The Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3E meeting erupted with frustration last night as the board discussed ongoing construction plans for an area park.
The commission is working with Washington D.C.'s Department of Parks and Recreation to make improvements to the Chevy Chase Recreation Center. Construction plans for the park include renovating the recreation center, installing a new field drainage system, creating a children's "splash park" and designating part of the green space as a dog park.
At the Sept. 23 meeting, DPR officials presented updated project plans to the public. According to several ANC commissioners, however, DPR's plans failed to answer their most-pressing concerns: the need for policies to govern both parking around the park and the use of lights in the park.
"It's not rocket science," said ANC 3e chair Matthew Frumin, representative of Single Member District 2. "If [answers aren't produced] in the next two months, people who would like to support you, can't."
John Stokes from DPR repli
ed that it's "not that simple" and that it is the community's responsibility to come to the government agency with a parking plan. He added that it is too early in negotiations to discuss a lighting policy.
ANC 3e began negotiations with DPR during the summer of 2009 to make improvements to the Recreation Center. The park is located at the corner of Western Avenue and 41st Street NW and currently contains a baseball diamond, playground, tennis and basketball courts, and a recreation building.
Construction plans for the park include renovating the recreation center, installing a new field drainage system, creating a children's "splash park" and designating part of the green space as a dog park. DPR officials estimate the project will be completed by March 1 and will cost $3.1 million.
Another source of contention was the Recreation Center's dog park addition. The ANC submitted two dog park applications to DPR in October 2009: one in order to create the dog park, and the other to request that the entire ball field be an off-leash dog area during designated times of the day.
Stokes said the second application is still in process, prompting several audience members to voice frustration at the length of time they've been waiting for an outcome.
"This sort of thing is a process," said Stokes, adding that public comment can be made on the application until Oct. 24 on the DPR website. "It's possible for it to take years."
Commissioner Beverly Skloner, who represents Single 
Member District 1, raised her hand in opposition.
"I don't think you understand the frustration of this community each time you regurgitate the same things," she said.
Avon Wilson is the project manager at McKissack and McKissack, the architecture and construction firm heading the project. He informed those at the meeting what his employees will soon be doing when they begin construction work.
The ball field and recreation center are both fenced off for safety purposes, he said, and starting Sept. 26 almost all of the park will be closed to the public. The tennis and basketball courts will remain open. Wilson said in the coming weeks, construction will be done on the underground drainage system, old playground equipment will be removed, and work on the sod in the baseball in field will begin. Construction will take place between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3 p.m., he added.
Other plans for the Chevy Chase Recreation Center include:
• Addition of 450 square feet of bathroom/recreation space in the center
• New playground equipment and rubber surface play area
• New metal bleachers and solar electronic scoreboard
• New four foot high vinyl-coated link fence to define playing field with home run
• New warm-up pitching mounds and Bermuda-grass sod for entire field
IN OTHER NEWS:
• The board approved grant applications for the Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home, the Alice Deal Middle School PTA and the Northwest Neighbors Village.
• The Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization (OPEFM) gave a presentation regarding landscaping, noise and light issues and possible solutions on the Fessenden side of Alice Deal Middle School. According to OPEFM official Ron Skyles, neighbors have been voicing concerns about sound issues from the school's outside boilers and cooling towers. Skyles said the boiler issue was addressed by placing mufflers on the boilers' exhaust vents, which reduced sound by 10 decibels. Potential solutions to muffle the cooling towers include placing a sound barrier or low-sound fan on the structures. OPEFM also plans to plant dozens more trees around the field adjacent to the middle school.
No comments:
Post a Comment