voice of bainbridge

Dee DuMont is also a candidate for the central ward

Here is Dee's website where you can find more information about her candidacy.

Why Strawberry Park is not the right place for habitat restoration

Statement before the City of Bainbridge Island Hearing Examiner, June 25, 2009, concerning the City's proposed Strawberry Cannery Park Project:

My name is Conrad Mahnken. I am a 40 year resident of Bainbridge Island. I am a retired NOAA fisheries biologist. At my retirement, I was director of the NOAA Manchester (Fisheries) Laboratory and the NOAA National Aquaculture Matrix manager at the time.  I presently serve as a Commissioner on the State  Fish & Wildlife Commission.

Debbi Lester for Council

Debbi is a candidate for Council for the Central Ward: she has her blog and her official campaign site running. Voice of Bainbridge endorses Debbi as we know her deep commitment for the island: she cares for the people and the quality of our environment, especially the trees that need us to speak out for them. If the trees could talk we are sure they would endorse Debbi.

From Bob Scales: 10 proposals

Bob writes about what he considers the most important issues facing Bainbridge Island and what he would propose to do if elected to the Council. Here is a reminder of what he was writing in April 2008.

His campaign site is here. He is a candidate for the North Ward.

Rod asks: What do you (we) value here on Bainbridge?

Rod Stevens sent this email he allowed me to post on the blog. It was titled "What do you value here on Bainbridge?" Read his choice and figure out yours.

One of the key challenges in making any community work is deciding on priorities, on what people value most, and in defining these in day-to-day terms that make these unimpeachably clear to elected decision makers and the government staff who carry out the laws.  Planning is a mess here on Bainbridge Island, and unless we agree on what we value, we will lose this place.

A perfect demonstration that the community knows better than the City's bureaucracy

Thank you Gerry for giving us this excellent report about the second hearing about what should be done with Strawberry Park. I wonder: were any members of the City Council attending? What is the position of the candidates for City Council, to be elected in the Fall, on this issue? Meanwhile go and enjoy the park... and laugh aloud at the opinions of Mr Best -the City's project manager- (at the very end of Gerry's report). There will be a last hearing on July 10 with a visit to the site.

Photomatopeia: one photo a day on Mark Gsellman's blog

Mark's pictures capture the moment and make us dream. If you click on the picture you can be taken to a picasa album where you can see more (for instance the graduation ceremony for West Sound Academy).

Plan to attend the second hearing for Strawberry Park, Thursday June 25

Plan to attend the second hearing that will be devoted to the future of Strawberry Park, a key park for Winslow.

Unable to attend the Hearing Examiner's meeting about the future of the Strawberry Plan Park

I used email as you can read below if you are so inclined. Yes it is the same rant against the way the City (one employee in charge of this project) pushes its plan against the will of the community. I invite you to visit the park as it is now a really inspiring place that the city plan would largely destroy. Enough public protest can still kill it, as we did for Grow Avenue.

From the Methow Valley, this great text about community

Thanks to John Bonica for his text. The comments are also very interesting.

Dans les villes de l'an 2000 - In the cities of the year 2000

Arielle sings Monopolis for the 30th anniversary of the rock-opera Starmania.

About the willow trees the city and developer want to cut on Wyatt Way

This story is told by Tad Sooter in the Review. I recall investigating the fate of those trees a few years ago when the development file was first presented, at least 4 years ago as I addressed the issue the Friends of the Trees blog I had created at the time. I then spoke with the architect who told me it was the public works department that had wanted the trees cut down because they did not want the sidewalk to curve. I don't recall there was a that time any mention of parking along the street and I am sure the architect had planned to keep all the willow trees by having the sidewalk go around them. Years later we are now presented with a very different lay out that cares more for parking spots than for trees. It will be up to us -as a community- to defend those trees as they surely cannot defend themselves.

The way the city presents the information on line about Strawberry Park is a distorsion of what was said, is not "userfriendly" and does not make public comment public

Here is the introductory page on the city site. As I expected the report as presented by the City does not reflect what was really said but what the City employees want to promote: there was definitely much more support for an active use of the park but this is not reflected in the "official report": now restoration is magically ahead with 20%, followed by passive use at 16% and non-motorized boats hardly reaches 13.7%. This is what what was said during the charrette but now the "passive use" is presented as a "priority". Once again the City is distorting the reality of what the community wishes to push its own agenda, in this case a "passive park".

The public comment phase is in fact very limited as there is only one meeting scheduled on a thursday evening (6-8 pm) at the distant park district office and the eventual comments by citizens are not immediately shared with everybody but only sent privately to two email addresses.

