Update: The council voted 6-1 not to conduct an advisory vote on the MICA issue, with Wisenteiner as the sole advocate for taking an Island-wide vote before further council action.

The only item of regular business on the Mercer Island City Council’s Feb. 1 agenda was a discussion of an advisory vote on the Mercer Island Center for the Arts (MICA) use of the recycling center site at Mercerdale Park.

MICA and the city have been working on a draft lease since July 2015 for the land, which also includes Bicentennial Park and a portion of the wooded area to the south of the abandoned recycling center.

Concerns about leasing a portion of public park land to MICA — a private non-profit that promises numerous benefits for the city and the community — were raised throughout the 2015 general election, and many speakers have attended recent council meetings to voice both support and reservations about the planned arts center.

Newly-elected Councilmembers Jeff Sanderson and Dave Wisenteiner proposed that the council discuss holding an advisory vote to gauge community support before signing the lease.

“If approved by a council majority vote, the exact language of an advisory vote ballot measure would be subject to further review and revision by the city attorney at a future date,” according to the agenda.

If the council were to put the project before the voters, it would be in the form of a ballot measure. The results of an advisory vote are non-binding and do not change local law, but have historically changed lawmakers’ opinions. On two issues where Mercer Island held advisory votes — putting a golf course in Pioneer Park and City Hall in Mercerdale Park — Islanders rejected the plans.

That history of protecting parks prompted the formation of the citizen group Concerned Citizens for Mercer Island Parks.

“As the Island becomes completely built out, there is more and more pressure to use our parks as vacant, free land for a variety of interest groups. If we don’t protect our parks, they will disappear,” said group leader Ira Appelman. “The final decision should not be made by various groups lobbying the City Council but should be made by the voters in an Island-wide vote, and that is what we seek.”

The group endorsed Wisenteiner in the election, who said many times that he would support an advisory vote.

“The decision to prioritize one non-profit over another to be the beneficiary of public assets seems like an issue for the voters and not seven residents alone,” Wisenteiner said in the group’s voters guide.

Sanderson ran unopposed, but was also interviewed by the group for the voters guide.

“Specifically on the MICA issue, I support going to the citizens on this (and a number of other important issues) and abiding by their responses,” Sanderson said, though he said MICA would enhance Mercerdale if it can get over certain hurdles, including raising money and providing parking and clear financials.

Other council members weren’t as enthusiastic. New Councilmember Wendy Weiker said a special election could be “divisive.” Deputy Mayor Debbie Bertlin said an advisory vote “would not provide sufficient clarity and be a substantial expense.”

An advisory vote could cost anywhere from $20,000 to $70,000, depending on when the election is held and how many other items are on the ballot, as the costs are split between all of the jurisdictions with ballot measures. A special election would be the most expensive.

“The MICA board has consistently sought community input and will continue to do so,” MICA President John Gordon Hill wrote in an email update. “However, MICA strongly opposes an advisory vote.”