The Bainbridge City Council wants to tackle the island’s cellphone tower ordinance in the hopes it will lead to better coverage around the island.
The ordinance hasn’t been updated in 15 years, making it outdated and overly restrictive, according to cellphone companies.
If the rules are loosened, what area of the island would you most like to see get a coverage boost?
Cast your vote in the poll over to the right.
For the results on our last poll about the Ostling trial verdict, head down below.
After listening to 11 days of testimony and deliberating the the better part of three days, a federal jury took a middle path with their verdict on Friday.
Of the four main claims made in the lawsuit by the parents of Douglas Ostling, the mentally ill man who was fatally shot by Bainbridge police in 2010, the jury agreed with just one – that the Bainbridge Island Police Department failed to properly train officers in how to deal with the mentally ill. The jury awarded the Ostlings $1 million.
The jury disagreed with claims that officers illegally entered the Ostling family’s home, used unnecessary force and failed to render aid to the wounded Douglas Ostling.
How do you feel about the verdict? Cast your vote over to the right.
Head down below to see the results from the Bainbridge Conversation’s poll on how the city should pay for road fixes.
Some say she saved the city. Others say she did more harm than good.
Brenda Bauer’s 18-month tenure as city manager has been quite eventful. She led the city though a serious budget crisis, an employee restructuring, the Winslow Way reconstruction project, controversies involving the police force, the Civil Service Commission drama and several other headline-grabbing matters.
Now the City Council has decided to part ways with Bauer, preferring to find new leadership for a mostly new council.
What do you think of the decision? Do you think the council should have kept her on, or was it time for her to go?
Head over to the poll in the right column to cast your vote.
As for our last poll about how to spend the $2 million Washington State Ferries settlement, it looks like the Waterfront Park dock improvement idea won out – but just barely.
See the details below…
After sitting on the $2 million Washington State Ferries settlement for the better part of a year, the City Council recently announced it was time to spend the money (or at least begin to talk about spending the money).
The council consensus was that the money would be spent on one or more construction projects that didn’t necessarily have to be on the waterfront (as WSF had initially required). Other than that, the sky’s the limit.
Two public meetings were held this month to gather ideas, and the council got ideas aplenty. Boaters, bikers, woodworkers, road-enders, little leaguers and others came forward with spending plans. You can read more about the range of ideas here.
The Kitsap Sun weighed in with its spending ideas here.
The council will take up the issue at a not-yet-determined date in December.
So, what do you think? Over in the poll to the right are ideas reflecting the proposals presented to the council during the two meetings. Pick one that reflects your top choice and then cross your fingers.
As for the Bainbridge Conversation’s last poll, the vast majority of votes were cast against a road-improvement bond the council is considering for next November’s ballot. Seventy-four percent said ‘no’; 26 percent said ‘yes.’
Drivers know the island’s roads aren’t what they used to be. Bicyclist know the roads aren’t what they could be.
Heeding calls for road repairs and new bike lanes, the Bainbridge City Council may put a multimillion-dollar bond measure on the November 2012 ballot.
The exact dollar amount and the scope of work has yet to be worked out, but one council member has floated the idea of an $8 million bond split between major road repairs and bike lane construction.
Would you vote for higher taxes if it made the roads less ragged and more safe for bike travel? Head over to the right (under the Facebook links) and have your say.
We recently polled readers and ourselves here in the newsroom about Kitsap County’s top news stories of the year.
You can read the results here, and weigh in on the reader poll at the bottom of the page.
Seeing as how the poll offerings are slanted toward Bremerton (a fish statue is a top story?), and that most Bainbridge Islanders have never heard of Bremerton, I have created Bainbridge Island’s very own top stories of 2010 poll.
Head over to the right side of the screen to weigh in.
And have a happy New Year.
What do you think about the proposal to move the Bainbridge municipal court to a shared court facility in the new Poulsbo City Hall?
See the previous POST for the pros and cons, and then cast your vote over to the right.
