If it is true that an Island resident has offered a large donation to kick-start a fundraising effort to buy property in the Town Center for the Mercer Island Center for the Arts (MICA), then this is wonderful news and one that I think many Island residents would be willing to support.

Those of us, and I am one of them, who oppose the location of MICA in Mercerdale Park, are not against the arts, or children, or those who participate in them, (my daughter teaches printmaking and book arts), but are disturbed by the impact a large building would have on our very visible, well-used park and the signal it would give that our parks are “free” land to develop with structures, for community use or otherwise.

Some of us need quiet, open, natural spaces to decompress from the stresses of daily life. This is as important to us as the arts are to those who attend or create in the artistic arena. Mercerdale isn’t pristine by any means, but it gives us space to breathe and see a natural hillside with trees. That’s important. As the Seattle metropolitan area becomes more and more populated, open space will become more and more precious. There isn’t much of it and we need to preserve it.

Fortunately, with such a generous donation, there is room for both an arts center and parkland on this Island. I would urge MICA to follow-up with the offer. I’m sure Islanders would follow.

Cynthia Howe

Mercer Island