COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING

1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004

VINCENT C. GRAY Committee Member:

Ward 7 Councilmember Business and Economic Development
Chair, Committee on Health Judiciary and Public Safety
Co-chair, Special Committee on COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery

May 6, 2021

The Honorable Muriel Bowser

Mayor of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20004

Dear Mayor Bowser:

I am writing to request that a series of important Ward 7 investments and citywide health care
initiatives be included in your proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget.

Since returning to the Council, I have made it a point to always solicit community feedback from
my Ward 7 neighbors. In keeping with the needs of Ward 7, I have continued to prioritize
creating an integrated healthcare system on the East End of the city, increasing public safety,
providing better access to quality education and employment, as well as promoting policies that
advance equity across matters that affect the quality of life for residents in the District of
Columbia. This budget request letter lays out the areas of focus that residents and community
leaders in Ward 7 and I have identified as important funding priorities for Ward 7.

As you know, the District has endured more than a full year under the deadly effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic has had a deep impact on every aspect of residents’
lives, the devastation has had an especially profound effect on residents of Ward 7. This
pandemic has exploited communities that have been neglected over generations and have not
experienced the full measure of economic support to withstand a public health crisis healthily
and ably.

Since its February 26, 2021 revenue estimate, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer has
projected significant additional revenue and indicated that the economy “is expected to return to
the FY 2019 level of $8.3 billion in FY 2022 as vaccines are deployed and the economy
recovers.” This year, we also have the benefit of significant additional federal funding from the
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that may be available to fund many of the initiatives in this
letter. I ask that you strongly consider each of the following Ward 7 and citywide health
initiatives for funding as our opportunity to correct the record of historic inequity and place us in
a position to make all of Washington stronger and healthier than we were before the pandemic.

I. Health Initiatives That Address Historic Inequity

The following transformative initiatives will address generational inequity by improving the
health of residents on the East End of the District of Columbia.
 A. End food deserts in Ward 7 and 8

The lack of food options on the East End has been especially felt during this pandemic. We know
that equitable access to healthy food and full-service grocery stores is lacking on the East End
which has a considerable deleterious impact on long term health. It is nearly impossible to have
a healthy population with only three full-service grocery stores in Wards 7 and 8 to service
160,000 residents. While we are thrilled that Lidl will be opening a full-service grocery store at
the Skyland Town Center, we know much more is needed.

Many of the COVID-19 deaths in the African American community were caused by pre-existing
health conditions that are causally linked to poor diet, such as obesity, cancer, heart disease, and
diabetes. The allocation of grocery stores in the District of Columbia is shamefully inequitable.
There have been many excuses as to why immediate and direct support for additional grocery
stores cannot be implemented immediately, but as COVID-19 has revealed, we can no longer
afford to put off aggressive investments in grocery stores for these residents. We now have an
opportunity to correct this egregious inequity by investing the resources that are statutorily
available in the District’s fund balance for constructing new grocery stores.

Fifty percent of undesignated end-of-year District surplus is designated for pay-as-you-go capital
funding now that the District’s reserves are at 60 days cash-on-hand. At the end of Fiscal Year
2020, $263.4 million was reserved for pay-as-you-go capital funding. The Council adopted Bill
22-207, the “East End Grocery Incentive Act of 2018” to authorize the Executive Branch to
utilize the pay-as-you-go capital funds to finally end food deserts. Pay-go capital funds can be
utilized either as direct District infrastructure investments or can be transferred to the operating
budget to support gap financing for grocery store construction. I ask that you allocate $80-110
million of the $263.4 million in pay-as-you-go capital funding to eliminate food deserts in wards
7 and 8 this fiscal year.

B. Sustaining reforms to the DC Healthcare Alliance and telehealth post-pandemic

Throughout the Trump Administration, our undocumented community was targeted for removal
from their families and communities. Fear of deportation has marginalized our immigrant
communities, which often have mixed status families, and caused them to withdraw from many
programs designed to make our community safe and healthy, particularly healthcare. As a result,
we saw that the Hispanic community hit hard by COVID-19. Title II of B23-0890, the
“Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Query and Omnibus Health Amendment Act of 2020” is
entitled “D.C. Healthcare Alliance Reform”. This legislation would help District residents who
qualify for the Alliance, our locally funded insurance program, by removing barriers to access.
Specifically, the legislation allows residents to re-certify remotely at clinics rather than service
centers at the Department of Human Services (DHS) for a face-to-face interview and extend
recertification of benefits from six months to one year to make it mirror the enrollment timeline
for Medicaid benefits, thus, creating an equitable level of fairness for people who desperately
need such opportunities.

