By Phil Flash

Let’s save the building where the Boys & Girls Club now resides — historical former East Seattle School that has been serving the Island youth since it was built in 1914.

The Boys & Girls Club is a wonderful organization that provides outstanding services to this community. Since the club took over the building in 1980, it has been well accepted by the East Seattle neighborhood. The community is happy to hear the sounds of children playing outside and to know that youngsters are being served in this facility through youth sports, a preschool, day care and summer camp.

The Boys & Girls Club facility includes a fairly new, well-used gymnasium, which is one of the better ones on the Island. The property also includes a flat, grassy playfield used during the spring for an Island youth T-ball league and in the summer for youth camp activities.

The Boys & Girls Club has had such success in its location that its leaders believe it’s time to expand. The club wants to build a new $14 million facility on Mercer Island School District property in the middle of the island.

I’d like to urge the club to stick with its previous plan to upgrade the current space and preserve the building it already has. The club is a welcome part of the community and by doing this it could preserve one of the few historical buildings left on the island.

In fact, before the club took over its existing facility in 1980, the Mercer Island Planning Commission deemed, “that the exterior of the original two-story building and the interior stairway be preserved for their historical value.” The City Council concurred and unanimously approved Ordinance 1070 on Oct. 13, 1980. Even then — 25 years ago — the Planning Commission and City Council recognized the historical significance of this structure. Why should that change a quarter of a decade later?

I know the Boys & Girls Club wants to sell the property and build a new facility in the middle of the Island. I was jogging recently at the high school track and observed that beautiful flat grassy area now used for football, soccer, lacrosse and track and field events. Under the club’s proposal, this area would be lost and replaced by buildings. Where would these outdoor events move to? The club also wants to build a parking lot to accommodate more than 100 automobiles, adding to the already congested area. Is that what the neighborhood wants?

This area should be preserved for school functions. Mike Ziara, school district associate principal, has said, “That space is the only school district space unused we have left on the Island.” Mercer Island property is very precious and should be used for its intended purposes only.

A teen center is also being proposed, patterned after one being built in Federal Way, a much larger community than ours. Can we be certain this is what our young people want and will use?

The proposed new facility also would include new classroom space for Mercer Island High School, and up to four additional gyms. While such classrooms may be needed in the near future, we all know that enrollment fluctuates over time. I question whether permanent classrooms are the best solution and would hate to see these left vacant in later years as enrollment shrinks once again.

While I understand the need for new gyms, the new community center will include one new gym, and perhaps all of the current gyms could be utilized to their maximum potential. I’ve done some research that shows some of the current gyms at times are not fully used.

Even if the Boys & Girls Club chooses to relocate, the building should be preserved. There are many options for its use, including a YMCA, a private school, a private athletic club, or a new housing development specializing in athletics, which could use the existing facility.

Soon, our esteemed elected officials will make some critical decisions as they find the right solution that represents the entire community — not only for the present but for the years that lie ahead. The community has very few historical landmarks. Let’s do what we can to preserve what we have. As I have said, it would be an extreme tragedy to destroy such a vital historical building. Once it is gone, it is gone forever. It can never be replaced. Let’s not see that happen.

Phil Flash has lived on the island for 41 years and is co-president of the Mercer Island Historical Society.