On April 13, we had a very useful general membership meeting with School Board member Dave Foster. Our members raised a number of concerns regarding the Wilson School, focusing on the importance of bringing back the community playgrounds, eliminating the trailors, and developing a reasonable plan for the ultimate disposition of the property. Dave had read the discussion of this issue on this website and sounded sympathetic to our concerns. He agreed to look into the prospects for short term solutions and to get back in touch with me about his ideas. Over the long term, he suggested that we get involved next Spring when the School Board focuses on these issues again.

Dave Foster has followed up on our recent meeting by sending North Rosslyn the following county staff memorandum, commenting that, "Unfortunately, the
prospects for short-term change do not appear bright, as two schools are
slated to be there in succession during renovation. On the other hand, the
long-term prospects for Wilson will undoubtedly be among the topics
discussed during our review of the Capital Improvement Plan next spring. We
would welcome the continued thoughts and advice of Association members
during that process."


ARLINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Department of Facilities & Operations
Department of Maintenance Services


MEMORANDUM April 24, 2003

TO: Dr. Robert G. Smith

THROUGH: Clarence E. Stukes

FROM: Mike Day

SUBJECT: Staff Response to School Board Question on Wilson Status

Question: Can we do anything short term to move relocatable closer to the building and is there a long-term plan to remove relocatables.

Response: Dr. Smith, Mr. Stukes, and staff have met with representatives from the North Rosslyn Civic Association on several different occasions. The association had several small issues, which Maintenance Services was able to resolve immediately. As a result of our initial discussions, we have repaired a section of fence and replaced an outdated sign on the school fence.

On March 28, 2003, Dr. Djouadi and I, along with Mr. Randolph Randall from Arlington County Parks and Recreation, met with the association concerning the use of the basketball court. Through our discussions an agreement was made to remove the "school use only" sign from the basketball court. A schedule of use was created to allow the school to have priority use of the courts at certain times during the day.

Another topic of discussion at that meeting was the condition of the Wilson building and the long-term plan to remove the relocatables. As part of the discussion, Maintenance Services committed to seeking a price to have the exterior of the building painted and agreed to replace several broken windows in the gym area. A contractor was hired to grind down an old stump in the front of the building. In addition recent interior modifications includes needed asbestos removal, replacement ceiling and lights in some areas, replacement tile and carpeting, and the painting of the second floor classroom and library area. The remaining interior spaces are scheduled to be painted in the next few weeks. Dr. Djouadi agreed to be the contact person for all future issues, until such time as Glebe moved in.

Since that meeting, there have been several discussions with Design and Construction on the short and long-term use of Wilson as a swing space. Glebe will use all of the space in the relocatables and much of the space in the building. Currently, projects are planned that will rely on Wilson for swing space through September 2006. Beyond that, no firm decisions have been made. However, it should be noted that some candidate projects for potential use of the building are shown in the CIP: Reed Phase II and Abingdon Elementary. An assessment of those projects will be required in order to determine if the timing and scope of work merit use of the Wilson building.

The relocatables are currently situated as close to the building as possible and Maintenance Services can determine no other place on the site to relocate them.