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Trustee Report

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Welcome to the 13th piece of my Trustee report series where I share a few notes and items from our national organization from the last month or so. I also remind people who may have lapsed in their membership to rejoin and that payment options are available. Please feel free to contact me at Trustee@FLASLA.org if you have any questions or concerns about ASLA issues. I am just back from Denver where the Board of Trustees (BOT) met in conjunction with the great Annual Meeting and Expo.

Headquarter Renovations

Earlier this year, ASLA paid off the loan on the ASLA Headquarters ($2 million) under the expert advice and financial planning of the CFO, Mike O’Brien, CPA. At the last Board of Trustee meeting in May, approval was granted to proceed with master planning of the renovation for the building. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to visit the four-story building right in Chinatown, D.C., then you may not fully grasp the importance of this issue. Let me see if I can try to explain.

HISTORY: This four-story building was bought in 1997, and ASLA is the first and only occupant of the building. The character of the building appears to be historic but it is not. It sits within the Chinatown district of D.C., which has become a hot area during the last decade. Developers are gobbling up land and putting up large full-block buildings.The value of the property has greatly appreciated.

FUNCTION: The building, while large enough for ASLA, does not function well. Getting to the acclaimed green roof where many notables have visited is convoluted. The work spaces do not function well and there is no street presence which speaks to landscape architecture: who we are and what we do.

GOAL: To make ASLA Headquarters the Center for Landscape Architecture (globally).

  • Recognizing that design is transformative and this project is WHO we are, not strictly a renovation.
  • Will set the stage for the GREEN ROOF
  • We are doers and activists – the Building is our demonstration.
  • Details/ideas:

>Flexible meeting space

>Remove scissor stair to open up the interior of the building and allow transparency

>Display area along the street front

>Bring the green roof to the street

>Design center – demonstration center with BMP materials and ideas

>Make it artistic and environmentally as state of the art

The BOT approved a budget for the ‘renovation’ of a not-to-exceed amount of 6 million dollars. It will be funded using various mechanisms. Three million will be financed with a 7-year note, with payments starting in 2017. The remainder will be through fundraising efforts that you will see coming out in the near future. ASLA staff and Executive Committee are very excited about this project and have already received many verbal commitments from the Board of Trustees and the Chapter Presidents along with some very strong support from large notable firms. All are looking forward to the creation of a Center for Landscape Architecture. I have pledged support personally in the level of 1899 Society for $1,899. Join me? Review the material that will be sent out and if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

Governance and Administration

  • The Council of Fellows inducted 32 new members at an investiture ceremony during the conference in Denver. COF Chair Susan L.B. Jacobson, FASLA, and President Focht presided at the event on Sunday night, November 23. Florida welcomes two new Fellows: Michael Kroll, FASLA, and Mario Nevarro, FASLA. Past Florida resident Elizabeth (Beth) Miller was also elected to Fellow. Congrats to all!
  • The Chapter Presidents Council (CPC) meeting was hosted in Denver, Nov. 20-21. More than 100 chapter leaders from 48 chapters attended. President-Elect Dave Ferris and President-Elect-Elect Jonathan Haigh were in attendance representing Florida.

ASLA Government Affairs

  • This past week, ASLA joined with other transportation planning and construction organizations in signing onto a "Dear Colleague" letter to the House of Representatives urging Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to move a "responsibly paid-for, multi-year surface transportation bill" in the coming months. The letter goes on to state that the short-term extensions of current transportation programs do not provide the certainty necessary for long-term transportation planning. 
 

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