Go for BAC
To the editor:
I am writing in concurrence with BIMPRD Commissioner Dawn Janow’s argument that it is “incorrect [for the group Save Sakai Community and Sports Center] to claim voters approved construction of a community center at the time the community passed the Sakai Bond measure in 2015.”
I personally participated in both the daylong and the follow-up half- day Information Sessions [held at BHS and BI Aquatic Center respectively] that BIMPD conducted as part of its planning process to determine “what uses the public would like Parks to accomplish” at Sakai Park.
Among the +/- 200 people who participated in those sessions, as Janow states, “while many were in favor of large-scale development there, an equal number preferred to leave the property in a more-natural setting.”
Without reaching general consensus, the sentiment at the conclusion of the second session was, for the time being, only to clear brush allowing for casual daytime use of the new Sakai Park while Parks explored financial feasibility of large-scale options.
Parks is wise to purchase the self-supporting Bainbridge Athletic Club, leaving Sakai Park on Madison free for development for outdoor activities in the park’s natural setting.
Mary F. Jacobs
Bainbridge Island
CRT fits here
To the editor:
The Critical Race Theory is nothing more than an academic concept that invites us to critically examine the fact that racism is a social construct, that racism is embedded in legal systems and policies.
In her article ‘We’re simply reversing the skin color of the victims’, Ms. Flowers appears to miss the invitation. She jumps to the protection of white students whom she fears will be abused by CRT, totally overlooking a more fundamental question we should ask ourselves: are there youth of color in our Bainbridge community who don’t feel seen, don’t feel heard, who struggle to meet their potential?
CRT simply invites us to be curious, to inquire, not unlike any of the conversations we hold locally about inequity and racism. If the answer to that question is yes then what can we as a community do to support those students? Because that’s who we Bainbridge Islanders are, a caring community with plenty of resources to help these students achieve their dreams.
Ms. Flowers also overlooks one of our core value, namely that all our youth – white, black, brown – thrive in a community like ours that acknowledges a shared destiny and shared responsibility for all its students.
Bea Dixon
Bainbridge Island
Involve public
To the editor:
I have questions about the shenanigans of the Bainbridge Parks Department in regard to the purchase of the Bainbridge Athletic Club. They have failed to examine operational cost/issues, mission fulfillment, traffic and environmental impact studies, and they have not addressed what happens to the Sakai plans, all without community involvement.
The larger financial question is that it appears they are abandoning their plans for Sakai Community & Sports Center, which is what they sold to the community when taxpayers approved the purchase of Sakai.
Sakai is much more appropriate for the vision that was sold to local families in 2015: providing the best access, centrally located, on 22 acres.
The BAC has many issues that are problematic and even dangerous for the larger BI community, i.e., an entry road that infamously has hosted numerous accidents over the years, distance from high density corridor and limited septic, water and parking capabilities. If the BIMPRD does not abandon BAC plans, then they are simply duplicating something that has already been planned and approved, and adding another $13 million to the tab (so now we are at $55 million plus $13 million without any community involvement) is frankly a recipe for disaster.
Jacki Malitzski
Bainbridge Island
Not at Sakai
To the editor:
Municipal corporations such as the Bainbridge Island park district can purchase athletic facilities at fair market value, which must include the $4 million for the business operated at the Bainbridge Athletic Center by Fourcourt, Inc. This is so because the most-extreme method of acquiring a sports facility is by eminent domain, which requires the forced purchase via condemnation be completed at full market value of all tangible and intangible property taken.
There are a number of cases of the acquisition of sports facilities, including huge sports stadiums, using eminent domain. Those properties, many of which had businesses, including both tangible and intangible property, had to be purchased at fair market value. The district does have the power to condemn lands, but that does not mean that the owner can have property taken without fair market compensation as it must be included with the purchase of the land.
Because BAC is serving about 1,000 users when it has a capacity to serve 3,000, it is a public benefit to acquire the facility so more of the public can use it. Regardless of how the district finances the purchase, future financial projections show more income than the cost of operations and debt service. Therefore, the purchase will be revenue neutral and will have no impact on taxes.
The goal of creating a sports complex at Sakai Park should also be doable. But that could hurt privately owned gyms. More than half of Sakai Park is dominated by wetlands and their required buffers, thus the property is extremely environmentally sensitive. Perhaps those who support a sports facility there should reasses their efforts.
David Smith
Watch out
To the editor:
I’m writing with a heartfelt plea to island walkers and bikers. Please, please, please consider wearing a brightly colored shirt or jacket. Several of our roads are still without shoulders, and many pedestrians and cyclists seem to assume drivers will see them in time to avoid a tragic mishap.
We have more than our share of senior citizens whose eyesight may be fading. Protect yourself, your beloved dog and that precious baby in the stroller.
Joan Rynearson
Bainbridge Island
Hazardous drive
To the editor:
Have you driven or bicycled in Eagledale lately? If you have you’ve noticed how hazardous Eagle Harbor Drive is to cyclists and motorists. What happened? The city procured a grant to put bike lanes on the road. I was told 20 years ago by the Public Works director that bike lanes were imminent on this dangerous, busy road. It’s taken this long, but we’re finally getting one whole mile. Or are we?
Construction has stopped, and the shoulders are torn up. What gives? I’ve spoken with Public Works and two council people, and the answer isn’t clear why work has come to a halt or when it will resume.
Meanwhile, the road is a severe safety hazard and discouraging alternative transportation. The delay, and perhaps the meager span of lane being constructed, is in part because some people on the island are pushing for expensive, separated bike lanes as opposed to simple, cost-effective widened shoulders.
The planet is burning up, the political climate is about as stable as a drunken clown on a high wire, and we’re messing around with trying to build perfect bike lanes? When the grant came in the only question that should have been asked is how many miles of lanes can we build on the most-needed street with this money, not how can we take forever to build a fancy network of Taj Mahal bike lanes that we don’t have the money for so that some day a few people who are afraid of riding on widened shoulders might get out of their car and ride a bike to town on a sunny summer day.
Steve Keller
Eagledale
Mandate or not?
To the editor:
Why is it an infringement on someone’s personal freedom/body for the government to mandate a mask or a vaccine, and not an infringement on a woman’s personal body for the government to tell her she cannot have an abortion?
If governments can be concerned for the life of the unborn fetus, why not be concerned with the health and life of the children already born, too young to be vaccinated?
Why not be concerned for the health of that woman who may have been vaccinated, but can still contract COVID-19 because the government didn’t mandate vaccinations and masks?
Lily Diament-Hanse
Bainbridge Island
