Bainbridge Island City Council Regular Business Meeting – June 9, 2026

The Bainbridge Island City Council met in regular business session on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, convening at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers and via Zoom and adjourning at 10:07 p.m. Mayor Moriwaki presided; Deputy Mayor Hytopoulos and Councilmembers Lant, Mathews, Nelson, and Schneider were present, and Councilmember Fantroy-Johnson attended remotely. After the Pledge of Allegiance, fourth-grader Ingrid Peithman read the land acknowledgment. The council approved the agenda as presented, 6–1, after a motion to remove consent items J–N failed 1–6. No conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Presentations

• Councilmember Mathews read a Juneteenth proclamation; Chasity Malatesta accepted it and spoke about Black resilience, Juneteenth history, and ongoing struggles for liberation.
• Councilmember Lant read an LGBTQI+ Pride Month proclamation; Eve Palay and Lyn Flowers accepted it and spoke about the movement’s roots in Black liberation and the importance of allyship.
• Interim City Manager Schroer announced the Bainbridge Island Reads book for summer/fall 2026: Storybook Ending by Moira McDonald.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Pete Brady spoke against the sales tax, disputed the premise of an affordable housing crisis, and asserted the city has ample reserves.
• Bevan Taylor opposed a land capacity analysis at full build out, saying it would produce an unrealistic hypothetical; he cited historical home construction totals and urged use of trend data and conservation planning.
• Gloria Saylor supported the proclamations and opposed Winslow parking reductions, arguing that walkability and transit are not accessible for many older or disabled residents; she described bus delays and unreliable service.
• Theresa Song expressed appreciation for the proclamations and Bainbridge Reads and spoke in favor of affordable housing, noting she has been able to stay on the island because of voluntarily affordable rent.
• Ron Peltier called for red-line versions of Comprehensive Plan changes and supported a full-build-out analysis based on zoning, noting groundwater sustainability concerns.
• Stephen Hoskins urged Councilmember Nelson to correct his sewer capacity statements, saying the Winslow wastewater plant can be upgraded beyond 2,700 additional people and that plans for those upgrades exist.
• Christine Nhan of Puget Sound Energy directed the council to PSE’s written comments on the draft Utilities element.

Consent Calendar

The consent agenda was approved 6–1, with Councilmember Nelson voting against. Approved items included accounts payable and payroll; meeting minutes; acceptance of the Woodward Middle School 120kW PV system; concurrence with the 90% Senior/Community Center design and contractor selection; a $200,000 Public Works office trailer purchase order with an $80,000 budget adjustment; authorization to advertise bids for the Pleasant Beach Drive Extension; a $98,259.92 purchase agreement for three Suzuki outboard engines and police boat installation; a 30-day South Island sewer connection call beginning July 13, 2026; revisions to the Comprehensive Plan introduction and Cultural, Human Services, Environmental, and Economic elements; and cancellation of the June 16 study session in favor of a special business meeting.

City Manager’s Report

Interim City Manager Schroer reported on upcoming Juneteenth events, the Pride Festival, the city manager finalist open house and interview schedule, and the updated Comprehensive Plan review schedule.

Discussion Items

Something New Art Rotation

The council unanimously accepted the recommended artwork for the 2026–2027 Something New rotation and directed staff to prepare agreements and installation plans.

Draft Utilities Element

The council reviewed the first draft of the Utilities Element and acted on numerous amendments:

