I’ve been watching and reading the debate on the MICA proposal. I still have a couple of questions and concerns, such as how did MICA/YTN get the go-ahead versus other deserving nonprofits? We could have an excellent disability center that would serve a deserving multi-generational community who historically is underserved. Were other nonprofits allowed to make a proposal or was this just the City Council’s pocket decision?

Having worked at nonprofits my entire career and now running one, getting funds to build (i.e. capital campaigns) is actually pretty easy. Many grantees and funders like to have a building they can point to. However, the organization I work for is currently renting space from one of Seattle’s oldest and most established nonprofits because they built a building and lost funding for operations. Let’s see the 10-year budget to operate a $25 million building.

I somehow remember a number of articles in this publication about YTN not being sustainable and events/fundraisers to save YTN when they were in a building that was pretty low-cost.

Who’s going to cover any deficits (taxpayers I assume)? We’ll need to deduct funds from the Mercer Island Community Center for events that will move from that beautiful facility to this new one. And it’s Youth Theatre Northwest, not Youth Theatre Mercer Island.

I asked my two children who graduated in 2011 and 2014 how many of their friends participated at YTN and it was a combined total of three. Two who did one summer workshop and one who was actively involved. It serves a small number of Island kids.

And my kids were/are artistic. They took art classes at Mercer Island High School, which taught them new creativity and satisfied their artistic spirits. My son is now pursuing a bachelor of fine arts, so art is part of our lives. My kids did mention that a lot of students were involved in MIHS drama/school plays and those were respected and well received.

MICA is a huge commitment for this community and the entire community should have a chance to vote. That’s our democratic process. Don’t be fooled by the rhetoric — all this petition will do is put up to a vote this project. Nothing is for free, including a $25 million building and we need to be thoughtful about how we use limited resources, our land and our tax dollars.

Debbie Pitcock

Mercer Island