Proposed Two-Year Lease of Wilson by Child Development Center

April 20, 2009, 11:27 AM

Mark Antell

Hi All, NRCA has received the request (below) for our approval of a two-year lease of Wilson School by the Child Development Center (CDC). The CDC proposal is not perfect. One whole row of trailers would remain. But the CDC plan would replace all but one row of trailers with greenspace, and it keeps Wilson open at night for educational and community events. I tend to think the CDC plan represents progress toward the goal of returning Wilson field to recreational use, and returning the Wilson building to full time primary education. What do you think? Please post a comment, or a poll response, or both. Mark Antell -------------------------------- April 16, 2009 North Rosslyn Civic Association Radnor/Fort Myer Heights Civic Association Mark Antell, President Stanley G. Karson, President 1573 Colonial Terrace, #301 1510 North 12th Street, #701 Arlington, VA 22209 Arlington, VA 22209 RE: Proposed Lease of Wilson School by First Baptist Church of Clarendon – Child Development Center Gentlemen: Due to the upcoming demolition and construction that will be occurring at the First Baptist Church of Clarendon to make way for The Views at Clarendon residential project, the First Baptist Church of Clarendon – Child Development Center will be forced to relocate. We have been led to believe that the construction will start this fall and that the day care will need to be moved by September 1, 2009. We have also been advised to expect a 24 month construction period. Our program currently serves 185 children aged from infancy to five years old. Although this program started as an outreach service of the First Baptist Church of Clarendon more than 30 years ago, it is now operated as an independent organization structured as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit. For the past two and a half months, the Child Development Center has been focused upon finding a site to relocate to that would meet the particular needs of the program. After looking at many sites in Arlington County, the Board of Trustees for the Child Development Center has decided to focus its efforts on the Wilson School property. With the exception of the Mongolian School, all the programs currently in place at Wilson School are expected to move to the Reed School during August of this year. We have communicated with the Arlington Public Schools staff on what the terms of a 24 month lease would be under two different scenarios. Scenario one anticipates removing all but one of the rows of transportables from the site and returning the freed space to recreational use. That row of transportables would be used to house the Infants and Toddlers program of the Child Development Center. The remainder of the children would be served in the main building. We are evaluating the possibility of moving that row of transportables to the parking lot in order to free up green space. Scenario two anticipates serving all of the children, including infants and toddlers, in the main building. This scenario would require substantial physical alterations to this historic structure and we would need to evaluate whether this is cost effective and would meet with the approval of licensing authorities. Arlington Public Schools staff has made us aware of the lawsuit regarding the placement of the transportables on the site. They had suggested that we discuss this matter further with you and obtain your support and/or acquiescence prior to them entering discussions with us on a 24 month lease of the property. We are requesting your support for our proposal to utilize this facility under a lease with the Arlington Public Schools, recognizing that we may be required to keep one of the rows of transportables in place to serve our program’s Infants and Toddlers. We pledge to you that we will make every effort to serve our children in the main structure only, but we cannot guarantee this outcome due to the licensure standards currently in place. Please recognize that Wilson School has been identified by our staff, our consultant, and our volunteers, as our only good alternative for the temporary placement of the program. If we cannot work out arrangements with you and with Arlington Public Schools for the use of this facility, we will have to suspend our operations, which will have a profoundly negative effect on many families in Arlington County, where day care services that are accessible and affordable are already in short supply. Such a suspension would destroy a program that has served Arlington County families and their children for more than 30 years. With the facts noted here, we would like to request the support of your Civic Associations for our endeavor. We believe that our use of Wilson School will be beneficial for both neighborhood associations and the larger community in Arlington County. We thank you in advance for your gracious consideration and kind support. Sincerely, Secethia Boardley Director ---------------------------------How do you feel about the CDC lease proposal?YesNoLet's talk about it