| Professional & Family Life of Bob ANDREW: now in United Arab Emirates |
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Neighborhood Notes - Foxhall: November 24, 1999 Those of you who were not part of the 2,600 who attended the Mayor's Neighborhood Action Summit last Saturday missed an intriguing approach to participatory democracy, combining simultaneous electronic voting with 10-person facilitated round-table discussions recorded in real-time with laptop computers. There was a broad representation from across D.C. although light turnout from 19-35 year olds and the Latino communities. We worked all day providing feedback on six goals in the draft city-wide Strategic Plan: Building Healthy Neighborhoods, Strengthening Families, Children & Youth Investment, Making Government Work, Economic Development and Unity of Purpose. Georgetown/Burleith/Foxhall reps filled two tables, representing the complex tapestry of issues in our compact area filled with residents, businesses, academic institutions and churches. Our concerns included items not spelled out in this draft, such as comprehensive traffic planning, coordination of policies and action between city boards and agencies, and follow through by agencies charged with enforcement. We shared the broader concern that without viable public schools, D.C. can't sustain multi-generation neighborhoods with all classes represented; and we will stay polarized between rich who can afford private schooling and poor with no other choice. We heard promising immediate action including a calendar of when & where of street repairs, 6,000 trees to be planted, significant re-investment in every park and playground, and a closer collaboration with DCPS in use of school facilities after hours to support youth after school and communities in the evenings. An unadvertised summit benefit was the extensive amount of D.C. agency literature on how to get their services. Next meeting to review the revised plan is January 27th, then input into the city budget for FY 2001. On an ongoing basis, DC government promises to maintain a "ScoreCard" for residents to judge performance of city agencies and their vendors. © Bob Andrew, Foxhall |
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