Documented

Dear Documentarians:

Two important documents were released late last week. First, the Urban Land Institute released the preliminary draft of its report on the Martin Luther King, Jr., Library, http://www.dcwatch.com/govern/dcpl111118.htm. Read below what Robin Diener of the DC Library Renaissance Project and George Williams of the DC Public Library system have to say about that report.

Second, Muriel Bowser, Chair of the Government Operations Committee, released the draft of her version of comprehensive ethics reform legislation, http://www.dcwatch.com/council19/19-xxx.htm. Bowser’s proposal succumbs to her colleagues’ reluctance to pass true ethics reform, and instead tries to address the public concerns about corruption by creating an unnecessary, duplicative bureaucratic entity, the “Board of Ethics and Government Accountability.” The new board would have some of the same duties and responsibilities as the current Board of Elections and Ethics and Office of Campaign Finance, and would essentially rearrange the deck chairs by adding new officials, appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the councilmembers, to oversee the mayor and the council. It’s an effective solution to the problem only if you believe that the problem is how to punt the ball until the public forgets about the current rash of scandals. Otherwise, it’s a near-total disappointment.

Gary Imhoff, themail@dcwatch.com
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com

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Urban Land Institute’s Tentative Recommendation to Keep MLK a Library
Robin Diener, robinsdiener@gmail.com

It has taken twelve years, but library advocates appear to have scored a partial victory in the struggle to restore and improve the long-degraded Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library building and to keep it as the location of the city’s central library. Over a decade ago, in 2000, award-wining local architect Kent Cooper and the Urban Design Committee of the American Institute of Architects released their pro bono study of how to correct the MLK library’s long acknowledged design flaws. Though cited often in the years since, the AIA/Cooper study was ignored by then-Mayor Williams, who wanted a new library on the old convention center site.

Earlier this year, DC Public Library (DCPL) hired the Urban Land Institute (ULI), at a cost of $120,000, to do another MLK study — this time exploring ways to “leverage” the value of the building in order to afford to build a new central library or pay for renovation to the forty-year-old landmark, which was designed by Mies van der Rohe. The ULI’s preliminary report, presented on Friday, favors co-tenancy, either residential or office, over sale, http://www.dcwatch.com/govern/dcpl111118.htm. Ironically, their report relied heavily on the AIA/Cooper solutions, including what appears to be uncredited use of the drawings.

That the central library is likely to remain in the MLK building comes as a relief to library activists. But they’re disappointed that the ULI panel proposed shrinking the city’s central library from its current 440,000 sq. ft. to about 225,000 sq. ft. to allow a co-tenancy. Smaller central libraries are supposedly a “trend,” but most of the acclaimed new central libraries, built in recent years in cities comparable to DC, are substantially larger than 225,000 sq. ft. Moreover, the report by the panel’s financial expert, Mike Reynolds of the Concord Group, depicted the District’s financial health as excellent. This undercut the central premise of the panel’s work: that the District must find ways to “leverage” the value of MLK building. In his brief presentation, Reynolds did not even mention the city’s AAA bond rating, the $180 million taxpayer investment in beautiful transformations of fourteen neighborhood libraries across the city over the past five years, or the announcement by Library Trustees President John Hill on Wednesday that another $100-million-plus is expected from the FY 2013 round of capital budget planning to rebuild the remaining eight branches. Residents may wonder why a city doing so well can’t afford to renovate its historic central library. They might address that question to the DC officials listed below — and perhaps cc ULI Chair Wayne Ratkovich, who might include that query in the ULI’s final report to be issued in sixty days: Library Committee Chair Tommy Wells (Ward 6), twells@council.us; Finance and Revenue Committee Chair Jack Evans (Ward 2), jackevans@dccouncil.us; Library Trustees President John Hill, BoardOfLibraryTrustees@dc.gov; Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper, ginnie.cooper@dc.gov; Mayor Vincent Gray, Vincent.gray@dc.gov; Wayne Ratkovich, Chair, ULI Panel wratkovich@aol.com.

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Urban Land Institute Releases MLK Library Assessment Findings
George Williams, george.williams2@dc.gov

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) presented its findings and recommendations at a public meeting on the use and potential of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library building on November 18. The ULI findings are designed to help guide District leaders and residents in making decisions about the use of the building. “The recommendations presented today will be used to begin a conversation with elected leaders and the public about what is possible for the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library building,” said Ginnie Cooper, chief librarian for the District of Columbia. “As the remaining neighborhood libraries are being rebuilt or renovated, now is the time to begin planning how to provide modern library service at a downtown central library.”

The building has many major system challenges which make it difficult to provide library service. For example, there are no rest rooms on the main level and only one accessible men’s rest room on the lower level. The building’s eleven elevators need upgrades and asbestos abatement is needed. In addition, the HVAC systems need to be modernized.

The findings are based on the ULI Advisory Services Panel’s five-day review. The eight-member panel — comprised of national experts in the fields of architecture, urban planning, commercial and residential development, finance and library sciences — interviewed stakeholders, toured the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library building, and reviewed demographic and trend data to develop their suggestions. The panel was asked to evaluate the current Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library building and consider if the library should be co-located with another entity, remain as a stand-alone library in its current location, of if the District should sell or lease the building and move Library services to another downtown location. The panel also assessed how the current front of the building on G Street could be more active or useful. A copy of the presentation can be downloaded here.

The DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) partnered with the DC Public Library to commission the ULI panel. Richard H. Bradley, the DowntownDC BID’s executive director, applauded the all-volunteer panel’s efforts. “The city’s central library has served as an invaluable repository since its inception,” he said. “However, it needs to grow along with the city to meet varied and ever-increasing demands, and today’s findings are a first step in that direction.”

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DPW to Observe Thanksgiving
Kevin B. Twine, kevin.twine@dc.gov

The Department of Public Works has announced how services will be affected in observance of Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 24. There will be no trash and recycling collections. These collections will slide to the next day. Thursday’s collections will be made Friday, and Friday’s collections will be made Saturday. This applies to both once-a-week and twice-a-week collection neighborhoods. Trash and recycling containers should be put out for collection no earlier than 6:30 p.m. the night before collection and removed from public space by 8:00 p.m. on the collection day.

Parking meters will not be in effect. Residential parking and rush hour lane restrictions will not be enforced. Also, DPW will not tow abandoned vehicles. Parking enforcement will resume Friday, November 25. The Ft. Totten Transfer Station, located at 4900 John F. McCormack Road, NE, will be closed Thursday, November 24. It will be open Friday, November 25, 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., for residents to bring bulk trash. Residents also may bring bulk trash only on Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The next Saturday Household Hazardous Waste/E-cycling/Document Shredding drop-off day is December 3, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There is a Thursday collection on December 1, 1-7:00 p.m., but it does not include shredding. Directions to Ft. Totten: travel east on Irving Street, NW, turn left on Michigan Avenue, turn left on John F. McCormack Road, NE, and continue to the end of the street. Leaf collections will be made from most “Area B” neighborhoods between Monday, November 21, and Saturday, December 3 (including Thanksgiving Day). DPW is following the collection schedule published in the leaf collection brochure mailed to households that receive DPW trash/recycling collections. Area B residents should rake their leaves into their tree box by Sunday, November 20 to ensure their leaves are ready when the crews come to collect between November 21 and December 3.

Residents can use DPW’s web site to view the 2011-2012 leaf collection schedule by selecting Leaf Collection. To check the status of leaf collection, click on “Check Leaf Collection Status in Your Neighborhood” (http://leaf.dcgis.dc.gov/) and enter your address.

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Thanksgiving Is Time to Be Thankful for What I Have, Not Want
Denise Wiktor, denisewiktor@yahoo.com

Perhaps it my crowd phobia, but shopping has not been a post-Thanksgiving thing I have ever done. I will make an exception on Saturday for small business Saturday, and that is because of the $25 AMEX credit you get if you spend $25. So I will go to Wake Up Little Suzie in Cleveland Park and buy a Christmas present for my daughter and maybe get her something a little more than I would for the saving or spend just twenty-five dollars to cancel it out.

Otherwise, an odd tradition in my family, started by my father, who packed my lunches, is stuffing sandwiches. They started appearing in my lunch after thanksgiving. It was the stuffing from inside the turkey, so it sliced nicely with Miracle Whip between rye bread. A bread sandwich that I loved. The problem in recreating that tradition is that my dad was career military, so we always had young men who were away from their families over for dinner, leading to very large turkey and lots of inside stuffing. It is hard to recreate the compactness in a pan or the amount in a small bird.

For years after my father died, while my mother was still alive, we would serve dinner to the homeless on the mall with CCNV, a tradition I miss since they don’t serve there anymore. We would then go back to her house and have a huge meal with her many friends. Other than that, try to get outside and really reflect on what life has given me. Thanks for what I have in life and not what I want. In that respect, I wonder what has become of the homeless who lived in the park now “occupied” and of the two hundred or so mallards that spent the late day there and left at about sundown (I guess they migrated).

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Response to Jack McKay’s Post
Laurie Collins, Cleveland Park, lauriec@lcsystems.com

Contrary to what Jack McKay says [themail, November 16], the Ward 4 task force is only trying to make the city follow the law which, in the DC Code, already recognizes Klingle Road in the boundary definition for Ward 4 (it’s been in the code since May 2002). What McKay fails to recognize is that that boundary already existed (hence Mr. McKay is widely off the mark with his frivolous statement that a Ward 4 ANC Commissioner is using a tactic to redo a boundary).

All Ward 4 task force is insisting upon is to get the City to recognize this fact and follow the law. Further, there were no compelling reason that were presented to change it. Unhappily, the Office of Planning may be unaware of the official, legal definitions and that sliver of Klingle Road, in its current state, is the defining boundary connecting Wards 1, 3, and 4.

The only ploy that I see, under the guise of technical corrections, is that McKay is hoping that the Office of Planning will override the law and the recommendations of Ward 4 and the DC Council.

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Brookland Heartbeat Winter Issue Now Online
Abigail Padou, Editor, www.brooklandheartbeat.org

Articles include “Conflict Mars Ward 5 Redistricting.” A process designed to be objective degenerated into a bitter dispute about maps and boundaries. Other articles include: “DCPS Chancellor Offers Bold Plan for Ward 5 Schools,” “Medical Marijuana Moves Forward in Ward 5,” “District Budgets $16.5 Million for New Woodridge Library,” “ANC 5B Rejects Move to Hire Executive Director” and much more. Brookland Heartbeat is mailed to eleven thousand homes in the greater Brookland area. Brookland Heartbeat is a nonprofit community newspaper.

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