Alexandria's African American Civil War History by Adrienne Terrell Washington. February 27, 2012

Remarks by Adrienne Terrell (Randall) Washington 

at the February 27, 2012 Agenda Alexandria Forum on

“Alexandria's African American Civil War History: Monuments, Burial Sites and More”

Good evening. I am Adrienne Terrell (Randall) Washington, director of the Ft. Ward and Seminary African American Descendants Society, the Ft. Ward Park & Museum Advisory Group, the Ft. Ward History Work Group, the Seminary Civic Association,  and I wish to thank the members of Agenda Alexandria for inviting me to represent the descendants at this meeting to talk about this important subject. 

All too often the African American perspective is left out of the debate and discourse about American history, particularly when it comes to, their participation in the Civil War and Reconstruction, as indeed our ancestors  fought for their own freedom as soldiers, Union  spies and contraband servants, and  how their free or forced  labor was critical to the growth and prosperity of this country well into the 20^th Century. That omission, intentional or not, is why our private/public collaborative efforts at Ft. Ward for the past three years have been so important --  we are determined to rectify the wrong, get the record straight and set the story right for future generations.

Our history is a living legacy, there are not just names and dates of the deceased on those tombstones, we know the people and their stories because they have been passed down and still live in us.  Stories, for example, of the Johnson brothers who drown in the Potomac River and had a colored swimming pool named after them when blacks could not go to the whites-only pools.

  As descendants, we feel it is our ultimate responsibility to make sure that our ancestors, who worked the land, lived on the land and are buried in marked and unmarked graves throughout the 50 acres of soil at Ft. Ward, are not forgotten. Many of those graves faced further desecration had we, the descendants and members of the Oakland Baptist Church, not  joined forces with the residents of the adjacent Marlboro Estates and the Seminary Hill communities to work with city agencies and elected officials to get funding and technical assistance to start rectifying pressing problems, including  rescuing graves as well as abating the storm water runoff and soil erosion that continues to threaten those  graves, known and unknown,  in the park.  While we are still ironing out inherent differences, our project is an example of how solutions can come out of city efforts to listen and work WITH citizens, not supposedly FOR, or AROUND them.

“The Fort” which includes the old cemeteries, the site of homes, an old school and church, is sacred ground to us.     

My maternal bloodline includes at least two people, one Rachel Terrill, buried in the Contraband Cemetery,  as well as, several, including my great-grandparents, William and Burney Terrell, who are buried in the Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery, which is the only privately-owned lot still within the 50 acres of Ft. Ward Park today.

BTW, William and Burney Terrell operated a small general store on property they passed on to my grandparents, Jacob and Beatrice Terrell, which was located at 3330 King Street, the current address of TC Williams High School. Beatrice, “Miss Bea,” who taught in the one room Seminary School, was the granddaughter of USCT James Montgomery Peters, whose initialed musket is in the Manassas National Historical Park Museum near his homestead. His son, John, married Ella Ashby, and they owned a home and sold pigs on Ft. Ward property adjacent to what is now St. Stephens and St. Agnes School.

 Like many in the Fort and Seminary communities, John Peters worked at the Virginia Theological Seminary and Episcopal High, with the Wanzers, the Adams, the Johnsons, the Caseys, the Cravens, the Jacksons, and my paternal grandfather, Leaner Randall and his others. The descendants of these men and women are buried in Ft. Ward, but their markers have disappeared or are severely compromised .  Each of these families has a compelling story which the descendants are  working to recapture with an oral history project this year to compliment the genealogy, census and tax records being collected by the Office of Historic Alexandria to piece together the story of a community from which newly freed slaves voted as early as the 1867 election in Alexandria. 

I don’t know if you are aware of just how important Alexandria is to African American history, and we aim to add the Fort’s West End experience to that rich history which has been recorded in the downtown areas.  

