Table of Contents

Calendar

(For event details, visit the City's online calendar or click on a specific event)

January 11

6:30pm Arts Council Regular Meeting 

7:00pm Design Commission Regular Meeting 

January 12

6:00pm Open Space Conservancy Trust Board Meeting 

January 14

9:00am First Aid and Adult CPR with Automated External Defibrillator Class 

January 16

12:00am *HOLIDAY* City Offices Closed 

January 17

7:00pm City Council Regular Meeting 

January 18

7:30pm *CANCELLED* Planning Commission Regular Meeting  

MAYOR
Bruce Bassett
 
DEPUTY MAYOR 

Dan Grausz  

COUNCILMEMBERS 

Debbie Bertlin 

Volunteer Opportunities 

Donate Now

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Now Open

Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt or

Electric Vehicle Charging Station

Mitsubishi-i owners may soon be seen charging their electric vehicles on Mercer Island. The City has installed three new charging stations on the Island in another step toward carbon emissions reductions.

The new "Charge Point" electric vehicle charging stations are located at Mercer Island City Hall, the Mercer Island Community and Events Center, and the Mercer Island Boys & Girls Club. A ceremonial ribbon cutting is scheduled for Friday, January 13, at 10:00am at the Boys and Girls Club charging location at 4120 86th Avenue SE.

The charging station units are manufactured by Coulomb Technologies, a company working with the Department of Energy to build a network of "Charge Points" throughout the country. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant funds covered the total cost of $75,000 for the charging units, the necessary infrastructure, and installation. 

The locations for the stations were identified so as to compliment the regional charging network. They will benefit electric vehicle drivers in the community as well as those traveling the I-90 corridor.

"Charging stations are a small but important step toward our low carbon, clean energy future. I look forward to the day when our streets are humming with electric motors rather than gas burning engines," says Mercer Island Mayor Bruce Bassett. 

Former Mayor Pearman Leaving
Council for FEMA 

City Seeking Applicants for Vacant Council Position 

Adding to the recent changes at the Mercer Island City Council, former Mayor Jim Pearman has announced he will be resigning at the end of the month to take a position with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Former Mayor Jim Pearman

At the January 3 Council meeting, four re-elected and newly elected Councilmembers were sworn in: Jane Mayer Brahm, Mike Cero, Bruce Bassett, and Debbie Bertlin. At the end of the meeting, Pearman announced that he would be resigning noting his new FEMA position will require extended travel time away from the Island. His resignation will be effective January 31, 2012.

The Council will recognize the former Mayor's service to the Mercer Island community at the Council meeting on Tuesday, January 17.  

City Seeking Applicants  

"We have begun the process of filling Jim's position which will be the same process we followed last year when Jane Meyer Brahm was selected to fill Steve Litzow's vacant position," says City Manager Rich Conrad.

The City will accept applications to fill the vacant Council position (#4) for a two-week period (due by 5:00pm on Wednesday, January 18, 2012). All applications will then be forwarded to the Council for review. On Monday, January 23, the Council will have a special meeting to hear 3-5 minute speeches from each candidate. At the special meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 26, the Council will vote and appoint one of the candidates to the vacant position. The appointed candidate will attend the Council Planning Session on January 27-29 and be sworn in at the regular Council meeting on Monday, February 6.

For additional information and to download applicable forms, follow the link to the City website by clicking here.

MICEC Rings In New Year with More Fitness Options

The Mercer Island Community & Event Center (MICEC) began offering patrons new Fitness Center pass options on Monday, January 9.

MICEC Fitness Room

Both on-island and off-island patrons will now have the option to purchase a "combination pass" that allows for Fitness Room and basketball court usage during Open Gym hours.

Patrons will have the option to purchase 20-visit punch cards, six-month passes, or annual passes. Participants have the flexibility of a one-time payment or choosing to pay on a monthly basis.

The 1,450 square foot MICEC Fitness Room features treadmills, elliptical trainers, stationary bikes, weight training machines, and free weights. Additional features include benches, stability balls and mats, personal TV/radio receivers, mirrors, and Technogym equipment. The Fitness Room is available to patrons age 13 years and older and open seven days a week.

