Drinkwater knows our community
One of the many reasons we are voting for Tracy Drinkwater for Position 3 on the Mercer Island School Board is because in addition to being an exceptional educator and consultant, she knows our community.
As her daughters have grown up here, Tracy has been an active volunteer who has focused on advocating for children’s interests. She was treasurer for both the Mercer Island Preschool Association and the Lakeridge Elementary School PTA. She was on the Mercer Island School District’s Low Incidence/High Impact Committee, and helped develop expertise and knowledge of best practices in Autism Spectrum Disorders and other special needs.
She has given hundreds of hours to Youth Theatre Northwest, one of our families’ favorite places, running the box office and supporting efforts to build an arts center for Mercer Island. Tracy is currently a member of Communities That Care, which raises awareness to help prevent underage substance use and abuse.
Tracy is committed to making the most of our community on many levels, and to encouraging children of all abilities and learning styles become their best selves. Parents and children will benefit from having her expertise on the school board. Vote for Tracy.
Karin Davies, Dr. Kristina Crothers, Carina Evens, Dr. Katharine Lamperti, Kathryn Lerner, Becky Showalter, Yvonne Willard, Nicki Winder
Speak up on Mercerdale plan
I recently stood outside the Farmers Market and asked shoppers if they lived on Mercer Island. If they said, “Yes,” I asked, “Did you know the City Council has agreed to lease almost an acre of public park land in Mercerdale Park to a private group for a 38,000 square-foot arts center?” Some knew. Many didn’t.
But most of them, whether they knew or not, whether they supported MICA in the park or not, agreed that the best way to bring our community together would be to have a public vote so that every citizen could have a voice in this important decision before the lease is signed. But the current City Council is planning to sign the lease though neither they, nor the public, have seen the final footprint of the proposed MICA building or any details of the projected $800,000 yearly MICA operating budget.
This is an important decision, whether or not to lease almost an acre of public real estate worth $10 million to $15 million to a private group at $1/year for at least 50 years. Every citizen who wants a voice in this important decision must let our City Council know. Write a letter. Speak up at a City Council meeting. Sign a petition, available from Concerned Citizens for Mercer Island Parks: protectMIparks@gmail.com.
Let’s be sure the majority of our citizens want to give up public park land and accept the possible future financial risk for a $25 million building owned by a private group on public land, as well as any shortfall in MICA’s annual operating budget that MICA cannot make up through fundraising.
Meg Lippert
