June Report to Bates Area Civic Association

 

 

 

ANC 5C 01 REPORT TO THE BATES AREA CIVIC ASSOCIATION

 

JUNE 6, 2011

 

The following is a recap of activities in Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 5C generally, and our Single Member District (SMD) ANC5C01 in particular, since May 2, 2011:

 

ANC 5C MAY MEETING

 

The last meeting of the ANC took place on Tuesday, May 17, 2011, at the Beacon House at Edgewood Terrace. All eleven sitting commissioners of ANC5C were present and a special election was conducted during the meeting to fill the vacancy on the Commission for the representative for Single Member District 5C08. The two candidates for the position were Heather Deutsch of 320 Bryant Street, N.E., and Marshall Phillips, Sr., of 336 Channing Street, N.E. 73 ballots were cast and Mr. Phillips prevailed by a vote of 43 to 30 and was sworn in as Commissioner for ANC5C08.

 

The ANC voted to defer proposals from the Executive Committee regarding financial control measures until the Grants and Finance Committee has completed its review and reported its final findings. The creation of a special D.C. Statehood Committee was approved without opposition. I promoted the July Fourth Frolicking Family Fun Festival, asking for and receiving several volunteers from among the citizens in attendance. The Commission then entertained community concerns ranging from the on-going Walmart controversy, to speed bumps in the 100 block of V Street NE, to children’s summer basketball, to grid lock at New York Ave. and First St., NW.

 

Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr., spoke about anti-bullying legislation he recently introduced and reported on progress on the McMillan Reservoir and Rhode Island Avenue economic development projects. He also mentioned that the Council is expected to release its redistricting recommendation at the end of May. Commissioner Tim Clark announced the lifting of the moratorium on processing of grant application and on my motion, a special meeting was scheduled for May 31, 2011, to consider urgent grant requests. That meeting was held as scheduled and five grants, totaling over $26,000.00, were approved.

 

MAY 4, 2011 MEETINGS

 

Wednesday, May 4^th was a whirlwind day of meetings. At 5:00 pm, I attended a meeting at Dunbar High School on the school’s modernization project. Lead architect Matthew J. Bell displayed the drawings of the new building and emphasized the new traffic pattern, parking facilities, roof solar panels and open spaces incorporated into the design. By 6:15 pm, I was at the Jair Lynch Development Partners Offices on U Street, NW, for a meeting of stakeholders in the McMillan Reservoir Project. It was explained that the plan calls for eight stages; 1) sourcing, 2) pursuit, 3) design & pre-development, 4) permitting & sales, 5) financing, 6) construction, 7) occupancy & settlements and 8) closeout. Finally, at about 8:00 pm I attended Mayor Gray’s budget briefing for Ward 5. It was the fourth of eight scheduled briefings the mayor conducted to give residents of each ward an opportunity to hear and be heard regarding the city administration’s 2011-2012 budget development process.

 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

On Saturday, May 7, 2011, the Economic Development Committee of ANC5C held a screening of the film “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price.”

 

The event took place at McKinley Technology High School. It was sparsely attended but in the open forum which followed the showing of the film, it was clear that those in attendance were solidly opposed to Walmart’s plan to open four stores within the District of Columbia.

 

REDISTRICTING MEETING

Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr., conducted a Town Hall Meeting in the CAPCS auditorium on Thursday, May 19, 2011. He explained that by law, the District of Columbia is required to divide its population roughly equally among its eight wards. Due to a city population increase of 30,000 over the last ten years, and the disproportionate growth of Ward 2, the city is required to realign its wards to decrease the population of Ward 2 and increase the populations of Wards 7 and 8. Mr. Thomas said that he will advocate for no changes to the Ward 5 boundaries since our ward is within the margin of error for the ideal ward population. He also acknowledged that the U.S. Census Bureau has determined that the center of population for D.C. is 222 Bates Street, NW. He committed to introduce a resolution before the Council to officially commemorate that spot, located in our SMD, and to support some kind of ceremonial recognition at that address.

