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Southwest Community Office Hours |
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Written by Charles Allen
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Friday, 13 April 2007 |
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 On Thursday morning, we hosted our third Southwest Community Office Hours at the Channel Inn. Each month (on the second Thursday) Tommy and several of our staff host these events from 8:00 - 9:30 am to try and make the office more accessible to SW residents. About 25 or 30 people joined us for coffee and breakfast. On the fourth Thursday of each month, we host the same type of event on H Street, NE.
 We try to keep the format pretty relaxed and focus on one-on-one interactions. Tommy moves around from table to table to talk with folks, answer their questions, share a story, or respond to their concerns. Several members of our constituent services staff do the same thing and for questions that need more detailed follow-up, we fill out some paperwork to bring back to the office and get to work. We're finding this is a great way to reach more residents that can't come to the office downtown or can't participate in many of the evening meetings that Tommy attends.
Some of the concerns we heard Thursday morning had to do with the redevelopment of Waterside Mall, bringing more retail and amenities to the neighborhood, and questions about the future of AWC. We're all very concerned about the lack of retail options in Southwest and want to see things start moving faster. As you probably know, the Bank of America is about to move from its current location to a temporary trailer just off M Street and other negotiations are wrapping up so that work on the Mall and opening 4th Street can begin soon. To help ensure the community is informed at every step, Tommy will be co-hosting a public hearing with Councilmember Kwame Brown (chair of the Committee on Economic Development) on June 16th to focus on redevelopment plans in Southwest and near Southeast. The hearing will be held in the community at Westminster Presbyterian Church and we'll get more details out about the hearing very soon. The public is welcome and encouraged to come out and testify (and hear all the specific plans and timelines presented by many of the developers). Charles Allen | | No comments for this item |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 16 April 2007 )
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Dog Park Meeting at Finn McCool's |
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Written by Tommy Wells
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Friday, 13 April 2007 |
I was very pleased this week to have the opportunity to drop by a meeting organized by ANC Commissioner Bill Schulthiess and others regarding the District's proposed dog park regulations. As a dog owner myself, I truly believe dogs are as much a part of our lives in the city as anything else. They get us outside walking and help to build closer communities with our neighbors. Having secure, off-leash areas dedicated for our dogs will be a great amenity in our city life together.
Our challenge is to balance the safety and sanitary concerns of parents and other residents with the enjoyment of our pets. And the District's first draft of the dog park rules didn't meet that challenge.
I look forward to receiving the recommendations from the group and I was very glad to get a commitment from DPR Director Wanda Durden that they would review all the public comments and recommendations before releasing a second draft of the rules later this spring. (I was also excited to see the cool new games on the second floor at Finn’s. Looks like a great place to hold a future Ward 6 Council Open Office Happy Hour!)
Tommy | | No comments for this item |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 16 April 2007 )
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Downtown Neighborhood Association |
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Written by Tommy Wells
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Thursday, 12 April 2007 |
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On Tuesday night, I met with the Downtown Neighborhood Association at Penn Quarter. I am continually impressed by the growing residential presence of our inner city neighborhood and the challenge posed by mixed use development. It used to be people would just turn the lights out at 5:30 pm and went home to the suburbs after work. Now there is a rapidly growing nightlife and people can walk just a few blocks to go home at night.
Thankfully we have leaders like Miles Groves, ANC Commissioner Charlie Doctor and other residents like Meredith (just to name a few), who are rapidly organizing to meet the challenge posed by new urban residential living. While we are presently faced with a number empty retail store fronts, we hope they will be filled by the amenities needed by the neighbors such as grocery, hardware, shoe repair, cleaners, health club and not just the nightlife fare that is making downtown Washington an exciting destination.
A particular issue raised, of many that caught my attention, was the frequent closing of sidewalks during construction -- an inconvenience for downtown workers but a substantial quality of life concern for downtown residents. Personally, I had just come to accept the perpetually closed area around the National Portrait Gallery facing the Verizon Center. When will it be restored? Well, I’ll find out and let you know.
Tommy
Special note: I had the honor of joining in the ringing of the bell for opening the seasonal farmers’ market on 8th between D and E Streets, NW. After the walk, I procured cheese, award winning yogurt and morel mushrooms. It’s a great neighborhood amenity open every Thursday afternoon and early evening (for residents and downtown employees alike). I highly recommend it! | | No comments for this item |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 13 April 2007 )
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Welcome to the Launch of Tommy's Blog |
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Written by Tommy Wells
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Thursday, 12 April 2007 |
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Dear Ward Six Residents, Today, I am launching a blog on my website featuring contributions from my office staff, my committee staff for the Committee on Human Services and of course, from myself. The purpose of our staff blog will be to share insights into forming city policy, reflections on our numerous community gatherings, updates on our Ward 6 initiatives and chronicling efforts to resolve common constituent problems. It’s another great way to stay in touch with you and to keep you informed of our work on your behalf.
I expect the blog to help Ward 6 residents learn about our activities and the perspectives of our different staff members. We will try to keep it more interesting than making sausage and we will invite contributions from community guest bloggers along the way. So check in with us from time to time to get a picture of your government at work. Tommy P.S. We'll be including a comments section on the blog that should be activated over the weekend. | | No comments for this item |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 12 April 2007 )
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