At its Aug. 21 meeting, the Bainbridge Island Metro Park and Recreation District revealed initial returns from its citywide survey and took a step toward conversion of the Battle Point Park tennis courts to pickleball courts.

Up to three-quarters of respondents (68-75%) chose bonds as their favored strategy for the park district to raise funding, a stark contrast to the 48% of voters who rejected the district’s most recent bond in Aug. 2024.

But there’s only one problem: less than half of survey respondents (40-45%) favored property tax increases — and bonds are property taxes.

“It is widely accepted that about 75% favorability from the community is desired to determine consensus for putting a bond on the ballot, and the district will need to consider these numbers when talking about funding,” said Parks Commissioner Ken DeWitt.

In May 2024, the park district leaders unanimously voted to put a $10 million bond on the Aug. 2024 ballot to help finance the renovation of the Ray Williamson Pool at the BI Aquatic Center. The project, which would involve relining the pool and replacing the ventilation system, costs about $5.5 million; the park district is using about $2.5 million in capital funding and $3.5 million in loans to pay for it.

Had the bond passed, the funding would have allowed the district to add two lap lanes to the pool and establish a uniform depth of about six and a half feet. These additions would have also added millions to the project’s price tag and extended the pool closure until about 2027.

DeWitt added that the BI School District and BI Fire Department each aim to pass levies in the November election, which could further impact residents’ reception to another park district bond.

“The district needs to coordinate with other agencies regarding potential upcoming property tax increase requests and on improvements planned for publicly owned facilities, which will impact community needs,” DeWitt said.

At the same meeting, parks commissioners approved a donation agreement between the BI Parks and Trails Foundation and the freshly minted nonprofit BI Pickleball Club. The two groups have begun fundraising individually to convert the tennis courts at Battle Point Park, site of the popular Founders’ Tournament, into pickleball courts.