I want to say thank you. I want to say thank you to approximately 60 community volunteers. These are the members of the community who serve on the City of Bainbridge Island’s eight standing committees that assist and advise the City Council.

Public participation is an important value for the City. Our standing committees play a very important part of governance on Bainbridge Island. Here are the City’s eight Council-standing committees: Climate Change Advisory Committee, Design Review Board, Environmental Technical Advisory Committee, Ethics Board, Historic Preservation Commission, Planning Commission, Race Equity Advisory Committee, and the Utility Advisory Committee.

The people who serve on these committees and boards serve without compensation. They provide their time voluntarily. They are appointed by the City Council to three-year terms. The terms are staggered for the sake of continuity and historical knowledge. Committees and commissions meet once or twice a month.

Soon, the City will be asking interested Bainbridge Islanders to submit their names for consideration for appointment to a City committee. Please think about applying. The City is best served if the residents who step forward represent a wide variety of interest and backgrounds. This variety is expressed in age, race, income, employment, retired, gender, physical ability, and sexual orientation, among many other factors and interests. The City Council wants to select from a diverse applicant pool.

Thank you seems insufficient to express the sincere appreciation to our committee members and commissioners but, nevertheless, thank you.

The City is planning to design and construct a new 2-million-gallon water tank to replace two existing tanks located on an easement near Bainbridge High School. On March 22, the Council will consider approval of a contract with Murraysmith, Inc. for roughly $1.4 million to complete the design for the new tank.

The new tank will be constructed at a sufficient elevation to correct several deficiencies associated with the existing tank, including significant dead storage, pressure zone deficiencies, water-quality issues, and seismic/safety issues. The City is currently considering two different tank styles: a hydropillar/fluted column or composite tank (see images above).

The larger of the two existing tanks will be retrofitted with seismic upgrades and placed on standby to serve the City's water system needs, as necessary.

If the City Council approves the contract on March 22, next steps will include negotiation with the Bainbridge Island School District for an expanded easement/lease agreement for placement of the new tank; outreach to the neighboring community regarding project alternatives and neighborhood impacts; and future discussions with the City Council regarding the need for amendments to the Municipal Code that will allow a water tank structure of the necessary height to be permitted for construction.

Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2023.

On March 22, the City Council will resume in-person meetings in the Council Chamber.

For now, meetings will be in a hybrid format; you will be able to provide comments in person or on Zoom.

The Chamber seating will be the same as pre-pandemic since there are no social distancing guidelines in place.

Masks are no longer required while inside City facilities. We understand that some people may continue wearing masks in City facilities for their comfort and they are welcome to do so.

The status of future City committee meetings is still being determined.

We look forward to welcoming everyone back to the Chamber for Council meetings!

The City Manager and staff started a discussion this week with the City Council to consider putting more money into maintenance of our streets and facilities and to hire more staff to take care of City-owned properties.

No specific action was requested from the City Council other than a commitment to the principle of maintenance. The Council will consider the requests as part of the upcoming biennial budget.

The discussion included an overview of maintenance needs for the City’s 80,000 square feet of buildings. Only one person is currently dedicated to maintaining these facilities and national standards recommend one person per 50,000 square feet.

On the streets, the City spends about $500,000 a year to maintain and preserve 270 lane miles of pavement. This is not to build new streets - just to preserve what's already here. A 2019 study shows we should be spending roughly twice the amount to maintain the conditions in their current state.

The regional average of personnel per lane mile is about .05. Bainbridge Island has about .02. Among comparable cities, we have the lowest number of personnel per lane mile, per land area. We have a team of 8 working on streets but for our City should have 12 if we intend to match the regional average.

The staff recommendations, which will come forward as part of the upcoming budget process, included the creation of a specific building maintenance fund, additional staffing, and increasing annual investments in asphalt paving maintenance from $500,000 to $1 million.

On March 15, Finance Director DeWayne Pitts presented to Council an overview of the Real Estate Excise Tax revenue, a tax equal to ½ of 1% levied on the selling price of most real property sales on the island.

The City has collected an average about $2.8 million per year over the last 10 years from this tax.

The ½ of 1% is further broken down into .25% of REET 1 and .25% into REET 2. These funds are legally restricted and collected in a separate fund which can only be used for eligible purposes.

There are similarities and some differences for how the REET 1 and REET 2 funds are allowed to be spent. In general, the funds must be used for capital projects along with a limited amount allowed for maintenance. Debt service payments on projects with REET are also eligible for funding.

The Council will hold a public hearing March 22 on the Grow Community’s proposal to alter its approved subdivision.

The applicant is proposing to change the previously approved multi-family use for this development.

This final phase fronts the north side of Shepard Way, east of Grow Avenue.

The Grow Community final subdivision is currently approved for 22 residential units. This consists of 18 multi-family units and 4 single-family units.

