Not a good idea

To the editor:

Rep. Tarra Simmons is displaying a shocking lack of judgment and empathy by co-sponsoring House Bill 1956. Men do not belong in women’s prisons. Incarcerated women do not deserve to be co-housed with a male serial killer and prolific sex offender.

I urge her to withdraw her sponsorship of HB 1956, and encourage her to apologize to Washington women for selling out our collective safety.

Andi O’Rourke

Bainbridge Island

Need housing

To the editor:

Affordable housing on Bainbridge Island is more critical than ever with real estate prices soaring. Our teachers, firefighters, policemen and service people should be able to live in the community they serve. Having lived and worked here for 70-plus years, I see the need as greater than ever. Where is the sense of urgency?

Bethany Lutheran Church will donate property, which is ideally situated near downtown services, schools, Kitsap Transit park’n’ride, fire stations, ferry service, healthcare, etc. The congregation’s land could support a higher-housing density than presently allowed. When there is no cost of land, homes become more affordable and accessible for household members who work in our community.

The 2019 state statute, SHB 1377, mandates an “increased density bonus” for religious organizations creating 100% affordable homes. I’ve heard comments that this project could open the door for developers looking to build homes for profit. On the contrary, 100% affordable homes would never attract investment by developers.

There are suggestions that this land remain a green space with its few trees. The Bainbridge Island Land Trust has done a wonderful job of protecting large pieces of wildlife habitat, streams and waterfront, but this property near the Winslow core has more value if used for human habitat.

With Housing Resources Bainbridge’s support and management, the homes would be more affordable and available to qualified families. I urge the Planning Commission and City Council to create an ordinance that incorporates the state-mandated density bonus as well as the city’s own Affordable Housing Task Force’s recommended “Innovations Program.”

Tom and Luanne Croker

Bainbridge Island

How about thanks?

To the editor:

We know that the Planning Commission must carry out due diligence regarding the proposal by Bethany Lutheran to build 24 desperately needed affordable homes on the island.

Thus far, it seems like something has been missing from the discussion. What we would most like to hear and say is: “Dear Bethany Lutheran members, Thank you for stepping up in helping our island meet a critical need. Your fellow islanders appreciate this extremely thoughtful and generous investment.”

Cindy and David Harrison

Bainbridge Island

Walking etiquette

To the editor:

Bainbridge Island residents are encouraged to walk, and I think that is wonderful. But, I would like someone to explain the etiquette of walking. On which side of the sidewalk, bike/walking trail and roadway (lacking a sidewalk) should one walk?

To me, this is a very important question because I do a lot of walking and am puzzled by what seems to be the unvarying rule of always walking on the right no matter the venue.

To my way of thinking walkers on a sidewalk should pass on the right. I personally don’t think this etiquette should be observed on a walk/bike trail or a roadway with no sidewalks. Yet, I do seem to stand alone in my thinking and don’t understand why.

On the new bike/walking trail – the Olympic Trail abutting Highway 305 – and also at Fort Ward I always walk on the left much to the annoyance of fellow walkers. That way I can see bikers and runners coming at me and take evasive action, like stepping aside.

Is there something I’m missing about this allegiance to the right? Or is it just habit that perhaps should be changed. What does the police department think? What do other walkers think? I’d really like to know.

Rosalind Renouard

Bainbridge Island

USPS column wrong

To the editor:

I don’t understand the Review’s use of syndicated columns from the East Coast on national topics. Are there not enough local voices with important opinions and information on local topics – just what we look to local journalism like the Review for?

A recent case in point is a column by Peter Roff, who is blandly described as “affiliated with several Washington-D.C.-based public policy organizations.” Not mentioned is his role with Newt Gingrich’s GOPAC and other long-term Republican affiliations. Armed with this knowledge, it should come as no surprise that his opinion is that the postmaster appointed by the former president, Louis DeJoy, is “an exceptional administrator.” This despite USPS’s own statistics, reported to the Postal Regulatory Commission, that on-time delivery fell well below their own targets for any category of mail in 2021, even after it lowered its own targets.

Roth approves that DeJoy, who was a competitor to USPS at his former company, runs USPS like a business. It is not a business. It is a public service, enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, charged with providing timely delivery of mail to every part of the country, whether profitable or not. No one asks how much money other public service infrastructure like I-5 made last year.

Roth also falls back on claiming any critics of DeJoy are taking “an unfair shot at the hundreds of thousands of diligent, resolute people who bring the mail and packages to your door.” No, if Roth lived on Bainbridge, he would know that we love our postal workers. We just wish they had a boss worthy of their mission and work.

