Bainbridge to take closer look at putting new police station on Madison Avenue

Published 8:10 pm Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The Bainbridge city council has narrowed down the future location of a new public safety building to two potential locations: just north of city hall or on land now owned by the Sakai family further north on Madison Avenue.

City officials expect to make a final decision on where the new combination police station/municipal court will be built at the council’s meeting June 9.

At the council meeting Tuesday, city council members said the new facility would probably be best located on Madison Avenue. That move cut from consideration a third property — on New Brooklyn Road, just west of the Bainbridge Island Fire Department’s headquarters station.

City Manager Doug Schulze said that property, known as the Coultas property, lacked any space for future expansion. He also said the city didn’t know if the property owners would be willing sellers.

The Coultas land, the Sakai property and a three-parcel piece of property just north of city hall have been under scrutiny in recent months as the potential site for a new police station and municipal court.

At 8.79 acres, the Sakai property is the largest of the three sites under consideration and sits just north of property purchased from the Sakai family by the Bainbridge parks district earlier this year for a central island park. The land just north of city hall is .75 acres in size; the Coultas property is 1.89 acres in size.

City officials also talked briefly about using the land where the police station is currently located for a new facility. Officials said it would be costly to relocate the police station from that land while a new facility is built, however.

Schulze said the current police station site, located near the Bainbridge ferry terminal, would be better used by a commercial development.

Council members directed Schulze to gather additional financial details of the two sites for the council, and also gave him the authority to begin negotiations on a potential purchase-and-sale agreement.

If the city decides to ask voters for a bond to pay for a new police station/municipal court, the council will need to take action on a resolution calling for an election by early August.

At the earliest, construction could begin in the fall of 2016.