In case you haven’t heard, this is where things stand on the Washington State Ferries offer to COBI:
In spite of the efforts of the Ad Hoc Committee in a meeting with David Moseley, WSF restrictions on the lease option remain difficult, if not unworkable.
These restrictions have discouraged an offer from the most environmentally responsible marine yard operator in the state, and from an imaginative and enthusiastic group of island citizens who have plans for a boatyard and small boat center on the site.
Alternatively, WSF is offering $2 million (now with no strings attached) to the city in exchange for the community’s rights to a boatyard on the edge of their property.
Already, affluent community members are advocating the $2 million be used for a marina for 30- to 50-foot yachts in the open waters of Waterfront Park.
Council has received many letters from the commodores of regional yacht clubs, suggesting they’d schedule cruises to Eagle Harbor if such a marina is built.
Council’s Ad Hoc WSF committee and the Harbor Commission have a process in place for weighing proposals for all the options, including Option 3:
Neither of the above. They will make a recommendation on Dec. 8, and a final decision is expected by Dec. 22.
It is our opinion that the right to a boatyard is not the city’s to give away.
The covenants underlying that portion of the WSF land title were established in 1974 by a lengthy effort of the 150 dedicated citizens of BICC (Bainbridge Island Concerned Citizens, founded by Rachel Smith and Jessie Hey.)
And while the city’s financial situation is dire, council has now balanced the budget.
Giving away the community’s right to a boatyard – a marine attraction and an economic engine of jobs and taxes – seems economically questionable.
A yacht harbor is not the reason BICC worked so long ago to maintain those rights, and it is certainly the wrong message to send to the boat owners facing eviction from Eagle Harbor.
We can’t make room for them, but we will make room for weekend yachters?
Council has been asked to strongly request that the lease option be made workable, as it would be if WSF followed the guidelines outlined in the 1995 Memorandum of Agreement that this offer is meant to settle.
If Council is unable to advocate successfully on behalf of the community’s repeatedly expressed wish for a boatyard, we must regretfully ask that the offer, and the money, be rejected.
There’s still time to make your wishes known.
If you believe a boatyard on the WSF site would be in the best interest of the community, please contact the council, the Harbor Commission, and perhaps even David Moseley. We’ll happily provide addresses.
Elise Wright
Bainbridge Island
