The Bainbridge Island City Council received a presentation on creating a non-motorized transportation advisory committee and approved purchase orders for new police vehicles as part of its May 24 regular business meeting.

BI resident Richard Potter shared his concerns with the proposal of creating a new advisory committee.

“The city council has a sustainable transportation plan already approved. We don’t need any more planning. We just need to implement the plan, and you, the city council, need to fund the projects as they come up,” he said.

BI resident Alyse Nelson, boardmember and president of Squeaky Wheels, a non-profit dedicated to bike safety and access on BI, shared her support for the proposal.

“I have experience both working in local government as well as being really engaged in Bainbridge Island, and I think that it would be a helpful thing to have on the island again,” she said. “My hope is that we can craft a…committee that can really help us with the process of how we deliver projects and how we engage our community, and create some more systems around it, so people just know what to expect.”

City manager Blair King said the committee is currently inactive but listed in the BI municipal code. Councilmember Leslie Schneider said she would like to bring back a version of the advisory committee. Council adopted a motion directing city staff to review and suggest further revisions to the existing municipal code before taking further action for the committee.

Council also approved the purchase of a new Chevrolet Tahoe 4WD police pursuit vehicle. The vehicle costs $64,308.30 and will be gas-powered as no electric or other vehicle meets the operational needs for a police officer, per city documents. Also approved was the purchase of an electric Ford F-150. The new vehicle will cost $95,852,70 and will replace older police equipment.