Strawberry Hill Park is ripe for improvements.
The Bainbridge Island Metro Parks and Recreation board decided last week to take a serious look at what that facility should look like in the future.
The board hopes a concept plan can be done before its retreat March 10 and 24 from 6-8 p.m.
The board discussed having a concept plan for other parks, too, but commissioner Dawn Janow said there wasn’t time for that.
Strawberry Hill Park already is undergoing major changes. A new skateboarding area for those with less experience is being planned. And, thanks to a land donation of 10 acres nearby, so is a mountain bike trail system.
The park already has a tennis court and some ballfields, but the board would like to improve those, possibly even with turf fields.
New park commissioner Tom Goodlin said the district should come up with pros and cons on where the best spots would be to put turf fields. Other possibilities include Battle Point Park, at the high school, at Sands Field and between Sakai and Woodward. Dan Hamlin of the parks department said the same should be done for new tennis courts.
Chairman Ken DeWitt said they are limited at the high school and Sands Field because they are owned by the BI school district. Commissioner Tom Swolgaard said he mentioned last year the district should do a master plan. “We need to get going on it.”
Parks executive director Terry Lande said a concept plan is needed for Strawberry, Battle Point and Sakai “to find out what is possible and what isn’t at the three sites.” DeWitt said he’d rather see it as a package, rather than separate, with Strawberry at the main focus.
But Janow was the voice of reason, saying all of that would take a lot of time. The board’s vision is to feature Strawberry Hill Park and “give it the justice it deserves.”
Also at the meeting, DeWitt talked about goals for 2022.
He wants to develop relationships with different agencies. Such as with the city he’d like to work with park zoning to streamline the process with fewer conditional use permits. He wants to work with the BISD on turf fields. DeWitt wants to work with the BI Land Trust on wildlife corridors, more parking at Gazzam and trail development at the former Soutter parcel. And he wants to continue partnerships with the BI Parks Foundation.
Regarding maintenance, there is concern about restroom capacity at Battle Point. One day this winter they had to be closed because they were overrun. “Way more use than they were designed for,” Hamlin said.
As for Capital needs, DeWitt mentioned pool repairs at the Aquatic Center and a cover for the pool at the Bainbridge Island Recreation Center to allow multi-season use, which would help with more swim lessons that are badly needed.
Reducing barriers on main trails to allow increased accessibility also was mentioned, as was parking at Grand Forest West.
As for the BIRC, it now has 1,362 members and keeps growing. Popular classes include: Aquafit, dance workshops with a Zoom instructor, youth outdoor pickleball, afterschool badminton, chess camp, Valentine’s cooking classes and boys high school gymnastics.
