With a unanimous vote, the seeds were sown for planning to begin on a new public safety and maintenance building on the current city hall campus at 9611 SE 36th St.

The site is the former home of the council chambers, the municipal court and the police department, and the Public Works department building sits at the back of the property. City hall is positioned at the front of the campus and has been shuttered since April 17, 2023, after asbestos-contaminated broken tiles were discovered in the boiler room. Council unanimously voted to direct the permanent closure of the city hall building at its hybrid meeting on Oct. 3 of that year.

At its March 1 special hybrid meeting, city council voted 7-0 to direct City Manager Jessi Bon to commence planning on the building and deliver a preliminary scope and cost estimate in the second quarter of 2024, according to Deputy Mayor Dave Rosenbaum’s motion.

“My recommendation, and I believe at least through head nods and a consensus of the council, is we need to be looking at both buildings for replacement at this time,” Bon said at the meeting regarding the strategy in constructing a new building, which would accommodate the police and Public Works departments.

Council delved into a conditions assessment of the Public Works building at its Feb. 6 meeting and concluded that the structure is ailing and likely needs to be replaced. On the two-parcel campus, city hall — which has served the city for more than 35 years and was last renovated in 1988 — covers 4.09 acres and the Public Works facility — which was constructed in 1981 and has undergone some repurposing — amasses 9.49 acres.

In a letter to the community posted on March 6, council wrote, in part: “Last week, your City Council took a pivotal step in the future of City operations by unanimously approving the costing and design for a new Public Safety and Maintenance Building on the current City Hall campus.” The letter adds that the safe and functional facility would meet the urgent needs of the city. To view the full letter, visit: https://tinyurl.com/2rsew3d.

Bon noted at the meeting that it’s crucial that police and Public Works are placed on the replacement table first, and there was a discussion of the two departments possibly being co-located since there’s some overlapping in their facility needs.

“We have to prioritize facility needs for your police department, your Public Works department and the Emergency Operations Center. I believe this priority is supported by my entire staff team that those are the essential public facilities that have to move to the top of the list for replacement,” Bon said.

Mercer Island Police Department Chief Ed Holmes and Public Works Chief of Operations Jason Kintner said the two departments work closely with each other when it comes to special events or storms, and Public Works utilizes the Emergency Operations Center more than any other city department. It would make sense if they were to work in a combined facility, they noted.

When tackling a question as to whether the city should be eyeing a plan to address all city facilities at once or one piece at a time, Bon said the full assessment was originally part of the long range facility plan but things were altered with the city hall closure.

“I’m encouraging us to get going on that building now while we can take it, step back and look at all the other needs, maybe more comprehensively and through a parallel process,” she said.

Rosenbaum said it’s one step on a long journey and this is an ideal time to apprise the community of the city’s plans.

“I think this is a great opportunity for us to think big and I think breaking this into pieces makes a lot of sense,” he said. “I think the first piece to get really square on here is the maintenance and public safety — so police, maintenance, emergency operations.”

In concluding its letter to the community, council noted with an eye to the Island’s future: “A great deal of dedication, insightful discussions, and strategic decisions have set in motion what we believe will be a very positive trajectory for the City of Mercer Island.”

For more information on the project, visit: https://tinyurl.com/5wzy6hh2.