Ferry terminal group named

Washington State Ferries has formed a new citizen advisory group for upgrades to the 50-year-old Bainbridge Island ferry terminal.

The 12-member Community Advisory Group for the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal Improvement Project is drawn primarily from the island community, but also includes residents from Indianola, Suquamish and Jefferson County.

The CAG will kickoff its efforts at a meeting on Wednesday to advise WSF’s project team in updating the 1998 Terminal Master Plan.

CAG members will provide input to WSF from the community perspective throughout the development of the ferry terminal and assist in keeping the community informed of the project’s progress.

In addition to attending CAG meetings, members will participate in public meetings and report on public comments.

WSF received nearly 50 letters of interest and selected the final 12 CAG members through a screening process that included participation from local elected officials.

CAG members were selected to represent a broad cross-section of geographic locations, interest groups and community organizations, WSF officials said.

CAG members include:

Ann Bernheisel of Suquamish; Phedra Elliot of Indianola; Carol Cahill of Jefferson County; and Bob Campbell, Kevin Dwyer, Rik Langendoen, Lisa Macchio, Dolores Palomo, Merrill Robison, Janice Shaw, John Whitlow and Don Willott of Bainbridge Island.

The first CAG meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Kids Discovery Museum on Madison Avenue.

Church hosts housing forum

Dick Heine knew plenty of islanders ferried over to Seattle for work, but he was surprised to find a substantial number of rush-hour commuters were streaming off the ferries when they returned to the island.

Other members of his church, Bethany Lutheran, also noticed this reverse influx of workers that come each morning by ferry and by bridge.

“The members of our congregation wanted to know what’s happening in terms of housing costs here,” he said.

“We wanted to know more about why people that support the economy on Bainbridge aren’t living here.”

They and the rest of the community can learn more about the impacts of the island’s high housing costs at a forum at Bethany Lutheran Church this Sunday at 10 a.m.

The forum is open to all and includes representatives from the Bainbridge Island Heath, Housing and Human Services Council; the Housing Resources Board; the Community Housing Coalition and the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council.

“If the teachers, police officers, librarians and city planners want to buy a house, they’re not going to find the $120,000 to $220,000 houses that used to be on Bainbridge,” Heine said.

Instead, the island’s core service workers and middle class families are confronted with a median price of $546,000, according to study by HRB.

“We decided, as a congregation, to explore these housing trends and find out how this is shaping our community,” he said. “We wanted to put a face on this issue.”

The church will provide brunch by donation. Bethany Lutheran Church is located on Finch Road.

– Tristan Baurick

Herman is youth o’ year

Carl Herman has been named 2005 Youth of the Year by the Bainbridge Island Boys and Girls Club.

The Bainbridge High School junior is an active member and volunteer at the club.

Also competing for the top prize were the club’s Youths of the Quarter, Katie Reisdorf and Piper Carscadden.

The students were judged on a number of criteria including public speaking, school and service to the club, life goals and obstacles overcome.

Following in footsteps of last year’s Youth of the Year, Sydney Dale, Herman will go on to the Boys and Girls Clubs of King County competition Feb. 2 at Benaroya Hall.

There, 13 youths will share their stories from the clubs around King County. The winner will continue on to the national level, with the winner getting a chance to meet the President of the United States.

Digging into school finance

The Bainbridge Island School District is seeking community volunteers to participate on a new finance advisory committee.

The group will work with district officials and board members “in the development of annual and long-range plans by providing analysis of the alignment of district financial data with district priorities and goals,” according to an information sheet provided by the district.

Translated: they’ll help the school district figure out how much money the district needs, and how to spend it.

Four community members are needed. Applications should be submitted to the district administrative office by Jan. 27.

Call Peggy Paige at 780-1061 for information.