Reply to DCPS students shafted again - sign petition to keep Jelleff field public

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[quote=Anonymous]This is what Jack Evans sent back to an email - he says that the option for the extension was in the original deal. But the whole thing is corrupt and fishy

There’s a history to the Jelleff field and clubhouse that may not be known to everyone. This was originally a clubhouse owned and operated by the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington (BGCGW).

Facing extreme financial hardship in 2008, BGCGW made the decision to sell Jelleff and their Capitol Hill facility. The city did not want to lose these iconic facilities where so many DC residents had spent hours after school. The city purchased the facilities and the fields for $20 million. This was a sizeable investment for the city, especially during the financial crisis of 2008. There was no additional funding at the time to upgrade the field and the pool, which were unusable..

DC’s DPR entered into a public-private partnership with Maret that would preserve the field. I approached other schools and entities to partner on the renovations; no one else was interested.

We agreed to a contract to allow the BGCGW to continue using the facility, and I personally advocated for long time manager Bob Stowers to stay on as manager.

In 2009, Maret put $2.4 million worth of upgrades including a new AstroTurf field, new field lights, and a brand-new pool. Without this investment, the field and pool would have sat vacant for many more years.

As part of the school’s arrangement with the city, Maret received preferred permitting for 10 years, for 2 hours a day after school for 10 weeks in the fall and spring.. The rest of the time the field is available to the entire community. Maret wanted a 20-year agreement with the city for their investment. A compromise was reached where the city agreed to extend the relationship for an additional 10 years, if Maret delivered on the terms of the contract in the first 10 years.

Maret has lived up to their end of the agreement. When Maret approached DPR to extend the agreement, per the original terms, they offered to invest an additional $1 million in the field, and in improvements to the clubhouse.

The clubhouse is budgeted to get an upgrade of $7 million in the FY2020 budget. I do not think this funding is sufficient to bring the facility to where it needs to be and what the residents want. I have met with the Mayor and she has agreed to build a brand-new clubhouse. I will work with her to identify the funding in next year’s budget.

Many years ago, then Western High School (now Ellington) and Gordon Junior High School (now Hardy) used Ellington field for after school athletic programs. More recently, it was used for youth football and baseball programs. This could be an option for additional field space. However, I have asked Mayor Bowser to hold off on any decision over the use of Ellington until a series of public meetings are held to understand what the residents want.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the use of Ellington field.

Jack

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