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Due to the pandemic, your administration implemented an even more aggressive version of this
legislation by not disenrolling anyone from the program and removing barriers to enrollment by
allowing people to enroll remotely online through a DHS portal. Since I introduced legislation
on the Alliance program five years ago, the cost of funding Alliance reforms has been grossly
overestimated. Initially, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer projected the four-year cost of
these Alliance reforms to be $105.2 million. Last November, the four-year cost was revised
downward to $32.4 million over four years, with no cost in FY 2021. With an additional four
months of data, the Executive has implemented these Alliance reforms for over a full calendar
year. Based on the actual cost data from FY 2020-2022 we know that the cost to permanently
implement the proposed Alliance reforms will add only approximately $2.7 million annually to
the Alliance Program based on the Department of Healthcare Finance’s most recent quarterly
financial reporting period (FRP).

In its FRP, DHCF also projects a local surplus of $92.9 million in FY21 and there is an
additional local surplus of $17 million in the Medicaid Reserve. Currently, the recurring fiscal
impact of B 23-890 is fully funded over the course of the District's financial plan at both the
program and comptroller source group level within DHCF. Although a significant portion of the
$92.9 million local surplus at DHCF is one-time due to the FMAP increase, there still exists a
significant Medicaid surplus (likely tens of millions of dollars), within the approved budget and
financial plan, for both DHCF Program 5000 and Comptroller Source 50, which is where
Alliance provider payments are made.

When you submit your FY22 budget, rather than reducing local funds from DHCF and
transferring them to other agencies for non-healthcare purposes, I urge you to reinvest the
recurring Medicaid local funds surplus to pay for implementing B23-890 and to continuing
telehealth reforms, including audio-only telehealth that DHCF implemented at the onset of the
public health emergency.

C. Investing in school-based mental health and community-based behavioral health

services

Even before the pandemic, District children – especially African American children and teens in
high crime areas, were grappling with the emotional scars of trauma. The pandemic has only
heightened this burden with at-home or hybrid learning, caring for siblings, as well as food and
housing insecurity. The need for more behavioral health services is something I have advocated
for years because of the effect it has on our youth, their families and the community. For these
reasons, I urge you to invest an additional $4 million in community-based behavioral health
services, which will create a total of $8.7 million in spending because of federal match dollars. I
ask that you allocate $6.4 million to fund the school-based mental health expansion to all
remaining public schools to ensure that 80 more public schools will receive at least one
behavioral health clinician per school.

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 D. Create Medicaid Buy-In Program

The Committee on Health heard very compelling testimony at the FY 2019-2020 performance
oversight hearing of the Department of Health Care Finance asking that the District should
establish a Medicaid Buy-In Program. The program would allow residents with disabilities to
keep their Medicaid coverage while working. Currently, District residents with significant
physical disabilities are forced to artificially cap their salary and reject earned promotions,
because they cannot afford to lose their Medicaid coverage. This forces a person into a life of
near poverty wages to stay on Medicaid. A Medicaid Buy-In Program would be a win for the
District, because a resident would be able to make more income, and a portion of that income
would help to pay for their Medicaid services on a sliding scale as their income increases.
Although, this program should increase tax revenue for the District, without increasing ongoing
health care costs, there may be a one-time cost to establishing the program. I ask that you please
include a Medicaid Buy-In program in the budget of the Department of Health Care Finance that
is effective October 1, 2021.

