A long-awaited septic upgrade is underway at Fay Bainbridge Park this week. The $57,000 project will replace the park’s old and fragmented septic systems with a single system less prone to flooding.

Two new drain fields have been dug into the berm above the beach and will serve all the buildings in the park.

The park remains open, though it may be closed to vehicle traffic intermittently during the project.

The park district is shutting down its trailer dump service at the park because the new septic system is not designed to handle chemicals from recreational vehicles. The district recommends RV campers use other Kitsap dump facilities including nearby Eagle Tree RV Park in Poulsbo.

Fay Bainbridge was once in line for a much grander and wastewater treatment plant while it was still a state park. Those plans never materialized. The contract for the new septic system was awarded to Northwest Cascade Inc. last month.

For more information, contact Mike Mejia at (206) 842-3931 or mike@biparks.org. The district is also seeking input from Fay Bainbridge users with a beach ecology survey.

Orcas swim south through Puget Sound between Fay Bainbridge Park and Ballard at about 3 p.m. Monday. (Tad Sooter photos). Here’s Chris Dunagan’s story on what the whales were up to.

A large pod of orca whales put on a show off the east side of Bainbridge Island Monday — albeit a show best enjoyed with binoculars. The whales appeared to be cruising midway between the island and the mainland.

The Orca Network relayed reports of the whales off Point No Point late in the morning. They were spotted off Jefferson Head and Fay Bainbridge Park at about 1 p.m. By 4 p.m. the whales were between Elliott Bay and Eagle Harbor, and still swimming south. Facebook users reported seeing the whales from the 4:40 p.m. Seattle ferry.

Though they stayed far from shore, the whales caused a stir along the waterfront. A few families enjoyed whale watching with binoculars from the beach at Fay Bainbridge in the afternoon and a float plane (left) zipped low overhead, making a bee line for the pod. KING5 even followed the whales live with a helicopter for a while.

If nothing else, it was a good excuse to head for the beach on a spectacular October day.

If you snapped some whale photos Monday, please share them with us. You can email Tad at tad.sooter@gmail.com or post them on the Bainbridge Islander page on Facebook.

Bainbridge trails advocate John Grinter writes that Bainbridge needs to slow down and reassess plans to take on two state parks slated for closure. Grinter is the vice chair of the city’s Non-Motorized Transportation Advisory Committee and was a lead community organizer for the 2004 petition drive to create the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park District. Below is Grinter’s letter.

I am a strong supporter of Bainbridge parks and I believe our local park board is moving too quickly to bail out the state park system with the transfer of both Fay Bainbridge and Fort Ward state parks.

I don’t believe careful consideration has been given to the long-term impact on other well-planned community goals. The local (park) board is talking about making a permanent financial commitment of millions when they should be talking about helping the state in a short term, interim manner while we weather this economic crisis. Perhaps most troubling of all is the speed at which it is happening and the nearly complete lack of public process regarding the transfer.

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Snohomish County is eyeing a state park within its borders as a possible money-maker if the state goes ahead with a plan to surplus it and 12 other parks, including Fay Bainbridge and Fort Ward.

According to a recent Seattle Times editorial, there is support in Snohomish for charging a day-use fee if the county takes over the popular Wenberg State Park. The fee would help offset the costs of maintaining the park and may give the county a much-needed cash infusion.

Think the same would work when/if the Bainbridge park district takes over Fay and Fort Ward?

The state park system is hosting a public meeting on Friday to discuss the possible transfer of Fay Bainbridge and Fort Woard state parks to the Bainbridge Island Metro Mark and Recreation District.

Gov. Chris Gregoire proposes to close 13 state parks, including Fay Bainbridge and Fort Ward, to help meet a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall. The 13 parks on the closure list aren’t up to the state standards for use, scenic views, cultural resources and potential to earn money.

State parks staff will discuss how and when the transfer may occur and hear public comment about what features park users would most like to see preserved.

Fay Bainbridge State Park is a 17-acre marine camping park with 1,420 feet of saltwater shoreline on the northeast corner of Bainbridge Island. Fort Ward State Park is a 137-acre park with 4,300 feet of shoreline on Rich Passage.

For the Sun’s most recent story on the proposed transfer, click here.

The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at Island Center Hall, 8395 Fletcher Bay Road N.E.

For more information, contact state parks planner Peter Herzog, (360) 902-8652.

Gov. Chris Gregoire’s cost-cutting plan to close Fay Bainbridge and Fort Ward state parks came as a surprise to many island residents and public officials.

It also raised some big questions: Will the land be sold to developers? What about the planned sewer system connecting to Point Monroe? Is the Bainbridge park district or city or even the county willing to absorb and manage the large waterfront parks? Why does Bainbridge have to suffer the loss of two of the 13 parks slated for closure?

For now, there’s more questions than answers.

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