I won't be able to attend the meeting tonight but have been trying to follow
this discussion for the last two weeks and still have one all important
question. Folks have talked about feeling slighted and like they were not
part of the process yet I haven't seen a tangible solution put forth. So
with that in mind what is the proposed alternative to placing the car barn
at Spingarn to replace the dilapidated library building which has sat empty
for years? I have tried to find another logical location in that area and
wasn't able to do so with ease. At the same time I know that it may be
fully logical that I have missed something which is why I am asking. At
this point we know that the street cars are coming and that they are coming
to H street, so my question is what are we going to do now. Further if we
are stating that we don't like what has been proposed what alternative(s)
are we proposing as simply saying no isn't an option.
Are you saying that you all have no alternative and that you all are just saying no or that you want them to come up with an alternative. Please understand that I’m not trying to be judgmental it is just that more and more I’m trying to live by the philosophy of not saying no without an alternative.
P Please consider the environment before printing this email.
From: wa...@yahoogroups.com [mailto:wa...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Debbie Smith-Steiner
Sent: Monday, June 25, 2012 8:18 AM
To: wa...@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [ward5] Car Barn Question
We will not be able to answer your question until we can meet with the decision makers and have an open and frank discussion about the CBTC
"a man is only as good as his word. For nothing else has He that will determine his fate in life's living".
Reverend Dr. James Coleman
On Jun 25, 2012, at 6:31 AM, "Eric J. Jones, MSF" <ejjones.thr...@gmail.com> wrote:
Neighbors,
I won’t be able to attend the meeting tonight but have been trying to follow this discussion for the last two weeks and still have one all important question. Folks have talked about feeling slighted and like they were not part of the process yet I haven’t seen a tangible solution put forth. So with that in mind what is the proposed alternative to placing the car barn at Spingarn to replace the dilapidated library building which has sat empty for years? I have tried to find another logical location in that area and wasn’t able to do so with ease. At the same time I know that it may be fully logical that I have missed something which is why I am asking. At this point we know that the street cars are coming and that they are coming to H street, so my question is what are we going to do now. Further if we are stating that we don’t like what has been proposed what alternative(s) are we proposing as simply saying no isn’t an option.
Switch to: <mailto:ward5-traditio...@yahoogroups.com?subject=Change%20Delivery%20Format:%20Traditional> Text-Only, <mailto:ward5-dig...@yahoogroups.com?subject=Email%20Delivery:%20Digest> Daily Digest • <mailto:ward5-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe> Unsubscribe • <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> Terms of Use
Allow me to answer this for you. We are going to pretend that this is
Sidwell Friends on the Corner of 26th and Benning. With that in mind, I am
sure that they will find another suitable option. I think that is what
they get paid to do!. They should be giving us a full report of all the
options available, the costs, and the analysis and we as a community should
be able to make that decision.
Rob
On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 8:27 AM, Eric J. Jones, MSF <
> Are you saying that you all have no alternative and that you all are just
> saying no or that you want them to come up with an alternative. Please
> understand that I’m not trying to be judgmental it is just that more and
> more I’m trying to live by the philosophy of not saying no without an
> alternative.****
> *P** ** **Please consider the environment before printing this email.* *
> ***
> ** **
> ** **
> *From:* wa...@yahoogroups.com [mailto:wa...@yahoogroups.com] *On Behalf
> Of *Debbie Smith-Steiner
> *Sent:* Monday, June 25, 2012 8:18 AM
> *To:* wa...@yahoogroups.com
> *Subject:* Re: [ward5] Car Barn Question****
> ** **
> ****
> We will not be able to answer your question until we can meet with the
> decision makers and have an open and frank discussion about the CBTC
> "a man is only as good as his word. For nothing else has He that will
> determine his fate in life's living".****
> Reverend Dr. James Coleman****
> On Jun 25, 2012, at 6:31 AM, "Eric J. Jones, MSF" <
> ejjones.thr...@gmail.com> wrote:****
> ****
> Neighbors,****
> ****
> I won’t be able to attend the meeting tonight but have been trying to
> follow this discussion for the last two weeks and still have one all
> important question. Folks have talked about feeling slighted and like they
> were not part of the process yet I haven’t seen a tangible solution put
> forth. So with that in mind what is the proposed alternative to placing
> the car barn at Spingarn to replace the dilapidated library building which
> has sat empty for years? I have tried to find another logical location in
> that area and wasn’t able to do so with ease. At the same time I know that
> it may be fully logical that I have missed something which is why I am
> asking. At this point we know that the street cars are coming and that
> they are coming to H street, so my question is what are we going to do
> now. Further if we are stating that we don’t like what has been proposed
> what alternative(s) are we proposing as simply saying no isn’t an option.*
> ***
> Switch to: Text-Only<ward5-traditio...@yahoogroups.com?subject=Change%20Delivery%20Format:%20Traditional>,
> Daily Digest<ward5-dig...@yahoogroups.com?subject=Email%20Delivery:%20Digest>•
> Unsubscribe <ward5-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe> • Terms
> of Use <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/>****
> .****
> ****
> __,_._,___****
> --
> WardFive@googlegroups.com is open to WardFive residents for community
> discussion and information sharing.
