Seven reasons to vote yes for Mercer Island Prop. 1

I wholeheartedly recommend approval of the proposed Public Safety and Maintenance Facility (PSM).

Note: This Proposition requires a minimum turnout of 40% of the voters casting ballots in the last general election and 60% of those voters must be in favor for it to pass. It’s a lot of ballots folks, so if you’re for this, get your ballot in and remind others.

Excellent information has been provided to all residents: A flyer from the City, one from Safe-MI.org, and the Voters’ pamphlet. It’s good reading and might stimulate your pride in the City as it did mine.

These seven facts caught my attention:

1. Our elected City Council members unanimously favor this proposal.

2. We will finally be able to go to a city office for permit reviews, utility billing, and customer service again.

3. The NO campaign blankets the Island with the ubiquitous claim that the PSM facility constitutes a 46% increase in our City taxes. Well that’s technically correct but I think it creates an incorrect impression with many readers. The cost of the PSM to homeowners is based upon an increase ONLY in the proportion of our property taxes that go to the City, and that proportion is 15.7% of the total according to my 2024 Property Tax summary from King County. So, of the 15.7% of your property taxes that go to the City of Mercer Island, the increase in that amount is estimated by the NO campaign to be 46%. The NO and the YES agree that constitutes about $55 a month for a home with assessed value of approximately $2M. So, it is not a 46% increase in your property taxes! The expense to homeowners is not trivial, especially for those on fixed incomes. I hope that some will be able to apply for and get property tax relief. But I have no doubt that the proposed Public Safety and Maintenance Facility should be approved and built at this time.

4. Both Police operating out of portable buildings and Public Works Maintenance operating out of a failing building will be housed in the new PSM. It’s two for one because both need showers, lockers, mission critical facilities, and storage! And if Emergency Operations cannot be located where Police and Public Works staff are located, well I can’t think of anywhere it should be located. (Field trip: Consider driving by the old City Hall and take a look at those portables out back!)

5. The Mercer Island Police Department is currently not accredited by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs because they do not have the correct facilities to process an arrested individual. If I was a police officer, how would I feel if the City I was working for did not take the initiative to build a safe and effective police facility? Would I want to continue working there? Ditto: Public Works engineers and maintenance staff. We Islanders often make it clear that public safety is our highest priority. Here is a carefully crafted and vetted opportunity to get more of what we want. It will never come without collective investment.

6. The project was initially estimated at $133M. After value engineering, it is now estimated at $103M. Because of the cost-cutting exercise, we have a proposal that protects our investment in two ways: One, we don’t spend on things we can do without; and two, we don’t spend a lot of money but fail to get what we need.

7. Note: The Return on Investment analysis didn’t work out for remodeling the old City Hall and Public Works Maintenance buildings. Again, let’s not waste our money when trying to build a facility that is supposed to serve us for 50 years.

I encourage voters to turn out and to vote Yes for Proposition 1. It is an investment by all of us for all of us! It provides better protection for our children and for all of us as we age. It protects our entire community. Let’s do this Mercer Island! Vote yes.

Carolyn Boatsman, Mercer Island