Mike Kelly

Bainbridge Island

Column inaccurate

To the editor:

I read with dismay the column by Christine Flowers in the Jan. 28 issue of this paper. Why did you choose to run a column by a lawyer disparaging mask use and vaccines at a time when COVID-19 cases in Kitsap County remain at a higher level than nearly any other time during the pandemic? Are you planning to get a doctor to weigh in the next time there’s some sort of legal controversy?

I’m not a medical doctor, any more than the columnist is, but I have worked with the health department’s vaccine equity committee to ensure that accurate information on the importance of masking and vaccines is available to as many people in the county as possible. I choose to listen to the health department’s doctors and epidemiologists on medical matters, rather than to a poorly informed lawyer.

The column includes several statements that a few simple Google searches would have demonstrated to be untrue. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites not one, but multiple studies demonstrating that prevention strategies, including masking, do make a difference in virus transmission in schools. If that columnist wishes to opine on medical matters, perhaps she should seek a medical education first.

Marsha Cutting

Bainbridge Island

No to Bethany

To the editor:

I live across the road from the Bethany Lutheran Church. I am third generation Bainbridge; my family has always had some sort of residency on Bainbridge for over 100 years. That has allowed us to enjoy the bliss of living on Bainbridge, but also has unfortunately allowed us to watch the decline of the island through greed and poor management.

I oppose adding low-income housing on the Bethany property. Any thought that affordable housing is needed on the island is only because of city mismanagement over the years. I have paid my taxes and living expenses since 1976 starting with my wages at $4,431 a year. For the next 28 years never going above $58,000 and only going over $100,000 twice in the next 17 years.

According to the “pitch” being presented here I guess I’m low income with the teachers and firefighters, but I didn’t need affordable housing to live here. I’ve spent decades working hard to establish my “rural home” for my family, a secure place to grow up and live, and a place to build a “nest egg” for the future hope of retirement.

I’ve been called a “nimby” (Not in my backyard) by City Councilman Jon Quitsland yet I have never spoken about this to the council.

The only people hurt by this are the families in the Finch Road neighborhood where the zoning is rural.

If you believe this is about low-income people then you have been led down a rosy path – this is about money as it always is. More tax revenue for the city, lots of money for the church ($1.5 million) and a developer, which for no reasonable reason should even be involved at this stage. Seems like a conflict of interest to me.

Eighty-plus more residents, 20-40 plus vehicles is bad news for this neighborhood for multiple reasons.

Water: The city is aware of the island’s water table issue already. We are not going to have enough to support the future at this rate. The city has already put a moratorium on contractors once because of concerns about water but recently that thought has been ignored, i.e. continued aggressive building on Madison Avenue and now this project.

BI is ignoring Guiding Principle 2, which is, “Manage water resources of the island to protect, restore and maintain their ecological and hydrological functions and to ensure clean and sufficient groundwater for future generations.”

And Guiding Principal 5, “The use of land on the island should be based on the principal that the island’s environmental resources are finite and must be maintained at a sustainable level.”

Zoning: This should not be changed from Rural to Urban just to facilitate your project.

Sewer: It appears the city cannot even manage the sewer system it has – look at the continued sewage spills. Maybe they should put their money into restoring what we have instead of added more strain to the issue.

Safety: Finch Road is the kid’s “raceway,” we hear it every day. The intersection of Sportsman’s Club and Finch has always been a dangerous location. Two bicyclists were killed there recently. Adding more vehicles is not going to improve the situation.

Property value: For Finch Road/Sportsman’s Club Road residents this should be foremost due to Guiding Principal 4. “Consider the costs and benefits to island residents and property owners in making land-use decisions.”

Oh, don’t get me wrong, our tax assessment isn’t going to go down. It may even go up so we can continue to fund mismanage projects and special interests. The city can’t even fix the roads around the island. What stares us in the face is the curbside market value of our homes that is going to tank because no one wants to buy a home next to low-income affordable housing.

Washington is one of the higher tax base states in the nation, and Bainbridge is one of the highest in the state. I have no illusion of retiring here because I will not be able to pay the taxes, which is sad since my family has been here forever.

The standard practice around here seems to be to tax the existing residents off the island so we can create our own vision of what the island should be. I went to the façade of a meeting with the church in November, and there was not one resident who thought it was a good idea. This is about money, and no one from the city or church gives a hoot about how it hurts the neighborhood – it doesn’t personally affect the people making the decisions.

Paul Hanson

Bainbridge Island

Editor’s note: The previous letter did not run in the newspaper because it’s way too long via our guidelines of 250 words.