Bainbridge officials: City short on money to complete Waterfront Park and city dock project

Published 8:07 pm Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Bainbridge Island is roughly $835,000 short of the money it needs to complete both phases of the makeover effort of Waterfront Park and the replacement of the city dock in Eagle Harbor, city officials said Tuesday.

Public Works Director Barry Loveless said the city now doesn’t expect to get grants that can help pay for the $3 million project. The city had hoped to garner grant funds to combine with the settlement money received years ago from Washington State Ferries to pay for the entire, multi-phase project.

“Unfortunately, it looks like we aren’t going to get either one,” Loveless told the council at its meeting Tuesday.

The first phase of the park — improvements to the upland portion of Waterfront Park that would include public plaza areas, stormwater drainage improvements and reforesting the woods on the east end of the park — is expected to cost about $1 million.

Replacing and extending the city dock into a hockey-stick design would cost $2 million.

With roughly $1.5 million from the WSF settlement, and $636,890 in general fund dollars, for the project, the city is $835,000 short.

Residents were split on which direction the city should go, given the funding shortfall.

Some said the dock is in disrepair and needed to be the priority. Others said public input has been lacking on the dock design, and some pressed the council to focus first on park improvements.

Loveless said the city could still pursue the first phase of the project, which consists entirely of park improvements.

Some on the council did not agree.

“I think the priority should be the dock,” said City Councilwoman Sarah Blossom.

She added the park improvements could be done over time, after the new dock was finished.

The comment drew loud but scattered applause from the standing-room-only crowd.

Councilman Wayne Roth, however, noted that he would still be on the council in two years, and the political will to do both phases was not lacking on his part.

The city has made a commitment to do the project, he said.

“I think this is a very important project. As long as I’ve lived here, we’ve talked about the park and the dock. It’s time to go,” Roth said.

Councilman Steve Bonkowski asked if that political will was big enough to support a $1 million bond to pay for the project.

Roth said it might.

Blossom disagreed, and said she wouldn’t support raising bond money to pay for the project.

Mayor Anne Blair agreed, and said she wasn’t interested in going into debt to pay for the new dock.

Councilman Val Tollefson said the design had gone through an extensive process, and suggested that the project be further divided into pieces while the city proceeded with the park piece.

He also noted there had been talk about doing the dock replacement component in phases.

But after an extended debate, Bonkowski asked the council to move forward with the dock design in 2015 and construction of the main part of the dock, without its hockey stick end, in 2016. Park improvements would be constructed in phases based on the money that’s left over.

The council agreed on a 4-2 vote.