• Reverted Utilities Vision 2044 paragraph 2 to the Utility Advisory Committee’s original language, with “Some” changed to “Many” (7–0).
• Amended Policy U 12.8 to study coordinated water conservation, aquifer protection, and system resilience and explore long-term consolidation of larger water systems (4–3).
• Then replaced that language with a direction to conduct a study of consolidation of City and Kitsap PUD water systems and pursue long-term consolidation under City management or ownership (4–3).
• Added an action item reserving a defined allocation of sewer ERUs (equivalent residential units) for housing affordable at 80% AMI and below, with the amount set through the General Sewer Plan update (4–3).
• Reverted Policy U 13.9 to the UAC recommendation to study and advance consolidation or joint ownership with KPUD, including a joint ownership agreement for the Fort Ward Wastewater Treatment Plant (6–1).
• Struck from Policy U 16.4 the sentence about evaluating alternative providers for solid waste services (4–3).
• Amended Goal U-16 to remove “convenient” and change “citizens” to “residents” (4–3).
• Amended Policy U 13.8 to “Continue to pursue tertiary wastewater treatment and the beneficial re-use of wastewater” (7–0).
• Failed to insert “source-separated” into Policy U 16.2 (3–4).
• Amended Policy U 16.5 on solid waste, recycling, and organics information, data on where recyclables are sent, and outreach for hard-to-recycle materials (5–1, with Mathews abstaining).
• Amended Policy U 16.6 to add methods such as material bans, composting, waste-to-energy, ordinance updates, and source separation best practices (7–0).
• Forwarded the Utilities Element to a future meeting for further discussion and approval consideration (7–0).

Capital Facilities Element

Staff and City Engineer Peter Corelis presented a capital facilities calculation chart and explained sewer capacity, population, and ERU figures. Corelis confirmed that the wastewater plant is loading-constrained and that only two capacity upgrades are planned under the current footprint. The council:

• Approved inserting “a Groundwater Management Plan” into the adopted functional plans list on page CF-2 (7–0).
• Directed staff to prepare a sewer capacity reconciliation table by the June 23 business meeting, using ERUs as the consistent unit and covering existing connections, septic homes in the sewer service area, committed but unbuilt capacity, HB 1220 demand, commercial demand, capacity after planned upgrades, surplus/deficit, and funding status (7–0).
• Approved changing “over 1,000” to “approximately 1,700” private single-dwelling wells in the Drinking Water section (7–0).
• Directed staff to draft a simple summary paragraph for the element describing current sewer capacity and next steps (6–0; Schneider abstained).
• Directed staff to correct references from Kitsap County Sewer District 7 to the appropriate agency throughout the document (6–0; Fantroy-Johnson absent).
• Directed staff to establish a standardized people-per-ERU conversion factor in the sewer update and apply it consistently across capital facilities planning documents (7–0).
• Failed to change “It is also likely that most of the smaller systems have” to “Some of the smaller systems may also have” in a sentence about fire protection (2–5).
• Directed the Department of Public Works to provide, by the June 23 business meeting, a preliminary cost estimate and proposed funding mechanism for the second wastewater treatment plant upgrade, including order-of-magnitude cost, funding sources, early-implementation feasibility, and regulatory hurdles (7–0).
• Forwarded the Capital Facilities Element to a future meeting for further discussion and approval consideration (7–0).

The council took a five-minute recess at 8:55 p.m. and returned at 9:00 p.m.

Infrastructure and Land Capacity Analysis at Full Build Out

The council discussed whether to seek an analysis of infrastructure capacity and land capacity at full build out. A motion to direct the interim city manager to provide options, including feasibility and staff-time assessments, failed 2–5, with Councilmember Lant abstaining.

AWC Conference Delegates

The council unanimously appointed Mayor Moriwaki and Councilmembers Mathews and Fantroy-Johnson as voting delegates for the Association of Washington Cities Conference.

Kratom Presentation Request

Councilmember Mathews withdrew her request to schedule a Kitsap Public Health District presentation on kratom, saying she would report back after the district’s July presentation.

Key Outcomes

• The Utilities and Capital Facilities elements were both forwarded for further review, not adopted.
• The council requested a sewer capacity reconciliation table and wastewater treatment plant upgrade cost and funding information by June 23, 2026.
• A full-build-out capacity analysis motion failed; no staff work was directed on that item.
• Council announcements included the Juneteenth celebration on June 12, the free Saturday shuttle launch, the city manager finalist open house on June 17, and the Pride Festival on June 20.