Mercer Island council approves acquisition and schematic design for Public Safety and Maintenance campus, sends bond ordinance to council

The Mercer Island City Council on June 17 authorized the city to acquire the commercial property at 9655 Southeast 30th Street and approved schematic design and a $103,000,900 project budget for a new Public Safety and Maintenance (PSM) facility, directing the city manager to prepare a bond ordinance for first reading on July 1.

The vote followed presentations from city staff and consultants about the PSM schematic design, operations efficiencies and integration of the acquired 22,000-square-foot commercial building adjacent to the former City Hall site. City officials said the acquisition will be funded primarily from existing city reserves with limited external financing; the council approved authorizing eminent domain to create a separate parcel for the southern building.

City Manager Jesse Bonn presented the proposal and consulting staff described the schematic design, which calls for a mass-timber PSM structure plus an operations building and a two-level yard configuration to consolidate storage, equipment maintenance and fleet parking. The council approved the schematic design and the $103,000,900 project budget and directed staff to prepare a bond ordinance for first reading at the July 1 council meeting.

“The facility structure is proposed as mass timber,” said Aaron, a Northwest Studio consultant, describing the team’s material choices and performance goals. Staff described how the operations building and yard were designed to support 24-hour emergency response, centralized warehousing for more than 3,500 inventory items and climate-controlled storage for high-value equipment. The schematic package includes a roughly 10,000-square-foot ground floor with 3,500 square feet of covered exterior storage and an approximately 19,000-square-foot upper floor for vehicle and heavy-equipment storage and maintenance.

Council discussion addressed construction materials, maintenance workflows, staffing efficiencies, on-site fueling and emergency resilience. Staff emphasized that on-site fueling (currently lacking unleaded fuel) and covered storage would reduce response times during storms and improve equipment longevity. Public works staff explained the function of specialized equipment such as vacuum-excavation (“vac”) trucks and the need for controlled facilities for debris handling (a decant facility) and material stockpiles.

Separately, council approved the city’s acquisition of the southern portion of the 9655 building by eminent domain; staff said the purchase price was “a little over $9,000,000” and that the building will become the permanent home for several city departments, including planning and capital projects, following renovations.

The council also addressed the 1% for the Arts requirement in city code. Under current Mercer Island code (the city’s 1% for the arts program, adopted by ordinance in 1993), qualifying capital projects must set aside 1% of construction costs for public art. Based on current cost estimates for the PSM project, staff estimated a 1% contribution of about $739,000. Council voted to direct staff to prepare an ordinance that would allow the city council to fully or partially exempt or cap a project's 1% contribution; the motion passed after debate (Council Member Reynolds recorded a no vote on that motion).

Finally, the council directed staff to begin recruitment for pro and con committees to support the bond election process, with applications to be collected and committees appointed in mid‑July. Council members emphasized the compressed timeline required to prepare election materials and voter pamphlet content before fall deadlines.

The council’s approvals authorize staff to finalize schematic documents, start detailed design and prepare a bond ordinance for council consideration. Council members noted that final design, refinements to materials and any code changes (including on the arts requirement) will follow the statutory and local legislative processes and that some actions—specifically funding via a bond—will require voter approval.

What’s next: staff will return with a bond ordinance for first reading on July 1, a second reading in mid‑July and follow-up design work, art selection/relocation plans for existing City Hall pieces, and continued engagement with operations staff as the project advances.