REVIEW BAINBRIDGE ISLAND
SWIMMING TOWARD STATE: BHS has a shot at capturing the 3A title this weekend. Page A14
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2011 | Vol. 111, No. 45 | WWW.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.COM | 75¢ AND THE WINNERS ARE...
‘We need help’ say merchants City agrees to give $6,000 to assist Winslow businesses during holidays. By RICHARD OXLEY Staff Writer
Charlie Wenzlau/For the Review
Steve Bonkowski, a relative newcomer to the island, talks to a citizen during a post-election event Tuesday night at the Treehouse Café. Bonkowski, Sarah Blossom, Dave Ward and Anne Blair appear to be the winners in the council races.
Listening to citizens pays off Voters elect four new members to the Bainbridge City Council. By DENNIS ANSTINE Staff Writer
Three of the four newly elected (unofficially) City Council members say their criticisms of the city’s performances in recent years were mostly reflective of what community members told them before and during their campaigns. Steve Bonkowski, Dave Ward and Sarah Blossom said after Tuesday’s election results were posted that changes needed to be made in the council and city administration,
including: assuring that basic services such as road maintenance and equitable utility rates are provided; continuing to improve the city’s financial situation; and the way the council does its own business. Anne Blair, the fourth winner in the election, was less critical of the council and administration during her campaign but she made it known that she thought the city had lost the trust of much of the community. That was a common theme among the four winners. Bonkowski, who held a 12 percent lead over incumbent Barry Peters after the latest vote count by Kitsap County, was perhaps the most active campaigner during the primary and general elec-
tions. Generally, he said, people want the changes that started with the new form of government to continue. “That includes a lot of different things,” he said, “including bolstering the city’s financial picture into the future. When I talked to people who are Winslow ratepayers, uniformly they wanted the water utility transferred to Kitsap Public Utility District. It’s not just about rates. Many people I talked to said the city didn’t deserve a second chance. That was the No. 1 issue.” Bonkowski said he got
to know how islanders thought about their government simply by listening to them, whether it was at Safeway, the ferry terminal, on door steps or during the 22 different coffee events he attended on the island. He also sat through a lot of city meetings in order to understand what was occurring. “What I think happened was that because of a general dissatisfaction with one thing or another, a lot of people who were maybe in different factions at one time sort of came together and voted the same,” Bonkowski said. “That was kind of surprising.” Blossom, a fifth-generation islander who had a 6 percent advantage over SEE ELECTION, A9
Winslow merchants have decided to act upon mounting concerns with the city over construction and its negative effects on their businesses, asking and receiving $6,000 to help with the holiday season. On Wednesday, Terry Arndt, co-owner of Paper Products, Etc., brought the concerns of a number of downtown merchants to City Council. According to Arndt, the construction projects along Winslow Way have negatively affected a number of businesses over the past year. As downtown merchants look toward the approaching holiday season, which accounts for a significant portion of annual sales, they
want to ensure that there are no further disruptions to their businesses. “We will make 40 percent of our sales in the next month and a half,” Arndt said. “It’s our biggest season.” Arndt’s message was meant to publicly inform the city about the reality of doing business on Winslow Way during the construction. Many merchants have felt as if the city has not heard their previous frustrations regarding the negative impacts on their businesses, and putting it on the public record was the next step. “There hasn’t been true, heartfelt sentiment for the vendors from city officials,” said Greg Epstein, owner of SEE BUSINESSES, A3
Ferncliff Village is ready to roll HRB’s largest effort to provide affordable housing on the island. By RICHARD D. OXLEY Staff Writer
Access to affordable housing on Bainbridge Island is moving forward as Ferncliff Village obtains its first purchasers, with more on the way. Ferncliff Village is a project spearheaded by the Housing Resources Board (HRB) for the purpose of building new homes for lower-income residents. It is the largest and most ambitious project the HRB has taken on,
according to Ken Balizer, its executive director. “We’re very close (to building houses),” Balizer said. “I think we can start construction on houses toward the end of November.” The village will be built off Ferncliff Avenue near Wing Point Way. Phase one of the project is to build 24 individual homes, while phase two will include the construcSEE FERNCLIFF, A16