This is not the right way to publicly engage the community on something as important as the only new park to be created in a near future in downtown Winslow.

I wonder if the participants to the "charrette" have approved of the presentation posted on the city's website.

Some explanation about the Strawberry Plant park meeting

I found the time to go and attend the last hour of the meeting. It turned out it was a private meeting on invitation only. I was able to sneak in and listen to what the various 5 groups had to propose. I was also able to read a letter sent by Libby Hudson to the Editor of the Review since -according to her- the editorial "included some misconceptions and misinterpretations of this event".
She justifies the invitation only by claiming that "due to the nature of a design charrette there is limited capacity and broad representation was sought and achieved".
Well I don't remember there was a restricted access when we had the charrette about Grow Avenue and I am sure the room would have easily accommodated more then the 30 or so people I saw at 4pm.

Is the process truly public about Strawberry Park?

I totally agree with the editorial published in the Review criticizing how "the City" (who is the City"?) pushed for its own design for Strawberry Park as a "passive park", just because "they" had decided it was the best way to go. I happen to be totally against this approach since Strawberry Park is a key opportunity to provide a real public park for the downtown Winslow that badly needs it. Contrary to the Review I still think the community, us the people, can derail the City plan, as we did for Grow Avenue when they wanted to cut all the trees and create sidewalks without any plan to reduce the speed of the cars on our street.
Neighbors banded together and we blocked this project that would have destroyed the feel of our community.
I hope we can do the same for Strawberry park and get an active park instead of the "passive"one they want to force upon us.

It looks like the hours have been changed from what was announced in Review: the meeting is now taking place in the afternoon from 1 to 5 (instead of the morning). Nothing was posted on the city's website (that I could find).

Help Prince Charles save the tropical rain forests

Here is his website.

House approves funds for greening schools

It's in the Los Angeles Times. Imagine all the solar panels that could be installed on the high school roofs...

Ride a bike and save the world, by David Suzuki

June is bike month. David Suzuki celebrates the bicycle in this Science matters column. Unfortunately, until now the weather has been very wet... not a good incentive to bike.

United States of climate change

An interesting map by the Sightline Institute.

Amazing walkscore :)

This program (using google map) gives you a walking score for your house, ie how walkable is your neighborhood. You only have to type your address and voilà. Amazing.

Greening an old house

It is on the greenovationtv blog and with this 3 minute introductory podcast you can listen to.

Greening Winslow?

A 2007 pdf only :( report posted on the site of the park district. I had never heard about it before. It was produced by a small committee (selected how and by whom?) and wishes for $10 million to buy property in Winslow, asap! Apparently the financial problems were not taken into consideration... There would be much to say about what was not done during the previous 10 years and what is still not done but that is not part of this report. The pdf format makes it impossible for interactive public comment. A first step would be to make it available in a format allowing direct public input/comment/questions. Any chance for that? Apparently only 2 public meetings are planned but consulting firms have been hired... Plus ça change, the more it stays the same :(

Green blocks in Missoula

An interesting initiative to reduce waste (energy, water, waste) selected by Sightline Daily.

A strong assessment of our city's situation

As presented by Bob Scales in the Bainbridge Postscript blog.

A message/invitation from Rod Stevens

City Government: How Can We Make It Work Better?

The American Legion has scheduled a town meeting, and you are the invited speaker!  No special guests, just you, your fellow citizens and a great moderator!  Come express your feeling about city government, and what we need to do next. 

Tuesday, May 6, 7-9 p.m.
American Legion Hall (near the Bucklin Hill fire station.)

Th!nk, the small electric car from Norway

Here in Paris, now built in Norway but it is going to come to the US (where it was initially conceived).

Solar panels on Seattle's roofs

This week-end in the Seattle Times (picture Seattle Times)

Precisions from Bainbridge Island Energy Solutions about the Sakaï's project

Joe Deets of  Bainbridge Island Energy Solutions provides additional and different information than what was reported in the Review. In fact the Review left out quite a lot. I have put my comments at the end :)

The author’s rather humbug commentary is the result of one article in the Review. The “Solar for Sakai” project is a grass roots community effort led by Community Energy Solutions, a new island nonprofit. For some time now we have been working with the BI School District, Sakai School and BIHS’s Earth Service Corp. It is indeed unfortunate that the Review didn’t bring up that the Earth Service Corp students delivered a petition to the School Board that night with 700 signatures supporting the project. Nor did it mention that the revenue generated from the electricity generated will be re-invested by the school into energy efficiency measures. As far as PSE’s involvement, we became aware of their solar for schools grant and jumped at the chance to win it. Although we asked for $20,000, it looks like we will get about half of that. That money will go towards design, permitting, 1.1 KW worth of PV installation and on-line signage. With the support of the community we intend to do much more than that. The author makes a good point in asking whether the utility company should be doing more. His overall approach in fact seems to be that we should wait for someone else to do something. We tried that and it doesn’t work. So lets look at what is happening here: a grass roots community effort has begun to create a long lasting solar energy system for one of our schools, which will then serve as a model for further community projects. How cool is that?