The MICEC, is located at 8236 SE 24th Street on Mercer Island, with standard operating hours Monday-Friday from 6:30am to 9:00pm, Saturday from 8:00am to 10:00pm, and Sunday from 11:00am to 6:00pm. The MICEC is a state of the art facility that features the Mercer Room (a 3,300 square foot banquet room), five individual meeting rooms that each accommodate approximately fifty guests, a full-size  gymnasium, dance room, and fitness center.  

Visit http://www.mercergov.org/micec or call 206.275.7609 for more information on the MICEC.

Underage Drinking Ordinance Goes into Effect January 13

In January 2011, the City Council chose to examine policy issues that impact underage drinking on Mercer Island and placed the consideration of an "Underage Drinking Ordinance" on their annual work plan. Later in the year, after a presentation to the City Council Public Safety Committee, the Mercer Island Communities That Care Coalition (MICTC) formally recommended the Council adopt such an ordinance. Often referred to a "social host ordinance", this type of ordinance creates civil liability for property owners who either allow, or turn a blind eye to, underage drinking parties. This type of ordinance has been found effective in creating a safer environment for youth by reducing the number of gatherings where unsafe behaviors like binge drinking typically occur. After further public deliberation by the City Council, the "Mercer Island Underage Drinking Ordinance" was adopted at the December 5 Council meeting. The ordinance goes into effect January 13, 2012.

To download a copy of the Mercer Island Underage Drinking Ordinance, click here.

To view a video archive of the December 5 meeting, click here and select "Underage Home Drinking Ordinance (2nd Reading)" under Regular Business. 

What the ordinance does:

• Defines "underage persons" as individuals under 19 years of age (strictly for the purpose of this ordinance).
• Prohibits "underage gatherings" or parties of four or more persons at a property where alcohol is consumed by underage person(s).
• Holds person(s) who owns, rents, leases or has right to control the property where an underage gathering occurs in violation of the ordinance.
• Results in a civil infraction with a penalty of $250 (per violation) for violation of the ordinance.
• Recognizes that underage alcohol consumption creates a public health risk, as it is linked to increased automobile accidents, suicide, and physical and sexual assault.

What the ordinance does not do:

• Override other laws including those against furnishing alcohol to minors and "minors in possession."
• Apply to landlords or lessors unless they themselves host the underage gathering.
• Apply when the only underage persons consuming alcohol are minors that are supervised in person by their parent or guardian or as part of a religious service (per state law).

Unlike other Washington laws regarding underage drinking, this new Mercer Island City ordinance holds the responsible individual(s) liable for "underage gatherings" on their property regardless of whether or not they were aware that underage alcohol consumption was taking place. 

During public deliberations, MICTC highlighted that a vast majority of Island parents (95%) already practice "safe hosting" and do not allow underage drinking in their homes (2010 Healthy Youth Survey). However, in support of the adoption of the ordinance, it was also pointed out that 12th grade students on the Island continue to consume alcohol at rates above the state average. The coalition explained that this ordinance is designed to help by further limiting youth access to alcohol where it is obtained the most: from friends, older siblings, and unlocked liquor cabinets at residential house parties.

Mercer Island is the first city in the state to adopt such an ordinance. The use of social host ordinances to reduce underage drinking is supported by the State Department of Social and Health Service Division of Behavioral and Health Recovery (DBHR) and the Washington State Liquor Control Board (LCB).

"As chairpersons for the WA State Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking, we applaud the Mercer Island Communities That Care Coalition and the City of Mercer Island for the passage of the Underage Drinking Ordinance. They have taken a major step in helping to ensure a safer and healthier environment for the children and youth of Mercer Island," said Sharon Foster, Chair of the LCB and Michael Langer, Administrator with DBHR in a joint statement.  

MICTC reminds all parents to lock and monitor their alcohol, insure underage parties are supervised by a responsible adult, and take other preventative measures available for review at www.drugfree.org.

Questions can be directed to Derek Franklin, MICTC Project Director at derek.franklin@mercergov.org or to Katie Knight, City Attorney at katie.knight@mercergov.org.