E. Support the Whitman Walker expansion on the St. Elizabeths campus

Whitman Walker is currently in the midst of a once-in-a-generation expansion, which is

grounded in Whitman-Walker’s commitment to tackling racism as a public health crisis to
advance health and racial equity in the District of Columbia. The expansion will be the hub of
Whitman-Walker’s work in community for the next 30 years—much like the Elizabeth Taylor
Medical Center was during the AIDS epidemic of the 1990s through 2010s. And once fully
operational, the expansion will serve an additional 15,000 individual patients each year and will
generate between 100-125 health care jobs in the community. We can include language in the
budget that directs that the newly created positions be designated for residents of the District of
Columbia.

Programmatically, Whitman-Walker Health will expand and consolidate operations from the
Max Robinson Center in Anacostia and programs from the Youth Services site on Capitol Hill.
Core programming will include primary medical/urgent care, behavioral health, dental care,
pharmacy, care navigation and other support services. Whitman-Walker Health System will
expand its research, policy and advocacy work on behalf of marginalized communities via the
Institute and sublease to community partners to further its impact. Lastly, Whitman Walker’s
clinical care, research, and education and training collaboratives with The George Washington
University will be greatly enhanced given its expansion’s proximity to the new hospital.

Financially, Whitman Walker estimates the project’s total capital expenditures at $30.6 million,
or approximately $260 per square foot. This cost per square foot assumption will provide similar
quality and parity at the St. Elizabeths site as is now offered at its 14th Street NW health care
locations. Whitman Walker can provide more details on the tenant buildout elements
(mechanical, electrical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, ventilation, medical equipment,
furniture and fixtures, etc.) as needed.

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Whitman-Walker Health System is seeking to secure $10 million in one-time grant funding from
the District of Columbia in either FY 2021 or FY 2022 to match the $10 million commitment of
funding made by Whitman Walker. This grant would be used only for Whitman Walker’s capital
investment and would not be used to pay more ongoing programmatic costs. I believe that this
project would be a superb candidate to receive federal funding, given that it involves both health
care and infrastructure.

F. Expand the number of community-competent behavioral healthcare professionals

who respond to individuals in crisis

In 2020, while justice reform protests were happening in the District and across the nation, the
Council established the District of Columbia Police Reform Commission to ensure deliberate,
evidence-based recommendations on police reform measures that value and respect the concerns
of residents. Our objective is to transform policing in the District into a best practice model that
ensures all our neighborhoods are protected and respected. The purpose of the Commission is to
examine policing practices in the District and provide evidence-based recommendations for
reforming and revisioning policing in the District.

The first recommendation of the Commission is to “make community-competent behavioral

healthcare professionals the default first responders to 911 calls involving individuals in crisis.”
As a result of its extensive research, the Commission stated in its final report that law
enforcement should be one option in an array of emergency responders, not necessarily the first
option. Importantly, individuals in crisis need specialized intervention and sometimes skillful
de-escalation, not forced compliance or arrest, and in certain sensitive situations, including those
involving individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, involvement of an armed officer can
make a difficult situation much worse, and potentially deadly. It is important to look to those
within the public sector who are qualified behavioral healthcare professionals and other
specialists to provide mental health supports in times of crisis. The lead agency for that purpose
is the Department of Behavioral health. Please add funding to the Department of Behavioral
Health’s budget to expand its capacity to respond to behavioral health crisis situations and to
fully fund this Commission recommendation.

II. Health Improvements in Maternal and Infant Health

Improving maternal health outcomes for the lives of our youngest residents is a goal we both
share. I deeply appreciate your interest in this area with the annual Maternal Summits and Task
Force. We both know that as much work that has been done, it has only revealed what more must
be done. I ask that you fund the legislation discussed in this section as a commitment to
improving maternal health and as a down payment on the future of District children.

A. Fully fund the Birth-to-Three for All DC Act

B22-203, the Birth-to-Three Act for All DC Act of 2018 is the most comprehensive
developmental health and education legislation for children under three years of age. Early child
education and health are key as 80% of a child’s brain development occurs by age three.

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If we want to put District kids in a position to succeed, we must ensure that systems are in place
to support their development. We know that we have gained much in early education investment
because testing of the first cohorts of children enrolled in universal pre-K scored higher than
those who did not have the benefit of the early start.