Instead, the applicant is proposing to build 14 single-family units.

The Grow Community subdivision and site plan review at issue was approved in 2014.

Under the City’s Municipal Code, the City Council considers and decides whether a request for an alteration to a subdivision is approved.

The City Council will hold a public hearing March 22 to get input from the community on a request from the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to reacquire property from the City at the intersection of SR 305 and NE Seabold Road to support WSDOT’s SR 305 roundabout safety improvement project. The property was originally deeded to the City of Bainbridge Island in 2017 from WSDOT at no cost to the City. WSDOT now wishes to reacquire the parcel for their SR 305 project.

The City has not identified a need for the parcel that WSDOT wants to reacquire and recommends a surplus and transfer of the parcel to WSDOT for the SR 305 roundabout project. WSDOT is offering the City landscape enhancements (specifically larger trees) along the proposed project periphery in exchange for the City's property.

In accordance with correspondence from the WSDOT project team, the tree upsizing proposal includes increasing the size of about 70% of the trees on the project from 1’-2’ tall to 3’-4’ tall. This will increase the project cost by approximately $16,200. This amount of investment in tree enhancements exceeds the estimated surplus property value of approximately $15,830.

Representatives from WSDOT will join the City Council March 22 to provide an update on the SR 305 safety improvements planned for Bainbridge Island.

WSDOT is planning to build two roundabouts on Bainbridge Island along the SR 305 corridor at the West Port Madison and Adas Will intersections.

According to the WSDOT project page, WSDOT's projects on Bainbridge Island are expected to begin fall 2022 and be completed spring 2024.

At the March 22 Council meeting, the Council will consider approval of a resolution to increase fees for building, planning and engineering permits. The fees have not been updated since 2006. The Council in 2019 directed staff to amend the fees to account for 100% cost recovery.

The City hired FCS Group to study the fee schedule.

The Council previously discussed this topic on Sept. 21, 2021 and Dec. 7, 2021.

Currently, the City recovers only about 89% of building permit fee services, 32% of land use planning fee services and 3% of development engineering services.

The resolution would also direct the City Manager to bring back to the City Council a proposed policy to address certain building and planning fees that would facilitate opportunities and reduce barriers related to affordable housing.

Below are some of the March 22 Council meeting topics.

The public is invited to contact members of the City Council to express concerns, questions and praise. Some council members are holding virtual office hours and others are available to meet upon request. Please visit the City Council page for more information on individual City Council members.

The Planning Commission on March 24 will hold a second public participation meeting on the Hyla High School project, a proposal to renovate four existing office buildings into a new educational facility on Ericksen Avenue. The second public participation meeting is being held due to an error with the mailing notice.

The applicant, which operates private Hyla Middle School on Bucklin Hill Road, would like to use an Ericksen Avenue property (with four existing buildings) for a high school campus.

The proposal involves a change in use to an educational facility, which is a permitted use in the district. The project is proposed in 3-4 phases. The phasing goal is to have one building completed per year, with the addition of staff/students as building conversion (and program success) dictate.

A public participation meeting provides an opportunity for the community to learn about a proposed project. The Planning Commission meeting begins at 6 p.m. March 24 on Zoom.

The Planning Commission on March 24 will continues its discussion on draft Ordinance 2022-02 for an affordable housing density bonus pilot program for religious facilities at the Bethany Lutheran site. Additional information is available on the City’s website.

Washington State Ferries (WSF) announced this week that the Seattle/Bainbridge route will be on full two-boat service for a trial period starting March 22 as part of the efforts to work toward returning service to pre-pandemic levels.

The route is moving to this trial service stage based on the latest service metrics outlined in the COVID-19 Service Restoration Plan. If the two-boat service is reliably available 95% of the time for three weeks during this trial phase, the restoration will be made permanent.

WSF has prioritized ferry routes based on ridership, service performance, availability and directness of travel alternatives, and vessel and crew availability.

The Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation is hosting a Waypoint Woods community conversation and park walking tour 2-4 p.m. Sunday, March 20.

The event, initially scheduled for Feb. 22, will begin with a presentation of preliminary park designs at the Bainbridge Island Rowing Stan Pocock Legacy Boathouse, located at 301 Shannon Drive in Waterfront Park. A walking tour of nearby Waypoint Woods will follow.

Waypoint Woods is located at the corner of Olympic and Harborview drives, bounded by the Winslow Waterfront Trail and Waypoint plaza near the ferry terminal.

The Parks Foundation is leading a planning process, with Seattle-based AHBL land use and design firm, to improve the 3-acre park for neighborhood and visitor use.

Enhancements could include improved trails, benches with views of Eagle Harbor, a new park entrance at the Waterfront Trail footbridge, and other features.