Tommy Wells: Council of the District of Columbia, Ward 6

January 25, 2012 Wells Applauds Office of Planning's Streetcar Land Use Study Findings Councilmember Tommy Wells Applauds Office of Planning's Streetcar Land Use Study Findings

Announces Joint Roundtable Discussion of Findings

Today, the District's Office of Planning released a much anticipated Street Car Land Use Study.  This groundbreaking report investigates how the proposed streetcar system will affect access to jobs, quality of life, housing affordability, and economic development within DC.

Councilmember Tommy Wells, who chairs the Committee that has Oversight for the Office of Planning, praised the study stating, "Our streetcar system is the next generation of public transportation for DC. This research confirms that investing in this new transit option to connect DC's neighborhoods will create more jobs, new local economic development, improved transportation choices, and a more livable, walkable city."

The study examines the complete 37-mile proposed network, highlighting benefits for individual sections of each proposed streetcar line.  The study also identifies where the District government must take action to protect affordable housing and potentially adjust routes to minimize parking and congestion impacts.

"I continue to work with DDOT to ensure that our first streetcar line on H Street - Benning Road begins operation in 2013," said Councilmember Wells, "but at the same time, we must lay the foundation to successfully expand the transportation network - particularly to transit dependent neighborhoods such as those east of the Anacostia River.   Streetcar investments not only connect people to existing jobs, but also create jobs in the neighborhoods where people need them most."

Included in the study's findings, the report states that the proposed streetcar network will:

• Improve access to transit for more than one-third of DC residents, including 100,000 residents along streetcar corridors who do not have access to a car;
• Reduce overall transportation costs for DC residents with additional access to public transit choices;
• More than double the number of public and charter schools within one-quarter mile of rail transit;
• Inject more than $300 million in retail spending into local and small business commercial districts;
• Improves access to DC jobs for more than 72,000 households;
• Returns premium transit choices to historic districts that were disinvested in the past;
• Increase District revenues by attracting new residents, mixed housing, local jobs, and retail development.
  

"New transit capacity isn't just a good idea," added Wells, "it's a necessity.  Metrorail is expected to hit capacity as DC continues to add jobs and residents.  Digging new Metrorail tunnels is extremely expensive, so we must plan new ways to increase public transit capacity."

Councilmember Wells, together with Chairman Kwame R. Brown and Councilmember Mary M. Cheh, will host a roundtable discussion on the Streetcar Land Use Study on Wednesday, February 1, at 10:30 am, in the Council Chambers, John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW.

The public is invited to testify.  Please contact Ms. Tawanna Shuford if you wish to speak at this hearing: tshuford@dccouncil.us, 202-727-8232.

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January 23, 2012 Summer Jobs for Youth - Applications Open Soon by Pat Joseph

On Friday, January 27, 2012, the application process for the 2012 Summer Youth Employment Program will open for young District residents between the ages of 14 and 21. That's right, the program has such a strong response that the application process starts in January! So make sure that the young men and women you know are prepared today.

Where do you learn more? Go to www.summerjobs.dc.gov. Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis and must be received by Friday, February 17, 2012 in order to be considered. Remember, space is limited and applicants will have to get started now to follow all of the deadlines and meet the requirements to participate.

To help kick things off -- as well as bring the online application to as many people as possible -- the city is hosting a Midnight Madness kick-off event. Midnight Madness will take place on Friday, January 27, 2012 from 3:15 pm until midnight at the DOES Headquarters located at 4058 Minnesota Avenue, NE (adjacent to the Minnesota Avenue Metro Station on the Orange line). DOES staff will be on hand all night to assist youth and their families, and to answer any questions.

January 18, 2012 DDOT Hosts Public Meeting on Maryland Ave. Pedestrian Safety The work to improve pedestrian safety on Maryland Avenue continues!

DDOT will host an Interactive Workshop for the Maryland Avenue Pedestrian Safety Corridor Project on Saturday, January 28, 2012 at Sherwood Recreation Center starting at 1:00 pm. Residents, local businesses, and the general public are invited to attend this meeting to view the proposals and provide input.

You can click here to view more details about the safety project's plans and proposals.

What: Maryland Avenue Pedestrian Safety Corridor Project - Interactive Workshop

When: Saturday, January 28, 2012, 1 - 3pm

Where: Sherwood Recreation Center (640 10th Street, NE)

For more information, click here: http://godcgo.com/home/get-me-there/tools-to-get-around/events/vw/3/itemid/180/d/20120128.aspx

Or contact : George Branyan, DDOT Pedestrian Program Coordinator at 202-671-0617 or George.branyan@dc.gov.
 

January 13, 2012 Undoing the Damage to D.C.'s Children & Youth Investment Trust The Washington Post has published an op/ed by Councilmember Tommy Wells regarding the damage done to the Children & Youth Investment Trust Corporation (CYITC) by former Councilmember Thomas' theft, and outlines several steps needed to restore the confidence in, and save the good work done by, CYITC.

