2025 $103M City Bond

Updated:  12/6/25

Mercer Islanders for Sustainable Spending (MISS), a dedicated group committed to fiscal responsibility and smart governance, achieved a significant success by leading the campaign that defeated Proposition 1, the proposed $103 million City Bond ultimately costing taxpayers $174M. The campaign even gained state recognition by the Washington Policy Center calling it out in a weekly update:  https://youtu.be/FGlxi5XQAsU?t=703.

The campaign against Proposition 1, deemed an “Overreach,” resulted in its defeat 55% to 45%, with a 54% participation rate (as of 11/13/25).

The need for a new facility arose after the City Hall building was closed on April 17, 2023, due to the discovery of asbestos-contaminated broken tiles in the boiler room. This closure, combined with the need to replace the old maintenance facility, prompted the city to propose a new complex. Northwest Studio architects’ urban designers (Northwest Studio) produced a facility design that included a “drive through” maintenance facility, police and EOC facility, and overhead covered parking. The City’s case for the bond assumed greatly expanded infrastructure and service needs based on 20 to 50 years of assumed population growth.

MISS never argued against the necessity of a renovated or new facility. Instead, MISS’s argument centered on the proposed project being too large, too elaborate, and too expensive. For more detailed information see here.

The MISS campaign focused on three issues:

1. The 46% impact on Islander’s City Property taxes.
2. The facility was over-designed with respect to size/capacity and furnishings, ie overhead parking and excess office and desk space.  Expensive Level IV building standards for the maintenance facility.  Nice to have EV infrastructure, an atrium, work out room. An expensive drive through instead of stall-type maintenance building.  The emergency water design seems like a maintenance headache along with unnecessary redundancy to our water line replacement program and our emergency well capability.
3. The City has large fund balances and excess revenue streams that should have been directed or identified with a self-financing scheme.  The City’s latest Annual report (FY2024) identifies $36M in “available” funds.  The latest State Auditor’s report (FY 2023) identifies $16MM in “unassigned funds.”  “Available and unassigned” funds are interchangeable terms identifying the least restrictive category of funds.

MISS successfully maintained that while a facility was needed, Proposition 1 represented the wrong facility.

As a result, the citizens of Mercer Island are closer to a facility which is the correct size while keeping property taxes in check. This effort also helps the city re-focus on improvements and efficiencies going forward as they are now forced to examine realistic growth rates and future efficiencies which ostensibly will bring more and higher quality service at a lower cost.

Path Forward: MISS urges the Council not to equate the bond’s failure to “just a lack of marketing or poor marketing.” We believe the City can pass a bond in April with a re-designed facility that comes in at $50MM with ½ of that financed internally through Fund Balances and ½ with a councilmanic bond using existing revenue streams.

To arrive at the $50MM figure, build to accommodate present “needs” and eliminate nice to haves. For instance, severely reduce overhead parking coverage and office space. Separate the Level IV police/EOC needs from the maintenance building. Scale back or eliminate EV infrastructure, atrium, work out room, and change from a drive through design to a stall designed maintenance building. The emergency water design seems like a maintenance headache along with unnecessary redundancy to our water line replacement program and our emergency well capability.

There are exponential savings and other advantages from a smaller footprint. A smaller footprint can be surveyed to take advantage of the “easy” ground thereby eliminating expensive retaining walls and excavating. Excavating this property may be financially catastrophic as the area has a long and documented history of contamination. If needed, a smaller footprint gives the city flexibility for future expansion.

Under the best of circumstances, the new facility was scheduled to open in November ’28 or mid ’29. If the City heeds these observations, they can still make that schedule without crowding out District needs.

See Mercer Island Reporter Letter to the Editor closing out the campaign: Thoughts on future maintenance facility in Mercer Island | Letter to the editor | Mercer Island Reporter