Saturday, September 8, 2007

Future of Destroyed Wetlands Still On Hold

The September 6th hearing on Jeffery Sneller’s notice of violation for the unlawful clearing and excavation of wetlands on his Tolo Road property was once again postponed, this time until May 2008. Pursuant to a recent Settlement Agreement, which includes a restoration plan for the destroyed wetlands, Sneller has until early October to submit a complete permit application, including an updated restoration plan. The public will then be given an opportunity to weigh-in on the proposed plan while Sneller seeks the additional approvals and permits required to carry out the restoration, from both the State Department of Ecology (DOE) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The settlement agreement involves only the notice of violation for the destruction of the wetland and will not affect the state and federal lawsuits Sneller has filed against the City.

For full coverage of the two-year saga see “A Wetland Destroyed, Then a Battle Joined on Bainbridge's Tolo Road at The Kitsap Sun.


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Mr. Sneller's issues, can you also inquire what Ms. Brackett's employment and professional credentials are in environmental issues. Also, where has Ms. Brackett been employed to get her a seat at the litigation table in the Sneller matter.

I believe the candidate in question has an affiliation with Bainbridge Island Postscript. What say you Scout?

Anonymous said...

I'm not scout, but am pleased to answer your question regarding "a
seat at the litigation table."
It is not only a right of the citizens of Bainbridge Island, but may arguably even be a duty to report egregious violations such as destruction of a known wetland. The complainant, no matter who that person is or what background he or she comes from, has the right to the precise degree of involvement permitted Ms. Brackett. This is part of the democratic process.
The complainant is not the judge or the artibiter and, as the case demonstates, Ms. Brackett was not a judge or arbiter.
Hopefully, more and more citizens will participate to ensure that the City of Bainbridge Island faithfully and equitable carries ou the laws, including the land use laws. Democracy takes a village; the repeated blind eye towards and perhaps even involvement by COBI in specific violations of law cry out for citizen involvement. The more watchdogs, the more light on what is really going on around here.

Anonymous said...

Citizen -- thanks for the second part of a two-part question. The first part asked for professional CV: I do note Ms. Brackett left incomplete the Kitsap Sun on-line voter's guide with info on professional credentials, work history, names and companies. I do believe we know where Mr. Winston cut his teeth. I seems to me Ms. Brackett claims a fair amount of expertise but it remains unclear what this expertise comes from.

As to the democratic process, in a lawsuit we have the plaintiff and the defendant at the tables, not the "also interested or involved." COBI will live and die by the success of the case as presented by their legal team of which Ms. Brackett appears to be a fifth wheel.

Anonymous said...

Good news that the public is allowed to comment on the restoration plan. Keep us informed as to when the comment period commences.

Anonymous said...

I noticed that the citizen response was an arterial by-pass of the question regarding Ms. Brackett's professional and educational background. Most of her resume is a "puff piece" with little if any specificity. As a voter, I would like to know who she is, other than a "stay-at-home mom" living off child support.

Anonymous said...

As an ex-professional stay at home mom, I am more than a bit offended by anonymous' insinuation that stay at home moms are freeloaders! Good for you Kim for making your kids a priority.

As a supporter of Ms.Brackett, I have personally heard and read her qualifications several times in the papers and at the debate last month. Just go to her website where she specifically mentions working for Burlington Northern and Sound Transit and for a law firm.

What is your point anyway with the Kitsap Sun voter guide? I haven't seen it, but even if the info's not there, what's the significance of that? Isn't the issue what her experience is, not where it's published?

Anonymous said...

Let's stay focused on the wetland restoration. Ms. Brackett is not a party to this action.

It appears that the Sneller/Tripp/Olsen/Winston anonymoous cabal continue to try and smear a qualified candidate by hijacking an article about the wetland restoration. More obivious are their collective issues with women as noted by their sexist and cowardly comments about Ms. Brackett being a stay-at-home mom. I doubt they would have the courage to attack a man in this manner. These are the actions of cowards and bullies.

Anonymous said...

Kim’s record, community recognition and 4 key endorsements speak for themselves.

BAINBRIDGE CONSERVATION VOTERS, based on their long-range commitment to a healthy, sustainable community environment for all, ENDORSED Kim Brackett for the South Ward Position (8/07), because they believe she “will best protect the community’s interests." BCV endorsements are based on the candidates’ experience, voting records, public service, and abilities, as well as their written and verbal responses to questions posed by the BCV membership.

The 23RD LD DEMOCRATS ENDORSED Kim Brackett (8/3) for the South Ward (Position #6), stating that “Kim Brackett has a well rounded background for work on a City Council. She graduated with a degree in business management and has been a project manager for Sound Transit, an environmental consultant, and the primary care-giver to her family. But she offers more than knowledge of transportation and land use issues. It was Kim's watchful presence that led to the restoration of a wetland destroyed by a developer on the Island. Her willingness to take action to protect the public interest is the essence of public service.”

Both the BAINBRIDGE REVIEW and THE KITSAP SUN also ENDORSED Kim Brackett for the South Ward seat before the primaries. THE SUN described (8/4/07)—Kim Brackett as "a stay-at-home mom with extensive experience in environmental, land use and transportation issues, most recently as former project manager for Sound Transit. She describes herself as passionate about the environment, but not "anti-development."