 And while we’re correcting revisionist history, Disney got it wrong in “Remember the Titans;”, white Alexandrians did not protest and picket and shout epithats at blacks when blacks , including my classmate, William Euille and I, first entered the school doors.

And, Hollywood missed the real story. The story of a hard-working, self-sufficient  African Americans who built schools, churches, homes and a  community at what was called “The Fort” and “Seminary” and which still exists more than 150 years later.  Yes, as Frances Terrell often says “We’re Still Here.”

Indeed, the African Americans who were buried in the Contraband Cemetery, many of them related to those in our descendants society, did not make it to freedom after the Civil War, but some of those buried in Oakland’s “Fort” cemetery and throughout the park, as evidence and oral history suggests, not only survived the Civil War, they thrived through Jim Crow and government policies that constantly threatened  their land holdings, community institutions and gravesites. 

If you are interested in knowing more about the Fort Ward & Seminary  African American Descendants whose family members are buried in the historic park, our Society has a Facebook page,  regular meetings, make contributions to the Ft. Ward Observer and are planning a commemoration day in the park on June 2, 2012. For further information on the Society and our activities go to:

The Ft. Ward and Seminary African American Descendants Society ...Welcome to a Facebook Page about The Ft. Ward and Seminary African American Descendants Society. Join Facebook to start connecting with The Ft. Ward and ...

www.facebook.com/pages/The-Ft-Ward.../132725506752080 - Cached

Thank you! 

Unmarked Graves of Fort Ward by The Alexandria Times. December 29, 2011.

The Alexandria Times features the unmarked graves of Fort Ward in their December 29, 2011 edition "2011 Visions of Alexandria".

FINALLY, ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE DEAD: After decades of neglecting un-marked gravesites at Ford Ward Park, City Hall acknowledged the site as an important historical landmark beyond its function in the Civil War. When Fort Ward was deserted by troops at the war’s end, a group of black Alexandrians settled it, forming a cohesive and lasting community that still exists today. Now their descendents are fighting to preserve their history — and the memory of family members buried there more than a century ago. The city initiated a plan moves forward to fund research, maintenance of historic black community. Above, members of the Oakland Street Baptist Church, whose former congregation members are buried at Fort Ward Park, pray at the grave of an un-known church member.

http://alextimes.com/news/2011/mar/23/city-hall-recognizes-unmarked-grave-site/

Request for Discussion of Ft. Ward Park at Parks, Recreation & Open Space Committee Meeting from Judy Noritake. September 12, 2008.

From: "Judy Noritake"
To: "glenn eugster"
Cc: "Margaret McCormack" , "John and Elizabeth Kling and Sullivan" , "Allen & Nancy Jennings" , "Tom and Jeanne fulton-oleary" , "Dennis and Lynn Carroll"

Sent: Friday, September 12, 2008 10:25:10 AM
Subject: RE: Request for Discussion of Ft. Ward Park at Parks & Open Space Committee Meeting

Dear Glenn and Neighbors:
Thanks for the note and attached paper. Please know that after you contacted me about these issues earlier in the year I spoke with Kirk Kincannon at length several times about the problems and possible solutions at Ft. Ward park. I also asked him to address it at our first Park and Recreation Commission meeting of the 08-09 year which was held this past Wednesday following a hearing on the renovation of the Patrick Henry Recreation Center.
At the meeting Kirk and Roger Blakeley gave the Commission copies of the “cost center” plan for the park and shared with the Commission that a draft facilities use plan will be coming to us at our next meeting. We anticipate that together these documents will begin to address the problems (and opportunities) at Ft. Ward Park which you have been raising. We understand that some significant steps have already been taken to address the management issues at the park and that more will follow. Kirk and Roger were asked about their plan to take these documents to the community located near the park, and certainly your home owner’s association. Roger said that you already have the first document and will be getting the second when it is prepared. They indicated they will reaching out more broadly to the surrounding community with this information as well. I will also ask them to share these with Vice Mayor Pepper.
At the meeting the Commission’s discussion moved beyond the specifics of Ft. Ward to a discussion and acknowledgement that what is occurring at Ft. Ward is not entirely unique, though the recent infraction of the permit (excessive numbers of people at an event) was completely over the top. The truth of the matter is that our larger parks are being used more intensely by more people. That is not entirely a bad thing. 

