A planning meeting was held on Friday, March 28, 2003, to discuss improvement progress and planning at Wilson School as Langston nears completion of their occupancy of the temporary trailers and Glebe Elementary prepares to move into the trailers and the main building for the upcoming 18 months.

Attending the meeting were Marie Djouadi, the new principal of Langston, Mike Day, APS Maintenance and Services Director, Randolph Randall, Arlington County Park Service Area Manager, and Brian Butler representing Glebe Elementary School. Mark Antell and Paul Derby attended representing the North Rosslyn Civic Association.

Mike Day reviewed plans to paint and repair the Wilson School Building including excavating the front of the building to go below grade to repair water infiltration problems. Mike also noted that APS plans to clean, paint and make repairs so the building will be ready for Glebe Elementary as they move into the facility starting as early as May 2003.

There was a general discussion surrounding the transition from Langston School to Glebe Elementary. Paul Derby noted that the civic association concerns were independent of the resident school and that these concerns fell into both tactical and strategic categories. The tactical concerns relate to the physical condition of the facility, the safety of those present at the facility, and the working relationship between the Wilson School visiting school and the permanent residents of North Rosslyn. The strategic concerns relate to understanding and working with APS and the County on the long term plans for the Wilson School Site. The goal of establishing open space in the Rosslyn high density urban area, and the phasing out and removal of the temporary trailers. Mark Antell noted the field now holding the trailers was frequently used by the residents as a soccer field. The recreational area was an important component of building community amongst the residents of the neighborhood, many of whom are Latino and enjoy playing soccer. Mark noted that no notice or dialogue occurred between APS and the community before the trailers were put into place.

Marie Djouadi outlined the needs of Langston for using the basketball court, located next to the school in Rosslyn Highlands Park, by the older students that are completing their HS work and the playground, which is also located in Rosslyn Highlands Park, by the preschool children. The playground is particularly important since the gym is under renovation and cannot be used at this time. Randolph Randall noted that it is unusual for County Park property to be used by APS and said he only knew of one other instance in Arlington County where APS utilized adjacent county property. Randolph brought along an aerial photograph with property lines of the school and Rosslyn Highlands Park. All attendees agreed that use of the county park facilities by the school was not an issue as long as the county park was not reserved for exclusive use of the APS. It was agreed that APS could have priority but not exclusive use of the park facilities in conjunction with physical education programs and recess times. It was noted by the APS attendees that it was not desirable to mix student use of the park facilities with the general public concurrently using the park. Marie Djouadi reported no conflicts in use between students and the public with the current way the court and playground are being used. The group agreed to not place priority use signs on the county property at this time. This will be readdressed, if needed, when Glebe Elementary moves to Wilson School. Randolph will work with the school and the community to find mutually agreeable solutions.

There was a general discussion of the lighting problems particularly between the park and the school. It was noted that Arlington County is responsible for the lights. Paul Derby noted that inoperative lights were first reported 3 years ago to Drew Model School administration. Since that time, regular reports of inoperative lights have been made to Arlington County and directly to Mike Settlemyer in Traffic Field Operations. Unfortunately, the lights still are not completely operational. Two of the lights are not burning and one of the lights comes on and off during the night. The basketball court lights have been repaired with operational lamps installed in the fixtures. The timer on the court is broken so the lamps burn continuously. Randolph agreed to work back with the appropriate people in the county to get the lighting problems resolved.

Mark Antell and Marie Djouadi both noted that the school ground lighting should also be inspected and repaired which Mike Day agreed to do.

Paul Derby reviewed the pedestrian pathways from the neighborhood to the recreational and commercial areas noting that a pedestrian corridor exists from 19th ST to Key Blvd adjacent to the community gardens, crosses Key Blvd and continues to 18th ST adjacent to the Atrium tennis courts, crosses 18th and continues between the county park and Wilson School to Wilson Blvd. This pedestrian corridor is heavily used by the residents to get to and from work, to the recreational facilities, to Wilson School and to the commercial areas along Wilson for groceries, food, dry cleaning and other services used by the residents. It was noted that no crosswalks exist along this corridor. It was also noted the pedestrian ramp on 18th ST to the sidewalk next to the school grounds is 10 or 15 feet east of the sidewalk. There are no pedestrian ramps aligned with the sidewalks on either side of 18th ST. Paul asked that APS join with the civic association in asking the county to move the pedestrian ramp to join the sidewalk, install a pedestrian ramp on the north side of 18th ST, and to provide well marked pedestrian cross walks on Key Blvd and 18th ST. It was noted that some Glebe Elementary students will be driven to school and that faculty, staff and neighborhood residents will all be pedestrians using this area. It was also noted that The Gallery is rapidly adding residents as they complete construction which adds additional car traffic to the already heavily used 18th ST. Randolph Randall noted that the lack of sidewalks and the steep grade and fencing along 18th ST on the north side of the Wilson School property next to Quinn St prevent pedestrian access so even more foot traffic is funneled into the sidewalk between the park and Wilson School. Paul Derby will work with Marie Djouadi to draft a proposal to Arlington County to add the crosswalks and get the pedestrian ramps moved and installed.