 

FAMILY FUN FESTIVAL

Planning is underway for a July 4th Frolicking Family Fun Festival on the grounds of McKinley High School. To date, two conference call meetings have been conducted with a third planned for this Thursday at 7 pm to consider newly revealed logistical obstacles that may cause us to rethink the event. Contact me if you wish to be in on the call.

 

ADVISORY CABINET

 

Saturday, May 28^th, we held the fourth meeting of the newly formed Advisory Cabinet of ANC 5C 01 at the home of Geovani Bonilla. There was a great deal of discussion about the impact of S.O.M.E. (So Others May Eat) on the quality of life in our neighborhood. It was agreed that we would consciously monitor concerns and bring those issues to the attention of the organization’s sponsors if S.O.M.E. is not responsive to neighbors’ demands for improvement. The other hot topic of discussion was the name of the neighborhood. Jennifer Ragins made an impassioned and well documented case that the historic and geographically accurate name of our community is Dunbar-Shaw. The more recent name of Truxton Circle, she argued, is both misleading and honors an ante-bellum landholder who was a slaveholder.

WRAP-UP

 

The next meeting of ANC5C is scheduled for 7 pm on Tuesday, June 21^st, location to be announced. As always, B.A.C.A. members are encouraged to attend.

 

That’s my report.

 

Bradley A. Thomas

 

(202) 670-0151

 

5C01@anc.dc.gov

 

April Report to Bates Area Civic Association

 

 

ANC 5C 01 REPORT TO THE BATES AREA CIVIC ASSOCIATION

APRIL 4, 2011

The following is a recap of activities in Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 5C generally, and our Single Member District (SMD) ANC5C01 in particular, since March 7, 2011:

 ANC 5C MARCH MEETING

The last meeting of the ANC took place on Tuesday, March 15, 2011, at the Summit at St. Martins. All eleven commissioners of ANC5C were present (the seat for ANC5C08 remains vacant since the resignation last month of J. Jioni Palmer and awaits the results of an upcoming special election).

First on the agenda, after certification of the quorum, was Chairman Ronnie Edwards (ANC5C11)’ introduction of Dr. Janis Orlowski of the Washington Hospital Center who spoke about measures to improve overall health among area residents. Dr. Orlowski advocated holding health lectures in the community and recruiting a cadre of neighbors from each block who would receive training at the hospital on how to check blood pressure and blood sugar levels, how to monitor heart health and provide nutritional support, and how to identify the early signs of stroke. The training, she added, could be customized for the needs of each particular neighborhood citing, for example, that a neighborhood with high instances of lung disease might receive respiratory training.

Next on the agenda was the report of Aaron Rhones of the District’s Department of Transportation (DDOT). Mr. Rhones stated that because P Street N.W., in the 100 and 200 blocks, is classified as a “collector street”, it is not eligible for speed bumps. He provided me with two photographs on which were drawn markings representing rumble strips and asked that I take back to the community the proposal that we accept rumble strips as an alternative to speed bumps. He promised to send me the regulations regarding the classification of P Street and the report of the study and decision made years ago to classify P Street as a collector street, indicating further that sometimes DDOT requests a downgrade but that downgrading often causes a loss of federal funding for street maintenance. [As a point of information, I have learned that streets in Washington are classified, in order or increasing traffic significance as 1) local, 2) collector, 3) minor arterial, 4) major arterial, 5) freeway or expressway and 6) interstate. Only local streets, according to DDOT, are eligible for speed bump installation. More on this later.] On other outstanding concerns, Mr. Rhones stated that DDOT will increase the wattage on the lights illuminating the “cut” between the 100 block of P Street and the alley between P and Bates Streets. The DDOT representative also addressed concerns regarding the safety of the pedestrian crossing at the Park Place apartments on Franklin Street, N.E., as well as the adjacent Franklin Commons development. He said that DDOT engineers are considering redesigns of the traffic patterns in those areas.

