Subject: Please do not privatize Monroe Park
From: Charles Pool
To: [City Council]
Cc: ned.oliver@styleweekly.com; gmoomaw@timesdispatch.com;
Date: Thursday, January 16, 2014 11:14 AMDear Councilman Samuels,
Please reconsider your sponsorship of an ordinance that would privatize Monroe Park. It is essential that this park remain a neighborhood park. Unlike the Monroe Park Advisory Council that oversaw the creation of the Monroe Park master plan, there is NO neighborhood representation on the Monroe Park Conservancy from the Fan, from Oregon Hill, or from Carver.
According to the Monroe Park Conservancy filing with the State Corporation Commission (SCC Id# 07366511) there are 10 members of the board of the Monroe Park Conservancy. These members include four VCU officials and the Mayor and three of the Mayor’s closest administrators. Here is a listing of the Conservancy board member according to the SCC filing: Alice Massie, John Bates III, Mark Dray, Christopher Beschler, Suzette Denslow, David Hicks, Thomas Huff, Dwight Jones, Brian Ohlinger, Robert Scott Ukrop.
According to Guidestar, the Monroe Park Conservancy obtained an non-profit status with the IRS in 2011, yet there is no record that in the last three years that the Conservancy has raised a dime for Monroe Park. In fact, Guidestar lists the group’s income as $0. It would be unwise to hand over control of our oldest city park to a group with no proven track record of support for the park.
Why would City Council to relinquish control of this city park to the Mayor and his handpicked administrators, and to VCU officials? By privatizing Monroe Park, the Mayor could bypass the city’s normal contract bid procedure and bypass the city’s normal plan review process. The fate of our park, belonging to the citizens of our great city, should not be decided by fiat by a cozy group of VCU and city administrators.
The Monroe Park Advisory Council was originally established with neighborhood representation from the Fan, Oregon Hill and Carver in response to a VCU plan to remove around 40 mature trees from the park. There was even a proposal for building VCU soccer fields in the park. If the City Council relinquishes control of Monroe Park, there would be no recourse for the public if such insensitive proposals are again proposed by the Conservancy.
Again, I urge you to reconsider your sponsorship of any ordinance that would cede the City Council’s authority over Monroe Park to a small group of VCU and city administrators.
Sincerely,
Charles Pool
chris.hilbert@richmondgov.com; reva.trammell@richmondgov.com; kathy.graziano@richmondgov.com; jonathan.baliles@richmondgov.com; cynthia.newbille@richmondgov.com; ellen.robertson@richmondgov.com; parker.agelasto@richmondgov.com; michelle.mosby@richmondgov.com; charles.samuels@richmondgov.com;