The pandemic has reversed much of the progress we made on implementing this legislation.
People staying home meant that it was difficult to keep the doors of highly qualified early
education centers open. This has had a detrimental effect on the early education of District
children as well as a negative effect on District mothers who put their career or education on
hold to care for their children at home. Now that there is more interest in people returning to pre-
pandemic life, we must be ready with childcare slots at qualified early education centers. In
Fiscal Year 2022, I request that you add $60 million in recurring funding to support qualified
child-care providers because our children and their families need the investment now more than
ever. This funding should go to covering the cost of care for high-quality early childcare
services, with a particular focus on increasing the salaries of infant and toddler educators up to
the level of their educational peers in PK3 – 12th grade education.

Additionally, please determine whether there is ability to expand capacity in the health
components of the Birth-to-Three Act. Specifically, please determine whether Healthy Steps,
Healthy Futures, home visiting, or the Help Me Grow program can expand capacity if provided
with additional resources. These programs have been instrumental in improving the physical and
mental health of children and families, and these investments have more than paid for themselves
through improved outcomes.

B. Postpartum Coverage Expansion Act of 2020

B23-326, the “Postpartum Coverage Expansion Act of 2020” extends postpartum inpatient and
outpatient benefits to at least a year after childbirth and requires that health policies offered
through Medicaid cover inpatient and outpatient maternity and newborn care for a year after
childbirth. We know that mothers on Medicaid make up nearly half of the births in the District.
We heard from several witnesses that the expansion of benefits to one year is necessary to save
the lives of more mothers, particularly those on Medicaid because the most dangerous and
debilitating effects of postpartum depression are often not felt until the period between 6 months
and one year after childbirth. This is something that proper care could easily prevent and benefit
the entire family. I urge you to fully fund B23- 326, the “Postpartum Coverage Expansion Act
of 2020 with an investment of $1,693,000 in local funds over the four-year financial plan. This
local funding will generate $3,514,000 of matching federal funds, further demonstrating why this
legislation is a sound investment in the health of our residents.

C. Expand telehealth access to improve maternal health

The intersection of telehealth and maternal health remains a top priority for my office.
Telehealth has proven to be an effective medium to deliver healthcare before the pandemic and
even more so afterwards. We ask that you allocate funding to permit all providers within the
District to access a digital health platform which provides remote patient monitoring to address
maternal mental health, hypertension, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes.

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Remote monitoring of pregnant mothers has been proven to prevent adverse maternal outcomes,
and lead to reductions in overall healthcare costs and improved outcomes for both mom and
baby.

Just recently, Mississippi Public Health Institute on Maternal Health Initiative partnered with a
digital health platform to provide these critical telehealth services to all interested healthcare
providers in Mississippi in an effort to target and reduce systemic racial and ethnic inequities in
both maternal and infant outcomes in Mississippi. If Mississippi can show this kind of
commitment to maternal and infant health, so can we.

III. Health Initiatives That Improve the Overall Health of the District

There are several bills Council passed that would improve the health and welfare of District
residents, from school aged children to seniors. Please consider funding these bills in your
proposed FY22 budget.

A. Ensure All DC Public and Charter Schools have a Full-Time School Nurse

As part of our shared value to invest in the health, education and welfare of District children, I
support ensuring that there is an adequate number of school nurses at every public school. Before
the pandemic, parents came out in great numbers to support B22-27, the Public School Health
Services Amendment Act of 2017 which requires 40 hours per week of registered nurse or
licensed practical nurse coverage at all District public and charter schools. Parents believe that
full-time nurse coverage is critical to ensuring a healthy environment for students that would not
be provided through allied health workers. Moreover, it was abundantly clear that parents
preferred the comfort of knowing that their children were being cared for by a licensed nurse.

Because of COVID-19, parents are more concerned than ever that their child is safe in the hours
they are entrusted to the traditional public and charter schools. The Council has previously made
investments to close the gap in nurse coverage, however, there is still more to go. I urge you, on
behalf of District parents, to provide the additional funding, which is estimated at approximately
$12 million annually, to fully implement this legislation to ensure that as schools open for in-
person learning, especially during a deadly pandemic, that a registered and/or licensed practical
nurse is there full-time.

