In last week’s City Manager’s Report and this week’s video update (see below), a water rescue conducted by the Bainbridge Island Police Department is described. Our Police Department rescued two people in danger. They were saved from rough seas after their kayak capsized in 46-degree water during a small craft advisory with the air temperature near freezing. They are okay and tragedy was avoided.

The City provides services with equipment, infrastructure, and people. In this case, all three elements were required to execute the rescue.

The Public Safety infrastructure was in place that allowed the 911 call to be made and our officers to hear the dispatch. We had the equipment to respond with our 33-foot SAFE (Secure All-around Flotation Equipped) boat powered with three 350-horsepower Suzuki outboard motors. She is named Marine 8, for her radio call sign. She is capable of speeds up to 52 knots and operating in hazardous weather conditions. The vessel has a drop bow, which allows for offloading on shore. This feature was used in this rescue to turn the victims over to the medics on shore. The City’s budget for the boat is $80,700 for 2022.

Finally, we have the personnel. Officers Jon Bingham and Brent Miller were the crew who manned Marine 8 for this rescue. I’ve highlighted Ofc. Bingham before. He has been a member of the BI police force for seven years and he is currently the lead marine officer. He grew up on Bainbridge, graduated from Bainbridge High School, played water polo, was the state MVP in his senior year, and holds a 50-ton captain’s license. His father was a captain for the Washington State Ferries system. Ofc. Miller also grew up on Bainbridge Island and he, too, is a Bainbridge High School Spartan. Ofc. Miller has just started his tenure with Bainbridge Island Police Department. Previously, he spent four years with the Washington State Patrol. He served four years in the U.S. Marine Corps. His mother is a medic for the Bainbridge Island Fire Department.

I am grateful for this example of equipment, infrastructure, and personnel coming together to rescue a couple of kayakers from some very cold water.

The City of Bainbridge Island utility crews will begin flushing of City water mains in the Winslow and Fletcher Bay areas on Monday, March 7. This is annual work that's done to improve water quality by removing naturally occurring sediments from the lines.

Signs will be posted in neighborhoods prior to flushing.

If you experience low water pressure or discolored water during the work, avoid running water or doing laundry for one hour. After one hour has passed, you should run cold water for approximately five minutes until it's clear.

The City anticipates the annual flushing process to be completed in two months.

Roughly 30 Bainbridge Island residents got an update March 2 on the Groundwater Management Plan (GWMP).

Hydrogeologist Maureen Whalen answered questions that focused on what the GWMP will entail, how the GWMP will connect with the City's water infrastructure projects, and how the City ensures a safe water supply.

Prior to answering questions, Whalen shared a presentation on what goes into a groundwater management plan, our current understanding of the groundwater system, and how we use groundwater for the drinking water supply on the island.

The City is creating the GWMP to develop a communitywide understanding of our groundwater resources, to reduce and adapt to climate change impacts and ensure clean and sufficient groundwater.

As a next step, staff will:

Staff will consider comments from the meeting and Engage Bainbridge responses in their work. The Engage Bainbridge survey is open until March 6.

We anticipate the draft Groundwater Management Plan will be completed by Fall 2022.

The Bainbridge Island Police Department is investigating two burglaries that occurred at jewelry stores on Winslow Way during the early morning hours on Feb. 24 and Feb. 25 and needs the public’s help identifying the thieves.

Special Olympics Washington on Feb. 26 celebrated the return of the in-person Polar Plunge fundraiser event at Alki Beach in Seattle.

Bainbridge Island Police Ofc. Colt Lasnier and his classmates in the Basic Law Enforcement Academy (Class 832) took the plunge in the cold waters of the Puget Sound to raise funds to support Special Olympics athletes in Washington State. This year’s event included a friendly competition between the eastern and western Washington teams. Class 832 took the lead in western Washington raising $12,614 for Special Olympics. "It’s great to see these new officers serve their community -both on and off duty," Chief of Police Joe Clark said.

Ofc. Lasnier is expected to graduate from the academy in May.

The City Council on March 8 will consider approval of Resolution No. 2022-11 to support the protection of the Minidoka National Historic Site in Idaho and the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial in the face of funding concerns and a proposed wind farm project.

In 2021, the Bureau of Land Management in Idaho announced plans to study a massive wind energy project, which would be located on federal public land within the historic footprint of Minidoka.

The Minidoka National Historic Site was the location of a concentration camp where Bainbridge Islanders of Japanese American descent were sent on March 30, 1942 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9066 that authorized the removal of Japanese Americans from the west coast of the United States.

In 2001, the site of the concentration camp at Minidoka was made a part of the National Park Service as a National Historic Site.

Minidoka and the Bainbridge Island Memorial help tell the story of the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. They also serve as places for healing and education.

Learn more about the Minidoka site.

Below are some of the March 8 business 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 will hold a public hearing March 10 to get feedback from the community on Ordinance 2022-02 that would amend the City's zoning regulations to allow an affordable housing pilot project on property owned by the Bethany Lutheran Church.

Ordinance 2022-02 proposes a density bonus to enable construction of the low-income affordable housing, while adding additional requirements such as green building certification.

Bethany Lutheran Church owns two properties with a total of 8.43 acres at the southwest intersection of NE High School Road and Sportsman Club Road NE. On Feb. 24, the Planning Commission approved a motion to allow Bethany Lutheran Church to build 21 homes on its property. The project would be required to meet all existing land use regulations, and new regulations proposed by Ordinance 2022-02.

The Planning Commission will make a recommendation on the ordinance, then it will be forwarded to the City Council for review and a decision.

In 2019, the Washington State Legislature approved Substitute House Bill 1377 to allow affordable housing projects on properties owned or controlled by religious organizations.

On March 10, the Planning Commission will hold a 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.

Hyla Middle School is a private school on Bucklin Hill Road serving grades 6 - 8 and has operated for 29 years. The applicant would like to expand its program through high school (160 students grades 9 – 12) and would like to expand the high school campus on an Ericksen Avenue property that has four existing buildings.

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.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 is developing a new Community Involvement Plan for the Wyckoff/Eagle Harbor Superfund Site. The plan will describe how EPA will inform and engage the local community while working on cleanup design and construction at the site.

We welcome your ideas! Please contact Community Involvement Coordinator Debra Sherbina at sherbina.debra@epa.gov.

The Wyckoff site is on the east side of Bainbridge Island, in central Puget Sound. EPA added the site to the Superfund list in 1987. Extensive cleanup actions at the site have controlled or eliminated much of the exposure risks from creosote. Additional cleanup actions are needed in the soil and groundwater at the former Wyckoff wood treating facility, and in the adjacent beach sediments. EPA expects the next phase of cleanup will begin in summer 2023.

ReFashion Bainbridge, a project of Bainbridge Island Zero Waste and Sustainable Bainbridge, with funding assistance from a City of Bainbridge Island cultural funding grant, is thrilled to announce that the 18th annual Bainbridge Environmental Conference will take place Sunday, March 27 from 12:30 to 5 p.m. at IslandWood.

Entitled "We All Get Dressed: Garb, Gear, and Growing a Sustainable Clothing Economy", this conference aims to encourage us all to rethink our role in the fashion industry and empower us to make informed choices as we learn how what we put on our body every day impacts the world around us.

The conference will feature keynote speakers discussing the psychology of consumption, innovation in textile recycling, and local fibersheds. There will be two breakout sessions with a variety of hands-on workshops and panel discussions that cover a broad array of topics, from mending and extending the life of our clothes and gear, to understanding and reducing their social and environmental impacts on a local to global scale.

Registration is $10 (if financial assistance is needed please reach out) and is now open. Please join us!