Hello Neighbors!<br><br>I thought Iris's thoughts were great. I so appreciate being able to read everyone's thoughts and am thankful that we have this forum.<br><br>I haven't heard anything about what Ms. Kennedy Smith is up to (do I remember her name correctly?). Wouldn't she have spectacularly valuable input about this project? Surely she has seen this scenario before.<br><br>I was sorry I didn't make the last town meeting as I was unwell. They start late and go prohibitively late for our family's schedule. And, there were other topics that were going to be voted on/discussed, so I didn't know that if I pushed my hurtin' self out the door if I'd be able to stay long enough to hear about 'Pete's Place'.<br><br>What are the hours during which we may visit Town Hall and view the plans? Do we need to call first?<br><br>Nancy Mooney<br><br><br><br><b><i>towntalk-request@riverdale-park.org</i></b> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq"
style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> Send TownTalk mailing list submissions to<br> towntalk@riverdale-park.org<br><br>To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit<br> http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk<br>or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to<br> towntalk-request@riverdale-park.org<br><br>You can reach the person managing the list at<br> towntalk-owner@riverdale-park.org<br><br>When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific<br>than "Re: Contents of TownTalk digest..."<br><br><br>Today's Topics:<br><br> 1. TO ALAN, BRUCE, MAYOR ARCHER RE: Pete's Buildings--Making<br> Us Educated Residents (Iris McLaurin)<br><br><br>----------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Message: 1<br>Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2007 21:24:33 -0500<br>From: "Iris McLaurin" <elsiegoh@rcn.com><br>Subject: [RP TownTalk] TO ALAN, BRUCE, MAYOR ARCHER
RE: Pete's<br> Buildings--Making Us Educated Residents<br>To: <towntalk@riverdale-park.org><br>Message-ID: <003f01c74e4c$ef349470$d5eba742@EGOH><br>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"<br><br>Alan<br>The information you shared is very, very insightful, and reflects knowledge<br>of information and interpretation of information that I am certain that many<br>of us who are trying to understand the process do not have. Those comments<br>and explanation of comments helped me greatly. Thank you.<br> <br>Bruce,<br>Similarly, I appreciate your suggestion to "get together" with Pete. You<br>said you have reviewed Pete's plan. I do not know your background or<br>credentials, but clearly, if you have a few ideas, you have far more<br>relevant professional knowledge of what and how to "review" the plans than I<br>(and probably most residents). I wish I could make meaningful<br>recommendations, rather than just instinctive support---but I am clueless to<br>knowledge
of factual advantages/disadvantages of this type of community<br>development and the long term impact to the community.<br> <br>Gentlemen,<br>It seems the Town Council meetings may not be the proper forum where those<br>of us who are earnestly trying to understand "Community Redevelopment 101"<br>can ask the level of elementary questions that we need to ask to become<br>informed in order to make--the best informed-- short-term and long-term<br>decisions. I have tried by visiting the National Building Museum and<br>querying one or two local architects and urban planners. But I do not know<br>enough of the nuts and bolts of this process to ask the intelligent<br>questions to obtain the relevant answers. The Rockville clothing store<br>Sims' advertising slogan is, "An Educated Consumer Is Our Best Customer."<br>In conversations I have had with Mayor Archer, I am confident he could<br>prefer and concur that "An Educated Resident Is Riverdale's Best Community<br>Investment."
I support Pete's initial development proposal from an<br>instinctive position that it would be good for Riverdale. Although I can not<br>tell you what "good" is. How to "advise" Pete/Mayor/Council to the best<br>final plan---I know nothing, except that it will be in my back yard, so I<br>care very deeply and I want it to be "good" for our beloved Historical<br>Riverdale Park.<br> <br>Mayor Archer,<br>If they would consent, WHAT IF Alan/Bruce/Mike Herman (representing County<br>Executive's Office)/ Dineene O'Conner --would consider organizing and<br>moderating a "Community Redevelopment 101 Workshop" for residents who want<br>to become more knowledgeable of the "process" and the "impacts" of such<br>projects on Historical Riverdale Park, on Prince George's County, of<br>critical importance---on the individual resident? I have a few ideas on<br>topics for discussion (as the ideal candidate for Development for Dummies)<br>so that the emphasis is not a workshop to
position the proposal favorably or<br>non-favorably, but an educational workshop on the<br>process/impacts/alternatives on community development/redevelopment. You<br>amiably demonstrate your strong position on consensus building. When Pete's<br>next round of plans is presented, wouldn't it be an accomplishment to have<br>"educated residents" present, capable of commenting/questioning in an<br>informed manner? Like many, I am praying for consensus on the project. Like<br>many, I pray it happens in a way that we can live with it-with a good<br>conscience. As Ward 4 Councilman Lawrence Taylor has so eloquently stated<br>about those who love Historical Riverdale Park, "our hearts beat the same."<br><br> <br>PS I owe my very hard-working and devoted Ward 1 Councilmember Rob Oppenheim<br>an apology-my last Town Council meeting comments singled him out and may<br>have suggested that I felt he was non-caring. I know that is not the case.<br>I did not agree with his
position, but I certainly do know that he<br>demonstrates continuously and unconditionally that he is a deeply caring<br>human being. Just this week a city servant said to me that resident<br>services is at the core of your heart and your reason for serving as a<br>Council member. Rob, I hope that you would accept my public and sincere<br>apology. <br> <br>Iris McLaurin-Southall<br>Oliver Street<br> <br>-------------- next part --------------<br>An HTML attachment was scrubbed...<br>URL: http://riverdale-park.org/pipermail/towntalk/attachments/20070211/83677f4e/attachment-0001.html <br><br>------------------------------<br><br>_______________________________________________<br>TownTalk mailing list<br>TownTalk@riverdale-park.org<br>http://riverdale-park.org/mailman/listinfo/towntalk<br><br>For more information about Riverdale Park, visit http://www.ci.riverdale-park.md.us<br><br>End of TownTalk Digest, Vol 7, Issue
18<br>***************************************<br></towntalk@riverdale-park.org></elsiegoh@rcn.com></blockquote><br><p> 
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