> To post to this group, send email to wardfive@googlegroups.com
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-- R. Ramson
3744 12th Street, N.E.,
Washington D.C., 20017
202-438-5988
"We must become the change we want to see" - Mohandas Gandhi-
(Together, for a Brighter Tomorrow)
Folk --- jumping in at lunch time. Thanks to those that sounded the alarm, etc.
Let's put all of this energy towards moving forward. Like Rob said - let's pretend this is proposed for Sidwell Friends front yard.
I have not followed email to email -- Question: Even if the contract has been approved is it a done deal? Did the city go through proper processes/channels to get ANC approval? According to law, can the city move forward without ANC weighing in? Are there other issues that were not addressed in this process?
A while back, I was involved with trash transfer stations in the city. That was a very ugly, out of control, nasty new industry with City Council support and big money support. During that time I lead the community to organize, raise money and hire an attorney to protect our communities rights. At that time we filed a lawsuit and took our case all the way to the DC Court of Appeals. The Court issued a temporary Stay to stop the operation of the facility. There are way too many more details and history to capture in this email.
Bottom line if the city did not follow or will not follow the correct procedures than there "many ways to skin a cat." That is a phrase my grandmother used to say.
We should first give our CM the opportunity to lead and inform us. I recommend that at tonight's meeting the community consider our options and vote on several the next steps.
--- Original message ----
>Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:03:36 -0400
>From: Debbie Smith-Steiner <DLSmith...@msn.com>
>Subject: Re: [Ward Five] RE: [ward5] Car Barn Question
>To: "wa...@yahoogroups.com" <wa...@yahoogroups.com>
> Regardless of your recents comments and rhetoric
> made in this email, If what you claim is true then
> action should have been taken early on. Since this
> was not the case, we see truly you are not able to
> lead this Ward.
> We currently have a CM who has started a needed
> process regarding this issue and we will work with
> him. And we will keep honest fact to the forefront
> so that we, as citizens will not be bamboozled
> again.
> And if you feel the direct need to have a wordy
> battle with me, do it offline, to be respectful of
> the listserv participants.
> Thanks
> "a man is only as good as his word. For nothing
> else has He that will determine his fate in life's
> living".
> Reverend Dr. James Coleman
> On Jun 25, 2012, at 12:48 PM, khenderson...@aol.com
> wrote:
> This is not the time for finger pointing or back
> and forth bickering. I raised this issue months
> ago and took time off the campaign trail to sound
> the alarm regarding a plan that does not support
> the community. The real issue is that DDOT and OP
> continue to move forward with implementing a
> ridiculous plan that tears up the front lawn of
> Spingarn for a car barn. Many have vocally
> denounced the plan yet DDOT et al. continue to
> move forward. In fact, they rushed to implement
> the ridiculous plan before we elected a
> councilmember, which is disrespectful to
> residents.
> Finally, the time is now to put aside any
> differences individuals may have with each other
> and move forward. Even if you are just learning of
> this issue your voice should be heard. I encourage
> all to join the fight to stop the destruction of
> Spingarn with an unsightly industrial car barn.
> Our government representatives work for us and
> they should be listening to us. The street car
> plan has taken an odd turn that must be corrected.
