REVIEW BAINBRIDGE ISLAND
THE SECOND SATURDAY DILEMMA: Swing and sway or sing and play? Page A10
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2011 | Vol. 111, No. 40 | WWW.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.COM | 75¢ ARE YOU PREPARED?
Mixed views in port issue Proponents believe new revenue is needed; others say no more taxes By DENNIS ANSTINE Staff Writer
Dennis Anstine/Staff Photo
Bainbridge Island Fire District Chief Hank Teran discussed a five-year plan for emergency preparedness at the Sustainable Bainbridge’s Sustainable Monday meeting at the Commons.
Citizens, professionals craft plan B
By CONNIE MEARS Staff Writer
Contemplating disaster isn’t at the top of most people’s list of how to spend a Monday evening, but for the roughly 50 people who gathered at the Bainbridge Commons this week, the evening proved informative. “I’m not going to blow smoke here – pardon the pun – and say
we’re ready,” said Bainbridge Island Fire Department Chief Hank Teran. “We’re not.” In July implementation of the island’s Disaster Response plan shifted from the Police Department to the Fire Station. Building on previous work done by the city, and partnering with other organizations, BIFD has assembled a
five-year plan to help deal with the seven different types of potential emergencies possible on Bainbridge. The list tackles troubles from mild to extreme, but there is good news. SEE EMERGENCY, A4
The impetus leading to the potential creation of a Port of Bainbridge Island materialized from Washington State Ferries’ decision last year to rid itself of a decades-long encumbrance it had with the city. When the state agency offered the city either an acre of land adjacent to the WSF Maintenance Yard or $2 million to be used for a water-related project to forget a promise it had made many years ago, both payoff proposals stirred Eagle Harbor boating enthusiasts. Some wanted to put a boatyard on the waterfront land, while others saw the money as seed for construction of a new dock and marina off Waterfront Park. The city, of course, decided in late December to take the cash and stick it in a special reserve fund after WSF granted an 11th-hour reprieve on the water-related condition.
“That sort of started people who were involved in the proposals to thinking that there was another way,” said Wini Jones,. She has been one of the driving forces behind the petition and resolution that the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners put on the Nov. 8 general election ballot. “It rallied the community, and organizations like the park district and city’s Harbor Commission, primarily because there have been so many things involving the island’s waterways that the city has dropped the ball on,” Jones said. “Two council members (Debbi Lester and Barry Peters) became involved, but the city needed the money so ferries decided at the last minute to give it to them.” Aided by the Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA), the coordinating agency under RCW SEE PORT, A3
Council resolves how to deal with recall petitions By DENNIS ANSTINE Staff Writer
It took nearly two hours of detailed discussion, but the City Council has approved a resolution to regulate a petition to recall a member of an independent commission such as the city’s Civil Service Commission. The proposal, created by Councilor Bob Scales two weeks ago and tweaked Wednesday night before approval by a 4-1 vote, sim-
ulates a jury scenario with the presentation of evidence, testimony and a final decision made by the city’s hearing examiner. The hearing examiner’s judgment will then be forwarded to the council, which ultimately has authority to appoint or remove commissioners. The council and staff have been working on a way of fairly judging a petition to recall a commissioner after former
Civil Service Commission Secretary/Chief Examiner Kim Hendrickson, whose contract was terminated in August by the city, filed a complaint with the city’s Ethics Board two weeks ago. The complaint claims that Civil Service commissioners David Hand and George McKinney met separately with City Manager Brenda Bauer and City Attorney Jack Johnson in violation of
the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) and the Code of Ethics of the city’s Ethics Program. Hendrickson later filed a petition to remove Hand and McKinney from office. The meetings occurred after Hand and McKinney had separately resigned their posts after some of their actions were challenged by Hendrickson. Both commissioners then rescinded their resignations
after meeting with Bauer and Johnson. Bauer said Wednesday that her meeting with the commissioners was routine, “and was not the deciding factor (in them rescinding their resignations) and that had nothing to do with me.” Johnson, who has resigned as city attorney effective later this month, issued a legal opinion last week that said it did not appear that
the commissioners were in violation of state law. The city, however, had not created a process to handle the removal of commissioners from the city’s three independent commissions – the Planning Commission, Salary Commission and the CSC. The Civil Service Commission, a three-member volunteer citizen committee SEE CSC, A5