July 20, 2017

Greer Gillis
Director, Dept. of General Services
2000 14th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20009

Dear Director Gillis,

Thanks to your team for hosting a community meeting July 19 to discuss concerns
about the use of the field at Tubman Elementary School.

I support the community request that time be set aside for neighborhood groups to
use the space. Its incredibly important to me that all the diverse voices in our
community are heard when making decisions about this amenity.

For many years, when this field was poorly maintained, but well-loved by the
community nonetheless, it was a gathering space for all. Then-Mayor Fenty
recognized the importance of this and other green spaces across the District and
invested in the field, finally making it the space the community deserved. Its easy to
see why this space is now attractive to other groups who would like to use it as well,
but we must find a way to prioritize it for those for whom we originally envisioned
it.

Regarding last nights meeting, Im concerned that the Tubman school community
was not part of the discussion. I have worked tirelessly with the Tubman PTO to
improve the school and its recreation space, (securing more than $6m for
improvements) and the school community must also be part of the discussion. Any
use of the field should be prioritized as such:

1. Tubman students and school community

2. Neighbors and community groups
3. Leagues or other permitted uses

DCPS fields are not the same as fields managed by DPR, and as such we must be
respectful of the schools needs at the same time that we seek to address the
communitys needs. The process that works for DPR may not be the same as one
that will ultimately help us achieve our goals here.
This is an issue I have worked on at other DCPS fields, and requires a larger
discussion about how we prioritize our green space and make it available to our
community.

I look forward to working with you, in conversation with the school community, to
determine the best way to make the field available for community uses.

All the best,

Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau

Cc:
Councilmember Mary M. Cheh
DCPS
Tubman Elementary PTO
ANC1A