REVIEW BAINBRIDGE ISLAND
FRIDAY, September 19, 2014 | Vol. 114, No. 38 | WWW.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.COM | 75¢
INSIDE: Spartan golf previews A12
Out with the old, in with the new: Winslow Wharf undergoes overhaul Marina installs docks, entry ramp, pilings and other new amenities BY CECILIA GARZA Bainbridge Island Review
Plans to give Winslow Wharf a facelift have been five years in the making. Come next spring, though, marina tenants will have access to a new and improved dock. “It will be a marina that needs far less maintenance than it needs right now,” said Rob Jacques of the Winslow Wharf Condominium Owners Association. The nearly $6 million renovation began early this month to replace the marina’s five docks, creosoted pilings and entrance ramp. In its place, more environmentally friendly steel pilings will support new concrete floating docks that have metal grating underfoot. The 40-foot entrance ramp will also be replaced with an 80-foot ramp to help meet handicap accessibility requirements. At low tide, Jacques said, the extended ramp will make the walk down to the marina less steep. While the wharf’s amenities landside will go unchanged, the dock will also be refitted with all new utilities and Wi-Fi.
Luciano Marano | Bainbridge Island Review
One construction worker remains at work late Tuesday afternoon at the downtown Winslow Wharf site. The long-awaited marina improvement project began earlier this month and is slated to be complete by the spring of next year. Where before low tide would often obstruct the marina’s wireless Internet connection from a router located in the marina office, liveaboards will be happy to know that
Web access will be improved by several antennas on the dock itself. Also the water system and shore power on the dock will be upgraded.
“We’re taking it a step at a time to take care of the parts that were starting to really need replacement or repairs,” Jacques said. “Finally we’re getting rid of
creosote. It’s been a bother. New marina, better environment, very attractive to look at,” he said. “At the end of this, it’s going to be a better marina.” Passerby may have noticed the emptied water at the marina as it undergoes the upgrade. C and D docks and the west portion of M Dock have been removed, and are awaiting the replacement pilings. This first phase impacted 96 boats moored at the wharf, but the shift, Jacques said, has been relatively smooth. Liveaboards have been prioritized and moved to vacant slips on the opposite side of the marina. Arrangements were also made through Winslow Wharf to move the remaining boats to Bainbridge Island Marina, Liberty Bay Marina and the Port of Poulsbo. “We’ve been able to accommodate most of the needs of people living on the wharf,” Jacques said. The funds to replace the wharf have been collected over several years through the 105-member condominium association. “After this is done, the marina will hopefully be good for another 30 years, and we will start another fund for another replacement,” Jacques said.
Bainbridge police chief adds two to ‘Washington’s Most Wanted’ BY CECILIA GARZA Bainbridge Island Review
Two Bainbridge Island natives have been added to Washington’s “most wanted” list. Ericka Nitz, 24, and Kristopher Thurston Nickerson, 31, were identified by Bainbridge police this week as suspects involved in a recent car prowl where credit cards were stolen. “They both have family on the island so that concerns us that they’re on the island,” Bainbridge Island Police Chief Matthew Hamner told Q13’s “Washington’s Most Wanted” program Tuesday morning. A cameraman from the Seattle television show
Ericka Nitz
Kristopher Nickerson
came to Bainbridge police headquarters this week to film a segment for the show. The case stems from a vehicle that was prowled on Sept. 13 while it was parked at the boat launch on Fort Ward Hill Road. The car was locked, but the prowlers were able to enter the car by a window that was rolled down enough to unlock the door.
The car owner’s purse was discovered missing. Hamner said that credit cards stolen from the purse were used at the Town & Country Market and an island gas station the same day as the prowl. Nitz also entered a downtown retail store with the cards, authorities alleged. TURN TO WANTED | A7
Cecilia Garza | Bainbridge Island Review
Bainbridge Island Police Chief Matthew Hamner meets with Q13’s “Washington’s Most Wanted” television program Tuesday morning to notify the public of two Bainbridge Islanders who are believed to be involved in a recent car prowl.