Below you will find "Save Wilson" recommendations from the following three groups:
1. Community Representatives to the Arlington Public School Multi-Site Study Committee call for maintaining Wilson School for future use as an elementary school.
2. Friends of Arlington Parks call for saving Wilson green space.
3. Arlington County Civic Federation (ACCF) calls for saving Wilson green space.

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MSSC Minority Report of 4/16/07
Purpose
This report was written by three community representatives of the MSSC:
· Stan Karson, Wilson Building
· Monique O'Grady, At-Large Delegate
· Martha Moore, At-Large Delegate

It is not our intention to criticize the work of the MSSC, Staubach (Staubach), or staff"”as everyone worked diligently within very short timeframes. Rather our purpose is to offer some alternative viewpoints to those expressed in the draft report and some additional considerations. We offer these both as individuals and as representatives of the many people we spoke to as MSSC options were proposed and discussed within our various communities.

Stan Karson focused on outreach to the Rosslyn community in which Wilson School is located. Monique O'Grady focused on the community near the Career Center. Martha Moore outreached to County-wide stakeholders such as HALRB (who were subsequently given a representative on the MSSC) and the Arlington Civic Federation, which has more than 70 member groups including Housing and Parks sub-committees.

Summary
We believe the Superintendent/School Board should (1) retain ownership and control of all APS property, as it will be needed for APS use; (2) preserve the ability to cost-effectively convert the Wilson site to an elementary school in the future; and (3) look at alternatives ways to ease the cost of maintaining the Wilson building and to generate funds that can be used to close the CIP funding gap.

Comments About the MSSC Process and the Draft Report
Scenarios the MSSC Considered
Staubach identified three types of scenarios: the status quo; reducing current operating costs by moving programs and administrative uses in APS-leased space into new APS-owed space; and ground-leasing all or a portion of APS sites to generate a revenue stream that could finance capital projects.

The committee reviewed 17 scenarios that paired one of 5 development options for the Wilson site with one of 4 development options for the Career Center site. Three of the Wilson options included joint development of the County-owned fire station property. At the end of the last meeting, each voting member was given 5 stickers to place on one or more of 10 scenarios still being considered. At that time we learned that "preservation of the Wilson School" referred only to the oldest portion of the current building.

Scenario 2B.1 received 55 stickers followed by Scenario 3, which received 11 stickers.
n Scenario 2B1 included: (1) a new 12-story building incorporating a fire station on the County fire station site; (2) a new 8-story building, restoration of the exterior of the historic portion of the Wilson building, demolition of the Wilson school gym, cafeteria, and theater space which is replaced by a plaza, and ball field on the Wilson School site; and (3) 3 floors of APS space, new library, 3rd floor in existing Career Center with Arlington Mill included.
n Scenario 3B did not include the County fire station site and was the only option that put an APS use on the Wilson site. It included: (1) a 6-story APS administration building, restoration of the Wilson building + 4 stories above, the existing soccer field, and most of the existing surface parking on the Wilson site; (2) perimeter land on two sides sold for single-family development, a new Career Center financed by the land sale, a new Career Center building, and library on the Career Center site.
– Note that that the architect said that the 6-story APS administration building had too small a footprint to enable adequate underground parking, which required keeping the surface parking. This struck us as a half-hearted attempt to respond to our request to put an APS use on the site. Also note that the sale of land on the Career Center site violated a guideline adopted by the committee.

Financial Information About Scenarios
Early on, we were given estimates of a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) funding gap for Career Center, TJ, and Wakefield of $31.0 to $88.3 million. Staubach's goal was to identify how the Wilson and Career Center sites could generate lease savings or new revenues that could reduce the CIP gap.

To assess the financial yield of 17 scenarios, Staubach provided cost estimates over 25 years, for example: status quo = $100 million, Scenario 2B = $54 million, and Scenario 3 = $72 million. The MSSC was not given details for cost calculations, except for the following, which were provided in the draft report, and which reflect Scenario 2B.1:
– A ground lease of the Wilson site that could produce an annual income stream of approximately $2.3 Million, escalating annually [2.5% per year], and which could leverage $25 - $30 Million in new bonds
– Another $2 - $3 Million that could be achieved in lease savings once new admin space was constructed on the Career Center, and which could leverage $35 - $40 Million in new bonds

These more-detailed estimates were not provided for other scenarios, making it difficult to understand or explain to our communities how funds are generated by the various alternatives.

Scenarios the MSSC Did Not Consider
Moore asked Staubach to prepare a scenario that included for-profit leasing of the Wilson school building, with an assumption of a relatively short lease (10 years) and rehabbing by the occupant. This would preserve the Wilson site for future APS use while generating some income. Unfortunately, Staubach did not respond to this request.

O'Grady asked Staubach to prepare a scenario that kept/upgraded the current Wilson building so that it could be used as a school in the future. Her request noted that continued use of the Wilson Building by for APS educational program "grandfathered" it for future educational programs. Unfortunately, Staubach did not do this analysis.

Use of the Ground Lease
Arlington residents who spoke at two public meetings"”and others with whom we have spoken"”indicated almost unanimously that they do not want to give up either ownership or control of existing school property, given both its cost and scarcity. At our final meeting, the committee adopted guidelines that included the following:

"Sale of school property is a permanent decision and should only be considered as a last resort because APS buildings and sites should be kept under long-term control of the school system or County."