Here's the link to the Washington Post's online post: click here.

Below, we've inserted a full copy of the text:

Undoing the Damage to D.C.'s Children & Youth Investment Trust
 
Former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr.'s theft of more than $300,000 in city funds that were intended to help children was an outrageous and despicable act. But it does not justify disbanding the Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp., the public-private nonprofit that was the source of the stolen money.
 
Instead, Mr. Thomas's embezzlement of grant dollars through intermediaries for his personal use spotlights the urgent need for a leadership change at the trust and for a full review by the mayor and D.C. Council of the qualifications of the trust's board of directors and president. And we need to make sure future appointees fulfill their responsibilities to strictly control the program's funds.
 
In its early days, under the leadership of Mayor Anthony Williams and a strong board of directors, the Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp. leveraged millions of dollars from private foundations - including $8 million from the Wallace Foundation - to support the city's after-school programs. Instead of dismantling this valuable institution, let's restore its ability to responsibly serve children and youth in the District.
 
While I was chair of the council's Human Services Committee, which has oversight of the trust, I recognized the risk when in 2007 the mayor and council budgeted an unprecedented amount of funds to the trust - earmarked for specific organizations and without requiring competitive bidding to disburse the grants. Because I saw the potential for misuse or, even worse, theft, I required the trust to subject the recipients of these funds to the full reporting requirements imposed on grantees in the competitive bidding process. It was only because of those requirements that Mr. Thomas submitted what turned out to be fraudulent reports documenting the expenditure of the funds. Those reports ultimately proved the case against Mr. Thomas and forced his guilty plea.
 
In 2009, I became increasingly concerned that trust board members could not withstand political pressure from the mayor and council in allocating funds. For that reason, when funding for the trust again was included in the city budget, I inserted a provision that required all such funding to be awarded through a competitive bidding process. We now know this provision curtailed Mr. Thomas's criminal enterprise.
 
Yet these reporting and bidding requirements could not prevent Mr. Thomas's fraudulent acts under lax, and apparently negligent, oversight by the trust's board and executive director. Despite their claims of grants oversight, verifying site visits and collecting documentation, it is now clear that the funds were not used in the way the trust was told.
 
Frankly, a determined and powerful public official with criminal intent can always find ways to circumvent regulations and reporting requirements if the people charged with implementing them do not exercise utmost diligence. There is still work to be done to ensure that the trust meets the reporting standards and transparency necessary to not only protect local funding, but also attract funding from national foundations again. While oversight of the trust was strengthened over the last several years, the mayor and council need to review the grant-making process for this or any other entity that receives D.C. funds, as well as the past actions and qualifications of all Children and Youth Investment Trust Corp. board members and leadership to assess their ability to oversee grant-making and replace those who do not meet the highest standards.

The writer, a Democrat, represents Ward 6 on the D.C. Council.

January 3, 2012 Wells Pleased with Next Steps to Recover Southwest Community House Association Councilmember Wells Pleased With Next Steps to Recover Southwest Community House Association

DC Superior Court Places SWCHA in Receivership

(Washington, DC) - Over the holidays, District of Columbia Attorney General Irv Nathan announced that the Southwest Community House Association has been placed in receivership. The Superior Court of the District of Columbia appointed Lisa Burford, a D.C.-based consultant for nonprofit organizations, the receiver with the charge of recommending a "plan, if feasible, for returning [the association] to its nonprofit purposes of providing vital services to low and moderate income residents in the Southwest D.C. community."

According to a release from the Office of the Attorney General:

"Southwest Community House Association consented to the receivership, which the District requested in a civil complaint alleging that the association, after suffering a series of financial and legal setbacks, failed "to maintain a presence in Southwest D.C. for the benefit of the community it was established to serve, and historically did serve." The District said in its complaint that the association's access to grants - its primary source of funding - was cut off in 2006, after an audit of its finances showed irregularities.

In mid-2006, Southwest Community House Association sold its only asset, a building at 156 Q Street, S.W. Since then, the association has not maintained an office and has not engaged in or supported substantial charitable activity. The lawsuit followed an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General into the association's corporate management and finances.

The Attorney General is authorized by the District law to seek a receivership over a nonprofit corporation that continues to act contrary to its nonprofit purposes."

Councilmember Wells has worked closely with the Office of the Attorney General for nearly four years to investigate the circumstances surrounding the 2006 sale of the SWCHA property. On November 10, 2011, he announced that the Attorney General had filed a request for Receivership with DC Superior Court to put any SWCHA remaining resources back into the community through appointment of a receiver.

"I am hopeful this decision is the next step to ensure any funds remaining from the sale of the property are protected and will be put to good use to support families and those in need in Southwest," stated Wells.

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