Maybe it’s because of the holidays, but the heart won out over the mind at the Dec. 13 Bainbridge Island City Council meeting.
In a 4-3 vote, the council decided to give $80,000 to Helpline House to aid people in need of rent and mortgage assistance.
While all agreed the need is there, three council members didn’t like that no process has been set up to distribute the trust funds.
“While we try to get a process in place, people are suffering,” Councilmember Brenda Fantroy-Johnson said, adding rents are going up dramatically everywhere.
Councilmember Jon Quitslund said he was moved by her statement. “It’s a systemic failure on the part of city leadership,” he said. “We don’t have a strong enough safety net to meet the needs of desperate people.”
Mayor Joe Deets said while he understands the opposition, “If we work a little faster here maybe we can keep somebody in their home.”
Councilmember Kirsten Hytopoulos and deputy mayor Clarence Moriwaki said while they both love Helpline House a system needs to be in place before any money is doled out.
Hytopoulos said the need is so great that $80,000 isn’t near enough. “They need a million dollars more than that. It’s a massive need that isn’t going anywhere.”
Moriwaki reminded the council that during the budget process it already provided lots of money for rental and mortgage assistance.
Hytopoulos didn’t like that 80% of the money in that specific fund would be spent on this one request. That only leaves $20,000 to help with other projects for the next two years. She suggested dropping the amount to $50,000 so at least some more money would be available for following years.
She said when they established the trust fund they didn’t really talk about it, but she thought it was for projects rather than an ongoing need. She suggested the council pause until a system is set up.
“Public money is limited. There must be a process to spend money the most effectively,” Moriwaki said, adding the city is already spending $660,000 on human services, probably more than any city of similar size in the state. “I’m not saying it’s not a worthy project. It may be perfect for this. But we need to flush out exactly what this money is going to be used for.”
Councilmember Leslie Schneider suggested creating a pot of money the council could control to help with similar requests in the future. “We have a housing crisis. We can’t fund the whole need,” she said.
“Let’s not be stingy,” Quitslund said.
City manager Blair King said city staff will work on plans to start a system, while he works with Helpline House to explain the council’s desire to have the funds last as long as possible.
Meanwhile, a lot was on the agenda as the council hadn’t met in a month and then canceled its next three meetings.
New business
Bainbridge Island must believe in second chances. The City Council recently discussed with police chief Joe Clark starting to fine people for parking violations rather than just giving warnings, which had been the previous practice.
Warning: BI is going to start charging $50 fines. But on your first violation your ticket will say this one is a freebie, but if it happens again there will be a fine. The BI council was fine with it and passed the law, but parking will remain free.
Moriwaki said the BI chamber is in favor of it because downtown business wants people circulating through there, rather than parking for hours. And he appreciates it because he gets frustrated when cars that don’t need plug-ins are parked in an EV spot.
The council also passed a moratorium on new inns in Neighborhood Center Zoning Districts. Planning director Patty Charnas said city code defines inns as rooms of 15 or less. There have been complaints in Lynwood Center of a business building another inn on an adjacent property. “That’s not what’s intended,” Charnas said, as that creates a hotel, which are not allowed in neighborhood zones. The moratorim will give the city time to work on a solution.
A few people spoke on the issue during public comments. Julie Schulte said she was against the new hotel proposed for Lynwood Center. She said with the two already there they are not separate as there is one phone line to call both. “We don’t need another hotel,” she said, adding she’s concerned about traffic, noise, sewer and water.
The council also decided to add two transportation experts to the Climate Change Advisory Committee. The nine on there now are mostly environmental experts.
Consent agenda
Some interesting topics actually were on the consent agenda, which often doesn’t get much attention, if any. They were all approved without discussion.
A Jan. 24 date was made for a public meeting regarding islandwide speed limit changes. The council also OK’d expanding King’s purchasing power to allow up to $990,000 to be spent on new city vehicles.
It approved agreements with the Kitsap County jail, juvenile detention and county prosecuting attorney for their work with BI. They OK’d human services funding for $660,000, software update for almost $385,000 over the next three years and a 25 cent charge for use of a disposable cup in BI starting Jan. 1.
They also decided on $350,000 in lodging tax money, out of $512,000 that was requested. The most funds will go to Visit Bainbridge Island, over $100,000; with the BI Lodging Association getting almost $61,000; the BI chamber almost $59,000; the BI Downtown Association almost $32,000; Arts and Humanities Bainbridge almost $25,000; and a number of others receiving less.
Climate change
The council also saw a presentation on progress in almost two years on the city’s Climate Action Plan.
The presentation explains the three main goals are to: reduce greenhouse gas emissoins; ensure BI is climate savvy and can withhold impacts of climate change; and inspire community action.
Some of the achievements include: hired climate action staff; passed regulations to reduce waste from single-use plastics; adopted Sustainable Transportation Plan; added new bike lanes; purchased electric vehicles; launched its Climate Smart Challenge with more than 180 households participating; received two grants; evaluated six disaster hubs for solar panels and battery storage; hosted workships; and more.
Other highlights include looking at projects with a climate, along with equity, lens. The city also bought zero emission landscaping tools and is 100% powered by green energy. It also has been involved in education, providing climate lesson plans to schools.
The city has also updated zoning codes to allow more EV charging on BI. And a community car sharing program is expected to start early next year. There will be two EVs and charging stations at City Hall with the hope of obtaining four more over the next two years.
Public comments
Ben Mello said a petition has 230 names on it from residents who want paved shoulders on Sunrise. A bicycle rider and runner, he said he’s had several “near misses.”
William Adams said the city passes laws, but then doesn’t enforce them, telling him it’s a civil issue. He said he shouldn’t have to go through trouble to sue when the city passes laws. “The city needs to do their job.”
Other concerns were: reducing speed limits would create the need for more school bus drivers, which are already in short supply; and restoring a marine committee because too many issues are falling through the cracks.
Looking back
At the last council meeting of the year, King went over a partial list of accomplishments for 2022: equity manager; police-court facility; Community Reads for Justice; waste reduction law; increased building fees; OK’d affordable housing project, Housing Action, Sustainable Transportation and Comprehensive Plans; Madison Avenue improvements; change speed limits; change old police station into affordable housing site; support improvements to Highway 305; EV chargers at City Hall; Juneteenth official BI holiday; first electric vehicle; Bainbridge Creative District; and more.