Commissioner William Shelton (ANC5B01) who chairs neighboring Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5B reported on the Walmart project planned for his ANC at the intersection of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road, N.E. stating that ANC5B is supportive of the project but wants to make sure that workers are paid fairly and that the design of the site is workable for the community. He emphasized that D.C. residents are tired of having to drive to the suburbs to shop at Walmart and that Walmart officials have held several meetings with the community and plans more meetings in the future.

 

JOINT SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT MEETING

 

On Thursday, March 10^th, I joined by Commissioner Sylvia Pinkney to host a joint Single Member District meeting of ANC 5C01 and 5C02. The meeting, held at the Community Academy Public Charter School (CAPCS), focused on the disposition of surplus public school buildings in our area and the development plans coming out of the Mayor’s Office of Planning. The majority of citizens in attendance were from our SMD (5C01). Margie Yeager, Special Assistant to the Chancellor of the D.C. Public Schools (DCPS), reported that Shaed Elementary School is closing because of falling enrollment (only 165 students in grades Pre-K through 8). Shaed’s population will combine with that of Emery Elementary (also an under-enrolled Pre-K through Grade 8 school with an enrollment of 260) and will occupy the Langley School building. The Langley building will be modernized and students will be grouped Pre-K and Kindergarten on the first floor, grades 1 through 5 on the second floor, and grades 6 through 8 on the third floor. Emery Principal Moore will be the principal of the new school. When questioned about the propriety of combining such a wide range of ages in one school, Ms. Yeager stated that “their research indicates that there are some positives to the Pre-K through Grade 8 configuration.”

 

Ahnna Smith, representing the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, told us that there is a specific process for dealing with closed public school buildings. That process, she indicated, is as follows:

 

1. A school building is surplused by the Chancellor and taken out of service by DCPS.

 

Once surplused, we go to step 2.

 

2. The building is made available for use by another D.C. government agency because the government has to pay to rent private buildings if no D.C. owned building is available. Sometimes, however, it is not cost effective to convert old school buildings for use by other D.C. agencies. In those cases, we move to step 3.

 

3. By law, we are required to give first right of refusal for access to a school building not being used by the D.C. government to charter schools. Sometimes we get 4 or 5 charter schools responding to a single Request For Offer (RFO). Sometimes we get none. If we get an offer, but the proposed school is not needed in the community, we don’t grant a lease to that school. We have already awarded some leases prematurely without holding public hearings and we have to go back now and hold those hearings before the City Council will approve those leases. That’s what happened with the Cook School. If no charter school comes forward or no school comes forward with a proposal that is accepted by our office (and ratified by the City Council) we move to step 4.

 

4. The building is made available for economic development with the cooperation of the Department of Real Estate Services.

 

Ms. Smith concluded by stating that children from outside of D.C. can attend D.C. public and public charter schools so long as they pay tuition.

 

Dan Emerine of the Office of Planning-Development Review Division addressed the group next. He said that his office reviews development projects from individual homes to large Planned Unit Development (PUD) projects. He also said that his office is in the process of revising the zoning codes. The current framework was adopted in 1958 and has been amended many times since. Mr. Emerine added that his division has held 150 public meetings over the last three years. They look at things like “pop ups”, additions on top of buildings, to insure that they don’t exceed height limits. In maintaining the character of neighborhoods, he suggested that new rules could be promulgated that require add ons to be of the same construction materials as the original structures on which they are built or that set new height limits at the prevailing heights of buildings in the neighborhood. He added that since such changes will affect people’s property rights, public hearings will have to be conducted before they become effective. Other public meetings are anticipated with regard to improving the process of community involvement in changing zoning regulations which deal with PUDs. Mr. Emerine directed us to www.dczoningudate.org to find out when public meetings will take place.

