Rob Sexton and David Laub
Island Forum

Water. It surrounds our Island. Every day each of us uses water — each time we turn on the faucet, shower, wash clothes, fill the water dish for the dog and various other mundane activities. How long would any of us want to be without the life-giving qualities of water? The better question is: How long could we go without water before it affected our health? Anywhere from three to 10 days.

The water that we use everyday makes a long journey from the watersheds through a pipeline that is suspended underneath the Interstate 90 Bridge from the Eastside. Geological research has shown that most or all of Mercer Island is located within the Seattle Fault Zone. Because Mercer Island is located in an area prone to earthquakes, a study was conducted in 2004 to assess what would happen to the Island’s water system after a disaster. The pipeline that carries our water supply to us on a daily basis is definitely vulnerable to damage. How many of us remember that on Dec. 14, 2006, the City of Mercer Island — cut off from its Eastside electrical source — was almost completely dark?

The City of Mercer Island, city employees, the mayor, the City Council and various citizen committees all realize that disaster planning is a must. We need to set up systems just in case a disaster such as an earthquake or a bridge collapse, like the one that happened in Minnesota in 2007, occurs. Of course, we don’t want such an event to happen, but we can’t pretend that no risk exists, especially after the windstorm that is fresh in many of our minds. But the city can make certain that its citizens can have access to water of drinking quality in the event of a disaster.

Some may believe that because we are surrounded by a freshwater lake, our drinking water could be obtained from the lake. But how many of us, when at a waterfront park like Luther Burbank, would hand our thirsty child an empty glass with instructions to drink as much lake water as they wanted? Now, in the event of a disaster, the sewer lines currently hidden by the lake’s waters would be damaged, leaking raw sewage into the lake. It is highly unlikely that any of us would want to drink lake water then.

The best way to ensure that our 23,000 citizens have access to safe drinking water after a catastrophe is to have an accessible source — in the form of a well — on Mercer Island, which we control. Yes, it was a risk to drill a well. There was no guarantee that water would be found at all. The Rotary Park location was chosen as it is on the Island’s “spine,” which is considered more stable in an earthquake. Drilling began along with planned improvements to the park, all with input from Island residents.

We all breathed a sigh of relief when water was found at the depth of 570 feet. Testing found that the water was safe for residents to use and could supply five gallons per person, daily, for as long as necessary.

The first phase of the well project was accomplished under budget. The $410,000 initial budget in 2007 for this project included design, bid document preparation, drilling, water quality testing and project management. The actual cost of drilling the test well was $167,912 or $295 per foot, within the average cost for similar drilling projects in this region.

In the upcoming months, the Utility Board and the City Council will investigate ways to create a permanent well facility at Rotary Park. At the same time, city staff is exploring ways to use the well in an emergency even before a permanent facility is built. This well is dramatically different from a simple residential well. The wasting of water must be avoided, and the quality of the water supply must be protected. Primary and backup power needs to be installed, and a way to distribute the water after a catastrophe needs to be in place.

More information will be made available to residents as the well facility develops. We must all be more proactive about emergency preparedness. Please visit www.mercergov.org/emergencyprep or contact the Mercer Island Fire Department at 275-7607 to learn how you can get involved.

The Rotary Park emergency well project is an important part of the Disaster Preparedness Plan to safeguard the health of 23,000 Island residents during an emergency. A supply of safe drinking water is important to all of us. We don’t want to be surrounded by water with none to drink.

Utility Board Chairman Rob Sexton and Utility Board Vice Chairman David Laub are both Island residents.

Selecting a new superintendent

Janet Frohnmayer and Lisa Strauch-Eggers
Island Forum

Strong leadership is the hallmark of any successful organization. Right now, the Mercer Island School District Board of Directors is engaged in the most important work of any school board — the selection of a new Superintendent. We take this fiduciary duty very seriously: we have hired a professional search firm to ensure that we interview the most qualified candidates and have established a calendar and process to ensure that we solicit community input and thoroughly review all information prior to selecting a new superintendent.

The first step in our superintendent selection process was to solicit proposals from consultants who work with school boards and communities on superintendent searches. The vast majority of school boards work with a search consultant because they bring experience and expertise to the process and can attract the best candidates. We voted unanimously to select Cascade Consulting Group.

Cascade Consulting Group is a national search firm, conveniently based in Bellevue, Wash. We will be working directly with the firm’s founder and owner, Lee Pasquarella, who has 18 years of experience and has personally conducted over 200 superintendent searches. He knows Mercer Island well and is very knowledgeable about our district and community.

One of the board’s priorities was to conduct a search process that engaged our community so that we could benefit from your experience and wisdom. The first step in that process will be a series of focus groups with staff, students, parents, administration and community members which Lee and Kathleen Florio, Lee’s colleague, will conduct the week of Feb. 4. The input from these focus groups will be the basis for defining the professional and personal characteristics we’re looking for in a new superintendent. Although many of the focus groups will be scheduled to accommodate specific groups, we want to invite everyone to attend a community focus group on Wednesday, Feb. 6 from 7-8 p.m. at a location to be determined.

Please check the district’s Web site, www.misd.k12.wa.us, for the location of the community focus group meeting and other activities relating to the superintendent search. We will keep you informed via the Web site, the Mercer Island Reporter and list servs to our school community.

The calendar for the search process will also be posted on our Web site. We intend to announce and vote on our choice for the superintendent position at our April 10 board meeting. In the meantime, if you have questions, please e-mail Board President Pat Braman at pat_braman@misd.wednet.edu or Vice President Janet Frohnmayer at janet_frohnmayer@misd.wednet.edu.

Finally, we want to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the community for your continuing support of our schools and the fine work of our very able interim Superintendent, Gary Plano.

The authors are both members of the Mercer Island School District Board of Directors.