Progress! Or at least a little.

We were encouraged by the discussion at the Bainbridge city council’s last meeting that city leaders are considering issuing councilmanic, or non-voted, municipal bonds to pay for the much needed new police station.

As readers may recall, this was the approach we supported when city officials first began discussing how to pay for the new facility more than two years ago.

Instead, the council decided to put a $15 million bond measure before voters last November, and the proposal fell in a landslide defeat.

As we said before, we didn’t see the necessity for a public vote, since an operable police station — much like streets, sewer pipes and water lines — is an essential piece of public infrastructure and should be funded as such, and not thrown to the whims of voters.

Intriguing as well, from the recent council discussion, is a $15 million or so proposal for new bike paths and other non-motorized improvements, and the much familiar call for a downtown parking structure.

While some in the community may favor the city using non-

voted bonds to pay for the bicycle-and-pedestrian improvement package, we think this is a logical choice for a ballot measure.

That proposal, when it comes, should lead to a wider discussion of the tax burden that elected officials are willing to place on the shoulders of Bainbridge property owners.

In recent years, we’ve turned to property owners to finance the construction of new fire stations, the purchase of land for a central park for Bainbridge, a new 100 Building at Bainbridge High and a new Captain Johnston Blakely Elementary.

And that’s hardly the end of it. Islanders will likely be asked to approve measures in the future to pay for the development of the Sakai parkland, new facilities for Ordway Elementary and Commodore Options School, and perhaps even a takeover of Puget Sound Energy’s electric utility infrastructure on the island.

We’re excited about the prospects ahead, of new schools, a community center, and other improvements. But as we continue to ask voters for the money to create a community that’s the envy of all others, we need to stay mindful that the burden on taxpayers may make Bainbridge a golden isle where only the very wealthy can afford to live.