> If is not corrected then we should be looking at
> spending our resources on other city priorities.
> Kathy Henderson
> Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my
> BlackBerry®
> From: Debbie Smith-Steiner <DLSmith...@msn.com>
> Sender: wa...@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:42:55 -0400
> To: wa...@yahoogroups.com<wa...@yahoogroups.com>
> ReplyTo: wa...@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [WardFive] RE: [ward5] Car Barn
> Question
> We had several people running for Ward 5 Council
> who should have sounded the alarm and been on top
> of the Ward issues. When Robby brought this issue
> to the listserv first months ago, I was under the
> impression that those individuals who were running
> for office would have taken the lead on this issue
> and ran.
> Since the issue surfaced again with KH, CM Barry's
> disapproval resolution and our current CM did not
> acknowledge or respond until several days later on
> this issue, the usual active community residents
> banned together in order to change the direction
> of this albatross.
> We will not be constantly trampled on. The main
> reason to have new leadership on the Ward was to
> have someone on top pf the ossues plaguing the
> Ward. Nonetheless, if the citizen have to protect
> our ward until we can get someone we can trust to
> be on top of things, so be it.
> DDOT should not advertising meetings to the
> general public for us to participate when they are
> trying to plop an intrusive car barn in our Ward.
> They should have met independently with our
> elected officials to see IF it is feasible to have
> what DDOT considered new development in our Ward.
> "a man is only as good as his word. For nothing
> else has He that will determine his fate in life's
> living".
> Reverend Dr. James Coleman
> On Jun 25, 2012, at 10:54 AM, "Matt Ashburn"
> <m...@mattashburn.com> wrote:
> I think the library location he is suggesting in
> the small kiosk library near Spingarn on Benning
> Rd. If I recall correctly, that is the location
> selected by DDOT as well.
> Speaking of meetings, it is interesting to see
> this level of civic activism, especially after
> the fact. To echo Robby's point made earlier,
> where was everyone back when the city solicited
> input or held town halls to address issues?
> Matt
> Sent from my iPhone
> On Jun 25, 2012, at 10:47, Nolan Treadway
> <nolantread...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Someone sent me the slides from the DDOT
> meeting on April 12 of this year where they
> apparently laid out the options and explained
> why Spingarn site was chosen. (warning: the
> link below is to big PDF file, so it is
> probably not phone-friendly)
> http://www.dcstreetcar.com/uploads/6/1/6/2/6162393/meeting_report.pdf > I'm not sure exactly what library site Eric is
> referring to, but it doesn't look like it was
> considered. The report says they need about
> 15,000 square feet to hold the Carbarn and
> Training Center, so maybe it was too small?
> --Nolan
> On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 8:44 AM, Debbie
> Smith-Steiner <DLSmith...@msn.com> wrote:
> Good morning Rob,
> I was thinking more like " Schools without
> Walls" or the gateway to the Capitol. Now I
> know you will be on your A game tonight!!
> Further, all of KPW's questions need to be
> answered.
> "a man is only as good as his word. For
> nothing else has He that will determine his
> fate in life's living".
> Reverend Dr. James Coleman
> On Jun 25, 2012, at 8:33 AM, "Rob"
> <indian...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Debbie,
> Allow me to answer this for you. We are
> going to pretend that this is Sidwell
> Friends on the Corner of 26th and
> Benning. With that in mind, I am sure
> that they will find another suitable
> option. I think that is what they get
> paid to do!. They should be giving us a
> full report of all the options available,
> the costs, and the analysis and we as a
> community should be able to make that
> decision.
> Rob
> On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 8:27 AM, Eric J.
> Jones, MSF <ejjones.thr...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
> Debbie,
> Are you saying that you all have no
> alternative and that you all are just
> saying no or that you want them to come
> up with an alternative. Please
> understand that I’m not trying to be
> judgmental it is just that more and more
> I’m trying to live by the philosophy
> of not saying no without an alternative.
> P Please consider the environment
> before printing this email.
