Council Approves Funding for SE Library Interim Services

The ANC6B Task Force met Monday night at Southeast Library

Council Approves Funding for SE Library Interim Services

By Larry Janezich

Posted June 5, 2023

Monday night, ANC6B Commissioner David Sobelsohn told the ANC’s SE Library Task Force, that CM Charles Allen reports that the city council had approved $191,000 for interim library services at the Arthur Capper Recreation Center.  SE Library is scheduled to close sometime this summer for a two-year renovation.  The funding is intended to pay for two support staff, computers, and a printer and it appears there is some flexibility in how the funds will be used, depending on what the community wants.  Sobelsohn chairs the Task Force. 

Locating interim services in the Arthur Capper Center will also work to benefit Ward 8 Navy Yard residents who have been pushing for their own library, according to Sobelsohn.  CM Trayon White  chairs the council’s Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs. 

The Task Force has been pushing for a near-by interim services library location rather than acceding to the DC Public Library’s suggestion:  “Use Northeast Library.”  Various locations were considered and proposed to Allen, but the only one which caught his attention was the Arthur Capper Rec Center, given that it is already owned by DC; it has space, utilities, auxiliary staff and security.  Allen was dead set against renting commercial space for the interim site.

Task Force members Raiford Gaffney and Susan Sedgewick visited the site and identified suitable space on the second floor which is currently unused.  The center is a 15 minute walk from the Marine Barracks and it is near a Circulator stop. 

The Task Force agreed unanimously to a motion by Commissioner Frank D’Andrea to recommend to the full ANC that it pursue the Arthur Capper Center for interim library services.  The full ANC meets on June 13, when Sobelsohn will ask for support for a letter of support to city and library officials.

In other news from the meeting:

• Commissioner Frank D’Andrea reported on his analysis of the DCPL construction design/construction contract with Whiting-Turner. The contract specifies a two-year construction process but start and completion dates will have to be negotiated after the design element is complete.  The contract does not get into specifics regarding construction management decisions.  The treatment and management of the site plan is yet to be formulated and will be an internal approval process by the Department of Buildings.  Decisions on staging and parking are potentially problematic and the ANC will have a voice in representing the community as issues arise.  The project manager will come from the ranks of DCPL.
• DCPL Executive Director Richard Reyes-Gavilan is tentatively scheduled to appear before ANC6B’s virtual monthly meeting on June 14, to discuss the library renovation and the impact on the community. Residents hope for answers to two top concerns:  when will SE Library close, and will patrons be able to check out and drop off books at the location? 
• Susan Sedgewick, representing Capitol Hill Village, stressed the importance of receiving assurances on access to interim services for seniors and others with mobility issues and on making sure there is a commitment by the contractor to a rodent abatement plan during construction.