In 1995 the City of Bainbridge Island, eager to avoid building a parking garage at a cost of millions, designated three city-owned parking areas for downtown employees whose cars display permits issued under a program administered by the Chamber of Commerce and paid for by merchants. The program has worked beautifully for 15 years.
We try to pay our people a rewarding amount and share profits when we have them, but most downtown hourly employees are working for a wage not far from this state's minimum. Many of them live somewhere other than Bainbridge Island, public transportation only runs at peak ferry commute hours and bicycle travel is only occasionally suitable for well-dressed workers, so they drive cars to work, presently about 170 of them, but not all at once. If all these cars were parked on the street, there would be precious few spaces left for shoppers.
Now some members of the City Council think this constitutes a "gift of public funds for private purposes." To the extent that this program helps preserve our downtown as a viable local hub of commerce and community activity, we believe it to be a legitimate public purpose. Usually we think of sustainability in terms of earth, air and water. We hope the City Council will also consider continuing this minor but beneficial investment in economic and community sustainability.
Many downtown businesses have recently failed under the pressure of withering competition by mega-marketers, internet commerce and the beating endured under the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression. Many survivors are hanging on by their fingernails. We encourage local government to acknowledge that our community life, including the substantial value of neighbors doing business with neighbors, is a matter of public stewardship.
