Wednesday, 6 February 2013

[WardFive] Fwd: [ward5] Gray eyes procurement, regulatory reforms in State of the District (Wash. Bus. Journal)



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Rob <indianrob@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Feb 6, 2013 at 1:04 PM
Subject: Re: [ward5] Gray eyes procurement, regulatory reforms in State of the District (Wash. Bus. Journal)
To: ward5@yahoogroups.com


Good Morning Ward 5,
 
So, yesterday the City is noted as giving away property at 24th and L St. N.W.  worth $100 million and today investing $100 million in maintaining 10,000 units of affordable housing -- money that will be coming out of our budget that a "lost and found" CFO "left" us with.  Maybe we could have sold that property to the highest bidder.  I would think that property at that location would get quite a bit of attention.  Just maybe we could use the 100 million in the budget for more "affordable" housing.
 
At the Rate that we are building, Our City will probably be the best City to live in for those who can afford it -- which I must say that most everyone will enjoy -- including me. At the same time that I say "That's Great", I must also say "but what about investing in more affordable -- truly affordable housing.  Housing for folks who are working at the Costco's and Walmart's of our City -- not to forget the many who will be on Public Assistance for some time. 
 
Furthermore, last week I attended the DHCD presentation at the ARC.  After noticing the amount of people in attendance, knowing that there are tons more who apply for the very limited amount of funds, I suggested that DHCD implement the procedure of placing all the qualified (those who have all their i's dotted and t's crossed) into a "lottery" style system so that it would be a more fair process in awarding the money - as part of their presentation was about "transparency".  The answer was a NO -- because they have their way of sifting through the applications -- hard to believe that there wouldn't be enough qualified applicants who would qualify.  And let's not forget the Questions from Stephanie Rhones earlier this week including one regarding a Canadian Firm being the Architect of our Woodridge Library!!  It is very tough for me to continue to digest yet another week of the charade from all of our officials.
 
So, after watching all the agencies/branches of govt. do what they do for such a long time, I understand why so many people are discouraged.  It really is a shame!!  And now, as I watch the letters come out of our Ward 5 Council's office regarding the Crummel School regarding the "support" and "reasons" for "Land Transformation" and read of the persons being placed on a board to "transform" land usage, I guess I realize that there is not much hope for "fairness"/truthful objectivity other than the Square and Lot that we mere mortals own. 
 
400 years later, the Shores of Africa is ever expanding -- our Chiefs are still getting trinkets (campaign financing/constituent funds/jobs for their family, etc) in exchange for human lives!!!  I close with this --- "I object to Violence because it appears to do good; the good it does is only temporary.  The damage is permanent" --- Mahatma Gandhi.  While this will be a beautiful place in the future, we would have lost many "lives" in the process.
 
 What a life that we are forced to be part of? -- and worse, from our very own!!!  "Dissappointed" is too kind of a Word.
 
 
Rob Ramson

 
On Wed, Feb 6, 2013 at 9:54 AM, KPW <WKPW3@aol.com> wrote:
 



Feb 6, 2013, 6:17am EST

Gray eyes procurement, regulatory reforms in State of the District

Mayor Vincent Gray, from November 2012. During his State of the District address Tuesday, Gray unveiled plans to reform the regulatory and contracting systems while investing $100 million in affordable housing.
Joanne S. Lawton
Mayor Vincent Gray, from November 2012. During his State of the District address Tuesday, Gray unveiled plans to reform the regulatory and contracting systems while investing $100 million in affordable housing.
Staff Reporter- Washington Business Journal
Email | Twitter
Mayor Vincent Gray on Tuesday rolled out his strategy to grow and diversify the District's economy: add thousands of affordable housing units, reduce business-related red tape and tackle the mess that is the D.C.'s contracting system.

Gray's 6,000-word State of the District address, delivered at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, offered the expected updates on major D.C. projects (Walter Reed, St. Elizabeths east, Skyland), the tower crane count (55), the nod to technology as a growing economic sector (the launch of 1776), and a pat on his back for lower unemployment (8.5 percent), his One City One Hire program (5,300 jobs city residents hired), population growth and reduced violent crime.

"Make no mistake: My administration is working with the fierce urgency of now to make sure the District's economy continues to grow, diversify, and reach new heights — no matter what happens with sequestration and the federal budget," Gray said.

What of the new initiatives? I've highlighted a few.
  • Later this week, Gray will appoint members to a new business regulatory reform task force, which will be charged with "scouring the District's rules and regulations and providing recommendations on how to make the District an easier place to start and grow a business and create jobs." Relaxing red tape is among the local business community's top priorities. Whether a new task force is the best way to ease an entrenched bureaucracy is worth debate.
  • Gray will propose procurement reform that he said "will streamline our purchasing and contracting practices, eliminate confusing and outdated rules, increase faith in the process while minimizing meritless protests, and reduce the time it takes to complete procurements." Existing contracting rules are "byzantine," Gray said, and the status quo "must end."
  • He announced a plan to invest $100 million in building and preserving 10,000 units of affordable housing. Where will the money come from? Not the $417 million fiscal 2012 surplus, which will likely be squirrelled away, but rather from a 2013 revenue bump that Gray, and others, expect retiring Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi to leave the District as a parting gift.
  • The mayor's proposed fiscal year 2014 budget will include $15 million for competitive nonprofit grants of up to $100,000 each. The grantees will have to meet certain criteria — growing and diversifying the economy, educating residents for the "emerging new economy," increasing sustainability or improving quality of life. That sums up the mission of just about every nonprofit.
  • The mayor will travel to Qatar this year "to continue developing relationships and promoting the flow of global capital into the District." Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co., the real estate investment branch of the State of Qatar's Qatari Investment Authority, is backing CityCenter DC with $700 million.
Michael Neibauer covers economic development, chambers of commerce, transportation and politics.




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--
R. Ramson
3744 12th Street, N.E.,
Washington D.C., 20017
202-438-5988

"We must become the change we want to see" - Mohandas Gandhi-
(Together, for a Brighter Tomorrow)




 




--
R. Ramson
3744 12th Street, N.E.,
Washington D.C., 20017
202-438-5988

"We must become the change we want to see" - Mohandas Gandhi-
(Together, for a Brighter Tomorrow)




 

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