winter has started a new trend? There’s going to be a contest from September 26th-October 24th between 5 cities on the Eastside: The challenge?   Kirkland, Redmond, Bellevue, Issaquah, and Mercer Island hope to raise 100,000 lb of food, 20,000 lb of food from each city.  Kirkland set the bar, because this is the amount of food we raised in Kirkland last year.

Get your walking shoes on so you can follow Kirkland’s “Feet First Map.” A great group of people have worked together to highlight all kinds of things throughout Kirkland-walking trails, schools, stores, parks, etc.   The map is undergoing review at this time.

KAN, the Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods, is off for the summer, but I’ll report anything new I learn from the next meeting in September.