Learn more about parks petition at Mercer Island Rotary meeting

Published 10:00 am Thursday, May 19, 2016

Mercer Island Rotary will hear representatives from two citizens’ groups — Peter Struck from Concerned Citizens for Mercer Island Parks (CCMIP) and Robynne Parkinson from Support MI Parks and Arts — speak about the pros and cons of the “Protect Our Parks” (POP) petition at its May 24 meeting.

The meeting will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center. It will be an opportunity to hear the respective perspectives before the May 30 deadline to obtain enough signatures to place the initiative on the Nov. 8 ballot.

The petition will ask citizens to vote on the future preservation of parks and open space, and may affect the planned Mercer Island Center for the Arts (MICA) in Mercerdale Park.

CCMIP contends the initiative closely follows the format of a similar Seattle Parks initiative with the ‘no net loss’ principle. CCMIP professes the initiative is not against the proposed MICA but is needed to protect our parks against ever increasing development pressures.

CCMIP’s website is www.protectmiparks.org. Support MI Parks and Arts’ website is www.supportmiparksandarts.com.

Support MI Parks and Arts contends the initiative is against MICA and CCMIP is using the initiative as a last ditch effort to stop MICA.

Both groups registered as political committees with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC). Both have been fundraising and reporting contributions, which can be found online at web.pdc.wa.gov.

See CCMIP’s contributions here and Support MI Parks and Arts here.

Mercer Island Rotary committed $50,000 to the construction of MICA.

The public is invited to attend this presentation as a guest of any MI Rotarian. Find a list of Rotarians at www.mirotary.org/about-us/members or contact Mike Cero at mscero@comcast.net. The cost of the program is $15, which includes lunch. If not escorted, arrive at 12:50 p.m.