The Civic Campus measur,e which appeared on the November 2nd ballot, needed a 60% voter approval to pass. With only 47% of Mountlake Terrace voters in support of the measure, the future of the Civic Campus is uncertain. The City will continue leasing space in the office building just north of 220th St SW in the Melody Hill neighborhood.
The City will move forward with a post-election telephone survey to help the City assess what factors were or were not important in considering Proposition 1 as well as what the community wants moving forward. It is expected that the results of this survey will be completed and ready for presentation to the City Council by the middle of December. The City Council will take some time to review the results and decide how it wants to proceed, perhaps as part of their goal setting meeting held in early 2011.
Though you are probably sick of the political robo-calls, it would be worthwhile to take the survey if you are selected. This is one way that the City is trying to get feedback from us, residents of Mountlake Terrace, on what we want for the future of our community.
Below is an interesting look at how Mountlake Terrace voted on the Civic Campus measure. Each voting precinct is shaded by what % voted yes on Proposition 1. The darker blue, the higher % voted yes. The Civic Campus approval ranged from 34% in the residential area of Melody Hill to around 62% in the area consisting mostly of the Creekside Apartments. It appears as if there may be some correlation between voters in support of Proposition 1 and non-property owners. This is likely because apartment dwellers would not be directly affected by the property tax increase. You’ll notice that the measure had much more support in areas of the city with apartments complexes.
What were the primary factors for your decision to vote yes or no for the Civic Campus? Is the scope of the project too large? Too expensive?
Let us know in the comments.
Property taxes had everything to do with the way we voted!
I am a property owner and voted FOR the Civic Campus. MLT has made great strides over the recent years with street upgrades and neighborhood improvements. I’d like to see it continue, and the Civic Campus would have been a major improvement to the “city center”. Thinking long-term is a good thing.
Thinking long term is what convinced me to vote NO. If the $20/month tax starts in 2013 it will run until 2023. What will the city council ask us to pay for during the next 13 years and how much will that add to the $20/month (that is already on top of the taxes I’m paying now)?
Whatever happened to the original $8 million plan? I liked that one.
As a community planner, the City developed a bold vision for itself and I’d support another initiative such as the one on the ballet to see that vision come to fruition. I believe that this city has a lot of potential to be a great and attractive city for families and businesses. I look forward to a great Civic Campus.
I voted NO. While a city center would be a wonderful thing to have, it’s simply asking too much during hard times. I think that they should build something more modest that can be expanded upon over time.
I was totally ready to vote for the $8 million plan for a new city hall, but couldn’t handle the vastly significant scope increase in what the City is proposing to do with taxpayer dollars.
I was all for the $8 million plan, but when the cost soared almost five times the original plan, I couldn’t support it.