Is Bainbridge Island recycling enough? That is the question.
The answer is likely no, so residents could be mandated to do so in the near future.
In his report to the City Council March 28, city manager Blair King said while 90 percent of residents have garbage service through Bainbridge Disposal, less than half of them recycle. He said that number might be low because some people are self-haulers. “But what is the level council expects?” King asked, adding is that good enough?
If not, he wonders what would be possible if the city had greater control over its solid waste system. The city would not add vehicles and staff, but would administer collection through a franchise hauler. If such a decision is made, the city would decide which materials are collected and how frequently, how they are collected, where they go after collection, which sorts of trucks or fuels are used, how diversion programs are promoted and financially incentivized, performance standards for the waste hauler, and costs to residents and the city.
The council expects to make a decision at a future meeting.
Winslow plan
The council spent much of the meeting talking about a committee for the Winslow Subarea Plan.
Instead of an ad-hoc committee used for smaller designated centers, the Planning Commission recommended a robust community process, along with a steering committee made up of three City Councilmembers, two planning commissioners and one member each from the Race Equity and Climate Change advisory committees, along with one from another advisory committee.
Councilmember Kirsten Hytopoulos was the most outspoken against the entire process, saying the City Council basically has been bypassed. She said consultants and city staff instead took charge. “The council was denied to oversee the process as we have in the past.”
She said work on the upcoming Comprehensive Plan also would need a steering committee. She suggested the same panel should work on both plans to ensure cohesiveness. “It’s the most significant part of the Comp Plan update,” she said of the Winslow area. “It’s a huge center that impacts us all. There’s no way they can’t bleed together.”
Hytopoulos said hundreds of people were involved in 2004, the last time the Winslow plan was updated. “That’s how seriously this community takes this.”
All of the councilmembers agreed they want a “robust” community process, but they disagreed on how to do it.
Mayor Brenda Fantroy-Johnson said she does not want to go back to the way it was done before. “We did not reach out to the people who needed to be there,” she said. Fantroy-Johnson said this newer process being looked at includes outreach to people who don’t normally sit on city commissions, like seniors. “They’re part of this process.”
Councilmember Clarence Moriwaki said the idea brought forward by Hytopoulos only adds “a new bureaucratic level that does not move us forward.” He added this newer process includes many open houses where people can share their views. Councilmember Joe Deets seemed to agree. “We want inclusion, but don’t want to be spinning our wheels.”
Councilmember Leslie Schneider reminded the others that last year they rejected the old way of doing things in favor of a more robust process. But she liked the idea of work coinciding between the steering committee for both the Winslow and Comp plans.
In introducing the proposed change, planning director Patty Charnas said the council previously had said the ad-hoc committee used in the past for designated centers did not include enough public participation. “The spirit of the council’s intent was more inclusivity,” she said. The change would bring not just involvement from committee members, but a “community engagement plan with broad, more-equitable representation.”
The council agreed to talk again on the subject at its next meeting April 11.
In closing, Hytopoulos said she appreciated the work the planning commission did in coming up with the new concept. “They got handed an empty plate,” she said, meaning they didn’t get the direction needed because of the lack of council involvement.
Public art
The council decided to extend the Something New Public Art Rotation Program for another five years. A decision to expand the five permanent spots to seven was delayed until a study about public art is finished later this year. Annual cost over the five years is $27,400 to $43,300 with the total being from $147,000 to $177,000.
Deets said he wonders if the council could have control over where art is placed. He objected to a dog being installed outside City Hall. But Hytopoulos said the whole idea of the project is its public art. “It’s not us at all,” she said.
Committees
Deputy city manager Ellen Schroer talked to the council about its advisory committees. A survey of committee members received only about a 30 percent response. About 70 percent said they spent about as much time on it as expected, and 66 percent said they have enough engagement with the community. But only about half said they spent enough time with the council.
Committees that were most effective were ones that work often with a city staff member. It works best when staff takes items to the committees. Those not as effective were more on their own and worked on things that are not in the council’s work plan, which wastes staff time. Inconsistent support leads to frustration. Committee members like sharing their expertise, technical assistance, advice and analysis, but have little desire for more public engagement.
Road funding
The council also decided to take another look at possible funding for improvements to Valley Road after the mayor changed her mind and decided to vote for it. However, the majority on council still seem to be against it.
“We need predictable procedures,” Moriwaki said, adding previous councils were criticized for “hodgepodge” decisions in the past. As an example, speed limits were decided on a case-by-case basis, and that’s why this council recently standardized them. He said Valley Road improvements are ranked low in the Sustainable Transportation Plan, so it should not be able to “leapfrog” other priorities.
Schneider agreed, saying volunteers worked for two years on the STP. Their goal is to “get people out of their cars and to mitigate climate change.” A pivot to fund Valley Road could affect other aspects of the STP. She said this issue shows the need for an ongoing transportation committee. She said the last time the city tried to pass a funding package for transportation it lost at the polls “big time” because it wasn’t specific enough. Schneider said the city needs to earn the public’s trust by “finishing what we start,” adding they adopted the STP, but still need a funding strategy.
Public comment
Bob Russell said he hopes the council puts together a steering committee for the Winslow Subarea Plan quickly. He said it needs to be expanded to include at least one at-large citizen, a retailer and an architect. And it needs to meet at least monthly, not just quarterly. “Oversight is super important,” he said.
Mike Swank said he would like to see the city get into the business of affordable housing, and that it should float a bond to manage such a development at the old police station. He also said the city should look into consolidating with the parks and fire departments.
Kevin Miller said the City Council needs to take more control over spending on the new police-court facility. He said there have been at least three errors in financing that should have easily been foreseen. New expenses are more than twice the original contingency budget. He asked the council to reduce the new contingency amount to show they have control over spending on the project.
William Hunt asked the city for support urging people to sign at sakaiparkpetition.com. He said the parks department has been a failure in planning a park there, especially since the bond passed in 2015. He said it’s 23 acres in the heart of Winslow, and that “all are being deprived of activities” as a result.
At the end, Deets objected to non-elected people being criticized during public comments. “We’re fair game,” he said of councilmembers. But the council needs to decide if denigrating others “is appropriate behavior in these chambers.”
Proclamations
There were proclamations for: “Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta Day of Service and Learning,” “Nidoto Nai Yoni — Let it Not Happen Again Day” and “Heritage Tree Month.”
