After selecting nine “liaison group” members and 42 stakeholders, the city continued its Town Center engagement strategy with a series of meetings open to and specifically geared toward the general public.

The city decided to revise its Town Center code last year, and hired Seth Harry and Associates to lead the urban planning work and local firm 3 Square Blocks to be the community engagement consultants and primary authors of the new design guidelines.

Since then, community interest in the project has increased, along with concerns about new development downtown. The city responded by enacting a four-month moratorium and approving a Town Center engagement strategy in February that involves many public outreach sessions.

“Getting people to talk, even heatedly, about the Town Center at the same time that we were already about to begin a public engagement process is fantastic,” Deputy Mayor Dan Grausz wrote in an email update to Islanders.

The sessions last week were facilitated by Julia Walton of 3 Square Blocks, who asked residents what types of public spaces, parking options, streetscapes, and retail they would like to see in their Town Center.

The input received during the public meetings will be distilled, analyzed and considered during the March 20-21 stakeholder group meetings. The feedback will be online this week, said Development Services Group (DSG) director Scott Greenberg.

The first community outreach meetings were held on March 12 — at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center (MICEC) at 4 p.m. and at West Mercer Elementary at 7 p.m. There is a session on March 18 at 7 p.m. at Lakeridge Elementary and one on April 27 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.

City staff and consultants gave the same presentation to the Preschool Association on March 10 and the Country Club League of Women Voters on March 12. They will speak to the Rotary on March 31 at 12:30 p.m. at the MICEC.

The purpose of these meetings is to review Seth Harry’s preliminary findings, and present graphics depicting the development Islanders could expect to see if his recommendations were implemented.

The stakeholder group will provide constructive input on the Development Code revision process, based on individual expertise and public opinion.

The stakeholders met on March 11 and will meet on March 20-21, April 21 and May 5.

The Town Center Liaison Group’s primary responsibility is to serve as a liaison between the public and the City Council, city staff and outside consultants to ensure that the public receives sufficient information and ample opportunity to provide public input.

They met on March 3 and March 17, and will meet on March 24, April 14, April 22, May 5 and May 21.

In all, the Community Engagement Plan will feature 17 formal meetings (Town Center Liaison Group, Stakeholder Group, a two-day workshop and public input meetings) and phone meetings between consultants and staff.

This has increased the budget for both consultants. From the city’s biennial budget, $75,000 has already been dedicated to the Town Center code revision and economic development efforts.

Seth Harry and Associates proposed budget is $83,530 and 3 Square Blocks’ proposed budget is $43,080, for a total of $126,610. A budget appropriation of $51,610, which will come from 2014 General Fund surplus, is needed.

Visit the city website for a calendar and more information.