B. Fully implement the Dementia Training for Direct Care Workers Act of 2020

Seniors in care should expect that to receive quality care if they have transitioned to a long-term
care or rehabilitation center. Approximately 14% of seniors over age 71 have some form of
dementia which is a loss of cognitive functioning such as thinking, remembering, and reasoning
as well as behavioral abilities. B23-325, the “Dementia Training for Direct Care Workers Act of
2020” will provide initial, and ongoing, training requirements for all direct care workers in
residential facilities to individuals with Alzheimer’s or other dementia conditions. This
legislation will ensure that each person who is a senior interacts with, while in care, someone
who can recognize and understand the effect of Alzheimer’s and dementia to improve service,
safety, and care for the senior.

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This legislation will also require a rate study for healthcare workers to determine correct levels
of compensation to provide a stable workforce for those employed to care for vulnerable seniors.
I ask that $170,400 be allocated over the financial plan and $445,000 in one-time funding be
allocated to fund the rate study for healthcare workers to help support a more educated
workforce.

C. Continue funding for senior health legislation that was funded on a one-time basis

My former colleague and health committee member, Councilmember Brandon Todd, introduced
two pieces of legislation that provided additional health care services. After the Council
approved these bills, you funded these initiatives on a nonrecurring basis. I have received many
calls and e-mails expressing support for ongoing funding for B22-171, the “Senior Dental
Services Program Act of 2018” and B22-354, the “Hearing Aid Assistance Program Act of
2018”. Each bill costs approximately $500,000 and the funds went directly into providing dental
services and hearing aids to low-income District seniors.

D. B23-54, Opioid Overdose Treatment and Prevention Omnibus Amendment Act of

2020

The Office of the Chief Financial Officer indicates that Title 3 of this legislation, which provided
an opioid antagonist rescue kit to all members of the Metropolitan Police Department, has not
been fully funded. I have been under the impression that the Administration implemented a
nearly identical program to equip our officers with Naloxone, while this legislation was being
considered in Committee. Please fund any remaining costs of the legislation, which the OCFO
estimates to be $407,000 in FY22 and $1.2 million over the financial plan. Alternatively, if you
determine that the legislation is already being implemented by MPD, please repeal the subject-
to-appropriations clause in your Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Support Act.

E. B23-214, Direct Support Professional Payment Rate Act of 2019

The purpose of Bill 23-0214 is to provide an annual payment to certain providers of direct
services to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities ("I/DD") that provide direct
residential, in-home, day, or support services to clients under the District's Medicaid waiver
program or the Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities program.
The bill will require the Director of Health Care Finance ("DHCF") and the Director of the
Department on Disability Services ("DDS") to consider certain factors in recommending the
amount of the payment, and to establish eligibility standards for a disability service provider to
receive payments.

Over the past several years, disability service providers ("service providers") have faced
challenges in maintaining their workforce of direct support professionals ("DSPs"). These
service providers anticipated and began to see a shortage of direct support professionals in the
disability services field and have faced workforce recruitment challenges associated with this
shortage. One reason for the shortage is the decreasing differential between the District living
wage and the minimum wage. The decreasing wage differential has made recruitment, hiring,
training, and retention of DSPs difficult.

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A shortage in DSPs threatens the quality of care provided to people with developmental
disabilities in the District.

The Office of the Chief Financial Officer estimated a local funds cost to the legislation of $5.751
million in FY20 and $32.892 million over the four-year financial plan. These local funds will
receive a 70% federal match, so please include this prudent investment in your upcoming budget,
so we can maintain a highly professional workforce in a service field that cares for some of the
most vulnerable District residents.

F. B23-529 Certificate of Stillbirth Amendment Act of 2020

B23-529, the “Certificate of Stillbirth Amendment Act of 2020” allows a family grieving the loss
of a child due to a stillbirth to achieve closure with a ceremonial birth certificate. Please include
the extremely minimal cost of $12,000 in FY21 and $21,000 over the four-year financial plan in
the Department of Health’s budget.

IV. Other Important Ward 7 Priorities

In addition to the above important healthcare initiatives, residents and community leaders in
Ward 7 and I have identified other important funding priorities for Ward 7 to address concerns in
public safety, education, libraries and recreation, housing and economic development, and
transportation and infrastructure to improve the quality of life for Ward 7 residents. I present
these requests as our continuing resolve to improve the quality of life directly and significantly
for Ward 7 residents through the city’s investment and commitment.

