MICA lease may be on Council agenda
The lease between the city and the Mercer Island Center for the Arts (MICA), which was placed on the City Council work plan for 2014, still has not been discussed.
The performing arts facility is currently sited at the corner of Mercerdale Park, on Bicentennial Park and the old recycling center. Islanders have suggested that another location in the downtown core would be preferable.
Deputy Mayor Dan Grausz suggested scheduling the item in September or October.
“People want to know that this thing actually has a home,” Grausz said.
Update: Many supporters of MICA and Youth Theatre Northwest, MICA’s lead tenant, spoke at the City Council meeting on Aug. 3 in favor of the current proposed location. Others voiced concern about a private entity using public park land.
City to co-sponsor Art UnCorked event
The city received a request from the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce and Mercer Island Visual Arts League (MIVAL) to provide a grant and sponsorship for the Second Annual Art UnCorked event scheduled for Sept. 11.
The inaugural Art UnCorked 2014 event has more than 500 people in attendance. The 2015 event will include an increase in local artists displaying and selling their art, musical entertainment, food trucks and Washington wineries sampling their wines.
“This event is a model for events to be held in the Town Center that will help stimulate economic development, bolster the Town Center as a neighborhood and hub of fun activities, and foster art as a key community value,” according to the agenda bill from the City Council meeting on Aug. 3, after the Reporter deadline.
Organizers were requesting a grant/major sponsorship in the amount of $2,500 from the city to cover a portion of the event costs, including tent and port-a-potty rentals, permit fees and advertising.
School impact fees have first reading
The city proposed an amendment to its code to adopt impact fees for schools. The fees would be $14,117.84 for a new single-family residence and $4,284.00 for a new multi-family residence.
The Mercer Island School District requested adoption of a school impact fee at the April 30 joint meeting of the City Council and School Board.
The Planning Commission held a public hearing on a proposed school impact fee ordinance on July 15. The ordinance requires an Interlocal Agreement between the City and the Mercer Island School District to govern the operation of the school impact fee program. It will have a second reading on Sept. 8.
1,000 Islanders pledge not to text and drive
Many Islanders are pledging not to text while driving. The Youth and Family Services Department’s Communities That Care (CTC) Coalition is promoting community safety by inviting residents to commit to driving without cell phone distraction. During the weekend of Summer Celebration, over 1,000 people pledged not to text and drive by signing a banner that can now be viewed at Mercerdale Park (and soon, City Hall).
The 2014 Healthy Youth Survey found that 66 percent of Mercer Island High School (MIHS) seniors reported riding in a vehicle driven by someone texting or emailing during a typical month. Although CTC’s primary focus is underage substance abuse prevention, the CTC-supported high school prevention club (“SAFE”) received a grant from the Traffic Safety Commission to address this risky behavior. These efforts led to the idea of collecting signatures of those pledging to “Never Text and Drive.”
Meanwhile, the CTC is encouraged that the number of MIHS 12th graders reporting having an alcoholic drink in a typical month has decreased over 20 percent since 2000.
The Coalition hopes to see similar reductions of high risk behavior by bringing attention to the problem of distracted driving. For more information, Derek Franklin.
