Evening star., 1946-12-02
Hearing Is SET
For Dec. II on
Brown School {
Boord Reopens Plan
For Recreation Unit;
OPA Moves Out Feb.

The Commissioners today set De-
cember IL as the date of a public
hearing ON She community-spon-
sored proposal to make E. v. Brown
School into asncombined public IL
brary and recreation center, as the
District Office of Price Administra-
tion announced plans to vacate the
school about February /.
Date of the hearing, delayed by
the illness of Commissioner John
Russell Young, was set at Com
missioners' board meeting today.
The hearing will open at 10 am.
December IL in the boardroom Of
the District Building.
Shortly after announcing the
hearing date, the Commissioners
made public a letter from Vincent
A. Holmes, director Of the District
OPA, notifying the District that the
OPA planned to release its rent
free headquarters In the school ION
or about February /, 1947' The
four remaining local price boards,
Mr.. Holmes said, will be vacated on
or shortly after December IL, 1916.
Library Lease Ends in June.
1t has been generally assumed
that the OPA would vacate its head
quarters here around June. The
earlier date, however, would permit
renovations In the school to be COM
pleted before the branch libraryis
lease on its present quarters expires
in June.
Godfrey M. Thornett, secretary of
the Board of Commissioners, was in
structed to notify the Board of LIZ
brary Trustees, the District of Co
lumbia Recreation Board and the
tChevy Chase Community Council
that the hearing date has been set.
The Library aps aAcseation
Boards and the Chez -5ase Com
munity Council all ilaA s.nt in for
NAL requests for an appearance be-
fore the Commissioners to renew
their plea for use Of the school, at
Connecticut avenue and Mckinley
street NV, as library recreation
center after it is vacated by the
District Office Of Price Administra-
ton.
This will be the second time the
Commissioners have held a hearing
on E. v. Brown School.
Last June, a delegation. led by
school children, presented the case
for the community project which
earlier had been recommended by
both the Library and Recreation
Boards.
Several months later, the Com
misSionerS notified the interested
groups that they could not consider
projects of this kind because of the
! financial condition of the District.
Subsequently, however. conmu-
nifty interest grew so strong that
the Commissioners decided to re-
open the question and give the citi-
zens of the area another chance to
be heard.
| Lease Not Yet Renewed.
Interest in the project also has
grown out of the fact that the
Library Board has not yet. renewed
its lease ON the Chevy Chase Branch
Library's present quarters in three
converted stores at 3815 Livingston
street NV.
Even If this lease can be renewed,
the Library Board is said to be Of
the opinion that the present quar-
ters are entirely inadequate to serve
reading public of the size of Chevy
Chase.
The Recreation Boards interest
In the proposal stems from the lack
of supervised indoor recreation ia
cilities throughout the area.
OPA Offices Liquidated.
In announcing release of the
school, Mr.. Holmes explained that
most commodities have been re-
moved from rationing and price
control and as a result all the price
boards and large percentage Of the
District offices are being nquidated.
OPA's remaining functions, cover
ing sugar, rice, rent and enforce
ment, will be administered from
fewer Offices covering larger areas,
MIR. Holmes said.
Scheduled to be vacated on or
shortly after December IL are the
price boards at Fourth and E streets
NV, 4400 Thirteenth street NV,
Fourth and w streets NV. and
Thirteenth and E streets Sc.
Mr. Holmes wrote the Commis.
sicners that he knew of no other
city in the United States where the.
city officials lent such wholehearted
SUPPORT to this wartime neaNire