A. Public Safety

Address Violent Crime. Despite the pandemic, violent crimes have increased, claiming and
impacting the lives of too many on the East End, leaving in its wake trauma, families in need of
services, and opportunities to make the kind of coordinated, evidence-based improvements that
will not only improve statistics, but also safe lives. To prevent the rising violence in our
neighborhoods, I ask that you continue to invest in community-based violence prevention
programs:
o Fully fund the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.
o Fully fund Cure the Streets initiative.
o Fund Ward 7 violence interrupters programs.

Provide Sixth District Parking. In terms of infrastructure, the untenable congestion caused by
lack of parking at the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sixth District headquarters can be
solved by the construction of a parking garage. Capital funds are needed to support a parking
garage at this site. One need only visit the site to see firsthand the need. The Sixth District
headquarters is increasingly used by many people – the large number of police officers who park
on the street and the number of people who visit the Sixth District headquarters – clearly
demonstrate the insufficient capacity to accommodate street parking leaving too many people
without the ability to park while using the Sixth District headquarters. The parking facility I am
requesting can be constructed on the grounds of the building in the rear.

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 B. Education

Maintain Winston EC facility. The Winston Education Campus is a former District of Columbia
Public Schools building at 3100 Erie Street, SE in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Ward 7. The
building has been the subject of a Request for Offers as part of the Right of First Offer Process
pursuant to DC Code § 38-1802.09 and has attracted charter school interest as the potential
location of an application middle or high school, but the building is architecturally unattractive
for learning purposes, with a lack of windows and its open space model.

Decisions need to be made about the future of the building, and these decisions must be made in
the context of the adjacent Hillcrest Recreation Center. The entire campus needs to be studied.
Meanwhile, deteriorating conditions have rightly generated enormous community concern as the
entire setting is a blight and desperately needs attention – now! I urge you to include funding for
the maintenance and security of the Winston Education Campus until a strategic plan for the
building’s use is determined.

Combat learning loss. Data on the District’s public schools showed glaring opportunity gaps and
other equity challenges, including a digital divide, before the coronavirus public health
emergency. The pandemic has exacerbated preexisting inequities and challenges while also
adding the large challenges of learning loss, compounding the disproportionate effects on
students of color, at risk students, and those historically underserved, many of whom live in
Ward 7. While learning loss will not be overcome with one swift act in a short period of time, it
is crucial that the District commit to bridging gaps, addressing learning loss, and bringing our
students up to our high expectations of achievement. As the District moves proceeds with
reopening and returning to in-person learning, ample funding needs to be provided to programs
geared towards addressing learning loss for all students.

C. Libraries & Recreation

Provide a new, free-standing full-service library in Deanwood. The Deanwood Library was
modernized in 2010 and co-located in the Deanwood Community Center, which also includes the
Deanwood Aquatic Center and other recreational and community spaces. The current library is
undersized with low square feet per capita and needs to be increased to better deliver services.
The Deanwood neighborhood continues to experience rapid population growth. A new full-
service neighborhood library will provide residents with greater access to library services and
resources for this growing community. Accordingly, I request:
• $25,000 for a site assessment for creating a new, free-standing, full-service library.
• $20 million (or the appropriate, community supported, fully funded amount) in capital
funds for the construction of a free-standing full-service library.

Fund the establishment of a River Terrace Recreation Center. River Terrace is a geographically
isolated community and unique in this sense in the District of Columbia in which there are no
regularly available, indoor public spaces available to its residents, seniors or youth. The
community is hugely committed to achieving this needed facility.

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Protect Kingman Park-Rosedale Community Garden funding. I request that you maintain the
$200,000 allotted to provide a water source to the Kingman Park-Rosedale Community Garden.
I have worked with the Friends of Kingman Park and the respective ANC to fund a water
connection for the Kingman Park-Rosedale Community Garden. A previous appropriation to
pay for the connection was used by the Department of General Services (DGS) for a feasibility
study, leaving the cost of the actual connection unfunded.

