On February 7, the Greenbelt City Council met for a worksession focused on an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) update. ARPA, established in March 2021, brought federal money to municipalities to help local communities like Greenbelt recover from the short- and long-term impacts of Covid. The worksession included discussion of recreation facilities and calls for equity in their provision throughout the city.
Greenbelt received almost $23 million in ARPA funding, in what Assistant City Manager Timothy George described as a once-in-a-lifetime event. A lot of the projects funded by council originated from residents, said George, who stressed the number of meetings and amount of engagement with residents during the process of allocating funds.
Among the items funded from the influx of ARPA money are recreational facilities upgrades. Completed projects include $50,000 for tennis court resurfacing, $35,000 for HVAC at the Youth Center gym and $12,000 for pickleball lines at the Youth Center.
Ongoing projects include $150,000 toward an outdoor pavilion; $52,000 for “outdoor recreation amenities”; $15,000 toward Greenbrook trails; $855,000 for a Community Center upgrade, including chillers and boilers; $850,000 for Youth Center HVAC and GAFC ductwork; $1 million for ballfields; $1 million for Schrom Hills Park soccer field improvements; $350,000 for baseball field maintenance equipment; and $100,000 for the dance studio floor. Staff recommendations for uncommitted funding at the meeting included $40,000 for indoor pool deck engineering analysis and $100,000 for Buddy Attick Park amenities (subject to the Master Plan).
Mayor Emmett Jordan asked if the city would have to shut down the Braden and McDonald baseball fields in order to redo them. George confirmed they would, stating there’ll be a season where they have to find somewhere else to play, “but when they come back they’ll have world-class facilities,” he said. He also noted that the need had become a safety issue, stressing the condition of Schrom Hills field in particular made it unsuitable for sports. There was also a value issue, he said, saying Greenbelt could have a “high-class world soccer facility.” The plans mean that in summer of 2025 one or both fields will not be available. The preference might be to wait for spring season to be over at Braden, said George. On the other hand, he thought the Youth Center may need to close for only a week, if at all, for its improvements.
Greenbelt West?
“I’m glad Braden Field in Old Greenbelt is going to have world-class playing fields and Schrom Hills, that’s needed to be fixed for a long time too, but the sad thing is that $21 million later the kids in Greenbelt West have nothing still. Not one field. Not even one with bumps in it. They have nothing,” said Councilmember Rodney Roberts. “I don’t look at this as a great success because we aren’t spreading the wealth around. We’re not helping the kids in Greenbelt West,” he argued.
“We are investing $500,000 to redo the Springhill Lake Rec Center playground, we’re giving them a basketball court,” responded George. “Giving them a pittance,” interrupted Roberts, who argued that a field in Greenbelt West would allow other fields to rest, too, and benefit everyone. Roberts argued the need for a park and playing field in Greenbelt West and said not doing it with ARPA money was a shame. Yet, he argued, it could still be done.
“We can cancel every project, buy a van and build a field and if it is council’s vision and dream to do that, we will follow through with it,” said City Manager Josué Salmerón.
“But we don’t own any land in Greenbelt West to improve,” said Councilmember Kristen Weaver. “We would have to buy and find something available,” she noted.
Councilmember Danielle McKinney said, “A lot of us at this table were not part of the original process …. I would be interested in looking at what we do have remaining …. We do need to look at the distribution because at first blush looking at this is very concentrated on certain areas of the city that don’t always get a lot of usage.”
Weaver noted that there are existing ballfields at Greenbelt Middle School, if the city could get the ability to use them, though they may need work.
“The school’s never going to let you play there and the field is horrible anyway. The people in Greenbelt West need their own park, their own playing fields, not getting shammed into a school board field they get to play once a year,” argued Roberts.
Kevin Lockhart, who was recently an applicant for a council seat, seeking to represent Greenbelt West, spoke as a resident. As someone who works with the Springhill Lake Boys and Girls Club, he noted that last year they went through a season without a field. During that time, he said he hadn’t noticed anything being done. He expressed concern about the emphasis on baseball in the ARPA and facility discussions.
He also noted that Franklin Park’s pool has not been in use for two or three years, suggesting the city and the apartment complex might partner to better use that space for recreation. “I hear the playground was coming last year, now it’s coming this year in March, and that’s fine but have y’all gone to the Rec Center and actually walked through the front doors?” Lockhart asked council. “We got a broken door that’s been broke for over a year. We got a sign on it ‘Use Other Door,’ it’s been there forever. The front desk is terrible .… We don’t have a buzzer, we don’t have nothing, anybody can come through that door, anybody, ’cause it doesn’t lock, ’cause it’s broke. Yes, they put in an order for it. They come, they do whatever and it breaks again. It needs to be taken down, completely redone, the whole front. The carpet on the floor? Been there since 1996. Ain’t been cleaned. Should be taken up. I mean the place is a dump. Take a tour over there! I mean it’s not right that this part gets everything, point blank. I’m speaking the truth. We get nothing …. I’m getting aggravated sitting there listening to all this money going here, there, everywhere and peanuts coming over [this] way. And when is it coming? Oh next year, oh in March. We still waitin’. That front entrance should be fixed immediately. Get it fixed; it’s part of Greenbelt!” Lockhart said the gym at Springhill Lake was freezing cold because heat couldn’t get regulated and warned children were going to get hurt waiting for things to be fixed there.
Salmerón said he recognized Braden Field was also used for football and that will be part of the project. He also said the city is working toward an enhanced partnership with Franklin Park and enhancing recreational facilities will be put on the agenda for their next worksession. Salmerón said he planned to walk through Springhill Lake Recreation Center on Friday.
“I think we need to put a plan in place to raise the capital needed to redo the Rec Center,” said Salmerón. The tentative date for the new Springhill Lake playground, which is getting a half-million-dollar infusion, is March, he explained, though supply chain issues could delay it.
Councilmember Jenni Pompi said she had had many conversations with the late Councilmember Ric Gordon about the possible use of the pool space at Franklin Park and she would like to see a project to use it move forward.
Resident Farinaz Firouzi, of Charlestowne Village, joined the call for recreational facilities and programming for all residents, saying “this is a life and death issue,” as she noted what such programming and spaces could mean for young people. “If cities look at people who are renting as transitional people they also miss an opportunity,” she added, noting that she had previously been a renter in Greenbelt.
Jordan suggested the reallocation of remaining ARPA funds could be added to the agenda for the council meeting on February 26.
