[RP TownTalk] Washington Post

[Jonathan W. Ebbeler]

@Valrie - Welcome, welcome, welcome to town.  Please feel free to reach out
to your respective Councilman on any issue or question you face as a new
resident.  Although we are part time and have day jobs we are all typically
very responsive to constituent issues and can usually point you in the right
direction for questions you have.  Contact information may be found on the
town's website here: http://riverdaleparkmd.info/parkcouncil/index.cfm
including a link to the ward boundary map here:
http://riverdaleparkmd.info/maps.cfm .

 

@Sue - Without Whole Foods coming to town this article never would have
happened.  Luz did not just happen upon the narrative that was written up -
it was a direct consequence of a 45-minute background interview I gave her
on June 5th  that laid out the historic, current, and pipeline economic
development in town and how they all connect.  At the forefront of this was
a story that had yet to be told - the significant 7-figure investment into
Town Center Market.  It was much easier to pitch the Douglas Development
build-out when there was current development activity going on across the
tracks.  As the town has repeatedly said, while important to champion
high-quality development projects coming in, we need to consistently support
the business owners, like the Spiropoulos family and others, that have been
here for years.  The only disappointment I had with the article was they
chose not to mention the Calvert House Inn's 50th year anniversary.  

 

The town's new policy initiative towards signage/leasehold improvements were
a direct consequence of realizing there was a need for better public-private
partnerships with some of our long-term businesses (as well as helping
entice new ventures).  It seems like the prevailing strategy towards
economic development in this area has been to sit and wait for the
land-owners to develop the parcels out - a strategy I disagree with.  A
better strategy that has seen more recent successes is to define the vision,
pitch that vision, and maintain a healthy media presence so the vision can
be consistently evaluated, critiqued, and modified by public input.

 

Jonathan W. Ebbeler | Vice Mayor/Councilman Ward 1

 

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