If Bainbridge Island receives a federal grant the sales tax on BI would go up to pay the city’s portion.
The City Council decided that at its April 23 meeting.
Under the resolution, city manager Blair King will apply for the grant. Originally it was for $2 million for design, but the council decided to try for even more funding to include construction.
The city’s portion was $500,000 for the initial idea, but if it gets the larger amount its portion would increase.
To pay the city’s share, the council decided to raise the sales tax from 9.2% to 9.3%. The tax would raise about $800,000 a year.
The grant would pay for the Sakai Pond and Coppertop segments of the Sound to Olympics Trail.
The council also considered two other options city staff suggested.
One was very unpopular not only with the council but with public commenters. That was taking money from projects in the non-motorized transportation budget: Lynwood Center Road and Bucklin Hill.
The other was raising vehicle license fees from $40 to $50, which would have brought in $200,000 a year.
Councilmember Leslie Schneider was the first to recommend trying for more money. “I want to go bigger,” she said, adding she definitely didn’t want to take money from the Lynwood project. “It’s the backbone of what we want to create. We need to get something built.”
She said even if the city doesn’t get the construction part of the grant this time it would be in better position to get it the next go-round.
Schneider said if the city received the larger grant it would have to “pony up a much, much larger local match.” She liked the idea of the sales tax increase because visitors also would be contributing.
While Councilmember Clarence Moriwaki didn’t like that a sales tax hike is “regressive” and unfair to those with lower incomes, he also didn’t like the idea of taking money away from already-approved projects. What he liked most about the tax is that large amount of money would help fund other projects for years to come, not just pay the local match for the grant. He suggested using some of the money to improve shoulders on roads—something the city promised the community a long time ago.
Councilmember Kirsten Hytopoulos supported the idea in many ways, but didn’t vote for it. “We have a great tax rate compared to other towns around here,” she said.
But she didn’t like that this idea wasn’t part of the Sustainable Transportation Plan. “We made a plan and paid a lot of money for it.”
She didn’t want to take money away from already approved projects. That would tell the public the council can’t be trusted to follow through on projects. Plus there are other priorities that need funding, she said, mentioning that the city’s basic obligation of paving roads has been underfunded “by more than half” for years.
Hytopoulos also said she didn’t like how the public wasn’t included: “We don’t have to ask you about this; we can raise the tax.”
She said the city was resorting back to grant bidding, which has plagued it for years. “It’s starting to feel knee-jerk” and “chaotic,” she said. “I can’t support it without a plan on how we’re going to spend the funding.”
Public comments were mostly about not robbing Peter to pay Paul.
John Grinter said the two projects mentioned to be cut have been a top priority for the city for 20 years. He said the council has said it wants to build trust, but diverting funds would do just the opposite. “You need to follow through on your commitment” to build this critical safety project, he said.
Peter Harris accused the city of “false advertising” because rather than focusing on projects that can actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions it is spending money mostly on recreation projects with minuscule traffic effects.
Elyse Nelson said she doesn’t think it should be “either/or. We should find a way to do both.”
Paula Holmes-Eber agreed and said more funding could come from vehicle license fees, adding $10 a year would not hurt most islanders. For concerns about equity, the city could make it so if a vehicle is valued at $10,000 or less, for example, that owner would not have to pay the increase.
The STO trail of 40 miles would connect Winslow to the Olympic Discovery Trail in Jefferson County and be part of the Great American Rail Trail connecting over 3,700 miles from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The BI part would go mostly along Highway 305 from the ferry terminal 6.6 miles to Agate Pass Bridge.
In other news
The council heard from its first city lobbyist, Briahna Murray, who gave a briefing on the legislative session.
The big win for the city was getting $300,000 for a water line to the new visitors center at the Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. The council was hoping for $200,000. “That was a great outcome—above and beyond,” she said.
As for Affordable and Workforce Housing, lawmakers allocated $127 million to the Housing Trust Fund. “We need to access it,” to get some of those funds for BI projects, Murray said.
Another BI priority was Planning for Growth. Murray said lots of options moved forward.
The fourth priority was Reliable Ferry Service. Murray said that’s going to take many years, but some of the wins included $100,000 for a work group; $140,000 for a study; $500,000 for passenger-only ferries; and $4 million for the Seattle to Bremerton route.
Murray said it’s never to early to plan ahead. “January 2025 will be here before you know it,” she said, adding one of her goals is better communication with Washington State Ferries.
She said challenges will include many “new faces, political shifts” as so many lawmakers and state leaders are up for election. “There will be different people in different positions of power.”
Also, since the Historic Preservation Commission resigned en masse recently because it was being ignored by city leaders, BI’s council decided to transfer some of those responsibilities at least temporarily to the Planning Commission.
King said the HPC looks at permit applications that deal with demolition, restoration, alteration and more. There have been 15 such projects in the past four years. “It’s to avoid inconvenience to the public if we don’t have a body,” he said.
Public comments
Because there were so many, they were limited to two minutes instead of three.
David Smith thanked the council for allowing property tax exemptions for affordable housing projects. In the case of Wintergreen, he said that will result in a $300 a month lower payment, or almost a 20% drop.
Another comment supported the Winslow Way affordable housing project while another wondered why BI doesn’t have a tree-planting program like Tacoma. He also said Nebraska planted one million trees to start Arbor Day in 1872, but how many is BI planting this year?