As for our last poll about the Moran School theater building, head down below for the results…
In Sunday’s paper, I
explored the changing character of Bloedel Reserve, the 150-acre
garden and nature preserve on the island’s north end. Read the
story
HERE.
Recent money troubles have spurred the reserve to loosen some of its policies in the hopes of boosting revenue.
The reserve has done away with its reservation requirement and is offering more community events. Plans are also in the works to open more of the reserve to the public.
Then changes seem to be working. Attendance is up by 9 percent, and membership has taken a nearly 11 percent leap.
What do you think about the changes at Bloedel? Could the changes degrade the “therapeutic landscape” Prentice Bloedel hoped to create with his reserve? Or should the qualities that make the reserve such a beautiful, peaceful place be shared with a greater number of people?
Cast your vote in the poll over in the right column.
The plight of the city Road Ends Committee has stirred up quite a response from readers.
Yesterday’s online story, which describes how a city volunteer group is being asked to pay for permits to clear brush and make basic safety improvements on the city’s public water access points, was our most-read of the day. There were 56 comments at last count, and most were harshly critical of the city.
Head over HERE if you haven’t read the story.
Readers have offered plenty of suggestions about what the city should do, including waiving the permit fees, giving the committee the money it needs to pay the fees and having paid staff do the work.
Some off-island readers even urged the committee’s volunteers to give up on Bainbridge and come down to Bremerton and South Kitsap where their efforts would be more supported and appreciated.
So, what’s your take? Head over to the new poll on the right side of the screen and cast your vote.
Head over to the right column to cast your vote on where the City Council should have larger cuts to the 2010 budget.
You can see the latest list of cuts here. The council is scheduled to approve the reduced budget at tonight’s meeting.
As for the Bainbridge Conversation’s last poll, results showed strong opposition to the Bainbridge Ratepayers Alliance lawsuit. Fifty-eight percent of the 178 votes cast were against it, and 42 percent were for it.
What do you think of the city’s plans for Strawberry Plant Park?
Should the largely grant-funded effort to reshape the Eagle Harbor park’s shoreline go forward?
Or should the city send the $600,000 grant back to the state and reconsider some of the varied concerns islanders have raised about the park’s redevelopment and possible uses?
You can vote on the new poll over to the right.
Need to brush up on the issue before casting your vote? Check out the stories below.
Land Acquisition Just the First Step for Bainbridge, Park District Planners, Nov. 2008
Some on Bainbridge See History Being Removed Along With Pilings, Feb. 2009
Bainbridge Decides to Go With Natural Look for New Park, Feb. 2009
Bainbridge Council Accepts Grants for Strawberry Plant Park Work, July 2009
Look below for a map showing what the park may look like after the city’s portion of the redevelopment is completed.
(As for the last poll, in which 93 responses were logged, 43 percent felt former mayor Darlene Kordonowy’s role in regional boards should be minimized, 32 percent said she should be allowed to continue serving on the boards, and 23 percent opted to leave the decision to the City Council.)
Darlene Kordonowy has taken some heat from City Council members and some folks in the community about her continued service on regional boards she was appointed to as mayor.
She has a seat on eight boards, including Kitsap Transit, where she’s the chair, and Kitsap Consolidated Housing Authority, where she’s vice chair.
Read this story for more background on the issue, and then take the poll to the right.
The Bainbridge Conversation’s last poll showed that most respondents thought the city handled the Eagle Harbor sewer leak well.
It was interesting to see most initial opinions reflect a view that the city botched the response and endangered the harbor. But, as news rolled in that the harbor appeared to be recovering quickly, the city began receiving high marks.
Here’s the final breakdown:
40 percent: Good. The city did the best they could in a tough
situation. (18 votes)
24 percent: Fair. They did the right thing, but the fix should have
been made earlier. (11 votes)
22 percent: Terrible. The city’s response endangered human health
and the environment. (10 votes)
13 percent: Excellent. The city was on top of things every step of
the way. (6 votes)