People should be out using public parks. The Commission has spoken before about the need for the City to look at the larger parks in our City and plan to appropriately accommodate the more intense use that is coming. We to plan to accommodate the use in an appropriate manner, limit it to what the park should bear, to spread the use to other parks in the City (where should we be putting in more picnic pavilions – Chinquapin?) and to identify any new tools that will be required to accomplish that mission. On this last point we discussed a rather hefty increase in a deposit fee to have greater assurance that the terms of permits are followed.
One of the things that you and I have discussed is that the time may have come for a corps of roving “rangers” charged with monitoring and enforcement at these more heavily programmed and used parks. While we will not be able to have full time rangers at each of these areas, a small corps of rangers could make a pretty big dent in the problems these parks experience. While we raised it last year, the Commission will be bringing this up again as a part of the budget process in the coming months. In all fairness, we are all fully aware that it is a difficult economic climate right now to be asking for these additional resources.
In addition, during the previous budget cycle the Commission identified unmet needs in the area of Parks and Recreation that do not appear in the budget out-years. One of those needs we identified at that time was a series of master plans for the larger parks in the city, those that like Ft. Ward that are getting increased visitation and use. We placed the need to do that behind some other pressing priorities (like remodeling Patrick Henry Rec Center). We have asked staff to assemble a list of those parks that would need that planning along with the order in which they most logically need to be addressed. The Commission also understands that the department currently does not have the resources to undertake any of those master planning efforts. The planning staff in the department is far over-extended currently. As you may be aware, the director of the planning division, Aimee Vosper, was recently hired away by the Northern Virginia Regional Planning Commission, further complicating the matter.
In closing I want to say that the Commission has taken this issue seriously, we have discussed it and will continue to ask for updates to monitor progress, including the facilities plan that we expect to see at the October meeting. Please stay in touch with me about issues as they arise and steps your neighborhood is taking. While we may not be able to accomplish everything needed in the immediate future (rangers, or full time park staff, master planning, etc) because of budget and staff constraints, there is much that we can do. I will let the Commission and Kirk know that I received this communication from you. I will ask Kirk to make it a part of his monthly report to the Commission, and I will send a note to Vice Mayor Pepper that we have and will continue to address the issues at Ft. Ward Park.
Thanks Glenn.
Judy Noritake

From: glenn_eugster@comcast.net [mailto:glenn_eugster@comcast.net]
Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2008 5:02 PM
To: Judy Noritake
Cc: Margaret McCormack; John and Elizabeth Kling and Sullivan; Allen & Nancy Jennings; Tom and Jeanne fulton-oleary; Dennis and Lynn Carroll
Subject: Request for Discussion of Ft. Ward Park at Parks & Open Space Committee Meeting
Dear Judy,
I hope this note finds you well.
Today a group of us from Marlboro Estates met with Vice Mayor Pepper to discuss concerns we have regarding the use and management of Ft. Ward Park. Ms. Pepper was most interested in the issues and problems we identified. She suggested I send you a copy of the attached briefing paper and ask you to consider addiing this topic to the agenda of the next Parks & Open Space Committee Meeting. Attached is the briefing paper.
Please let me know if you want to discuss this with us.
Thanks Judy!
Sincerely,
Glenn Eugster

Noise in Fort Ward Park. September 20, 2008

From: "glenn eugster"
To: "rose boyd" , "rose boyd"
Sent: Saturday, September 20, 2008 10:39:16 AM
Subject: FOIA Request for Ft. Ward Park Permit Information

 
Dear Ms. Boyd,
 
I would like to request information under the City’s Freedom of 
Information Act request policy.  I have tried to get this information 
from City officials but have not received a response. 
On Sunday August 31, from 5 P.M through 9:30 P.M. Braddock Court, Victoria Lane, Louis Place, Lynn House, and Saint Stephens/Saint Agnes School 
were inundated with parked cars from the overflow group activity in Ft. 
Ward Park. The overflow crowd, estimated to be nearly 1,000 people
caused traffic congestion, safety concerns, and excessive trash (esp. 
liquor bottles) in and around the Park and surrounding streets.



