To the editor:

Proposition 1, the $15 million proposal to build a common police and court complex next to city hall should be approved for just that reason, it is next to the city hall.

By having Bainbridge Island’s major government agencies in one place will improve coordination and cooperation between them. When police officers are needed to testify in court, they will be right there. City hall and the police will be on the same page when it comes to solving island traffic and safety problems.

Yes, $15 million is a lot of money, but most of that is the cost of the building. This cost will be the same no matter where on the island it is built. The cost of buying the land will be partially offset by selling the current police property at the corner of Highway 305 and Winslow Way.

One of the alternates to the city hall location is to rebuild on the current 305–Winslow Way site. This location has the hidden cost of having to rent an interim location for the police during the year of construction or the headache of police working in a building that is being extensively remodeled (think of the recent T&C remodel). Also the site may or may not be big enough for the police, court and the required parking.

The recent discovery of contaminated soil caused by the old dry cleaners at the proposed Prop. 1 site is a problem.

If Prop. 1 passes this site will be cleaned up immediately during the construction. If Prop. 1 does not pass this site will remain a problem until the site is re-developed by some private investor. This means the contamination will be there for 10 to 20 years. What private investor wants the headache of cleaning up a contaminated site? Some if not all of the funds to clean up the site may come from the defunct dry cleaners’ insurance policy, but this reimbursement process is bound to be messy and long.

Let’s pass Prop. 1 for all the above reasons and also to show the police they are a valued and worthy of a new building.

GARY PETTERSEN

Bainbridge Island