 

Finally, Deborah Crain-Kemp, the Office of Planning’s Neighborhood Planner assigned to Ward 5 informed us that funds have been transferred for the development of a Small Area Plan for our neighborhood. The next step, she said, is for her office to write a scope of work and to do so, she will be seeking input from our community.

 

WARD 5 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT EXPO & SMALL BUSINESS EMPORIUM

 

Saturday, March 12^th, Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. hosted the annual Ward 5 Community Development Expo & Small Business Emporium. Highlights of the day long event, held at the Kellogg Conference Center on the campus of Gallaudet University included remarks by Mayor Gray and Victor Hoskins, nominee for the position of Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, panels of experts on Retail Projects in the Ward 5 Pipeline and Transformational Transportation-Striving for a Walkable and Pedestrian Friendly Ward 5, and a showcase of small business located in the ward. CM Thomas reported that $5 Billion in economic development is planned for Ward 5, with three of the city’s major investment projects coming to this ward. Namely, those projects are the Rhode Island Avenue Station project (already under construction), the Dakota Crossing Project at Ft. Lincoln (which is expected to include the newest Costco store in the region) and the McMillan Reservoir project (located here in ANC5C).

ADVISORY CABINET

 

Saturday, March 26^th, we held the second meeting of the newly formed Advisory Cabinet of ANC 5C 01 at the home of Annetta Nicholas. As a follow up to our March 5^th Public Safety/Quality of Life Walk-Through, we discussed three open items, namely (1) the 37 properties on the DCRA code violations list, (2) the tree stump in the unit block of P Street where trash and insects continue to accumulate and (3) the inadequate lighting of the egress from the 100 block of P Street to the alley behind that block.

 

As to DDOT’s response to the ANC request for speed bumps on P Street, it was decided that in light of the fact that DDOT’s speed bump policy seems to be randomly applied and the fact that speeding motor vehicles continue to pose a serious hazard to school children and other pedestrians along P Street, we should reject DDOT’s proposal that we settle for rumble strips. It was also decided that we should ask the Community Academy Public Charter School (CAPCS) to give us a letter of support for our request for the installation of speed bumps in the 100 and 200 blocks of P Street.

 

Regarding Emergency Preparedness, it was suggested that our block captains, and others who so desire, should take the free Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training course offered at One Judiciary Square during the fourth weeks of March, April and May.

 

Other concerns discussed centered around police protection and ABRA licensing of retail establishments in the community. It was agreed that anyone who observes specific violations of any of the Voluntary Agreements currently in place should e-mail the details to me and I will compile them for possible action. It was also agreed that we should submit a written petition to the mayor opposing any proposed cuts to the budget of the Metropolitan Police Department.

 

NEW COMMUNITY LEADERS ORIENTATION W/ THE OFFICE OF PEOPLES COUNSEL

 

After leaving the Advisory Cabinet meeting on March 26th, BACA President Geovani Bonilla and I attended a New Community Leaders Orientation presented by the Office of Peoples Counsel. Policy Analyst Laurence Jones explained the process of pursuing consumer complaints against the regulated utilities PEPCO, Washington Gas and Verizon. As attendees, we were all provided with copies of the Consumer Bill of Rights.

 

Next, Assistant People’s Counsel Barbara Burton gave us an overview of the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) which is essentially a fund generated by surcharges collected from consumers by the regulated utilities under the mandate of the Clean and Affordable Energy Act. All consumers, Ms. Burton explained, private citizens, businesses, even government agencies, pay the surcharges which appear on utility bills under the designation “sustainable energy trust fund.” Two interesting side notes: (1) The Budget Act allows the D.C. government to “raid” designated funds such as the SEU for the purpose of balancing the budget. (2) If a consumer installs solar panels on a home that is connected to Pepco’s power grid, and those solar panels generate more power that the home consumes, that consumer will get a credit on his or her next bill.

