Bainbridge Island Review, March 30, 2012

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REVIEW BAINBRIDGE ISLAND

FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2012 | Vol. 112, No. 13 | WWW.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.COM | 75¢

CLASH OF THE TITANS: Spartans stay perfect with win over rival Lakeside. A11

Pools to use thermal system to cut energy costs Contentious

search turns cooperative

BY BRIAN KELLY Bainbridge Island Review

Bainbridge park officials are about to hit the roof, thanks to high energy bills. And they are pretty excited about it, actually. As part of a wide-ranging program to cut down on energy use and save taxpayer money, the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District will install a solar thermal system that will help heat the water in the district’s public pools. The system consists of panels of pencil-sized tubes that will be placed on the roof above the Don Nakata and Ray Williamson pools. A pumping system will send pool water to the roof of the aquatic center, where it will be heated by the sun before it flows back into the pools. “Basically, it’s a no-brainer project for cutting energy consumption,” said John DeMeyer, recreation services director for the district. The district has an annual power bill of roughly $350,000. Keeping the pools heated is the biggest part of the bill; the district heats about 400,000 gallons of pool water a day. “It’s a tremendous energy user,” said Terry Lande, executive director of the parks district. The square footage of the pools, and high evaporation rates, are the main reasons. “You’ve got water that you’ve got to heat 12 months out of the year,” he explained. “And almost six months of the year, we’ve got enough solar power to just put it right directly into the water without the energy loss of making electricity and then using the electricity. That’s expensive to do, and it’s not very efficient.” The piping system, made of a polymer material by Fafco, Inc., a California company, will heat the pool water to 120 degrees as it moves through the tubes. “It’s pretty amazing. But it is just so low-tech,” DeMeyer said. “The only thing that moves is the pump.” The system will heat pool water April through October. “During the summer, it would take care of all of the pool heat, 100 percent,” DeMeyer said. Early estimates for the system peg the cost at $26,000 for the Williamson Pool, and $43,000 for the Nakata Pool.

Council votes 7-0 on city’s next steps BY RICHARD D. OXLEY Bainbridge Island Review

Brian Kelly / Bainbridge Island Review

Lap swimmers go through their paces recently at the Ray Williamson Pool in the Bainbridge Island Aquatics Center. The parks district will install a thermal heating system that is expected to fully heat water in the facility’s pools in the summertime. District officials estimate the two projects will pay for themselves in less than four years. Parks officials are also taking other steps to save power. Some projects have already been completed, such at adding insula-

tion in some facilities and installing double-paned windows. Energy-sucking lighting systems are also being replaced. More modest steps have also been taken. The temperature of the Williamson Pool was dropped

2 degrees — from 82 to 80 — and the pressure in the showers has been lowered. The pools are also getting heatsaving blankets that will reduce heat SEE THERMAL, A14

It wasn’t dramatic or action-packed, but the city council was able to awe the chambers Wednesday — by agreeing with each other. The end result wasn’t easy. The council spent much time engaging in back-andforth arguments over which executive search firms to interview and how an interim city manager would be found. However, rare unanimous votes were cast as compromises were found on the dais. The back-to-back, 7-0 votes prompted public applause. The council added three firms to the mix, and five firms will now be asked to come interview for the job of finding a new city manager. The council’s ad hoc committee will also return in two weeks with recommendations for an interim city manager, possibly Morgan Smith, the current acting city manager. There was a wee bit of drama before the council reached unity. Councilman Bob Scales criticized the ad hoc committee that’s taken the lead on the search. He said the group — Councilwoman Anne Blair, Councilman Steve Bonkowski and Councilman David Ward — had been working in secret. “This was my concern when I voted against having this committee, basically doing all this stuff behind closed doors,” Scales said. “I don’t agree with the committee’s direction.” Speaking for the ad hoc committee, Bonkowski reminded Scales that the committee has often briefed the council at their weekly meetings to discuss the progress and details of their work, in addition to letting the council know what they were planning to do. “None of this has been done in secret or in private,” Bonkowski said. He reminded Scales that the committee had also presented a budget for the work in early February. “There isn’t anything that is new or unique that we’re presenting,” he said. SEE SEARCH, A14


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