Best energy,

Joe Deets
Community Energy Solutions
jwdeets@cenergysolutions.org

Comments about the single solar panel at Sakaï

The Bainbridge Review lauds profusively the soon to be installed single solar panel on Sakaï's roof. Everybody seems happy and grateful but I am concerned by many aspects of this article.
The price of installing one single 1 kWh panel seems to be estimated at $20K. From what I have read that sounds very expansive. It is projected this panel could bring a $400 per year on an annual electric bill of $40K. Investing $20K to recoup $400 is a very bad deal and it is not in line with what most people tell about the return on solar panels. Furthermore I wonder how the school can have an electricity bill of $40K. That looks huge. Then there is the problem of how this panel is financed. Apparently it is paid for by a "grant" from PSE (and Bonneville Power) and a group of concerned citizens has been started to raise private donations to install more panels.

Growing demand for more parks in big cities (and on downtown Winslow as well)

This story is from USA Today via Grist.

168 blogs from Bainbridge on blogspot

Too many to visit (and present) now. Enjoy Diane Walker's texts and photographs on As the spit turns and Contemplative photographer. Or the blak and whites by Joel Sackett on Close to home.

Schools and solar panels in ... Australia

It is frustrating to read about other places taking steps to promote solar energy while the new building is completely missing this opportunity: a sad waste. Although the energy company has a responsibility as it should systematically try to take advantage of large roofs to install solar panels (at its own expense and for its own benefit): after all they do install "solar farms" at their own cost (ie with the money we give them).
The other responsibility lies with us as a community since we did not push for solar panels on the roof, did not lobby the high school nor PSE :(

Should the high school go solar?

BELLEVUE, Wash. (Feb. 4, 2008) – As part of Puget Sound Energy’s ongoing efforts to advance renewable energy generation, the utility last Friday, Feb. 1, 2008, issued a request for proposals (RFP) to provide up to five schools in PSE’s service area each a 1 kilowatt to 5 kilowatt photovoltaic solar system.

Decisions taken without any public participation? The case of the "Strawberry Plant" Park (to be)

Readers of the Bainbridge Islander can read today how the city (who at the city is not clear but for the city shorelines planner Mr Peter Namtvedt Best quoted in the article) will remove "100 creosote piling and about 250 feet of concrete and other shoreline armoring from the Strawberry plant property... that will eventually (?!) become a public park with a restored marshland and gravel beach."
The problem with this decision making process is that the community that has been asking for parks has not been consulted nor informed. While I was supposed to get information from Mr Namtvedt Best after I had inquired on October 31 about the fate of this very nice place, he never got back to me. Is he running the city? Is that acceptable? I don't think so :(

See copies of the email exchanges below

A letter from Debbi Lester about Ericksen Park

I post Debbi's email on the blog (below) as a pertinent contribution to this on going saga. I take note that she talks of Ericksen Park and that it is the right way to frame this issue: we are talking about destroying a park.
A very small park but how many are there in Winslow? And who would benefit?
Thank you Debbi for taking the time.

Earth Hour on saturday on Bainbridge

Turn off your lights for one hour 8 to 9 pm (or more). Here is the blog. And the invitation from the city to go to Battle Point Park and look at the stars (if it's not snowing).

Public Works and Transportation to look at Hildebrand on Monday 31 (3 to 5)

This meeting is "announced" by two small posters posted along Ericksen. Can that be considered sufficient information? I don't think so.At first I thought the city website did not  provide any additional info :( but in fact if you type the date of the meeting within the agenda, then click on the right item on the program for this day you get this "presentation" (pdf format) that is a version of the draft we had presented in June (see below).

I guess if you cannot attend you can still email the city counsellors in charge of public works: Kjell Stoknes, Kim Brackett and Chris Snow.

Who is going to defend the public interest? How can we know if we cannot attend?
I suggest this meeting be recorded (audio) and posted on line so that the people who cannot attend but are concerned could hear what is said.

A digital audio recorder costs $30 and all public meetings can be recorded.

