Had to resign
To the editor:
As a former member of the Bainbridge Island Historic Preservation Commission, I want to clarify that the commission resigned because of an erosion of duties as defined in the BI municiple code. The police station demolition was the last straw.
The city gained status as a Certified Local Government in 2004, which established a formal citywide historic preservation program implemented by BIMC 18.24 and the HPC. The program identifies, evaluates the significance of, and protects the historic properties on BI, with grants available to assist in that effort. The program mirrors state and federal historic preservation programs and is overseen by the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.
Over the last few years, the HPC has seen a slow erosion of its duties. Some examples include: the commission no longer reviews permit applications for buildings over 50 years old; the city removed identification and evaluation of historic properties from our most recent workplan; it denied efforts by commissioners to write ”free” CLG grants; it denied an HPC effort to nominate Suyematsu Farm to the National Register of Historic Places; and it created onerous communication processes between the HPC and outside entities, including the City Council and CLG program.
When commissioners met recently with city manager Blair King to discuss these issues, we were told that the city saw only a limited role for the HPC going forward, a role that had nothing to do with its defined duties. The commission was left with no choice but to resign.
Susan S. Hughes
Bainbridge
Vote for pool
To the editor:
Excitement is building at the Bainbridge Island Aquatic Center. The aging, much-used Ray Williamson pool is set to be updated to address critical mechanical and structural issues; and now the BI parks board is considering putting a bond before voters that would make it possible to add two lanes to the 54-year-old facility during the upcoming renovation.
Bainbridge needs additional pool capacity. Nearly 300 students and adults—including swim and water polo team members and lap swimmers—use the pool daily, and there are waiting lists for most activities. Last summer 935 children were on swim lesson waitlists. The overcrowding isn’t surprising. The Ray was built when fewer than 15,000 people lived on BI.
With existing upgrades to the pool already approved and swim program disruptions already planned, now is the perfect time to cost-efficiently expand the pool to make swimming more accessible to islanders of all ages and abilities.
I urge the BI parks board to vote to put the bond on the ballot so voters can decide this important issue.
Ken Bennett
Bainbridge
Other options
To the editor:
Developers are proposing to build new affordable housing at the old police station complex, a site impacted by considerable traffic-related pollution.
Consider that the center of the proposed residential complex is approximately 170 feet from stop-and-go traffic, and idling cars in ferry lines. Proximity to a concentrated pollution source makes a huge difference. The result can be asthma, heart conditions and dementia. For elderly and low-income renters it’s way too close.
To contrast – Harbor Square’s closest residents are 578 feet away from the intersection of Highway 305 and Winslow Way. Five hundred feet is a safer distance for residential purposes. So why are we risking the health of our residents who need affordable housing? There are other sites – safer sites.
Let’s not repeat the same environmental injustice mistakes as other cities. Does the social equity issue that building new affordable housing is OK, even if it hurts people, have a half-life here?
There are plenty of community-based alternatives for this site that invite a feeling of being more connected to each other—our community. Not a hard-scape solution but an organic enlivening solution. And they would offer a cooperative private/public partnership. To name a few–a welcoming sculpture park in conjunction with Bainbridge Island Museum of Art or a chance for arts and crafts fairs.
Mary Ann Proctor
Bainbridge
