And, while I appreciate the clarification that it was $20M for 3 parks and still doubt that a DC-managed property will be well run, I nevertheless respectfully submit that the argument for spending that money for children in underprivileged parts of the city is far stronger than for having spent that money in Georgetown so that affluent private school children could largely use it. It smacks of entitlement, and invoking the “it is for kids” argument does not solve the problems here.

However, I’m also a Georgetown resident, a native of DC who grew up using Jelleff on a weekly basis, and an alum/parent of DC public schools (all four sibs in my family went to Horace Mann and my kids went to Hyde Elementary and Fillmore).

So I have more than one bias, which I hope gives perspective that balances my Maret leanings. I am strongly in support of Maret reinvesting in Jelleff for the good of all kids who use the facility.

Such a sense of entitlement for Maret and DPR to redevelop the Jelleff field and pool with no open bidding process that may well have yielded a better overall deal for Jelleff and its users. And no involvement of those of us who’ve been looking out for this facility for so many years, despite benign neglect from Jelleff’s former parent organization, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington.

And let’s not forget that this now-public facility will need to serve folks the way most DC rec centers do – sometimes on a casual basis, other times programmatic, but you can bet there will be public demand. Where will those hours come from if Maret takes so much of the most sought-after times?

And it’s time someone set the record straight about how Jelleff, Clubhouse #10 in Ward One and the Eastern Branch on Capitol Hill in Ward 6 became DC property. CM Evans, working with the administration, got a line item of $10 mil put into the Mayor’s 2009 budget proposal. Sounds good, right? Well, as a stand-alone item it was going nowhere. There just wouldn’t be the votes on the Council to buy a club in the well-to-do part of town with no balancing purchase in other, less well-to-do parts of town. CM Harry Thomas’ Committee on Libraries, Parks & Recreation disapproved that line item and re-programmed the dollars back into rec center capital projects in other parts of town.

Members of the Friends of Jelleff allied with other community members from neighborhoods around the other clubs, including Clubhouse #11 in Ward 8, which was also on the block for sale. Activists from all 4 neighborhoods helped lobby the Council to purchase all 4 clubs for $20 mil. We got Chairman Gray’s attention. He worked with his colleagues to form a majority on the Council who would, after negotitations with BGCGW, vote to purchase the 3 clubs for $20 mil. Clubhouse #11 was sold by BGCGW during this time and thus was left out of the deal. Our goal was to save recreation facilities for children all over the city. I believe the vote on the authorizing legislation was unanimous and for that I thank the Council. And Ward One Councilmember Jim Graham was very helpful in bringing the various activists together and engaging BGCGW.

But I’m pretty sure that kids care far more about having a wonderful, safe place to meet friends and play than some vague criticism of government. Unfortunately no one on the ANC seemed to be thinking too hard about kids’ perspectives.

And by the way, DC was a great place to grow up, despite Marion Barry (who I must admit, taught me quite a few hard lessons about government and elected officials that I will never, ever forget)!

Yes, DC inured me to some aspects of government. But DC also exposed me, as a kid, to many wonderful ways of changing the world — through the many committed writers, teachers, coaches, politicians and ordinary public servants who filled my days…Plus we had wonderful playgrounds such as Jelleff, the blacktop at Horace Mann, Battery Kemble Park and Maret’s old rock-and-stick soccer field.

I think DC remains a fantastic place to be a kid. I was lucky to grow up here and consider my kids lucky to be growing up here. I hope that Jelleff and other such idylls stay a part of DC childhoods for many years to come.

Moreover, I thought DC was in a budget crisis, requiring higher taxes on citizens — and yet Jack Evans could find $20M (of my taxpayer dollars) to buy the land? So, I am not sure why having DC step in was such a great idea in the first place, regardless of who eventually partnered with the government.

Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that a DC-native is inured to habits of bad government, but I would hope that it would be one tradition that we don’t pass on to our children.