See the previous postings on the saga of Ericksen and Hildebrand that refer (for instance) to the draft (an incredible reading) of this $75K  study.

The Chamber persists (and so does the community)

When I took this picture this morning the traffic was minimal, as it is most if not all the time contrary to what is sometimes claimed. The Hildebrand Lane is in no way a very busy arterial. Nonetheless the Chamber wants to erase the small pocket park and replace it by more pavement. Who would benefit from such a destruction? Are all the Chamber's members in favor of such a move? How much does such a banner cost? Is it a good use of the Chamber's money? Who decides such a campaign? Has it been discussed by the Chamber's membership?

Why Seattle's Tree Canopy is disappearing

This story in the Seattle Weekly. What about Winslow's Tree Canopy?

The city could/should regulate the presence of trees in parking lots via a green ordinance for urban sustainability

Thinking about what happened to the trees at the ferry terminal parking I wondered about existing city regulations elsewhere. Just google parking lots and trees: here comes the regulation adopted by the city of Sacramento. It is about shading trees but it makes perfect sense to require the presence/planting/maintenance of trees on parking lots. Looks like the city is going to hire a consultant...and as usual such regulations already exist.

Who is responsible for the disastrous "pruning" of the trees in the parking at the ferry terminal?

Reading the February 20 issue of the Bainbridge Review we don't learn what firm was responsible for this job. A manager for Diamond Parking does not provide any specific information nor apologize for anything wrong. The City acquiesces by saying nothing inherently wrong (illegal) was done and we get the usual argument about private property. Diamond Parking is a big corporation, they claim to be the biggest private parking company in the world (and I bet they are). It is not clear that they were in charge of this "pruning" as they could only be in charge of operating the parking while the property is owned by somebody else. This somebody else could be an entity called Winslow Marine LLC but the property tax map does not provide any clue about who they are, but for the address of an accounting firm in Bellevue. I think the people deemed "responsible" should publicly say so and offer a compensation to our community or explain to us why all is well. What type of compensation? They could plant more/new trees in this parking lot and/or provide money for trees to be planted. They should come up with internal guidelines to avoid such bad practices in the future.

City Hall blasted (once more) by 2 local blogs

We have been frequently shocked by the hiring of consultants by the City: any problem seems/ed to deserve a (usually very pricey) consultant.  Local blogs Bainbridge Island Postscript and Bainbridge Island Notebook detail (once more)this costly (and not very effective) practice that also raises questions of basic trust, lack of transparency, eventual conflicts of interests :(

Tattoo programs at KRL

Should programs about tattoos be part of library programs? I am not so sure. Not that I have anything against tattoos (I have nothing for them either): I am just not sure this is relevant to the library's missions.
Especially when there is a significant financial problem that remains to be actively addressed.
On the other hand, starting to install "self service" machines goes into the right direction. A better presentation of the DVDs would also be welcome.

31 years ago: Jimmy Carter about the energy crisis

Jimmy Carter delivered this televised speech on April 18, 1977.

Here is the audio.

Requiring green building standards

That's coming... unfortunately too late for the on going construction at the high school...

Don't forget the meeting at the American Legion Hall

The American Legion is sponsoring a New England-style town meet on Tuesday, February 5 at 7 p.m. at the American Legion Hall near Hyla to give people a chance to voice their feelings and concerns and pose questions to elected officials about island government. The Legion has asked Charlie Bermant to moderate the discussion, and he will work with a roving microphone, giving people time to follow up their questions and to have a real community dialogue. The Legion has invited the Mayor and City Council members to attend, listen, and respond to questions.

What if City Hall roof had solar panels?

That would make sense. The same goes for the high school.

Did the high school consider solar energy?

I don't think it did. If not, it's too bad but maybe not too late? Here is an interesting program promoting the installation of solar panels for schools (in Camas, La Center, etc.)

Sustainability coverage on NPR?

Does NPR report enough about sustainability issues? They claim they do. I disagree :)
Those are piecemeal programs here and there but there is not one daily rendez-vous about those issues.
Is that normal considering what is at stake? Are the environmental organizations lobbying for more radio programs and/or (even better) coproducing their own segments via a radiobrodcasting alliance? Unfortunately radiobroadcasting is not on their radar screen except with very limited projects  that do not try to bring together as many diverse groups as possible.
When will they get it? Soon I hope but it would be great if our local NPR stations were also more proactive.

32 new blogs from NRDC

Under the title (and poor picture choice in my opinion) of a switchboard, NRDC enters the blogosphere with 32+ blogs. That's good news. The pictures are from Beijing on a clear day and not so clear...