BIRC almost named after former parks director

The Bainbridge Island Recreation Center will keep its name — for now.

Parks commissioners at the Jan. 2 meeting of the BI Metro Parks and Recreation District were prepared to rename the BIRC after outgoing longtime parks director Terry Lande, but an outpour of community dissent convinced them to table the matter.

Instead, the district will establish a committee to brainstorm the best way to honor Lande, including naming a building, a park, a trail or another facility.

50 or so community members emailed public comments and four spoke out against renaming process at the meeting, including BI resident Lisa Macchio, who issued a call to action on social media a few days before the meeting.

Macchio expressed frustration with the district’s processes for obtaining public input as it lacks inclusivity and transparency, she said, and suggested that commissioners at least do an extensive public outreach process for input before moving to make big changes, like renaming a building.

She added district leadership has a duty to reach out to those whose input has been historically overlooked — such as the Japanese American community, the Suquamish tribe and the Indipino community.

Several community members, including Lisa Lewis and Theresa Starkman, echoed Macchio’s sentiments. Some pointed out , the benefits of adding Lande’s name to the center did not seem to outweigh the costs of creating new signage, particularly in light of the district’s current financial position.

Parks Commissioner Jay Kinney and executive director Dan Hamlin supported the renaming.

“The point of the effort is to honor Terry Lande. This is not a situation where there is a problem with the current name of the building,” Kinney said at the Jan. 9 meeting. “If you are going to honor someone, it is nice to do it while they are still alive to receive the gratitude and enjoy it.”

Hamlin agreed, adding that Lande’s legacy “needs to be protected and aggressively defended throughout this process, because it is significant.” Lande went above and beyond for the district, Hamlin said, and he earned the respect of the staff.

Over the course of Lande’s 20-year career as director, he stablized the parks budget, created sustainable revenue streams, added Fay Bainbridge and Fort Ward parks, improved trail maintenance and added new trails, and purchased the BIRC, which was formally a private club. “Terry Lande is an incredible human being and did an incredible job developing the park district into what it is today,” Hamlin said.