City and school district representatives met on Monday, Aug. 24, to discuss how each side will share the new Islander Stadium. The joint-task force has not yet come to an agreement on the matter.

A new turf field will be completed this week after the previous turf, installed in 2002, was deemed unsafe to play on earlier this summer.

Because the original surface expired before its 2010 warranty, manufacturer FieldTurf Tarkett offered the district a 20 percent discount on replacing the field, charging a total of $450,000. There exists a possibility that the city may help foot the bill. However, the school district and city have not yet decided on the terms of a new inter-local agreement on the field, which is shared by Mercer Island High School athletes, Island residents and private clubs.

During its Aug. 24 meeting, the joint task-force discussed both financial options and scheduling possibilities for the coming years. Members have yet to make their discussion public.

Superintendent Gary Plano, who was present at the meeting, only said that there was a “spirit of cooperation” between the district and the city.

A similar issue — sharing the improved South Mercer Playfields, set to open in March — was also discussed between the school district and city last Monday. Joint-task force members spent more time on this topic than Islander Stadium, according to City Manager Rich Conrad.

“We’re working out the final details of an interlocal agreement. We’ve resolved everything with staff except for whether the city will charge the school district for using the [South Mercer] fields and whether the district will charge us for using Islander Stadium,” Conrad said. Improvements to the South Mercer Playfields are being financed by levy money and the city’s general fund.

When Islander Stadium was first turned into a turf field in 2002, the city pitched in $500,000 in exchange for public use of the field. Since then, both sides have argued on-and-off about access to the stadium. The arguments have subsided in recent months, after hours of negotiating the schedule times of MIHS sports teams and private clubs.

Now that Islanders will soon have access to upgraded playing fields on the South end, which include three turf baseball fields, a batting cage, scoreboards and an improved soccer field, Conrad said he believes that the two sides may be able to simply exchange their amenities without usage fees.

“So little use occurs with the school district using our fields [South Mercer] and the city using their field [Islander Stadium], there really doesn’t seem to be much need to send each other a fee,” Conrad said.

Yet the city manager emphasized that this was merely a proposal. The task force will meet again to further discuss the terms behind sharing Islander Stadium and the South Mercer Playfields. Agreements are expected by the end of September.

For more information about coming discussions on the use of Islander Stadium and city facilities, go to www.mercergov.org.