Bainbridge parks officials have decided to ask voters to approve a $6.2 million bond measure to pay for the purchase of the 23-acre Sakai property on Madison Avenue.

At the parks board meeting Thursday night, commissioners voted unanimously to put the bond measure on the  Feb. 10 ballot.

If approved by voters in the special election, the 20-year bonds will pay for the purchase of two parcels of land between Madison Avenue and Highway 305, just north of High School Road.

Parks officials announced earlier that the district has been in negotiations to buy the 23-acre property from the Sakai family. The land had previously been eyed for development, and the city had previously approved multi-family housing on some of the property in 2004 for the second phase of Sakai Village. The money from the bond sale would also cover some planning and development costs, plus provide public access, to the Sakai property so it could become a new Winslow-area park.

The parks board also approved a purchase-and-sale agreement to buy the property at its meeting last Thursday.

The park district will pay $5.89 million for the two parcels, which include wetlands, a large pond and stream, and a concrete farmhouse with an underground bomb shelter.

The size of the bond request will give the park district approximately $300,000 to make the land safe for public access. That work includes removing 1950s-era underground fuel tanks, securing a large underground bomb shelter, and building a parking area near Madison Avenue.