If all goes according to plan, the Mercer Island City Council will be assembling in person again at its Jan. 2 regular meeting in the Mercer Island Community and Event Center Slater Room. Meeting time is scheduled for 5 p.m.

According to City Manager Jessi Bon during council’s hybrid meeting on Dec. 5 — its last meeting of the year — audio-visual equipment and cabling has been installed in the room, which has been newly painted and carpeted. Until a permanent dais is set up in the room, council will gather at tables in view of a large visual screen. Bon said they also plan to utilize the room for board and commission meetings.

“My thanks to everyone for their patience. This was one of the more challenging transitions we’ve had to navigate, but the room is looking great and we’re almost there,” said Bon, adding that testing and troubleshooting would occur to ensure that everything was operational before the Jan. 2 meeting.

According to a previous Reporter story, to upgrade the room to act as council’s makeshift chambers, it recently passed a consent agenda bill to appropriate $82,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act Fund.

At its hybrid meeting on Oct. 3, council unanimously voted to direct the permanent closure of the city hall building where council formerly gathered for meetings. City hall has been shuttered since April 17 after the discovery of asbestos-contaminated broken tiles in the boiler room, which contains two air-handling units.

In other city building-related news, Bon said that staff and its consultants continue to work in tandem toward completion of facilities conditions assessment work on the rest of the city’s structures. They’ve commenced long-range facility planning and anticipate launching a discussion with city council regarding city facilities and a future city hall in the first quarter of 2024.

For more information, visit: www.mercerisland.gov/meetings

HOLIDAY GIVING

Also at the Dec. 5 meeting, Bon noted that to support families in need during the holiday season, the Mercer Island Youth and Family Services (YFS) Emergency Assistance Program served 137 families for Thanksgiving, and the YFS Holiday Gift Program has supported more than 96 children from 55 local families.

“That work would not be possible, however, without the incredible partnership with the Mercer Island Youth and Family Services Foundation and all of the community members and businesses that generously donate to support this program,” said Bon, who thanked YFS and the foundation for leading the way in the giving realm.

For more information, visit: www.mercerisland.gov/yfs