Posted on 07/31/2003 4:01:41 AM PDT by chambley1
The Arlington County Board's decision to build a $100,000 pavilion to house day laborers waiting for work may have severely ruptured relations with one of the county's most prominent employers.
After more than three hours of public comment and debate, County Board members voted 4-1 to spend up to $140,000 to create the new facility, which would be located not far from Interstate 395 at the intersection of 27th Street South and South Shirlington Road.
The new facility is designed to give day laborers, mostly Hispanic immigrants, a place to congregate and meet employers each day. It is located across Four Mile Run Drive from the current, informal day-laborer site on the Washington & Old Dominion Regional Park trail head.
The new day-laborer site will be located adjacent to the WETA broadcast facility, one of several buildings it uses in Shirlington.
WETA's Chief Executive Officer, Sharon Percy Rockefeller, who made an almost unprecedented appearance at the board meeting, was stinging in her rebuke to board members.
``You've been wonderful to work with - until recently," Rockefeller said.
She predicted a ``pretty hostile environment" for WETA employees who could be accosted by day laborers while walking from one building to another. Putting the day-laborer building in the planned location will also inconvenience high-profile guests who arrive to be interviewed on the ``NewsHour," public broadcasting's signature news program that is produced from WETA's studios in Shirlington, Rockefeller said.
``This is not going to be a good solution," Rockefeller said. ``It would absolutely complicate our lives."
The new site ``makes the most sense" from three proposed by county staff members, said Andres Tobar, a member of the board of directors of the Shirlington Education and Employment Center, which has its offices on South Four Mile Run Drive and provides training to the day laborers.
Tobar said the new facility ``will clear and diminish some of the problems" found at the current day laborer site. Workers who gather at the trail head have spread into the surrounding Nauck neighborhood over the years as the gathering site became more crowded.
Most County Board members took some convincing, grilling staff members over traffic patterns and other issues before giving their assent to the project.
``I'm not 100 percent convinced that this site ... is the ideal one," County Board member Chris Zimmerman said. But he ended up supporting the site because it had the ``best shot" of success among the three proposals.
Board member Jay Fisette remained unconvinced. He voted against the measure, preferring a site further to the west, directly on South Four Mile Run Drive. ``It's not the best solution," Fisette said of the adopted location.
The new facility will offer a shaded pavilion with a portable bathroom, and space for SEEC employees to monitor activities.
``This has the best shot for success," said Raul Torres, an assistant county manager. It has accessibility and visibility."
On average, about 30 workers congregate most mornings at the current pickup site, county officials said. About two-thirds of them find employment and are gone by noon.
The new facility, located adjacent to Arlington's Jennie Dean Park, will be open to employers from 6 a.m. to noon daily. Although pickup facilities will be closed at noon, day laborers who did not find work will be allowed to stay in the vicinity throughout the day.
County officials promised a vigorous police presence, something they acknowledge does not always occur at the current day-laborer site. Police will not, however, take on the role of immigration officers; county officials concede that many of those who are looking for work are in the United States illegally.
County officials were spurred to act on this proposal because the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority is preparing major restoration work on the W&OD Trail near where the day laborers currently congregate. The county will spend up to $110,000 on facilities at the new site, and will spend up to $30,000 annually to staff the facility with SEEC employees.
County Board members said they will review the new site in six months, and make changes as needed.
NOT IN MY BACK YARD!
Liberal hypocrisy.
This is a great story and I hope it has legs. From time to time I drive through Shirlington as a cut-through to Glebe Rd. and see the day-laborers congregating near the hot dog stand. It would be fun to see Jim Lehrer and the other hosts of The News Hour take a stand on the proposed building. Arlington County libs want to be the keepers of the welfare state but don't want to be reminded of them on a daily basis. What a bunch of hypocrites.
After more than three hours of public comment and debate, County Board members voted 4-1 to spend up to $140,000 to create the new facility....
Dang that 40% budget increase didn't seem to take very long. What if this article had been a full blown sunday filler.....?
That would be fun to watch. However, you'd be more likely to see this issue tackled by either The Simpsons or South Park.
Sharon "Mrs. Sen. John D." Rockefeller IV, like most liberals, considers the great unwashed as complications, not people.
Tonight on NOVA, "Bumfights!".
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