Serenity grant completes sale

Walls weathering, aging Serenity House care center could use some fixing up. More pressing, however, was the need to secure its acquisition.

That was made possible this week by a $1.5 million state grant, awarded to the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority to complete the purchase of the Lynwood Center building, home to some 22 developmentally disabled islanders.

“This is an important step,” said KCCHA spokesperson Sarah Lee. “We’ve come a long way, but we’ve still got a long way to go.”

KCCHA, a county housing group, bought Serenity House in 2005 at the urging of state and city officials, who feared for its future following the retirement of long-time owner Ruth Closser-Weiman.

“For 30 years, the owner ran the building on a shoestring,” Lee said. “But it’s a very old building on expensive land. All of a sudden it became an impossibility.”

Closser-Weiman, who wanted to sell to someone who would keep the facility open, worked closely with the group.

Enterprise Housing Financial Services, a national nonprofit organization that provides capital for affordable housing, financed a loan along with the city that enabled KCCHA to pay for the purchase. Now, following the state grant, KCCHA can pay off the loan.

KCCHA leases the building for $100 a year to the Seattle-based Low Income Housing Institute, which runs the facility.

LIHI Executive Director Sharon Lee said the building needs a number of upgrades, including better disability access and a variety of general repairs.

An architect is helping the group complete a feasibility study to help determine how much money those repairs would cost. In the meantime, the search for funding continues.

Lee said the support of the community has been vital to keeping the facility open.

Also key was the help of local politicians, among them Congressman Jay Inslee, a Bainbridge Democrat, who has developed friendships with several of the residents there.

“So often, developmentally disabled adults live in areas that aren’t safe, or where there aren’t a lot of positive opportunities to interact with the rest of the community,” Inslee said in a statement.

“But Serenity House is different. The people there are an important part of the neighborhood, and the community warmly embraces and supports them.”

– Chad Schuster

Rolfes named to trade post

Islander Christine Rolfes will be busy when the Legislature convenes in January.

In addition to serving on the Transportation Committee, the newly elected representative will lead a committee charged with assessing the health of Puget Sound.

“It’s really an honor to start in Olympia working on such important issues,” Rolfes said in a statement announcing her assignments. “I think my colleagues looked at my district and decided I should play an integral piece in how we approach Puget Sound and transportation, especially our ferry system.”

“We need solutions to keep our ferries going, which is why I’ll work to make this a priority. We all understand how important success is and that’s why we need Kitsap legislators fighting for our ferries.”

Rolfes said she will also work on improving the state’s business climate and job market through the Community and Economic Development and Trade Committee.

“When your community has strong businesses offering family wage jobs, everything else really falls into place,” Rolfes said.

As vice chair of the Select Committee on Puget Sound, Rolfes said she will look forward to working on a long-range plan to address future concerns while taking care of present ones.

“Clean beaches, a healthy ecosystem, Puget Sound and Hood Canal are vital to our quality of life on the Kitsap Peninsula,” Rolfes said.

Christmas with the Edge

The Edge comedy improv troupe will give a its classic, if wacky, version of the holiday favorite “A Christmas Carol,” and explore the holidays from every conceivable angle of comedy and song, in a special performance this evening at Bainbridge Performing Arts.

This special fundraising event is presented by the Harbour Public House, which is also providing catering.

The event begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m. in the BPA lobby, followed by the Edge performance at 7:30. Tickets to the gala are $50, which includes hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine. No-host cocktails will also be available.

Proceeds from this evening will benefit Bainbridge Island Television and Bainbridge Performing Arts.

Following the show, attendees can mix with the performers and share drinks in the lobby.

The performance is suitable for “PG-13” audiences.

Tickets are available at the box office or online at www.theplayhouse.org.