Janney Elementary School Construction causes complaints amongst residents.
Noise was one of the main complaints as there is no buffer where the new soccer field is in relation to where the residents live.
A resident who lives near the school said, “its really loud.” And another resident Judy Downey said, “Its been going on for a while…this is our home, this is our life…we don’t want to fight for it.”
The Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization (OPEFM) presented the modernization development of the Janney Elementary School. According Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization website, the mission of the OPEFM is to utilize best management practices of both the public and private sectors to provide the children of the District of Columbia with a safe, healthy and technologically current environments for learning.
The OPEFM was created by the Historic D.C. Education Reform Act of 2007 to undertake large-scale capital projects. As well as the construction and modernization of D.C. public schools facilities. Additionally, Andrew Lam leads the OPEFM project. He was recruited by Former Mayer Fenty to oversee the massive effort to transform the design, construction and maintenance of DC public schools.
The Janney School reconstruction’s program manager is Mel Butler, Jr. The school was built in 1925. And according to Butler,” It needs to be remodeled.”
Currently the school houses 480 students and the scope of the work for 2010 and 2011 includes the full modernization of the existing school building. This includes the classrooms, new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection systems and interior finishes.
Also, the program will include the construction of a 40,000 square feet addition on the west side of the existing building. Including additional classrooms, a science lab, a media center and a multi physical educational space.
According to Butler the reconstruction has “hit big milestones in the last six months.” He is referring to the west side addition to the school.
Residents who live near the neighborhood were complaining about the noise due to the soccer field, which was previously built. Additionally, the residents said there is no buffer zone from the school to the houses were people live near the school.
Before the soccer field was built there used to be a playground in its spot, therefore the commissioners at the meeting did not see a problem with the soccer field. As Sam Serebin, a commissioner at the meeting, said,” What is the difference between a soccer field and a playground.” Additionally, Jonathan Bender, a commissioner at the meeting, said “The soccer field will not be used that much.”
There were no serious solutions to this problem raised. One resident said, “You could put high trees up…however there is no way to but out the noise.”
Another resident raised the issue of security in an around the Janney Elementary School since the area around the school would be less visible. He was concerned that the area of the construction would be vulnerable. Butler said “a cruiser sits until (the end of) aftercare during the school year.”
Also, cameras will be set up in and around the school. It was reported during the meeting that 66 cameras are currently in and around the school.
A parent who has children who go to school at Janney Elementary School also raised the issue of the safety of the children playing. The parent said,” kids are starting to fall and get hurt…I am concerned if the surface of the playground is hard and the children will get hurt.” As a solution to this issue, Butler said,” The area(playground for the children) will be in the green space, there will be nice grass fields.”
The final issue raised by residents was the environmental impact. Some residents were concerned about the air quality due to the construction.
Another important issue raised during the meeting during the open floor was by resident Peter Carleston. Carleston was concerned, as there was an increased fee on D.C. Water Bill. Carleston said there was a 5,000% increase in his water bill last month; the water bill was increased by 33%. The commissioners at the meeting said the resident should take this issue up with the People’s Council and the Water and Sewer Authority. However, they are not sure if this will help or not.
Also, a resident at the St. Mary’s Apostolic Church raised the issue of the fact that they had to erect their banners for a 4-day festival they previously had. The people in charge of this festival were supposed to have a banner up for the festival however they were prohibited from putting up the banner. And now they are prohibited from putting up any banners. The resident wanted to bring this to the attention of the councilmen so they could provide a letter to be allowed to put permits up.
Other issues, which were raised during the meeting, were robbers in the area have been occurring due to residents not locking their doors or windows. Also, Cultural Tourism D.C. Grant Application to support the launch of the Tenleytown Heritage Trail was passed. The new route for the N8 bus was passed and the Special Exceptions for the 5011 and 5009 Belt Road were passed.
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