REPORTER
Mercer Island
Wednesday, March 8, 20,2014 2013|| 75¢ Wednesday, January
Serving the Mercer Island Community Serving community Since since 1947 1947
New City Manager sets 2014 agenda
Eleven are Eagle Scouts
United Methodist Church celebrates 50th anniversary The Mercer Island United Methodist Church will celebrate its 50 year anniversary Jan. 12. The guest speaker will be former pastor Larry Nicholson. Worship Service is at 11 a.m. with a luncheon at noon. Please RSVP to 232-6804. The church is located at 7070 S.E. 24th Street.
I-90, transportation, Town Center at top of list
TED Talk set for Jan 13 at library This week’s TED topic is ‘Fitness, Brain and Body’ and is set for 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13 at the library. The presenters include City Parks and Recreation Director, Bruce Fletcher and Islander musician, Nancy Stewart. Refreshments provided. Free. Please RSVP to benjaminelliott@ comcast.net.
‘Ask Rich’ at Chamber Lunch City manager Rich Conrad started working for MI in 1979 and has accumulated quite a body of knowledge about Island life. Join the Chamber of Commerce for a history lesson and “Ask Rich” Q&A. Lunch begins at noon. Register by 4 p.m. today at 232-3404 or info@mercerislandchamberofcommerce.org.
Final days for Christmas tree recycling The Mercer Island Boys’ Lacrosse Club will pick up your Christmas tree Jan. 12 for a donation, and take it down to the city to be chipped and recycled. Go to www.mercerislandlacrosse for more.
By Celina Kareiva
ckareiva@mi-reporter.com
Contributed photo
Eleven Islanders will become Eagle Scouts, Boy Scout’s highest award, at a Court of Honor ceremony on Jan. 11. They are from left, front row: Thomas Rall, Devlin Conway, Chris Apacible, Ryan Newell and Ethan Vu. Back row, from left: Chris Merritt, Alex Kovar, Mark Anderson, Matthew Hanson, Nolan Conway and Nathaniel Tate. All are seniors at Mercer Island High School. See story on Page 7.
Horses to return to Stevenson farm Value Village chairman behind Island horse arena By Celina Kareiva
ckarevia@mi-reporter.com
Promises to keep Mercer Island’s former Stevenson Farm an equestrian site are progressing. The approximately five-acre parcel, at 6053 Island Crest Way, was sold in August 2012, after property owner Lewis Stevenson died in 2011. Early renderings by McClellan Architects reveal a built-out but still green site registered with the King County Assessor’s Office as MI Funny Farm. The prop-
erty was sold for $5.8 million to TAE Real Estate Holdings, LLC of Bellevue, whose manager, Thomas Ellison, is owner and chairman of Savers, Inc., best known for its Value Village chain in the Northwest. In fall of last year, owners applied for permits to begin construction of a single-family residence, a carport, barn and horse arena. Public records show that the current owner had to get city approval to legally continue the site’s “non-conforming use” as a horse farm. Final approval is still pending with the city, which is waiting for a response from MI Funny Farm regarding changes
to the plan. The Stevenson Farm was boarding 10 horses — about half of its 20 stall capacity — when it shut in 2011, ending a 60-year legacy of lodging horses. The land was purchased back in 1951 by the Stevenson family and has retained much of its original character. When the site sold in 2012, many of the still standing structures had been there since the early 1950s, including chicken houses, a cabin and a horse barn. Lodging was a mostly self-care operation. For $200 a month, boarders had open space, access to water and basic services like manure clean-up in the pasture, though stalls were not outfitted with electricity. For a brief time the Mercer Island School District considered buying the property to use as a site for the districts expansion or as an asset to acquire future land for construction. However,
Between elections, talk of tolling and a changing Town Center, Mercer Island has seen many changes in the last year. We talked with Noel Treat, who on Monday, Jan. 6 was formally sworn in as city manager, to discuss the biggest issues facing the Island in 2014. 1. I-90 Work Plan: MI, to no surprise, will continue fighting tolling of I-90. Toward the end of 2013, the city council
city | Page 3
farm | Page 2
Fix overcrowding Yes! Vote schools
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