The Bainbridge Island City Council decided Tuesday not to join the police and fire departments under one roof.

City officials have been talking with the Bainbridge Island Fire Department for more than a year about the possibility of a joint facility that would house both a new headquarters station for the fire department and a new police station to replace the city department’s outdated digs on Winslow Way.

Mayor Anne Blair said the idea was just too complex.

“We want to do it in a partnership way, but when one has a landlord relationship and a tenancy relationship that complicates it when we have a government structure — two elected advising, two electing taxing authorities,” Blair said.

Fire Commissioner Scott Isenman, chairman of the board for the Bainbridge Island Fire Department, said Wednesday the city’s decision marked a missed opportunity.

“Surprise, no. Disappointment? I think it’s a lost opportunity to save what I consider a significant amount of money for the taxpayers,” Isenman said.

In addition to the savings that would have been realized from a combined facility, he noted, there would also be annual savings from having combined and reduced maintenance bills for the joint facility for both the city and the fire department.

According to a consultant firm’s study on a dual facility that was funded by both the city and the fire department, a combined police department and fire station would save taxpayers approximately $2.3 million, not including land costs. The cost of the combined facility was pegged at $15.3 million.

Isenman said the split may prove to be the best for the fire department in the long run, given the city’s process and the attitude that was exhibited during the council’s deliberations.

“If they don’t want to partner with us, we’re better off not wanting to partner with them,” he said.

The 5-2 council vote to take the joint facility off the list of possible sites came after the council chose to delay the discussion at last week’s meeting to give time for more public input.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Bainbridge resident Andy Maron said there were some things the council could agree on.

First, he asked the council to consider four key factors: what’s best for the community, the city government, police department and cost.

Locating the police station in downtown Winslow, Maron explained, would reduce the natural isolation that occurs within those jobs.

It could also put money into the downtown community. While a stand-alone facility is considered a more expensive option it’s a 40- to 50-year decision and should level itself out in time, he said.

Additionally, he noted, the city manager recommended keeping the police station downtown and separate from the fire station.

Council members agreed in part.

“The city manager, who works very closely and supervises the police chief and police department, has recommended that those facilities be separate,” Blair said.

“That’s a very strong direction for me, and one that I respect,” she said.

Councilwoman Sarah Blossom said that while she understands the council’s concern over a potential tenant-landlord relationship, she disagreed that Winslow remains the best area for the police station.

“If the only possibility to be out of downtown was to co-locate, than I would choose to co-locate,” Blossom said.

“Imagine a call in Wing Point. You can go north, you can go south. You can try to traverse narrow, tiny Winslow Way, or you can go all the way up to High School [Road] and go that way,” Blossom explained.

“Or if you’re where the fire station is you can hop on 305 and go whichever way you need to go.

“This is not in my opinion a good area to have a police station, and I think [the congestion] is going to get worse,” Blossom said.

The council voted 5-2 to eliminate the option for a shared facility. Blossom and Councilman Roger Townsend voted no.

The joint location was one of two decisions the council made Tuesday.

A crowd of Island Fitness members and employees came to Tuesday’s meeting to ask the council to also remove the location south of city hall from the list of possibilities, which would have resulted in the police station ending up on the gym property.

“We understand that when a property is taken through eminent domain, the property owner is compensated at fair market value but the business is not considered,” said Michael Rosenthal, owner of Island Fitness.

“The shutting of Island Fitness would mean the end of this business. It would mean the end of employment for 70 community members and financial ruin for Alexa and myself,” he said.

In its 12 years of business, Rosenthal said, the gym has paid $750,000 in utilities, more than $150,000 in taxes, $12 million in wages, $12,000 to the B&O Main Street program and $360,000 in support of local charitable organizations.

“That’s $14,878,000 pumped back into this community,” Rosenthal explained. “It simply makes no sense to remove this business from the community and remove this property from the tax rolls forever.”

Immediately following Rosenthal’s comments, the council short-circuited the discussion and voted unanimously to remove the Island Fitness site from consideration.

Applause from the crowd resonated through the room in response.

Remaining on the list of possibilities for a new Bainbridge Island Police Department are:

Building a police station at a location north of city hall;

Building a police station/courthouse at a location north of city hall; and

Building a police station at the Visconsi property on High School Road.

Bainbridge fire officials are expected to discuss the city’s decision at the commissioners’ board meeting this week.