June is a great month. It is a month full of celebrations. It’s the traditional month for weddings, graduations, Juneteenth, LGBTQI+ Pride Month, the first day of Summer, Ride Transit Month, Flag Day, and Father’s Day. All of these holidays and events are celebrated with food. Fortunately, June has its very own quirky food day as well, National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day on June 9.
Last summer, I proclaimed my affection for summer blackberries and was happy to receive two blackberry recipes - blackberry sorbet and blackberry crisp with cardamon custard sauce. I hope to ask for more blackberry recipes in August. But, this month its strawberry rhubarb recipes.
Strawberry rhubarb is my favorite fruit combination. To celebrate National Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Day, Race Equity Advisory Committee member Jing Fong gave me some backyard rhubarb and the following recipe from the Junior League of Seattle. Even though it is not a pie, it tastes wonderful.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp
Serves 4-6
Filling Directions
3 c. fresh rhubarb Preheat oven to 350
1-1/2 c. strawberries For filling: butter a 9" square baking dish.
¾ c. sugar Cut rhubarb into 1" pieces. Place in pan.
3 tbs. flour Top with strawberries.
Sprinkle with sugar & flour.
Topping For topping: in a small bowl, combine flour,
1 c. flour sugar, baking powder and salt. Add butter and
1/2 c. brown sugar mix with fingertips until mixture resembles
1 tbs. baking powder coarse crumbs. Add nuts.
¼ tsp. salt
6 tbs. butter, softened Sprinkle topping evenly over filling. Bake
1/3 c. chopped nuts until fruit is soft and bubbly and topping is
browned, about 35-40 minutes. Serve warm
with vanilla ice cream.
Please send your favorite Strawberry Rhubarb pie, or crisp, recipe to citymanager@baibridgewa.gov.
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Best,
Blair King
City Manager
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You're invited to the first Bainbridge Juneteenth Community Celebration at the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center and Waterfront Park on Sunday, June 19 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Juneteenth is an official Federal, State, and City of Bainbridge Island holiday.
There will be local speakers from Bainbridge’s Black Community, West African Food from Aunt Dolly’s for purchase, Black music streaming, a free art exhibit and general celebration honoring Juneteenth.
The event is being hosted by the City of Bainbridge Island's Race Equity Advisory Committee in collaboration with Bainbridge Black, Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center, and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union 3000.
Come and celebrate the liberation of Black people from slavery and hear about the ongoing work of race equity on Bainbridge Island. Everyone is welcome!
City Hall will be closed Monday, June 20 in observance of Juneteenth.
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This is a multi-state exercise that occurs every four years with the goal of helping communities prepare for the potential of a massive earthquake in the Cascadia Subduction Zone. If this were to happen, Bainbridge Island would likely be cut off from the mainland, so the community would need to rely on its own emergency capabilities.
The exercise will include activating our Emergency Operations Center (June 13), our Emergency Flotilla (June 14) and one of our disaster hubs (June 15).
You are likely to notice City staff, Police, Fire, Bainbridge Prepares personnel and volunteers participating in the exercise at various locations across the island.
Thank you for your support while we conduct this essential training to help prepare the community for such an emergency.
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Sign up for the City's Emergency Alert System |
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Nixle is the City’s official emergency notification and alert system. In addition to providing communications during emergencies, Nixle is also used to inform the public of road closures, missing persons or urgent issues related to storm response.
The City also monitors outside agencies, such as Kitsap Public Health, WSDOT, the ferry system, and Puget Sound Energy, among others in order to push out information that may affect islanders, such as water/shellfish pollution advisories, Agate Pass closures, shutdown ferry services, power outages impacting more that 50% of the island and other such alerts.
You can receive Nixle alerts either by text or email. It’s easy to sign up, just text 98110 to 888777 or visit www.nixle.com.
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Calling all nominees for the Blakely Awards! |
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The City’s Historic Preservation Commission is seeking nominations for this year’s Blakely Awards; the submission deadline is June 15, 2022.
Since 2011, Blakely Awards have recognized individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to historic preservation on the Island.
There are two nomination categories:
1) Project of Excellence - In recognition of outstanding historic preservation projects which are of significant value to the community.
2) Preservation Leader - In recognition of community leadership in promoting historic preservation by an individual or organization.
To qualify as a Preservation Leader, the nomination should demonstrate how their efforts have advanced the cause of historic preservation in our community through public outreach and education, community leadership and promotion of historic preservation, and/or management of a significant preservation project.
Individual nominees must be island residents or island property owners. Organizations must conduct some historic preservation activities on the Island.
The nomination form is available on the Commission’s webpage.
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Try taking the bus during Ride Transit Month! |
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Many people think of the bus only for commuting to/from the ferry. However, you can travel by bus on the island all day long with BI Ride! BI Ride is an on-demand, shared-ride service for getting almost anywhere on Bainbridge Island.
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New Brooklyn & Sportsman Club Project |
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Work on the New Brooklyn/Sportsman Club intersection improvement project will begin on June 22.
To avoid impacts during the school year, the contractor needs the full summer to accomplish the reconfiguration of lanes, the addition of sidewalks and approaching roadway shoulders, which are all scheduled to be completed prior to school reconvening in early September.
The project will increase safety for school children, pedestrians, bicyclists, and other non-motorized users crossing at this junction.
