PEAK will build a stronger community

Patrick Paulich
Island Forum

November 24, 2008 10:10 pm

Patrick Paulich
Island Forum

In early March, the Mercer Island School Board and the Mercer Island City Council both approved the Development Agreement for the PEAK. These favorable votes are major steps forward for the project and they demonstrate that Mercer Island is a community that is willing to tackle difficult problems because we care about our children and about future generations.

These votes will allow the Boys & Girls Club to proceed to the next step in the administrative review process. Throughout that process — and beyond — the Club will continue to reach out to the surrounding neighborhood to ensure that the PEAK is a welcome addition and the community jewel we envision.

The PEAK will be an extraordinary asset for several reasons:

  • More classrooms. Some activities will move from MIHS to the PEAK so that new classrooms and offices can be built at MIHS. This will allow the School District to avoid the expense of installing costly and unsightly portables.
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  • A place for teens. Because it will be adjacent to MIHS, the Teen Center will allow easy access to students who have never had an appropriate place to gather. As a MIHS graduate, I know first-hand that Island teens have met in less than ideal locations for decades. Although the teen hot spots have changed from Herfy’s and 7-11 to McDonald’s and QFC, our failure to address the needs of our teens has remained painfully constant. Our community can and should do much better. The PEAK will have space dedicated to teens, which will include a video and recording studio, a practice area for musicians, a study nook, a kitchen, and recreational facilities. There has long been a dire need for a teen facility on the Island. The PEAK will fill that void..
  • Updated facility for kids. The current Club is woefully outdated and inadequate. It is an antiquated structure with safety issues and it is inefficient in almost every respect. The PEAK will have modern infant and childcare, and flexible classrooms for dance, technology, and arts and crafts for children in grades kindergarten through eighth.
  • More athletic facilities. The PEAK Field House will accommodate almost every sport and will alleviate the shortage of athletic facilities on the Island. Additionally, thanks to the generosity of Michael and Billie Jo O’Brien, the West Mercer property will be preserved as a community asset for at least ten years. The existing gym and t-ball field will be refurbished and a new baseball field will be built.

    We’ve already raised more than $13 million —- or about 80 percent of the cost to build the PEAK. The time has come to reach out to the community-at-large for financial contributions. We need to raise an additional $3 million by June 15 in order to begin construction in September 2007.

    We urge you to make a contribution as soon as possible so we can make the PEAK a reality. Please visit our Web site at www.mipositiveplace.org (which includes a link to a video tour of the PEAK) or call Blair Rasmussen at 232-4548.

    Thank you to the MI School Board and the MI City Council for caring — and for demonstrating that Mercer Island does indeed have a strong sense of community.

    Islander Patrick Paulich is the chair of the PEAK Steering Committee and a member and Past President of the Mercer Island Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board.He is an attorney with Thorsrud Cane & Paulich in Seattle.