 

The last presenter was Assistant People’s Counsel Laurence Daniels who talked about the new Smart Grid which is being employed by Pepco. The current electrical grid is 90 to 100 years old. The new Smart Grid will allow consumers to have more access to information about their power usage. It will also help to meet the increased need for electrical power, relieve stress on the system and reduce the frequency and duration of power outages. Almost half of the $90 Million estimated cost of deploying the new grid was provided by the federal government’s Department of Energy. Pepco will file a rate case to establish its need for a rate increase to cover the balance. According to Mr. Daniels, when it comes to reliability, Pepco has consistently ranked in the bottom tier of electrical power providers, in fact, often it ranks dead last. Pepco, operating under the old grid, has also failed to provide reliable data on transformer maintenance and feeder repairs. The Office of People’s Counsel has asked for an outside consultant to study whether the new system will be more reliable but the Public Service Commission (PSC) has denied that request, publishing its own Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend the “Reliability Standards” established in Section 3603 of Title 15 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR). Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh is dissatisfied with the response of the PSC and has introduced legislation to establish enforceable performance standards. Written comments and letters in support of CM Cheh’s incentive will be accepted through April 11, 2011. Contact the Office of People’s Council at (202) 727-3071.

 

WRAP-UP

 

The next meeting of ANC5C is scheduled for 7 pm on Tuesday, April 19^th, at the Bennett Career Institute, 700 Monroe St., N.E. As always, B.A.C.A. members are encouraged to attend.

 

That’s my report.

 

Bradley A. Thomas

 

(202) 670-0151

 

5C01@anc.dc.gov

 

March Report to Bates Area Civic Association

 

ANC 5C 01 REPORT TO THE BATES AREA CIVIC ASSOCIATION

 

MARCH 7, 2011

The last month has been a very active one in Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 5C generally and our Single Member District (SMD) ANC5C01 in particular.

ANC 5C FEBRUARY MEETING

The last meeting of the ANC took place on Tuesday, February 15, 2011, at the Summit at St. Martins. All twelve commissioners of ANC5C were present. First on the agenda, after certification of the quorum and adoption of the minutes, was Ward 5 City Council Representative Harry Thomas, Jr. who reported that legislation has been introduced to reinstate District government employees, both teachers and others, who have been successful in arbitration. The legislation is designed to circumvent the cost of protracted court litigation. He also provided updates on the recent fatal shootout between home robbers and police in Brookland, the D.C. emergency alert system, and a new initiative which will pay mortgages of residents of Wards 5, 7 and 8 whose unemployment benefits have expired. The Councilmember’s wife, Diane Romo Thomas spoke on behalf of the Greater Washington Sports Alliance to promote the 6^th Annual SunTrust National Marathon. The marathon, scheduled for March 26, 2011, will pass through all wards of the city except Wards 3 and 4, including several streets in ANC5C. MPD 4^th District Commander Kimberly Chisley-Missouri, who was invited to appear because part of ANC 5C is actually serviced by the Fourth District, gave a crime report in which she stated that while overall crime in down, certain crimes such as car thefts by juveniles, are on the rise. MPD 5^th District officers confirmed that general crime picture from their 5D perspective. Commissioner Tim Clark, who chairs the commission’s Finance & Grants Committee proposed a moratorium on issuing new grants until outstanding grants have be reconciled and new grant procedures have been put in place. A proposal to approve plans to proceed with the Planned Unit Development of the Washington Gateway Project at the intersection of New York and Florida Avenues passed without opposition. Closer to home, Aaron Rhones, representing the District’s Department of Transportation reported that DDOT had essentially dropped the ball with respect to the ANC’s July 2009 resolution to support the installation of speed bumps in the 100 and 200 blocks of P Street, N.W. According to Mr. Rhones, P Street is considered a “collector”, a street which is designated for channeling traffic onto a major artery, and therefore is not eligible for speed bumps. Nevertheless, he said DDOT should have reported back to the ANC and the community. He promised that there would be a new field assessment followed by a report back to the ANC which will include alternate solutions such as speed tables and speed cameras. A number of additional local proposals were presented and approved, details of which should be available in the official minutes of the ANC when they are published. The final major announcement came from Commissioner J. Jioni Palmer, ANC5C08, who announced that he is resigning from the ANC to accept a position with the Obama Administration. A special election to fill Commissioner Palmer’s seat will be held. Stay tuned for details.

