Here’s a suggested New Year’s resolution for the City Council: Drop the $10,000 per parcel requirement for transfer of city property to Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District.

This silliness is keeping the public from enjoying land which should be parks, much of it bought with open space money long ago. Remember Nute’s Pond, Lost Valley and the addition to Meigs Farm?

The transfer tax would apparently also apply to the Fort Ward Parade Ground and the Strawberry Packing Plant, which was to be transferred to the district for planning as soon as the shoreline restoration is completed.

While it took a long time, the city has transferred at least nine open space properties to the district over the years. The district has made capital improvements and maintains all of these properties; they are open to the public, just as it was intended when they were purchased.

Now, by a 4-3 vote, the council has decided the district must pay $10,000 for each transfer, despite the council being informed on June 2 by its own study (“Estimates of costs relating to transfer of park property to the Park District”), that the city’s administrative costs would be approximately $1,000 per property.

To get the transfers done, the district also offered to do the initial legal work at its own cost. The result? The transfer fee. The losers are the taxpayers, who paid for these properties in the first place and expected most to be transferred to the district long ago.

Here’s hoping the City Council sees the light, accepts the district’s offer and the properties become the parks we expect them to be before we all become too decrepit to enjoy them.

Dave Shorett

Former BIMPRD board member