After a sigh of relief that their levy passed, the Bainbridge park district is now rounding up residents interested in serving on a new committee that will guide the spending of almost $1 million a year for open space preservation.

The committee will operate much like the city’s Open Space Commission, which sought out and recommended properties for purchase.

If you haven’t read it already, check out the story I wrote last week on city and park efforts to preserve open space (I never did link it to this blog). I found that buying property was the easy part. Maintaining properties and making them accessible to the public was challenge…at least for the city. The park district aims to improve on the city’s open space program with designated funds for the basics of running a park: trash cans, signs, trail building and maintenance, etc. You can read that story here.

The park district sent in a hopeful letter this week about the new levy’s prospects. The letter is also an invitation to islanders to join the open space committee, and includes information on how to get involved.

Read it below.

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Bainbridge voters on Tuesday approved a tax increase that will put almost $1 million a year toward new parks and open space preservation.

The Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park and Recreation District’s levy lid lift, which would pay for the acquisition and maintenance of new parklands, was approved with over 54 percent of the vote, according to election results released by the Kitsap County Auditor on Tuesday night.

“I’m so happy,” said Barb Trafton, co-chair of the pro-levy Bainbridge People for Parks. “It’s a very difficult environment now (for a levy lid lift) with the economy looking the way it does, but Bainbridge Island historically supports its parks, its environment and facilities to support our youth.”

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Islanders have said loud and clear they want more parks and open space.

Now the Bainbridge parks district wants to see if islanders are willing foot the bill.

Spurred by recent surveys that identify the preservation of open space and creation of new parks as top priorities for residents, the park officials have proposed a November ballot measure that would boost property taxes to generate about $1 million a year for the acquisition, development and maintenance of new properties.

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