The Council funded $200,000 in operating funds in FY21 to DGS to complete the water source
connection, but the work is awaiting execution. The funds for this year’s long initiative must
remain available to bring the project to completion.

D. Housing and Economic Development

Continue funding and supporting the Fletcher-Johnson Redevelopment. The District closed
Fletcher-Johnson Middle School in 2008. Portions of the building were subsequently leased to
public charter schools and the facility was also used as a swing space for HD Woodson HS
during its modernization. Since then, the site has been a source of community concern regarding
dumping, vandalism, lighting issues, unauthorized access, and criminal behavior. Now that the
building is in DMPED’s purview for disposition, and a development team has been identified, $1
million should be added to DMPED’s budget to fund a Fletcher-Johnson caretaker grant to
maintain, secure, and activate the site for community use until redevelopment occurs.

Additionally, the Fletcher Johnson Task Force, a group of Ward 7 leaders with which I have
closely worked, wants to ensure that the redevelopment project includes a full-service grocery
store and/or other retailers. At 15.26 acres, the Fletcher-Johnson site is the fourth largest plot of
District-owned, developable land. As noted earlier, the lack of food options on the East End has
been especially felt during this pandemic. We know that equitable access to healthy food and
full-service grocery stores is lacking on the East End which has a considerable deleterious impact
on long term health. Having a full-service grocer on the site is part of the community-driven
efforts of the Fletcher-Johnson Task Force.

E. Transportation and Infrastructure

Maintain current amount budgeted for Benning Road Streetcar Project. The streetcar extension
is a much-needed investment in Ward 7 and will serve as a direct connection to the H Street
corridor for Ward 7 neighborhoods east of Minnesota Avenue and a critical economic
development driver and catalyst to bring more businesses and opportunities to this community,
including grocery stores and restaurants, similar to the success of the streetcar that I have seen
with my own eyes in Portland, Oregon on two visits there. The project to extend the streetcar to
the Benning Road Metro station includes the replacement of the Whitlock Bridge, the revamping
of the Ethel Kennedy Bridge, and the addition of new ramps from DC-295. A reduction in
funding would stall all elements of the Benning Road Reconstruction and Streetcar Project.

The project is being advanced as one package that would contain safety improvements and
transit with the streetcar. The local funds are going to be leveraged as a match across all elements
of the project.

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Without sufficient funding, DDOT will not be able to perform the bridge replacement which
would provide better trail connection along the Whitlock Bridge to the Anacostia River Walk
Trail; reduce the number of lanes on Benning Road; create shared use paths, bring the Whitlock
Bridge into ADA-compliance; and allow for the widening the bridge. Additional public safety
concerns that would not be addressed, include the interchange at Benning and DC-295, the
absence of which has led to significant volumes of vehicles making illegal U-Turns on 34th
Street intersection, and improvement to the high crash intersection of Minnesota Avenue and
Benning Road.

Increase funding for the Pennsylvania/Minnesota Avenue SE Intersection Improvement Project.

Add $15 million to improve pedestrian and vehicular safety; create a consolidated, useable park
space; improve multimodal connectivity and access; and support land use and community needs
within the intersection. In 2007, the Great Streets Framework Plan and the Revitalization of
Pennsylvania Avenue, SE for the Great Streets Initiative Concepts Design Final Report
recommended transportation improvements to the Pennsylvania and Minnesota Avenues, SE
intersection. Since that time, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the District
Department of Transportation (DDOT), and the National Park Service (NPS) have been working
on various aspects of this project. However, to date, this intersection remains an eyesore and
creates vehicular and pedestrian problems. Complaints about the intersection focus on a lack of
pedestrian safety, insufficient time for pedestrians to cross the street, and issues with the cut-
through traffic on L'Enfant Square, SE. Funding this important transportation project will
improve pedestrian and vehicular safety.

As you continue the important task of formulating and finalizing the Fiscal Year 2022 proposed
budget, I thank you for your consideration of these requests.

Sincerely,

Vincent C. Gray
Councilmember, Ward 7

Cc: Fitzroy Lee, Interim Chief Financial Officer

Kevin Donahue, City Administrator
Councilmembers of the District of Columbia

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