Kjell Stoknes

Age: 60

Education: Master’s in public administration, University of Puget Sound, B.A. economics, Western Washington University

Occupation/work experience: Retired. Former co-manager of Bank of America commercial appraisal services for the Pacific Northwest region; manager of Cushman & Wakefield Appraisal Services in Seattle; contract commercial real estate appraiser in Seattle area; community development director, City of Tukwila; urban planner, City of Kirkland; veteran, USNR

Community involvement: Citizen Advisory Board for the Kitsap County Block Grant Program, Comprehensive Plan Review Committee for Winslow Tomorrow; Winslow Tomorrow committee co-chair and facilitator, Transportation Committee co-chair; BI Road End Committee, Port Blakely Acquisition Study Task Force (park district)

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1) With the Winslow Tomorrow planning effort about to bring recommendations for downtown redevelopment, what comes next? What should the council do to follow through with the recommendations? How should the city pay for improvements, and should funding be put to a public vote?

What comes next: The next steps are to create a Comprehensive Plan amendment and a zoning code amendment in order to allow the vision to occur. This would most likely involve removing language from the Comprehensive Plan that is too specific and inconsistent with zoning changes that need to be made. The zoning amendments would most likely allow a higher height limit and density along Winslow Way to promote upper-floor residential use and higher ceiling heights on first-floor retail spaces. It would also lower the parking requirement on retail space. It will be necessary to form a parking authority to build parking garages near Winslow Way. The motivation is to improve the feasibility to make redevelopment more likely to occur. Incentives could be included that will promote an expanded street level that extends pedestrian opportunities and creates more walkways between buildings. The construction of new retail space would also be a likely outcome. There will also need to be an urban design element.

How should the city pay? The city should pay for staff and consulting costs out of the general fund. All recurring costs should be paid for from the general fund. The replacement of utilities and reconstruction of Winslow Way will be expensive and come from a combination of state grants, general fund money and as a last resort councilmanic bonds.

Should funding be put to public vote? No. I believe that the city should avoid the use of general obligation bonds that require a vote of the people. The will of the people should be observed through the public hearing process. Funding sources are available without requiring a vote and should not affect the bond rating of the city. I have taken a stance that total annual interest charges on borrowed money should not exceed 5 percent of the annual general fund budget in any given year. With interest rates currently low on municipal bonds, the current use of debt looks favorable in comparison to future inflation.

2) Are there any existing city programs or ordinances you would work to eliminate? Any not in existence you would work to enact or fund?

I cannot think of any programs currently in effect that I would like to eliminate. There are several sections in the proposed Critical Area Ordinance that I would like to see removed, primarily because I do not think they protect our critical areas and they will require the addition of staff. The first is the “density credit to wetlands and a transfer of development rights program.” No one currently understands how many additional units could be established in Winslow under the wetland density bonus and we are not certain that a TDR program can be made operational. The draft ordinance instructs staff to develop a TDR program and come back to council with a proposal. If we are going to develop a TDR program, I would like to see it used exclusively for protecting farmlands. The densities to wetlands and TDR issues have not been well thought out.

The second issue is a voluntary track regarding how a property owner deals with wetland regulations. The voluntary track concept seems to duplicate the Regulatory Use Exception (RUE) process. It could be incorporated into the RUE process with minor language changes, which would eliminate the staff requirement to develop a voluntary track program. The Growth Management Act, which requires local jurisdictions to enact Critical Area Ordinances, is a regulatory act. I don’t support additional taxpayer funding to develop a voluntary track.

3) What challenges do you see facing the council and/or the city in the next four years? How would you deal with them?

The challenges I see in the next four years are 1) A slowdown in revenues and ongoing pressure on expenses, 2) Pressure to do more with less funding, 3) More pressure on city staff to do more with no increase in staff positions and 4) Related morale issues on the part of city staff that could drive down productivity.

In looking through the current budget for 2006, it is clear that sustaining our revenues when compared to our spending will be a challenge. This is demonstrated by the proposed use of $3,000,000 in councilmanic bond debt to pay for Winslow Tomorrow staff, consultants, some design work and maybe some construction. This is not a sustainable business model. The positive part is that the Winslow Tomorrow spending is most likely not ongoing. We will soon have to evaluate all programs the city provides and decide which ones are essential, which are optional but highly beneficial and which ones are optional and less beneficial. We will have to make difficult decisions about what programs we want to fund.

