On Feb. 3, the Bainbridge Island City Council voted against providing an up to $25,000 contract with European engineering firm, Haskoning, for a two-day design workshop related to the future Highway 305 and High School Road roundabout.
Council voted 4-2 against the workshop. Councilmember Brenda Fantroy-Johnson was absent from the meeting.
If approved, the design workshop would have included roughly 12 attendees, including representatives from the city, state Department of Transportation, and community stakeholders. The results would have provided recommendations and a presentation or a final report to council, per city documents.
Newly elected Councilmembers Mike Nelson and Lara Lant shared their concerns with the contract proposal.
“Section seven of the contract concerns me because, again, it’s a non-exclusive, non- revocable, non-transferable license, without the right to sub-license,” Nelson said. “So, how do the ideas get to the state? And it’s something that I was hoping to see changed in the contract. To make that clearer, I also remain concerned about the indemnification clause, where the consultant has the sole control of defense and settlement. I don’t support the overall project in general, and I just feel that I don’t see the value in spending this money on this.”
“This contract would cost the city $25,000 for a two-day workshop with a limited group of staff and invited participants,” Lant said. “The general public is not included, and WSDOT is not required to use or act on the outcomes of this workshop. We also have ample expertise within the United States, particularly professionals familiar with Washington state transportation systems and ferry communities, so I question the need to fly in consultants from the Netherlands for a non-binding discussion.”
Councilmember Ashley Mathews shared her support for the workshop, adding, “I was trying to get the most robust form of public engagement for the community, and unfortunately, it sounds like it’s not going to work out because of several circumstances,” she said.