> From: wa...@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:wa...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
> Of Debbie Smith-Steiner
> Sent: Monday, June 25, 2012 8:18 AM
> To: wa...@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [ward5] Car Barn Question
> We will not be able to answer your
> question until we can meet with the
> decision makers and have an open and
> frank discussion about the CBTC
> "a man is only as good as his word. For
> nothing else has He that will determine
> his fate in life's living".
How about you find out what you can. Those documents should be public.
Ask Drew and a few of your other Contacts down there. From what you are
saying, if there are penalties, there is a possible $3 - 5 million penalty
that we would face. Worst Case Scenario, that means that we have saved $45
million. Right now it seems like we have a "runaway money train" that
needs to be better analyzed before moving forward.
Talk to Kenyan. He should have access to all the figures!
Rob
On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 3:27 PM, Eric J. Jones <ejjones.thr...@gmail.com>wrote:
> Any estimate would be false and I wouldn't be comfortable giving false
> numbers that I'm not sure are real. Now you may be able to get more
> information from a member of the Council or a Government Official but I
> wouldn't feel comfortable just making up a number for purpose of doing so.
> Now what I can say is that from previous issues in the city I have seen
> anywhere in the area of 3 - 10% of the cost of the contract depending on
> the length of the contract and possibly more.
> "I for one believe that if you give people a thorough understanding of
> what confronts them and the basic causes that produce it, they'll create
> their own program, and when the people create a program, you get action."
Not so at all. We are a City. CM Barry's Job is to secure the financial
health of the City. He sold us out for some negotiated pieces of gold -
whatever it was that he wanted. Let's be clear - if this Trolley is in fact
going to have to be subsidized, it should not be allowed to happen. Maybe
you missed that aspect of the information that he put out today! As a
matter of fact, unless the other CM's can show how this Trolley will be
profitable or even able to be self sufficient, it should be stopped. None
of them would allow their Children to proceed with an upside down
investment just so they could subsidize them!
A totally separate issue and one that should be dear to Mr. Barry is the
fact that they are tearing up this nice school property which also is
directly across from our Historic Golf Course that was built for Blacks to
play!! Because the Barn is being placed in Ward 5, it happens to be our
issue and since Kenyan chose not to step up and do as Mr. Barry did, that's
a checkmark against him in his ledger!! This is not a new issue as
he stated - these new funds and this location is occurring under his
watch! Withholding judgement, we will see what happens after this meeting
tonight!
Like I said before, I hope that God will appear in a Dream to Mr. Barry one
day soon and offer him salvation in exchange to relive his youthful
leadership qualities just for a few years so he could "part the SEA of
madness" and lead our folk out of Slavery!! As crazy as this may sound to
many, Honestly, do you see any other CM being able to do that!!
On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 4:57 PM, KPW, KAPoW <WK...@aol.com> wrote:
> **
> Barry didn't sell us out. The city did and gave and gives us no respect.
> Barry is the Councilmember for Ward 8. Now we need folks to do right by
> the Councilmember of Ward 5 and the rest of us. Barry stood up for his
> cause as we are doing for our communities. We have to make sure we are not
> perceived as the weak link because we have new leadership ready to be
> tested. Barry knew how to go after what he wanted and we have to do the
> same. Some people seem to want this streetcar system at any cost and we
> need to be aware of that. Ward 5 could be collateral damage. We need to
> discuss our vision for that area so we won't get dumped on because we are
> easy or not in tune with the plan. We have to anticipate needs, motives,
> and moves in order to be successful at claiming what is right for us in
> Ward 5. We need more friends in the media, too.
> KPW
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rob <indian...@gmail.com>
> To: ward5 <wa...@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Mon, Jun 25, 2012 4:49 pm
> Subject: Re: Eric and Rob Re: [ward5] Ward 5 Community -- Car Barn Question
> Mrs. Walker,
> Regardless of how tonight's meeting goes, we should organize! With the
> talent in this Ward as well as all the other wards, there is nothing that
> should ever be slipped by and everything should be FLUSHED/Washed like one
> looks for gold and diamonds. The frustrating thing here is the lack of
> respect for the community! With the available technology, all this should
> be public and our CM's should be discussing everything with us.