Traffic control detours and signage will be coordinated with the return of this year’s Rotary Auction to lessen the impacts. After July 4th the entirety of NE New Brooklyn Road from Sportsman Club Road NE to NE Grizdale Lane will be closed in both directions. The contractor has been selected and the project bid came in under budget.
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Thank you for your patience, as we have experienced some delays in shoulder mowing this year due to multiple vacant positions, scheduled vacations and other staffing limitations in the Public Works department. We are actively working to hire employees in various departments for both seasonal and full-time roles.
Did you know?
- Roadside mowing vegetation control is performed on 142 miles of rural roadway throughout the city.
- No herbicides are used by the city and all vegetation control activities are performed by mechanical means using roadside mowers.
- Each year on average between 750 and 900 hours are spent on these activities.
- In addition to mowing, ongoing recurring work includes danger tree removal, sign repair, gravel road repair, and facilities maintenance.
- In the Spring, seasonal work activities begin such as streetscape maintenance, facility landscape maintenance, mowing, weeding, and irrigation set up.
- Overhead trimming and shoulder pulling work involves multiple crew members and overhead trimming requires a crew of five to six.
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Affordable housing development by a religious organization |
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At their meeting on June 7, 2022 the City Council received a report from the Planning Commission Chair related to the April 14, 2022 Commission 3-3 tie vote on a recommendation for approval of the ordinance to the City Council. The Planning Commission reviewed the ordinance over 8 meetings between November 2021 and April 2022.
Washington State law requires local governments to provide a density bonus for any affordable housing development located on property owned or controlled by religious organizations. The law allows cities significant latitude for implementation.
The City Council chose to draft an ordinance itself and to continue the discussion at a future meeting.
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Fourth of July Fireworks Ban |
As we look forward to a fun and safe Fourth of July holiday, we want to remind everyone that fireworks are prohibited on Bainbridge Island per ordinance (Chapter 8.28). This includes Sparklers, Roman candles, rockets, cones, and firecrackers.
On the Fourth of July, concerned citizens can call 9-1-1 to report illegal fireworks or any of the following:
- Someone injured from a firework
- A fire started by a firework
- You witness someone attempting to start a fire with a firework
- You witness someone assaulting someone with a firework
Between July 1 through July 4, during the hours of 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., nuisance fireworks complaints can be made by calling the Bainbridge police department directly at 206-842-5211. Calls that include a specific location where fireworks are being discharged will be prioritized over those reporting a general area.
Bainbridge police will be out in the community and available to assist as needed throughout the holiday weekend.
We appreciate your cooperation as we work to keep everyone in our community safe.
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The next scheduled City Council Regular Business Meeting will be on June 14. Key topics include:
- Proclaim Juneteenth City Holiday
- Proclaim June LGTBQI+ Awareness Month
Ways to Watch
- In-person at the City Hall City Council Chambers
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City website livestream (visit the Agendas & Minutes page, then click on "In Progress" when the meeting starts)
- BKAT (Channel 12 on Comcast & Channel 3 on WAVE
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.
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The City of Bainbridge Island is preparing to adopt the Washington State Department of Ecology 2019 Stormwater Management Manual for Western Washington (SWMMWW) to continue to support the City’s Comprehensive Plan policies and goals, uphold the Clean Water Act and meet State and Federal requirements for controlling runoff from new development, redevelopment, and construction sites to reduce pollutants in stormwater runoff. The anticipated effective date to adopt the 2019 SWMMWW in BIMC 15.20 is July 1, 2022.
The 2019 SWMMWW builds on the guidance of the previous manual regarding Low Impact Development (LID) as a preferred approach to stormwater mitigation and adds more Source Control Best Management Practices (BMPs) for preventing sources of pollutants in runoff. Additionally, the 2019 SWMMWW incorporates text revisions and consolidates sections to avoid confusion or conflicting information. Most jurisdictions in Western Washington are adopting this manual so there is consistency throughout the region.
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The City of Bainbridge Island has various career opportunities open to hire!
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Maintenance Technicians I/II (DOQ). Maintenance Technicians perform operation, construction, maintenance and repair work for the City's streets and facilities.
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Maintenance Worker and Seasonal Maintenance Worker. The Maintenance Worker is primarily a manual labor position that performs maintenance activities in parks, facilities, and roadsides using hand and portable power tools.
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Police Officers (Entry Level & Lateral). The Police Officer's primary purpose is to maintain peace and order and to protect life and property through impartial enforcement of federal, state and local laws.
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Treatment Plant Operator I/II (DOQ). Treatment Plant Operators perform operations, maintenance and repairs on all aspects of the wastewater pumping and wastewater treatment systems.
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Utilities Technicians I/II (DOQ). Utilities Technicians perform operation, construction, maintenance and repair work for the City’s utilities (surface water, stormwater, and sewer collection).
For more information and to apply, or to view all City employment opportunities, please visit our career page.
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Learn more about how to support the Climate Action Plan |
Looking for more information about climate action programs and resources on Bainbridge Island?
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June 12, 1 - 4 p.m. ReFashion Show, Islandwood
June 13-15 Cascadia Rising Emergency Response Exercise
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June 14 City scheduled to hold Public Hearing for Adoption of the 2019 Stormwater Management Manual of Western Washington
Monday, June 20 City Hall closed in observance of Juneteenth
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