The council does not have hands-on management with city staff, so solutions there would come mainly through setting policy. Morale is a huge issue, and this can be improved with a good internal communication policy. Employees need to feel included in decisions that affect them. Finally, I believe the city should pay salaries above the average of peer cities. Publications on personnel issues suggest that pay is not a motivator; however adequate pay does promote staff retention and may allow more employees to own homes where they work. We are an expensive place to live. If we want to attract the best employees for the job, we have to recognize that we will have to pay more than cities with lower housing costs.

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Doug Smith

Age: 50

Education: B.S. English Education, University of Tennessee

Occupation/work experience: Marketing executive for over 15 years with various companies: Mercury Online Solutions, Seattle Seahawks, Robinson Manufacturing and Nike.

Community involvement: Volunteer at Ordway, Sakai, Woodward and Bainbridge High schools, Winslow Tomorrow Character and Circulation Committees, BI Land Trust, Bainbridge Conservation Voters Bainbridge High Booster Club, Bainbridge boys and girls lacrosse and soccer, member of St. Cecilia Catholic Church.

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1) With the Winslow Tomorrow planning effort about to bring recommendations for downtown redevelopment, what comes next? What should the council do to follow through with the recommendations? How should the city pay for improvements, and should funding be put to a public vote?

The first step is to evaluate and examine the existing codes for downtown and begin to rewrite them so that they are consistent with the vision that was outlined by the participants of Winslow Tomorrow – a Winslow that is a vibrant, green, sustainable, social and cultural downtown. It is essential that we change the existing codes so the downtown accommodates more pedestrians and not more cars. The council must pass the floor area ratio changes [affecting density] that set the tone for the kind of mixed use that preserves the character of the past but plans for the future and strictly enforces development that only conforms to the eight design principles identified by Winslow Tomorrow.

In addition, I think the council should be forceful and speak with one voice to prevent the WSF from making a $39 million dollar investment in Eagle Harbor that will effectively place an industrial ship yard between Pritchard Park and Waterfront Park. We cannot reconnect Winslow to the waterfront while it is dominated by an industrial facility that is incompatible with our vision of Winslow and our waterfront. This facility restricts or totally eliminates 6.5 acres of prime waterfront land from public use for a park and boat haul-out facility promised in a 1974 shoreline hearing decision.

The current plan, as I understand it, is for Winslow Tomorrow to be funded with a bond – I’m not sure it’s a good idea to borrow the money. I’d like to explore a “pay as you go” plan to implement Winslow Tomorrow rather than borrow the money. The community congress of over 150 members has been active for almost a year now, and I think it would be a waste of time and money to have a vote now on the funding.

2) Are there any existing city programs or ordinances you would work to eliminate? Any not in existence you would work to enact or fund?

I think it’s time to vote on a strong ethics ordinance – if I am on the council, it won’t take three years to get that done. I think an open government with a strong ethics ordinance is especially important on a small island where there are always potential conflicts of interest. I will also work to write a clear and simple sign ordinance for the island that eliminates this divisive issue. I’d also work hard to improve the care and maintenance of the city right of ways – especially High School Road so the responsibility is clear between the property owner and the city over who is responsible for maintaining the sidewalks and easements. Right now, it appears neither side does anything and the strips along High School Road look neglected and abandoned – including the center of the roundabout.

I’d also establish our island as a Tree City USA and work with the National Arbor Day Foundation to establish an environment that values, respects and replants trees. I won’t just talk about it, I’ll do something. I’ll immediately plant a community tree in the middle of the roundabout and line the 2,000-foot sidewalk strip between the temple and the roundabout with trees that continue the pattern established in front of the Mormon temple.

I’d also like to establish a juvenile offender program that takes minor offenses and rather than making the offender pay a fine – puts young people to work picking up litter, maintaining our parks and doing community service work. I’ll also ensure that our police department does not spend an inordinate amount of time harassing teenagers on the island.

I’ll work to establish partnerships with the schools that connect young people with the senior citizens of the island so the young people are exposed to the wisdom of an older generation and the older islanders are reinvigorated by the energy and enthusiasm of the young people.

Why are there no young people involved in the Friday spruce up at the library?

3) What challenges do you see facing the council and/or the city in the next four years? How would you deal with them?

The council must be effective and get things done – I am a coalition builder and do not see people who disagree with me as the enemy. I do not have an us versus them personality. I have the interpersonal skills and communication skills to drastically improve the chemistry of the City Council. I’ll use the art of persuasion and complex selling skills to accomplish my goals. I am also a good listener and know that I do not have the answers to everything.

I have kids who have attended, or are now attending Ordway, Sakai, Woodward and Bainbridge High School – I feel like I have a unique understanding of the quality of life issues that must be protected for the majority of people who choose to live here because of the livability of our island. As a stay-at-home dad – I have been totally immersed and active in all aspects of the community for the last three years.