Podcast: What’s Up Bainbridge:
Parks District welcomes your ideas for Sakai park on Saturday Jan 23rd

<i>Podcast: What’s Up Bainbridge:</i> <br>Parks District welcomes your ideas for Sakai park on Saturday Jan 23rd

Whats Up Logo for Libsyn and WordPress-150x150What would we as a community like to create on the Sakai family property?

Ken DeWitt
Parks Commissioner Ken DeWitt is interviewed on this podcast.

In this podcast, join Ken DeWitt, one of the five elected Commissioners for the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park and Recreation District, and BCB host Christina Hulet as they discuss an important January 23rd public meeting to shape the future of this parkland.

The Sakai property is a 23 acre parkland in the heart of the High School Road and Madison Avenue part of greater Winslow. Last August, it was purchased by the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District through a bond ballot measure approved by voters this past February. Bainbridge residents now have a unique opportunity as a community to plan what happens on this property.

Click the image above to view a video by Anson Cheese with aerial vistas of the Sakai property now owned by the community.
Click the image above to view a video by Anson Brooks with aerial vistas of the Sakai property now owned by the community.

The aerial view (left, and linked video) of the Sakai land will kindle your imagination for the potential community benefits that the Parks and Recreation property could provide.

Specifically, the Park District Board of Commissioners is looking to the public to develop recommendations, beginning with a public meeting on Saturday January 23rd from 10am-3pm at the Bainbridge Island High School commons. This first meeting will focus on generating ideas for potential uses and then creating community-led teams to better understand the requirements and feasibility of various options. Then, as a follow-up, residents can come back together at a subsequent public meeting to share what the teams have learned.

Parks Commissioners join a Sakai family member at the ceremony marking the public purchase of the Sakai family farm land,
Parks Commissioners join Sakai family members at the ceremony marking the public purchase of the Sakai family farm land.

In this podcast, Ken talks about how this process is explicitly designed to create true community engagement; this is not a planning process with a pre-ordained outcome. Ultimately, the Parks District is looking to the public to make a recommendation for the property that community members would be willing to see their public Parks and Recreation dollars used to construct and maintain.

You can learn more at the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District website.

Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; BCB audio editor and social media publisher: Barry Peters.