Labor, Community Holds Summit on Opening of National Harbor

Nearly 60 Prince George’s County labor and community activists filled the auditorium of the Indian Queen Elementary School Saturday to discuss the effects of the upcoming opening of the massive National Harbor project at the first Prince George’s Community/Labor Summit. The 300-acre development project along the Potomac River is scheduled to open in April 2008 and will include five hotels, including Gaylord National -- the largest non-gaming hotel on the east coast -- as well as thousands of residential units and upscale retail, dining, and entertainment facilities. “There's a lot of rumors and misinformation out there about the opening of National Harbor and we are here today to get the facts from the experts on what is really going on with this project,” said Joe Henson, representative of the South Potomac Citizens Association and co-moderator of the Summit. The Summit opened with a panel on jobs and training that included Gaylord Entertainment, Prince George’s Community College representatives and Community Services Agency Executive Director Kathleen McKirchy. A second panel on traffic and transportation – with another representative from Gaylord, and officials from Prince George’s Departments of Transportation and Public Works – followed in the afternoon. After short introductions, panelists fielded questions from the audience. “The main issues of concern were the need to obtain better statistics on jobs and funding for training related to National Harbor, identifying resources to train county residents – including the physically and mentally disabled – for National Harbor jobs, improving job and training outreach to county residents, providing adequate transportation for National Harbor employees, and the need to limit National Harbor traffic on Oxon Hill Road,” said Metro Council President Jos Williams. Following the second panel, the summit group presented their concerns to Congressman Al Wynn, Prince George’s County Council Chair Camille Exum, County Council Member Tony Knotts, Maryland State Delegate Veronica Turner, and a representative from County Executive Jack Johnson, who agreed to have additional meetings with the group. “This was a very successful event,” Williams said, noting that most of the attendees stayed for the entire event Saturday. “The National Harbor project is a 15 year three phase project and it is important that residents of the county benefit from the prosperity that this project will bring,” said Sidney Gibson a community activist and member of the Summit Working Group. “We hope that the participation will continue and that this will not be the end of the conversation on these issues.” The Metro Council and community partners co-sponsored the event. A full summary and future meetings to address the concerns of the summit will be posted soon on our website. -report by Rick Powell