The examples of ground leases discussed in MSSC meeting ranged from 60 to 77 years (two generations) and allowed the developer to scrape and build per the site plan. Ground leasing is contrary to the adopted guideline and public sentiment. We also believe it would be difficult for APS to recapture the site for APS use in the future. We believe the Superintendent/School Board should ask, "What is experience of other jurisdictions that have ground-leased public property to a commercial developer who has built it. Was the property regained for public use?"

Excess Property vs. Future Needs
In the past, to reduce operating costs, APS has sold excess sites or given them to the County. Some were small sites (Maury School, the Hospice) and some were larger sites (Fairlington, Madison School). We caution against declaring site to be excess for the following reasons:
· We see the current school population as a low point in a continuing up-and-down trend that we have experienced before"”and not permanent low. We note that the 2006/7 school-year projections that called for a 200-student decrease actually resulted in a small increase. Some residents believe we are having another "baby boom."
· Most residents in our urban corridors do not have school-aged children. This trend could change in the future as apartments are combined and enlarged to support families. Indeed, Karson believes there are more children in Rosslyn than in recent years.
· The School Board has adopted new standards and teacher-students ratios that have increased space requirements. So each new student requires relatively more space than provided decades ago.
· Arlington has been a leader, trend-setter, and early-adopter. In this vein, we believe that any excess space on current APS property be reserved for future creative initiatives such as:
– Making Wilson a pre-school site, given that pre-school spaces are in very short supply for all working families
– Using Wilson as a future alternative school, such as a Montessori School or a secondary performing arts program

The Site Plan Process
It is assumed that any development of the Career Center or Wilson School sites will require County approvals. If APS retains and develops these sites as envisioned by Staubach, a Site Plan process will be required and the County Board will have the final authority. Are APS staff and the School Board prepared to engage in a long and potentially divisive community process to determine how the Wilson School site will be redeveloped?

Community Benefits
Staubach identified a variety of community benefits that would likely be considered during development of an APS-owned site, including active or passive open space, affordable housing, parking, community centers, and space for non-profit organizations. Discussions among MSSC members and with the larger Arlington community raised questions about the appropriateness of some of these being provided via school sites"”and therefore school-funded.
– We believe that one of the reasons APS gets about 45% of locally-generated revenues is because APS has long provided a significant portion of the County's active and passive green space, ball fields, and indoor recreation space"”29% according to the Public Space Master Plan.
– We note that Scenario 2B.1 significantly reduces or eliminates the outdoor recreational space and indoor community space that are current community benefits for Rosslyn residents and workers. In one MSSC meeting, we briefly discussed the potential use of the County's park money to buy the current soccer field from APS.

Clarendon Center Leased Space
The Clarendon Education Center provides more than 57,000 square feet of space. While the annual costs of this lease are significant ($609,259), the cost per square foot is inexpensive ($10.68). APS should consider making the most cost-effective use of this space over the next four years. (The lease expires in September of 2012.) The MSSC did not have adequate time to consider possible uses of this space for existing programs and staff needs.

Fenwick Property. While APS owns the Fenwick property, the County uses the Fenwick building for DHS activities and has recently made capital improvements to it. Staubach excluded the Fenwick property from its financial calculations, despite suggestions to the contrary from several committee members. We believe that APS should determine the value of a lease of the site and factor that into discussions about what contribution APS and the County will make to improvements Career Center and County library buildings.

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Also the Friends of Arlington Parks have sent the following letter to the School Board and County Board:

Friends of Arlington Parks
2421 South Dinwiddie Street
Arlington, VA 22206
April 7, 2007

Libby Garvey
Chair, Arlington School Board
Arlington Education Center
1426 N. Quincy Street
Arlington, VA 22207

Dear Ms. Garvey:

Friends of Arlington Parks is concerned about the future of the Wilson School site. The Multi-Site Study Committee (MSSC) has recommended high-density development of the Wilson School property and adjoining County property. This recommendation apparently ranks potential revenue from the property ahead of open space and facilities for active recreation there.

At the public hearings organized by the MSSC, residents of nearby neighborhoods emphasized the need for green space, pointing out that the Wilson School site provides the only play space for children and adults that is readily accessible to their neighborhoods. They also noted that Rosslyn Highlands Park, which adjoins the Wilson School property, has been the only athletic field serving more than 15,000 residents in the three adjoining neighborhoods.

We note that The Rosslyn to Courthouse Urban Design Study, adopted by the County Board on March 15, 2003, called for keeping open space around the Wilson School site and did not provide for high-density development there. The MSSC recommendation does not appear to be consistent with that study.

Friends of Arlington Parks has long been concerned about the critical shortage of green space along the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor. The Public Spaces Master Plan, which was adopted by the County Board last year, also emphasized the need for open space in the R-B Corridor. Surviving green spaces, whether on County or APS properties, should be preserved to meet the needs of the growing population along the Corridor.

Accordingly, Friends of Arlington Parks strongly recommends restoring the athletic fields at Wilson School and maintaining the green space and active recreation areas in Rosslyn Highlands Park. We are confident that APS can meet its funding needs without sacrificing irreplaceable green space in this critical location.

Green space is for children as well as adults, and we urge the School Board to make the preservation of green space on school properties across the County a top priority. As Arlington becomes increasingly urbanized, acquisition of green space becomes more and more difficult. And when green space is developed, it is lost forever.

Sincerely,
Suzanne Bolton
President, Friends of Arlington Parks

cc: Arlington County Board
Superintendent of Schools


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Also see the Civic Federation Resolution on Wilson greenspace at: ACCF Resolution to Save Wilson Playfield