The City of Mercer Island is celebrating its 60-year anniversary in 2020! Mercer Island service groups and the community are stepping up to create a vision for a summer event ("MercerFest") to celebrate this historic occasion.

The community needs organizations and Island residents to make this vision a reality through coordination and fundraising. If you are interested in participating please Email miparks@mercergov.org  

On November 5, 2019, ballot measure I-976 passed with a 52.99% statewide majority. The measure was designed to reduce and remove authority to impose a range of state and local taxes, fees, and other charges relating to vehicles as well as limit annual motor vehicle license fees to $30.

 

The State has estimated that the total revenue loss to local governments over the next six years would be approximately $2.3 billion. Here in Mercer Island, the City collects approximately $377,000 per year using a $20 Transportation Benefit District (TBD) surcharge on vehicle license fees. Established in 2014, these funds are used directly for t ransportation-related purposes, including projects that improve access to transit. The City also historically received $34,000 in revenues each year from the State's Multimodal Transportation Account, which is dedicated to pedestrian and bicycle facilities.

 

As a result of I-976's passage, the City's stands to lose roughly $411,000 per year, 13.7% of the Street Fund's annual revenues, which will have a significant impact on street fund capital projects in 2020. Projects at risk of delay include rebuilding of damaged sidewalks along 80th Avenue SE in Town Center, residential and arterial street overlays, completion of the North-South Bike Route, and many others.

 

Nine plaintiffs (including the governments of Seattle and King County) sued to block the  Initiative, alleging that it violated the single-subject rule and other constitutional provisions. In late November, the Initiative was halted by preliminary injunction, pending the resolution of the case, but cities with a TBD (like Mercer Island) are still required to collect and set aside vehicle license fee revenues.

 

Until the case is resolved in later 2020 by the State Supreme Court, the City will proceed as if the funds are not available, and will revise the transportation improvement budget accordingly. For more information on expected impacts across King County, click here.

Help improve the livability of Mercer Island by getting more involved in your community! The City Council is seeking a diverse range of citizens to fill three unexpired terms on three volunteer advisory boards. 

Appointments to  boards and commissions are made by the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, and affirmed by the City Council. Upon appointment, board members can expect to spend approximately ten hours a month serving on the board, although the level of commitment may vary. The boards and commissions with positions available are:

For more information on each of these boards or commissions, click on the titles above;  click here for an application.

Contact City Clerk Deb Estrada at (206) 275-7793 or by  email for further information or to have an application mailed to you; the deadline is 4:00pm on Tuesday, January 28, 2020.    

With real winter weather here again, it's a good time to get prepared with the essentials. To help you prepare, the City has consolidated all the storm information that residents need into one handy location that we will update during storms.

Our new Winter Storm Ready webpage provides all of the City's plow routes, safety tips, known road closures, as well as links to PSE's power outage map, the City's online service request portal, landslide information, and more.  As we prepare for the next round of winter weather, remember to make sure you have:

• Batteries for your flashlights
• Backup power for your cellphone
• Emergency kits for car and house
• A plan in place if you can't get home due to weather

Don't forget to make sure your car's gas tank is always at least half-full. And please try to park vehicles well off the side of major plow routes to help our plow drivers.

Visit our new winter storm webpage today for more information; on the page you can also sign up for a daily newsletter summarizing key road closures and other storm information.  

Exact details are still being arranged, but accepted items will be similar to the Fall 2019 event, viewable here. Recent changes: scrap wood and styrofoam are no longer accepted.