FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1.  What IS CCMIP?

CCMIP is the acronym for Concerned Citizens for MI Parks, a group of Islanders working to preserve and protect Mercer Island parks through educational, volunteer, advocacy, and other efforts.

The group was formed in 2015 to stop the Mercer Island City Council from providing a lease, for $1 a year, to MICA (Mercer Island Center for the Arts), a private organization, so that MICA could construct a 28,000 square-foot building in Mercerdale Park. The construction would have destroyed Bicentennial Park and the Native Plant Garden and would have threatened nearby wetlands.  After a 5-year battle, which included the active engagement of hundreds of citizens, we were successful!

More recently, CCMIP helped inform residents of another attempt by our City Council to construct a commercial building in Mercerdale Park.  Again, that effort was successful, and the project was halted.

Today, CCMIP is actively monitoring the City’s parks and open spaces to ensure that they are protected. As the community (and region) grows, our parks will be under greater pressure in terms of usage, potential vandalism and other safety concerns, and potential “non-park” development.

2.  WHAT IS THE CURRENT PROPOSAL FOR EXPANSION OF THE NATIVE PLANT GARDEN?

The Parks and Recreation Commission voted unanimously at their meeting on October 21, 2021 to extend the Native Plant Garden another 3,145 square feet, by replacing half of the cracked and broken asphalt adjacent to the Recycling Center building with green space. This reclaimed parkland could include a Demonstration Pollinator Garden and a Demonstration Rain Garden, to be sited in the western portion of the area, which is a seasonal wetland.

(For more information about the Native Plant Garden, please see questions 10 through 12.)

3.  WHAT CAN CITIZENS DO TO PROTECT OUR PARKS AND OPEN SPACES?

Be respectful and be vigilant. If you see something untoward or damaging to our parks, please report it to CCMIP at: protectMIparks@gmail.com.  We will forward the information to the Parks Department and follow up, if necessary, to be sure the situation is taken care of. Or, report your concern directly to Zsolt Lehoczky, Parks Foreman, City of Mercer Island, by calling him at 206-275-7818 or email him at: Zsolt.Lehoczky@mercerisland.gov

To be up-to-date on the happenings in the Parks Department, check https://www.mercerisland.gov/parksrec

4.  WHAT IS THE 2021 “PROS” PLAN?

The 2021 PROS (Parks, Recreation and Open Space) plan provides a 6-yr horizon to guide the City regarding the character, preservation, and use of Mercer Island Parks.  It replaces a previous plan that expired in 2019.

As part of the PROS plan, there is a Capital Facilities Plan that outlines dozens of projects that the City will be undertaking, based on financial resources available, staffing availability, etc. Projects run the gamut from replacing aging structures and adding new trails and other amenities, to general maintenance items.

A robust public engagement process is underway, including community surveys, online public forums, and opportunities to provide written comments. These will inform the Parks and Recreation commission in its work.  For more, please see https://letstalk.mercergov.org/miprosplan

5.  WHAT DOES THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION DO?

The Parks & Recreation Commission consists of seven members, serving staggered 4-year terms which run from June 1 to May 31.  During the COIVD-19 global pandemic, meetings are held remotely at 5:30pm on the first Thursday of the month.

The Parks & Recreation Commission serves in a policy advisory capacity to the City Council and has the following general responsibilities:

  • Collaborating with staff on developing and updating the Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan as a component of the City’s Comprehensive Plan.

  • Providing recommendations on park master plans, potential property acquisitions, certain budget items, grant funding, and other policy matters as assigned by the City Council.

  • Serving as community ambassadors and helping to promote parks and recreation activities within the City of Mercer Island. This includes supporting cooperative relationships with community partners and other organizations.

  • Providing a forum for the community to express their views on parks, recreation, and other community services.

  • Supporting inclusivity and embracing cultural diversity in all policy recommendations.

The Commission collaborates with other City boards and commissions in performing their work, particularly the Arts Council and the Open Space Conservancy Trust. 

This is a family-friendly Commission. Children are welcome to attend all meetings and events.

For more information, please check https://www.mercerisland.gov/bc-parksandrecreationcommission 

6.  HOW CAN CITIZENS LEARN MORE ABOUT THE MERCER ISLAND PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT AND PARTICIPATE IN DECISIONS ABOUT PARKLAND ON MERCER ISLAND?

Interested residents can learn more about the Mercer Island Parks and Recreation Department, and give their ideas and feedback, by:

  • Getting outside and visiting the many Mercer Island parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, trails, and open space areas.

  • Talking to Mercer Island friends and neighbors and learning more about their priorities and interests related to parks and recreation.

7.   HOW DO ALL THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS INTERACT TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE MERCER ISLANDS PARKS?

Please see the graphic below, which visually illustrates that:

·        responsibility for the acquisition, maintenance, care and protection of Mercer Island’s Parkland lie solidly within the MI Parks Department, based on decisions and directives of the City Council.