There was some discussion about the condition of the Wilson School building and the safety of the trailers. Mike Day assured the group that APS and the fire department conduct inspections and ensures they facilities are safe and suitable for school use. Paul Derby suggested that Arlington County BOCA certified code and building inspectors do a full code inspection including electrical, plumbing, structural, safety and vector/rodent inspections and that deviations from current BOCA code be noted and that all parties understand what will be fixed and what will not be fixed along with the risk that is exists by not meeting current code. Mike Day expressed concern about the cost of such an inspection, but was not opposed to having an independent inspection of the facility. Paul Derby also noted that the association was not sure the trailers were compliant with the zoned use for the area, especially since the trailers were originally intended to be used for 2 or 3 years and are now scheduled for at least 7 years with no plans to retire and remove the trailers.

Paul Derby asked if the large tree stump near the sidewalk and front entrance to Wilson School could be removed in conjunction with the planned excavation work. Mike Day agreed to look into this and remove the stump if possible.

The meeting concluded with those attending expressing a desire to work together to improve Wilson School and for Wilson School facilities to better integrate into the neighborhood.

[This message was edited by Paul Derby on March 29, 2003 at 09:01 AM.]

Randolph Randall, Park Servics Area Manager for Arlington County, reported back that a contractor has been engaged to replace wiring that powers the lights along the sidewalk in Rosslyn Highlands Park. He said that squirrels had chewed through the wiring in places causing intermittent open circuits. He also said the defective timer for the basketball court lights will be replaced.

Randolph also agreed to place "Rosslyn Highland Park" signs on the Wilson Blvd and 18th St entrances to the park. The park does not have any identifying signs at this time. Many people were unaware that the area east of the sidewalk containing the basketball court and playground adjacent to Wilson School is a county park and that it has a name.

The park signs are a very nice touch. As Stephanie Marcus and Mark Antell have commented, Rosslyn Highlands Park has been neglected by the county for far too long. Although the signs may seem like a small change, they are an important symbol of the attention which the park deserves -- and which North Rosslyn should push the county to provide.

From: "imailagent"
Date: Tue Apr 1, 2003 4:38:24 PM US/Eastern
To:
Subject: County Manager's Report on basketball courts (Intranet Quorum IMA00124103)
Attachments: There are 2 attachments

Arlington County Board

April 1, 2003

Mr. Paul Derby
paul@paulderby.net

Dear Mr. Derby:

I appreciated receiving your follow-up letter regarding recreational
facilities in the North Rosslyn area. I look forward to our meeting on
Friday, April 4th at 9:30 a.m.

Please find attached a copy of the report I requested from the County
Manager on this matter. I was glad to read that County and Schools staff
met with you regarding the basketball court at Rosslyn Highlands Park. It
appears that the restrictions have been lifted and that staff is working
cooperatively with the community on shared usage of this facility.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. I look forward to seeing
you on Friday.


Sincerely,

J. Walter Tejada
Member
Arlington County Board
************************************************

ARLINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA
INTERDEPARTMENTAL MEMORANDUM

March 28, 2003

TO: Walter Tejada, Member, Arlington County Board

FROM: Office of the County Manager

SUBJECT: 157133/2083661

Staff from the Parks and Natural Resources Division (P&NR) of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources (DPRCR) provided the following information in response to Mr. Paul Derby's concerns about Arlington Public Schools (APS) usage of the basketball court at Rosslyn Highlands Park.

P&NR staff visited the site on March 19, 2003, and confirmed that restrictive signage was posted for usage of the basketball court. Mr. Randolph Randall, Park Management Supervisor for P&NR met with Mr. Clarence Stukes, Assistant Superintendent for Facilities and Operation, on March 21, 2003. At this meeting, Mr. Randall clarified with APS the ownership of the property, which was unclear to the school staff. Mr. Stukes agreed that the signage was not an accurate reflection of the situation, and, as a result, PN&R removed the signage on March 21, 2003.

Staff has scheduled a meeting for Friday, March 28, 2003, with Mr. Michael Day, APS staff, and Mr. Paul Derby to discuss programmatic needs of the schools and the concerns of the community. Staff will work closely with all parties to develop a Memorandum of Understanding for the permit usage of the basketball court by APS. New signage will reflex these agreements.