Police officers who protect our neighborhoods and businesses are working out of temporary trailers, making accreditation impossible. Our Public Works Department (PWD) keeps utilities running, roads clear, and parks clean. But they’re working out of outdated, deteriorating buildings. This patchwork of temporary and decaying buildings is inefficient and unsustainable. With staff scattered around the Island, emergency response and city operations are harder to coordinate. These buildings can no longer support their intended purpose, and valuable city equipment and vehicles are left outside, exposed to the elements, reducing their lifespan.

Proposition 1, unanimously approved by City Council, will fund a new Public Safety and Maintenance Facility to provide modern level IV earthquake-resistant workspaces for essential workers and equipment. It will help the city recruit and retain police officers and PWD staff, improving emergency and snow response.

We’re not talking about luxury, but about basic safety and function. City Hall closed when asbestos abatement costs exceeded its value, and the PWD building has gone decades without sufficient upgrades.

Voting yes on Proposition 1 will co-locate our most essential public safety and city functions, supporting our first responders and allowing faster, more efficient, effective, coordinated emergency response across Mercer Island.

Russel Federman, Robert Sulkin, Benson Wong

A rigorous examination reveals the City’s proposed design is one of excessive overreach.  The proposed building is almost twice as big as the previous footprint.   Covered storage-space is 4.7 times greater than the current area.  Office space is proposed to be 44% larger than the existing space, yet many more employees work remotely.  The police vehicle capacity is set to expand 50%?  Yet, estimated population growth since 1990 is less than 1% per annum, and student enrollment is expected to decline.  The City is assembling loads of unneeded capacity at a huge and avoidable cost to taxpayers.

The proposed $103,000,000 bond will cost Island Taxpayers $174,000,000 with interest.  For the median assessed valued home of $2,300,000, that represents a 46% annual increase in City Property Taxes, or $660/year.  Over 25 years that’s additional taxes of almost $19,000. 

The simple solution is to pare down the project to reflect the maturity of the city.  Also, eliminate nice to haves like a private gym facility, separate department locker rooms and overhead vehicle coverage for every city vehicle.

On behalf of your neighbors, tell the City to go back to the drawing board by voting No on Prop 1.

Mike Cero, www.miforss.com

Mercer Island needs safe, functional, resilient facilities now. The design team delivered a right-sized plan that protects vital assets, maximizes community benefit, and ensures that city services are there when you need them. Proposition 1 consolidates essential public safety and maintenance services, safeguarding the investment that keeps Mercer Island a full-service city and ensuring we can respond effectively when emergencies happen.

Don’t be misled by bad math and false comparisons. Learn the facts at https://safe-mi.org/GetTheFacts.

Russel Federman, Robert Sulkin, Benson Wong

No statement submitted.

Download the full text of the resolution

60% majority and minimum turnout of 40% of voters casting ballots in last general election (Washington Constitution, art. VII, sec. 2(b))

For questions about this measure, contact: Andrea Larson, City Clerk, (206) 275-7793, cityclerk@mercerisland.gov