Please provide me with a written, or e-mail, copy of the Fort Ward Park 

which were issued by the City for the group, or groups, that held 
the August 31, 2008 event or permit, or permits, 

activity that included amplified music in the band shell area?  

Please also provide me with information describing the City Police Department’s service arrangement with the group, or groups, involved in the park event that day.   

Should you have any questions or need additional information please 

contact me by e-mail at:

 glenn_eugster@comcast.net, or by telephone at 703-489-4207.

Thank you for your assistance.



Sincerely,



Glenn Eugster

4022 Ellicott Street

Alexandria, VA 22304-1012 

Preservation Virginia's 2009 List of Endangered Historic Places. April 23, 2009

From: "Robert Nieweg"
To: "glenn eugster" , atwashin@aol.com, awashington@washingtontimes.com, fulton-oleary@verizon.net
Cc: "Maureen Redington"
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 12:35:40 PM
Subject: RE: Fort Ward Park

Dear Glenn, Tom, and Adrienne:

I was surprised and disappointed on April 22nd to learn that you have decided not to nominate historic Fort Ward to Preservation Virginia's 2009 list of endangered historic places in Virginia.  I thought we had set our way forward on April 9th, during our meeting at Fort Ward with the Civil War Preservation Trust, and that the nomination would be drafted by Adrienne and signed by her and other descendents of post-war Fort Ward residents. 

Preservation Virginia's endangered places program is a ready and reliable way to elevate a local matter, like the City's proposal for Fort Ward, to become a statewide issue, and thereby increase much-needed public awareness, public support, and political pressure.  (See the application at http://www.preservationvirginia.org/calendar/endangered_sites_2009.php.)  Preservation Virginia, which was established in 1889, is a stable and respected organization -- and a good ally. 

Listing on the nonprofit Preservation Virginia's endangered list, which is a public relations tool, would not jeopardize Fort Ward's listing on the National Register of Historic Places, as the leader of the Friends of Fort Ward mistakenly believes.  (See attached for federal regulations regarding removal of properties from the National Register.)  On the other hand, if implemented, the City's proposed physical and operational changes to Fort Ward could jeopardize the fort's listing on the National Register if Fort Ward were to "cease to meet the criteria for listing in the National Register because the qualities which caused it to be originally listed have been lost or destroyed[.]"  36 CFR 60.15(a)(1). 

As I understand it, you and your allies have two important goals:  You seek to stop the City's new initiative to transform the Park into a high-traffic picnic ground, a change which would adversely impact the historic site and its neighbors.  You also seek to reverse 50 years of the City's mistreatment and neglect of highly sensitive historic and cultural resources within the Park which are associated with the local African-American community that was well-established at Fort Ward after the Civil War.  

To accomplish your goals, I recommend that you and your allies now use the imminent threat of the adverse physical and operational changes by the City to the Park and Fort in order to raise awareness and galvanize support for the more complex and nuanced effort -- which the City and the Friends of Fort Ward must be persuaded to embrace -- to remedy the City's long-standing failure to preserve and interpret the full story of this historic place.  If the imminent threat should pass before you secure a remedy for the City's entrenched policy toward African-American heritage at Fort Ward, an opportunity will have been missed.

Bill Schreiner, on behalf of the Friends of Fort Ward, wrote to you, Glenn, that Fort Ward is viewed as the "best preserved of all the Fort Circle defenses of Washington and the only one that is actively interpreted through a museum."  With all respect to Mr. Schreiner and the Friends, it seems to me that Fort Ward is not a model of success when the City now plans to convert the Park and Fort into a corporate special event site and given that the City has never preserved and interpreted the fort’s full heritage. 