ABRA TRAINING SESSION

On Friday, February 25^th, I attended “The ABCs of ABC Law” a three hour training session for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners conducted by and at the offices of the District’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA). The session included an overview of ABRA and the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board, the process of protesting the grant of ABC licenses, how voluntary agreements work, how to obtain ABRA records, and how the enforcement process works. While enforcement is important, it was stressed that educating the community is also key. For example, I learned that some establishments have been getting around the single sales moratoriums that are in place in most communities in the city (except Wards 2 and 6 and Mount Pleasant) by binding singles together into “two packs”. I also learned that while the ABC Board is not bound by the position of the ANC in determining whether to grant or renew a liquor license, the Board is required to give the ANC’s recommendation (the full commission, not the SMD rep) “great weight” and must articulate in writing the reasons for going against that recommendation. Citizens who observe alcohol being sold to minors (under age 21) are encouraged to call 311 and ABRA will send out enforcement officers at any hour of the day or night to investigate.

ADVISORY CABINET

Saturday, February 26^th, the first meeting of the newly formed Advisory Cabinet of ANC 5C 01 was held at the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. A variety of concerns were expressed and decisions were made regarding the upcoming Public Safety/Quality of Life Walk-Through, including the distribution of promotional flyers and the planning of the walking route. The cabinet decided to meet on the morning of the last Saturday of each month until further notice. Meeting locations will rotate and be determined on a month by month basis. Five of those present expressed an interest in the work of the Economic Development Committee (EDC) of ANC 5C which I have been elected to chair. Notice regarding the EDC has been published on the ANC 5C website and submitted for publication by the sites and blogs of various neighborhood and civic association throughout the ANC.

 PUBLIC SAFETY WALK-THROUGH

The final activity of this reporting period was the Public Safety/Quality of Life Walk-Through which was conducted on the morning of Saturday, March 5^th. The turnout for this event was very good with about 40 residents in attendance. We also had representatives of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Transportation (DDOT), and the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) who walked with us for more than an hour and a half. The walk focused mainly on the alleys and a number of issues were identified. The governmental reps in attendance promised to take appropriate action to address our concerns and we collectively agreed to investigate the possibility of developing the city owned plot in the unit block of Florida Avenue into a community garden. B.A.C.A. Board Member Jon Hasse indicated that he could bring some resources to bear and Dunbar Shaw Community Homeowner’s Association President Jennifer Ragins proposed that before proceeding with development of the garden, we should determine whether the city owned building on the cite has any historical significance.

WRAP-UP

The next meeting of ANC5C is scheduled for 7 pm on Tuesday, March 15^th, at St. George’s Episcopal Church, 160 U St., N.W. As always, B.A.C.A. members are encouraged to attend.

 

That’s my report.

 Bradley A. Thomas

(202) 670-0151

5C01@anc.dc.gov

Public Safety/Quality of Life Walk-Through Announced

     The following is an announcement about the first 2011 Public Safety/Quality of Life Walk-Through of Single Member District 5C 01, better known as Truxton Circle or the Bates Area:

THE QUESTION OF THE DAY:

WHAT DO RATS, STREET CRIME, ABANDONED VEHICLES, BOARDED UP BUILDINGS, UNKEPT VACANT LOTS AND TRASH ON THE GROUND ALL HAVE IN COMMON?

THE ANSWER:

THEY’RE ALL UNWELCOME IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD.

WANT TO BE A PART OF THE SOLUTION?

