Use change orders

To the editor:

First, we’d like to celebrate, that in the history of our city, we seem to have the most diverse elected and appointed leadership ever.

Let’s use the Harrison/Police/Court project as an opportunity to act on this circumstance by developing a plan that emphasizes problem-solving, rather than problem finding, by asking and answering these questions:

• Can the interior design be reviewed and changed as needed to emphasize creative and innovative health and social services?

• Can clear delineation be provided, such as through a separate entrance for the above, well away from the policing entry, as well as “hard” separation between those functions in the interior? How can the design reflect an ethos of public safety, rather than militaristic defense?

• Finally, because climate change is an equity issue, can we relook at opportunities to do a better job at modeling green-building techniques and holding ourselves accountable via a certification process (LEED, Living Building, Built Green), maximizing energy efficiency and clean energy sources.

And yes, that will require change orders, which can be a bitter pill. But in this case, let’s take the pill and move on to better community health and safety overall.

John and Kathleen Cunningham

Bainbridge Island

Need honest costs

To the editor:

The Bainbridge Island City Council last Tuesday reluctantly authorized a third-party investigation on the Harrison Police Station project valuation. Let’s hope the city focuses on the main issue – “Did the city rightfully spend approximately $9 million for a building that was worth $3 million?”

What the city directed the appraisers to do is to value Harrison at the “highest and best” value, which was a medical clinic. The problem the city refuses to recognize is it was buying a used office building and did not need to pay “highest and best use.” The city did not intend to continue to operate Harrison as a medical facility. Why then would the city spend three times as much of taxpayer dollars than it needed to?

The city had an alternative with Yaquina almost directly across Highway 305 with better access. The city had a letter for intent to purchase Yaquina at $1.2 million. The $8 million bond the city secured was not required. The city had enough cash to build Yaquina.

Summary: Buy Harrison and remodel for $9 million or Yaquina ground-up construction for $1.2 million. What would you choose?

Dick Haugan

Bainbridge Island