There’s plenty of scholarship to establish the national importance of the Contraband and Freedmen's history the City of Alexandria has forgotten at Fort Ward: 

“Beginning in 1861, and continuing throughout the war, whenever the proximity of Union troops made successful escape likely, slaves abandoned their plantations by the hundreds, even the thousands.  The process of successful slave escapes began in Virginia, in Union-held territory across the Potomac from Washington and around FortMonroe at the tip of the Virginia Peninsula in Hampton Roads. … The slaves, by running away in massive numbers, were freeing themselves.”  -- Prof. Robert F. Engs,University of Pennsylvania

“From the first guns at Fort Sumter, the strongest advocates of emancipation were the slaves themselves.  Lacking political standing or public voice, forbidden access to the weapons of war, slaves nevertheless tossed aside the grand pronouncements of Lincoln and other Union leaders that the sectional conflict was only a war for national unity. Instead, they moved directly to put their own freedom – and that of their posterity – atop the national agenda.  Steadily, as opportunities arose, slaves risked all for freedom. By abandoning their owners, coming uninvited into Union lines, and offering their assistance as laborers, pioneers, guides, and spies, slaves forced federal soldiers at the lowest level to recognize their importance to the Union’s success.  That understanding quickly travelled up the chain of command.  In time, it became evident even to the most obtuse federal commanders that every slave who crossed into Union lines was a double gain: one subtracted from the Confederacy and one added to the Union.  The slaves’ resolute determination to secure their liberty converted many white Americans to the view that the security of the Union depended upon the destruction of slavery.  Eventually, this belief tipped the balance in favor of freedom, even among those who had little interest in the question of slavery and no love for black people. … No one was more responsible for smashing the shackles of slavery than the slaves themselves.” -- Prof. Ira Berlin, University of Maryland

I encourage you to reconsider your decision regarding the Preservation Virginia endangered list.  The deadline is April 24th at 5 pm. 

Thanks in advance for considering my views on this matter. 

Best regards,

-- Rob 

Rob Nieweg

Director and Regional Attorney

Southern Field Office

National Trust for Historic Preservation

1785 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20036

202-588-6223 (fax)

202-588-6107 (phone)

---

From: glenn_eugster@comcast.net [mailto:glenn_eugster@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 5:58 PM
To: Robert Nieweg
Subject: Fort Ward Park

Dear Rob,

I promised to get back to you to follow-up on our conversation earlier this month.  We met this Saturday to discuss the application for Threatened Landmark status for Fort Ward Park and once again I met resistance from the people that I need to keep our effort alive.  The leader of the Friends of Fort Ward Park feels that it would be harmful for us to pursue this designation at this time given some of the movement we are seeing in the City now.  He also feels that we could jeopardize the park listing on the National Register of Historic Places.  He is willing to reconsider this position in Feb. 2010 if the City doesn't solve some of these problems.  Unfortunately a number of other key leaders echoed his feelings.  Their support is crucial to anything we do and we must be unified in our decisions to succeed.

Recently we have seen the following take place in the City.

1.  Kirk Kincannon the Recreation Dept. chief has left to work in CO.  His deputy Roger Blakeley has been significant restrained due to some racist remarks he made in writing about the graves.  Kirk is being replaced, temporarily by Rich Baier who is more wordly in the ways of working with the public.  We are arranging a walk and talk tour with Rich as soon as next week.

2.  The City has reorganized their management of Departments and they have placed the park portion of the Recreation Dept., along with transportation & Environment, Planning and Zonning, and the Office of Historic Alexandria, under the direction of the Deputy City Manager Mark Jinks.  Tom Fulton and I met with Mr. Jinks and he was positive about the work that needs to be done.  Mr. Jinks assured us that the entire maintenance yard would be emptied as soon as possible.  He believes that Rich Baier will give these problems priority attention.

