It appears that Bainbridge Island officials will need to dig a bit deeper to find support for a downtown parking garage.

City Manager Doug Schulze presented preliminary plans Tuesday for an underground parking garage near city hall that will be the centerpiece of a project to rebuild Town Square.

The proposal was met with a tepid response from council members, however.

“I’m not a big fan of this,” said Councilman Ron Peltier.

He asked if downtown property owners could pay for the project, and also said it would lead to higher property taxes and further gentrification of the island.

And while some islanders supported a more intense look at the idea, others said the garage would be an unwelcome addition to downtown.

Some residents also wondered why the city was spending its time on the proposal, instead of focusing on the new police station that’s needed or affordable housing.

Talk of new parking structure for downtown has made the rounds for years. This summer, officials from city hall met privately with local architects, business owners and others to kick around ideas for expanding parking in the Winslow area.

Initial ideas from that group, called the Downtown Parking Task Force, helped create the broad outline of preliminary plans to redevelop Town Square and build an underground parking garage in the space now occupied by surface parking lots just south of the square.

Proponents of the project envision a sunken structure, called a “parking hall” in preliminary plans, that would have 300 to 420 parking stalls.

The rooftop of the parking garage would be connected to an expanded town square, with space set aside inside the structure for a year-round farmers market.

Rebuilding Town Square, according to the city, could improve access for farmers market vendors, plus provide more parking for shoppers, tourists, downtown businesses and employees at city hall.

City officials have noted that reworking the city-owned properties next to city hall might give Bainbridge Performing Arts room to grow.

And with the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum now occupying the eastern entryway to Town Square, a redevelopment project may help usher in relocation of the museum, according to a workshop report prepared for the Town Square project.

The museum could be moved just west of city hall, with Bainbridge Performing Arts expanding in some direction to the west, east or south.

According to that report, the parking hall itself could be wrapped with new shops and stores.

Winslow Alley, which lies south of the existing city parking lots next to Town Square, could be transformed into a continuation of Madrone Lane, a city street that was earlier converted to a pedestrian walkway to Winslow Way.

The new parking structure could help solve the problem of limited parking downtown.

The workshop report — put together with the assistance of McLennan Design, Coates Design, Wenzlau Architects and Davis Studio Architecture & Design — said more new parking is needed for city employees and businesses. Officials with the Bainbridge Island Farmers Market said more space is needed for vendors, and for anticipated growth, and members of the parking task force agree that a sunken parking structure is the best approach.

At this week’s council meeting, Schulze said that if the idea moves forward, more information would be gathered, which could include the preparation of an environmental impact study.

A public campaign for the project, and public workshop, is also envisioned.

Financing for the project is up in the air, as well, as cost estimates for the parking garage have not yet been prepared.

Still, city council members were briefed earlier this year on potential financing for the project, and city officials have suggested using limited tax general obligation bonds (also called councilmanic bonds) to pay for the revitalization project.

Such bonds would not go to the public for a vote of approval, however.

Schulze has told the council that it’s doubtful the public would approve a bond measure to raise property taxes to pay for the parking garage.

Instead, by issuing councilmanic bonds, the costs of the structure would be reimbursed with money from the city’s general fund, the pot of money that pays for general government services such as police, planning and city hall.

While the council did not take an up-or-down vote on the proposal, they agreed to revisit the idea early next year for more talk.

“I’m excited to see this come to this stage,” said Councilman Mike Scott.

“It’s a great start,” he added.