COVID-19 Recovery Plan
- Encouraging the return of small businesses, Explore and address the obstacles
- Rent affordability
- Availability of space
- Address working-class housing shortage
- Reliance on waterfront; creation of neighborhood draws
- Outreach to recently closed businesses to discuss obstacles to restart
- Focus tourism dollars within Kirkland neighborhoods during Covid recovery
COVID has exposed and laid bare the economic inequities within our communities. This has exposed itself in continued and booming prosperity for some and food shortages and housing insecurity for others. These issues may not be as readily visible in Kirkland, but they exist, and there has never been a greater need and pressure put on our social services and NGOs as we have seen over the past year. To date, the City of Kirkland's focus has been on finding ways to drive foot traffic into the CBD. There is a well-promoted "buy local" campaign. This summer the City is planning for an enhanced parks program.
While these are all great programs, they fail to address the racial and economic divides exposed by the pandemic. Real discussion and legislation focused on bridging that divide, job fairs, job skills training, apprenticeship programs, and addressing access to services needs to become a priority for the City.
Measures for anti-displacement and rental assistance for small businesses and households should be at the top of the agenda for COVID recovery as we continue to work through a very uneven recovery. Small businesses have been hit particularly hard, having closed or hanging on month to month. A focus on how to stabilize and possibly reopen local businesses should also be a discussion point.
While these are all great programs, they fail to address the racial and economic divides exposed by the pandemic. Real discussion and legislation focused on bridging that divide, job fairs, job skills training, apprenticeship programs, and addressing access to services needs to become a priority for the City.
Measures for anti-displacement and rental assistance for small businesses and households should be at the top of the agenda for COVID recovery as we continue to work through a very uneven recovery. Small businesses have been hit particularly hard, having closed or hanging on month to month. A focus on how to stabilize and possibly reopen local businesses should also be a discussion point.