3.  A number of people made another request to the Mayor and City Council to add money in the 2010 budget, which starts in July 2009, for Ft. Ward Park.  We will know on Saturday what, if anything, they have done.

4.  Congressman Moran has proposed $200,000 in federal funds for Ft. Ward Park as an earmark for 2010.

5.  Several local papers have written about the graves and Lance Mallamo has been interviewed by reporters.  The attention has been good so far.

When we met we sketched out the following draft action plan for the community effort.  We would still like to work with you but the timing isn't right for the application we discussed.  Please let me know if you might be able to participate in the ceremony we are organizing on Clara Adams birthday on June 2, 2009.  Clara is the lady that is buried, with her husband, in the middle of the maintenance yard with the prominent tombstone.

Thanks again for your interest, expertise and assistance.

Sincerely,

Glenn

Glenn Eugster

DRAFT Tasks of Importance (Not in priority order)

1. Keep the pressure on the City to solve Fort Ward Park problems. If we don’t have progress by February 2010 we will apply to the National Trust for Historic Preservation for Threatened Landmarks Status.

2. The Friends of Fort Ward park will send a letter to the City expressing concern about the City’s management of the park. The letter will identify measures of progress that need to be accomplished.(Bill Schreiner)

a. Identify measures of progress to include in the Friends of Fort Ward Park letter to the City.(All send ideas to Bill)

3. Meet with Rich Baier of the City Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Department. Meeting will include a walking tour of the park.(Glenn Eugster to initiate request)

4. Develop a Memorandum of Agreement between the Museum, Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities Department and the Arboretum about the management and maintenance of Fort Ward Park. (???)

5. Develop a new mission statement for Fort Ward Park. (Susan Cumbey)

6. Respond to the April 14, 2009 reports to the City Council from Kincannon, Mallamo and Noritake. (All)

7. Hold a local coffee with the Fort Ward Park neighborhoods in the Fall to share information and strengthen communication (Dave Cavanaugh and Tom Fulton)

8. Submit nominations, including Elizabeth Douglas, Sgt. Young, etc., for the Ben Brenman Award (Dave Cavanaugh)

9. Pursue the proposed Save America’s Treasures Grant with Congressman Moran and the City Manager (Debbie Weatherly & Susan Cumbey)

10. Seek funds to provide the opportunity for Adrienne Washington to serve as a community liaison and researcher with the families that are related to people buried in Fort Ward Park (All)

11. Participate in the June 2, 2009 memorial event for Clara Adams (Glenn Eugster & Adrienne Washington)

12. Develop a proposal for a 2009 Fort Ward Family Reunion (All)

Innovations in death. Washington Post

6.

Ideas@Innovations : Innovations in death

...Burying or cremating your loved ones -- no longer your only options....

2011-08-31 - Emi Kolawole, The Washington Po

Budget Comments 2011, Alexandria, VA. by J. Glenn Eugster.

Glenn Eugster (user 91) - Comments by Date

Thanks for the opportunity to provide you with comments on the 2011 budget for the City of Alexandria. Let me begin by saying that as a homeowner and former public servant I appreciate the effort that each of you put into managing our city. Over time I’ve been struck by how difficult, complicated and seemingly thankless your work is. Whether it is an elected or government position, public service does require a different mindset and perspective. Each of you should know that many of us are grateful for what you do, and what you try to do.

With that said, my comments only reflect my small window on budget management within the city. I’ve lived in the city for over 21 years and have served on the board of two homeowners associations, the Open Space Steering Committee, and the Northern VA Conservation Trust. Although my background is fairly broad-based my focus for many years has been parks, open space, outdoor recreation, fundraising and revenue generation. It is in these areas that I will offer some suggestions that might help you as you prepare and approve our budget.