> If what CM Barry is saying, he sold us out long term for a short term
> benefit that might be benefiting a few or maybe just some contractors that
> he knows. If you noticed, he mentioned Poplar Point and $50+ Million to
> get that started. That's money to all his collegues when that gets
> started. Lots of mouths are watering there! Maybe that's what he
> negotiated. At some point, this back and forth "for profit" negotiating
> needs to stop.
> Like I said, I made lots of mistakes and I am sure others did as well so
> we all have a wealth of knowledge, education and experience to make our
> city function at a much higher level of proficiency!
> Rob
> On Mon, Jun 25, 2012 at 3:31 PM, Walker <a...@starpower.net> wrote:
>> **
>> Eric and Rob, Depending on how tonight's meeting goes perhaps the
>> community should follow up and organize to flush out possible logical
>> financial recommendations and options for this and future projects in the
>> Ward.
>> Alice
>> Alice
>> ---- Original message ----
>> >Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2012 15:11:05 -0400
>> >From: Rob <indian...@gmail.com>
>> >Subject: Re: [ward5] Ward 5 Community -- Car Barn Question
>> >To: wa...@yahoogroups.com
>> >Cc: crm_...@yahoo.com
>> > Eric,
>> > Can you find out how many millions will be lost to
>> > lawsuits? At some point, moving forward or not has
>> > to have some real numbers attached to it. From
>> > what CM Barry said, this system will have to be
>> > subsidized. Even though I think that we could
>> > probably negotiate away some or most of the fees you
>> > pointed out, it is difficult to believe that you,
>> > CM's or any resident would suggest we spend $50
>> > million more just to operate a financially upside
>> > down people delivery service when we already have
>> > one.
>> > It also seems like for no cost, we could have some
>> > electric cabs available in the area for those who
>> > don't want to ride the bus with other residents.
>> > It seems better to pay the few $$$$ now and save
>> > about $40 million and build some rec. centers,
>> > parks. If you and yhe CM's want, I can tell you
>> > how to spend $40 or $50 million that will help with
>> > income generation for and from small businesses and
>> > maybe hire some more of the residents.
>> > Rob
>> > On Jun 25, 2012 2:30 PM, "Eric J. Jones"
>> > <ejjones.thr...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> > I will start on this issue by saying that going
>> > back and and forth on this issue an potentially
>> > losing out can and will cost the city millions in
>> > legal fees which the contractors can in turn
>> > request because of its decision to hold up the
>> > project. Now as it relates to the actual
>> > placement of the Car Barn at this point I must
>> > agree with the previous statements about the
>> > concerns over Union Station. While some may want
>> > to consider placing the facility there there are
>> > issues related to procuring the land as well as
>> > the increase cost of building in that area which
>> > would make the location where the current Library
>> > is located more logical from a practical stand
>> > point.
>> > With this is mind I would also like to add another
>> > part to this. Currently the city has a 12% debt
>> > cap which is one of the reason which we have been
>> > able to keep such as positive credit rating. We
>> > are currently near this limit which is why there
>> > was a discussion about raising the debt cap late
>> > in 2011. While this may not be of major concern
>> > to many this could and would more than likely
>> > cause us to have a downgrade of our bond rating
>> > which would increase the cost to the city for
>> > financing projects through debt. This would mean
>> > that in the future we would (a) have to reduce the
>> > amount of projects including schools, parks and
>> > libraries, etc which we would be able to finance
>> > for obvious reasons or (b) raise taxes, fees and
>> > other revenue raising items such as parking and
>> > ticket fees to make gather more funds to do
>> > projects which would cost more.
>> > With this in mind it is important that we are
>> > prepared to make logical financial recommendations
>> > for what ever we would like to see as this will
>> > down the line impact us all from a financial stand
>> > point.
>> > --
>> > Eric J. Jones, MSF
>> > ejjones.thr...@gmail.com
>> > "I for one believe that if you give people a
>> > thorough understanding of what confronts them and
>> > the basic causes that produce it, they'll create
>> > their own program, and when the people create a
>> > program, you get action."
>> > El Haj Malik El Shabazz
> --
> R. Ramson
> 3744 12th Street, N.E.,
> Washington D.C., 20017
> 202-438-5988
> "We must become the change we want to see" - Mohandas Gandhi-
> (Together, for a Brighter Tomorrow)
