City news dominates 2011 headlines
By DENNIS ANSTINE
Bainbridge Island Review Editor
January 3, 2012 · Updated 4:36 PM
Bainbridge Island Review Editor
January 3, 2012 · Updated 4:36 PM
For most people, life on the island does not revolve around the City of Bainbridge.
If you live here and work in Seattle, for example, likely half of
your weekday’s waking hours are focused on a job and getting to and from
it.
If you rarely leave the island, the city may have a little more to do with your day, but likely not very much.
The city’s business, however, is much more of an emphasis for those
whose job focuses on letting community members know how public dollars
are being spent and the direction a municipality is traveling in terms
of representation.
With that in mind, one could say that the city – including its staff
and council – was up to its proverbial neck in a multitude of trials and
tribulations during 2011. Some of the headaches were hangovers from the
recent past, including: the fatal police shooting of Douglas Ostling;
the Bainbridge Ratepayers Alliance lawsuit and the fallout from it; the
effect of the Winslow Way reconstruction project on downtown businesses;
and dealing with several road emergencies, some of which occurred
because of a lack of city maintenance in recent years.
There also were many positives, including: the city reducing the
water rates by 45 percent at year’s end for its Winslow users; finishing
Winslow Way in late November; signing a 30-year lease with Friends of
the Farms; and many, many others – big and small.
The community also voted in four new council members, which could
mean that some changes lie ahead since the newly elected officials –
Anne Blair, Sarah Blossom, Steve Bonkowski and Dave Ward – campaigned on
change to one degree or another. They also promised while campaigning
to vet any proposed changes with the community. But that’s for next
year.
Positives
The city and the community had many successes, including:
• RePower Bainbridge, which was formed as a result of the city
writing three grants that were worth more than $5 million, swung into
action by conducting 1,500 free home energy check-ups during a six-month
period, with nearly 200 homeowners making energy-saving upgrades.
There’s also an added emphasis on having more businesses and nonprofits
joining the energy-efficiency movement on the island.
• Island Gateway, the new development at the corner of State Route
305 and Winslow Way, has concluded the back section of the project. Next
up: construction of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Artand a retail
building that will front the street. Avalara, a growing software company
that’s on the island, relocated its more than 100 employees and its
headquarters to Island Gateway...
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