On Feb 24, 2009, the Bainbridge Island City Council will have a joint meeting with Bainbridge Island Metro Parks and Recreation District, 6 pm at Strawberry Hill Center. On the agenda (here) is an item called, “City Council and Park Board select the preferred option for Strawberry Park Update.” Island historian Gerald Elfendahl fears they will vote to destroy a critical part of our island’s history.
Update: The council and parks board voted to ignore citizen input, destroy island history, and “restore” the beach with only one dissenting vote. Details in the Review.
Much has been written about the planning process for Strawberry Plant Park. City staff included island residents in a design charrette, then completely ignored their input. To its credit, the Review covered the flawed process extensively. The bottom line is that citizens want a park where kids can play, kayaks can be launched, and islanders can enjoy a peaceful view of the water. It seems that our mayor and city staff do not.
You may not feel this issue affects you as a shoreline homeowner, but it’s part of a disturbing trend.
From a Nov 15th Review editorial,
For example, the city recently presented two alternatives for the new park that were basically identical to the ones city planners proposed before the recent design charrette was held with neighborhood residents and stakeholders offering suggestions. Plans involving the upper five acres, which DeWitt says should be the park district’s responsibility and not the city’s, continue to be essentially passive in the proposal with exception of a small play meadow that was part of the plan before the charrette was held.”
Elfendahl wants them to consider a third, one that honors the historical nature of the Strawberry Cannery that operated on the site. Nobody seems to know what option the council and parks board members favor, but they have only been presented with two by city staff. Unfortunately, the only opportunity for public input is on Tuesday’s agenda from 6:05 to 6:30, before a word is said about Strawberry Plant Park at 7:15.
If you want to see the site turned into a passive use “park,” do nothing. If you prefer a human-oriented, environmentally sensitive use that honors island history speak out.
The Plan 3 Strawberry Cannery Park option that has evolved through discussions with representatives of several Island groups is not intended to be a final plan as much as a discussion tool to point out that we have many options and considerations at this site. In recent weeks, we have met on site with the State’s top Historic Preservation Officer and her staff, with the Field Director and an attorney from the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, Center for Wooden Boats founder/director Dick Wagner, Fisheries Specialist Wayne Daley, Island old timers and many others. Bottom line is the history of the site is very significant and we can create a plan that works with nature, preserves history and supports limited conservation oriented maritime activity. We hope all can participate in an effort for a successful Plan 4 or 5.
All best, respectfully,
Gerald Elfendahl
I believe we should always have respect for the past and, where appropriate, leave small reminders to jog the memory. We should also push to maintain sites or buildings that still possess aesthetic or other value. When the state asked our permission to remove pilings from our property recently, left over from lumber operations here, we refused, partly for historical reasons and partly because of the way the birds use them for nesting and fishing. (We also were split on whether it was better for the environment to leave them or to disturb them and move them to some other environment).
On the other hand, today is for the living and just because something is old doesn’t mean it should be kept. The cement remains at the Strawberry Plant site (obviously the name of the park should commemorate its former use) and the cement power station in Blakely Harbor are not icons that warrant preservation efforts. They’re blocks of cement with no inherent beauty or use. I suppose you could say that since one of the uses of the site was cement-related, that all the cement should be commemorated, but cement just isn’t as glamorous as strawberries. I’d love a boat haulout spot but that can’t be done unless a lot of state rules are followed. Besides, that should be over at WSF. We should have a historical kiosk or something similar and create a park that functions for people and nature.