·        Citizen Parks Protection Groups can provide input to the City Council and to the Parks Department, but have no decision making power or direct responsibility for MI parkland.

·        likewise, the Parks and Recreation Commission gives input to the City Council and to the Parks Department, but has no direct responsibility for parks protection or maintenance.   

8.   HOW CAN RESIDENTS HELP CCMIP PROTECT MERCER ISLAND PARKLAND?

·         EMAIL our City Councilmembers: council@mercergov.org

·         SUBMIT a letter to the Mercer Island Reporter: https://www.mi-reporter.com/submit-letter/

·         VOLUNTEER with CCMIP: protectMIparks@gmail.com

·         DONATE to CCMIP--CCMIP welcomes donations to support our work of protecting Mercer Island Parkland. You can donate here: www.protectMIparks.org/donate or mail a check to CCMIP, PO Box 1337, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Concerned Citizens for MI Parks is a registered 501(C)(3) organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by the law.  Federal Tax ID #84-2996751.  Your donations are gratefully received, and will be acknowledged.

9.   ARE THERE CONCERNS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE CCMIP ADDRESS?

Please email us at: protectMIparks@gmail.com.
We are eager to hear your concerns and ideas!

10. WHY IS THE NATIVE PLANT GARDEN OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO CCMIP?

The Native Plant Garden was established as a demonstration garden several decades ago by volunteers, in cooperation with the Mercer Island Parks Department.

Although the Native Plant Garden had not been maintained for many years and was overgrown with invasive species, beginning in the summer of 2015, CCMIP volunteers--working under the guidance of the Parks Department--began to improve it. 

In addition to publicity and advocacy for the protection of the Native Plant Garden, CCMIP raised money for the purchase of native plants. Then, under the direction of the Mercer Island Parks Department, CCMIP recruited and supervised over two dozen volunteers who donated over 900 hours of physical labor to restore, enhance, maintain and protect the Native Plant Garden.

Volunteers cleared extensive areas of native blackberries and other invasive species by hand, spread over 13 truckloads of wood chip mulch, planted 185+ native plants along the winding paths throughout the Native Plant Garden, watered the new plants weekly throughout two summers, until they were firmly established.

11. HOW DOES CCMIP EDUCATE MERCER ISLANDERS ABOUT THE VALUE OF THE NATIVE PLANT GARDEN?

To educate Mercer Islanders about the value of the Native Plant Garden, CCMIP has:

  • conducted tours of the Native Plant Garden during Mercer Island’s annual Summer Celebration festivals and weekly summer Farmers Markets

  • celebrated the Native Plant Garden with inter-generational sing-alongs

  • masterminded a “Red Zone” community awareness day at the Native Plant Garden

  • conducted a summer Junior Naturalist Training Program for children and teens at the Native Plant Garden led by WNPS (Washington Native Plant Society) “Plant Stewards” and Audubon Society “Master Birders”

  • applied for and received a grant from the WNPS for the purchase of permanent signs for 54 native plants—including 19 with color photos, which we installed in the Native Plant Garden, and

  • developed 12 “Bird of the Month” and 12 “Plant of the Month” posters, highlighting native species, which were designed, printed and have been posted on the first day of every month, beginning in May 2018, on the Native Plant Garden entrance signboard, located at the entrance to the Native Plant Garden from the Mercerdale Park circular path, just north of the Skate Park.

The CCMIP educational component continues, through periodic emails to our email list subscribers, through updates to our www.protectMIparks.com website, through educational and advocacy presentations to our City Council, and through monthly updating of the Native Bird of the Month and Native Flower of the Month posters on the entrance signboard, as well as through summer community events scheduled at the Native Plant Garden. 

Currently, residents and visitors to the Island -- including Town Center employees on their lunch breaks--enjoy the trails and benches in the Native Plant Garden, and families with children especially appreciate the level shaded pathways and plant identification signage.

12. WHO NOW MAINTAINS THE NATIVE PLANT GARDEN?

Currently, a group of community volunteers organized by CCMIP maintains and continually improves the Native Plant Garden, under the guidance of the Mercer Island Parks Department, so that the Native Plant Garden remains a welcome respite for visitors.

The Native Plant Garden is monitored by CCMIP volunteers who alert the Parks Department when there is a hazardous condition that needs to be addressed, such as a tree which has fallen and is blocking a pathway, and also if vandalism occurs.

13. HOW CAN INTERESTED CITIZENS WHO LOVE OUR PARKS HELP TO PRESERVE THEM?

Please reach out to us! Email us at: ProtectMIparks@gmail.com. We are eager to hear from you, to meet you, and to have you join us as we work to protect our Mercer Island parkland for our community now and in the future! There is lots of work to be done, and we enjoy doing it together!

Listen to the songs:  "Save Mercerdale Park" and "Preserven El Parque Mercerdale"

Watch a brief history of the Mercer Island Recycling Center: tinyurl.com/protectMIparks