First, everyone needs to know that governments like ours never have enough money. Although taxes, grants, fees, and other sources of money are considerable there is never enough money to do everything that needs to be done, when it needs to be done. By virtue of these limits some things are more important than others. I hope that you will continue to support the basic health and safety services the city provides. I also hope that you will refrain from funding new initiatives but rather put money toward protecting and maintaining things that we have now.

Second, perhaps as much as you need to cut services to meet your budget you also need to improve the management of your existing departments. Wasting money is probably worse than not having all the funds we need to do what needs to be done.

Over the last two years I’ve been encouraged by your managers to carry park, open space, health and safety problems to each of you. Over and over again city employees are reluctant to work with community interests on anything other than what they want to do. They often use a lack of time and, or money, as their rationale for saying no, dismissing ideas shared with them, or steering citizens toward you to solve problems. Unfortunately I have found that some of the city’s agendas do not reflect community needs and interests, and these ideas have not been vetted publicly. A good number of these ideas are frankly wrong-headed and without concern for the public that these individuals are paid to serve.

Many of these bad decisions have resulted in projects and work that needs to be redone, and sometimes redone again, because of a lack of permits, poor or no planning, or a disregard for the interest of the public. On some occasions past Recreation Department directors have almost bragged about how more than 120 of the city’s parks don’t have plans and that in order to do a plan they needs lots of money. Such a perspective makes it hard for me to understand how current and future funds for these areas can ever be invested wisely.

For example, the lack of up-to-date master plan for Fort Ward Park has cost the city funds that could have been better used protecting important historic resources and providing important recreation services. Park solid waste transfer stations and maintenance yards have been developed without permits and public input only to be relocated when these uses conflict with neighbors, graves, laws, and common-sense. Drainage swales and ravines have been filled with soil, mulch, and debris without regard to the consequences of altering drainage areas and the cost of restoring these areas given they were filled without permits.

As we struggle to figure out how we can protect, maintain and provide services at parks like Fort Ward I see money given annually and non-competitively to non-profit organizations to promote the protection and acquisition of more city park land. Surely the goal of open space planning is one I support but is paying a consultant from outside the city to supplement city staff an effective way to achieve this goal?

I observe other efforts, such as the promotion of very large “special events” in parks under the guise of revenue generation. Although public agencies should look at ways to save money as well as generate revenue some of the city’s revenue generation strategies, such as the ones at Fort Ward Park, have cost the city money rather than bring in new revenues. More often than not many public servants will try to pursue revenue generation without the knowledge, skills and expertise to successfully do so.

I’ve observed problems with maintenance in our parks, such as Chinquapin Park. I’ve observed that the city has been unable to maintain these areas due to budget cuts, but we have given a non-profit group a grant/ contract to sponsor invasive plant removal projects in that same area only to have the plants they have pulled remain in a pile at the entrance to the park trail for what is now six months.

Finally, the city managers, as well as some of you at times, seem to treat citizen interest and involvement in our park areas with a certain amount of resistance and on occasion contempt. Given that many of us know the demands that are placed on you and city staff we often try to give all of you some slack as you do your jobs. However, the tension that is created between some of your antagonistic city staff and the community they serve costs them and us time and money.

By driving away, or at least keeping the citizens at arms-length also costs the city funds in other ways. For example, I have repeatedly made offers to members of your Recreation Department to share my skills and experience in the areas of fundraising and revenue generation without a hint of interest or even willingness to listen. Whether it is disdain or a dismissive nature this behavior undermines a relationship that could help the city help itself to get things accomplished and save money.

In closing, please be sure that I appreciate what you do and I wish you success with the resolution of the budget. Please look to ways to eliminate wasteful spending, tap the unrealized potential of the citizenry, and bring substantive revenue sharing expertise into city government to help meet the financial challenges you face. Please do not, under any circumstances, raise our taxes to meet needs and perpetuate the waste which goes on now.

Thanks again for the chance to comment.

Glenn

Glenn Eugster

4022 Ellicott Street

Alexandria, VA 22304