All 4 reached concensus. Kim’s record speaks for itself. For more, go to www.kimbrackett.com.

Anonymous said...

Sally -- isn't it a little bit early this Sunday for black comedy and your listing of Ms. Brackett's quals -- 23 LDD endorement (wow!) and Barry Peter's group (wowee !!). Talk about the echo chamber (no not eco chamber)

As to stay at home-Moms, I recall a female senator got elected as the sneaker mom. What this with Ms. Brackett is a variant on sneaky.

Oh, yes, and the matter of the Sun's endorsemen of Ms. Brackett (Sun is a Democrat paper -- duh !!)--this is the paper that sat on the article about Brackett's close ties with the arson investigation and the Bainbridge Buzz's posting of Ms. Brackett's article pre-arson. The Sun was threatened by Blog attorney Dan Mallove over eco-terrorism issues. The Sun held the Chris Dunagan article as long as they could.

Stay tuned. And Sally, save the humor for later in the week.

Anonymous said...

Keep in mind, Thunderbird, that defendent/plaintiff (Sneller) is only obligated to present a restoration plan, which, by the way, has been accepted by the City. In the event of an appeal, under the Code Sneller can sit back and do nothing more until the appeal has run its course. In other words, public discourse, while it may be a good forum for Kim Brackett to display her talents, or lack thereof, also delays the restoration process. The City has already spent in excess of $100,000 of taxpayer money and will probably spend another $300,000 or more defending Sneller's damages action, not to mention any possible judgment he is likely to obtain. Win, win for the lawyers and lose, lose for the taxpayers.

Anonymous said...

Ms. Mom -- to answer your question about Ms. Brackett's failure to file answers to the Kitsap Sun's electronic voter's guide: transparency. All other candidates provided specific information about work history, qualifications, and the issue if the candidate had ever been convicted of a felony. As I recall Mr. Winston had answered all questions and provided detailed answers on his campaign plank.

Now if we go to Mr. Brackett's site we find a very dilute version of that info. "Early in her career, she worked in advocacy and public relations for agricultural groups in Idaho and Washington, D.C. Later, Kim worked as a paralegal in land use and environmental policy for Seattle law firms and served as an environmental consultant for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. Most recently, she was a project manager for Sound Transit, where she helped plan and implement rail construction between Everett and Lakewood. Kim left Sound Transit in 2002 and has devoted much of her time to raising her daughter, a senior at Bainbridge High School. Kim and her family have lived on the Island for 11 years"

I feel these answers are extremely general and vague about specific titles and assignments that would be helpful to citizens in determining if her background trumps Mr. Winston's extensive experience as a senior executive with the Department of Transportation.

That's fine the local Dems endorse the Dem candidate but that says less than ZERO about qualifications. Let's get the specifics out there on qualification. The time for generalities are over. Vagueness is not a satisfactory answer by the candidate or her supporters.

Anonymous said...

Dear anonymous,

Jim, why don't you just sign your real name? We all know who you are.

Anonymous said...

Man this is a sad commentary on the state of BI civic life when there are three times as many comments on this drivel as there have been on the substantive stories on this blog.

McCoy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
McCoy said...

We have done some investigation and expect that the following facts should put to rest the innuendos and suggestions of intrigue raised by comments left on this page over the last 24 hours.

1. When the Kitsap Sun emailed out requests for the data in question (the info that a reader noted was missing from Kim Brackett's page in the on-line voter guide) a number of candidates failed to receive the request for whatever reason, and as a result multiple candidates were left unaware of the opportunity to supply the information.

2. The On-Line Voter Guide was taken down recently to be reformatted for the General Election. When it is republished, it should contain complete data on all candidates.

That should resolve the non-issue of Ms. Brackett's "missing" work history and background. However, it must be noted that the comments on this page are devolving into mudslinging and we currently have several comments waiting for moderation along the same lines.

As much as we are firmly committed to allowing an open public debate, we will not allow this blog to be bogged down by repetitive posts and prolonged petty bickering. This is not an easy "rule" to apply, but we will do our best to determine when a conversation has descended from relevant commentary to something that abuses the privilege of posting here, just as a restaurateur would ask quarreling patrons to "take it outside".

Posting here is a privilege. The authors of this blog can set whatever parameters they choose to screen comments. It so happens that our goal is to do our best to be evenhanded, even if we must hold our noses as we post some comments. However, we will not be bullied by either side of any controversy to post or not post comments.

That said, we hope to continue to hear from our readers on the many pressing issues facing our community.

Anonymous said...

ISSUE: TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT

For those few who wander to dusty back issues of PostScript, here is an update that is on point to previous blog posts and the stern lecture from Scout.

South Ward Candidate Brackett has filed her answers as of 9/28/07. You can read the answers and compare/contrast her transparency and detail to her opponent. (www.kitsapsun.com --- Election Guide)

The fact remains the other three candidates (Knobloch, Waldo and Winston) had their answers posted clearly for the past 7 weeks starting with the primary.

The say better late than never but you will have to read the answers first.