Winter weather recently has caused some cancellations at the Bainbridge Island Metro Parks & Recreation District.

Board members heard about that issue and others at their recent meeting.

Recreation superintendent Bryan Garoutte said there have been a lot of class and facility cancellations recently due to inclement weather. Staff is working on refunding and rescheduling programs as needed.

Senior planner Matthew Keough said Framework was selected to assist with the Comprehensive Plan update. Executive director Dan Hamlin said the budget for this project is $100,000. About 25% of Framework’s budget is for public outreach, and there are ways that staff may be able to save money by doing some things in-house.

Keough said the consultants for the Americans with Disabilities Act transition plan have done two site visits so far; the technical work will happen followed by public outreach. Staff anticipates a capital improvement project plan resulting from the plan.

The Ray Williamson pool renovation shutdown has been pushed out and will be no sooner than March 3. Hamlin said staff will put out a monthly newsletter to provide information to the community. Active Net is the new recreation program registration software, and it will be used for summer registration in early May.

Lawsuit explained

Commissioner Jay Kinney said he wanted to explain to the public about the lawsuit the district lost. He said it was not a surprise that the Supreme Court did not review the case because that seldom happens.

He said:

After the district acquired Sakai Park, there was a planning process that resulted in multiple suggested uses. The district was moving toward development when the COVID-19 pandemic started, which caused the board to decide not to ask the public to fund any bonds.

At a meeting in 2023 discussing renovation of the Ray Williamson pool, local attorney Adam Hunt advocated for the need for facilities now. Shortly thereafter he began to advocate for a fieldhouse at Sakai. In April of 2023 Hunt started threatening to file recall charges if they did not move toward a fieldhouse. That May, Hunt filed recall charges against four of the five commissioners. Hunt has worked for some big law firms and has extensive experience in civil cases, Kinney said.

In recent years it has been very expensive for the district to deal with citizens who were unhappy with the district buying the BI Recreation Center and then with those unhappy about not having a fieldhouse, Kinney said. On top of attorney fees, associated public records requests have cost the district over $100,000 in attorney fees alone. He noted that Hunt was asking for terms against the district at every stage of the legal process, which were rejected by the courts every time.

Board comments

• Commissioner Ken DeWitt said the dedication for the Chuck Field Memorial Loop Trail in the Grand Forest East was set. He said he was recently in Southern California and saw sites several miles from both the Hughes and Eaton fire lines where there were spot fires caused by embers that flew from the main fire. Spot fires are a big concern in the event of fires on BI as well.

• Commissioner Tom Swolgaard asked about the sail float in Eagle Harbor. Hamlin said regarding the potential replacement of the sail float or the addition to the Waterfront Park dock, the park district has a deadline at the end of March to pay the mitigation credit fees.

• Commissioner Tom Goodlin suggested that the district be even more proactive than normal this year to deter fireworks in parks.