COME JOIN WITH ME AND OTHER CONCERNED NEIGHBORS, AS WELL AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS AND THE CITY COUNCIL ON OUR FIRST  COMPREHENSIVE PUBLIC SAFETY / QUALITY OF LIFE WALK-THROUGH OF SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT 5C01.  WE WILL LOOK FOR TROUBLE SPOTS AND GET COMMITMENTS FROM THE AGENCY REPS TO WORK WITH US TO FIND SOLUTIONS THAT WILL IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL OF US WHO RESIDE IN THIS GREAT COMMUNITY. 

THE DATE:  SATURDAY, MARCH 5, 2011

THE TIME:                      10:00 AM

THE GATHERING SPOT: CORNER OF 3^RD & Q Streets (by Mt. Sinai Baptist Church)

WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES AND BRING A CAMERA AND NOTE PAD IF YOU LIKE.

For more information, call me at (202) 670-0151 or e-mail me at 5C01@anc.dc.gov.

TOGETHER, WE CAN AND WE WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

BRADLEY A. THOMAS

COMMISSIONER-ANC 5C 01

Report to B.A.C.A. on February 7, 2011

 

The following report was given orally to the Bates Area Civic Association at its regular monthly meeting on February 7, 2011, and posted on the B.A.C.A. website the following day:

ANC 5C 01 REPORT TO THE BATES AREA CIVIC ASSOCIATION

FEBRUARY 7, 2011

The last meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5C (which covers the western third of Ward 5) took place on Tuesday, January 18, 2011, in the Social Hall of Trinity University. All twelve commissioners of ANC5C were present.

The first order of business was the election of officers for the 2011-2013 term. The election produced the following results:

Chairperson: Commissioner Ronnie Edwards-who represents Single Member District 5C11.

Vice Chairperson: Silas Grant-who represents SMD 5C09.

Recording Secretary: Hugh Youngblood-who represents SMD 5C03.

Corresponding Secretary: J. Jioni Palmer-who represents SMD 5C08.

Financial Secretary: John Salati-who represents SMD 5C04.

Treasurer: Gigi Ransom-who represents SMD 5C12.

Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. administered the oath of office to those persons.

A number of housekeeping chores were next on the agenda and I will make available the minutes of the meeting to anyone who so requests. The action item I raised which directly affects our SMD was the issue of the outstanding request for speed calming devices to be installed on P Street between North Capitol and Third Streets, N.W. I pointed out that whereas our civic association submitted a citizen’s petition with the required number of signatures and ANC5C, in July of 2009, passed a resolution calling for the city to install speed bumps, to date, no written response has been received and verbal responses have varied between “yes, it’s possible” to “no, it can’t be done.” I requested, and the commission voted without opposition, to extend an invitation to the District’s Department of Transportation to send a representative to the February ANC meeting to answer questions about the status of our request. Since then, Corresponding Secretary Palmer has submitted, based on my draft, a letter to DDOT asking for a representative to be present on February 15, 2011.  I wish to encourage as many B.A.C.A. members as possible to attend the ANC meeting next week, Tuesday, February 15

th, at 7:00 p.m., at the Summit at St. Martins, 116 T Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20002. A copy of the draft agenda for that meeting (which is subject to change) is attached to this report. Members of the community at large will be permitted to speak or to ask questions during the “Community Concerns” portion of the agenda. One of the items on the agenda for next week is the confirmation of the establishment standing committees and the appointment chairpersons to head those standing committees. The ANC met in executive session last week and proposed the establishment of five, and possibly six, standing committees. They are, Bylaws, Communications & Technology, Finance & Grants, Economic Development, Public Safety and perhaps Legislative Policy, Health & Government Affairs. I have been tapped to chair the Economic Development Committee. A formal vote on the establishment of those committees and the nominees to chair them will take place at next Tuesday’s ANC meeting at the Summit.

Last Monday, January 31, 2011, B.A.C.A. President Giovanni Bonilla and I represented our community on a public safety walk-through of the northeast corner of our Single Member District.  The walk-through, spurred by the recent shootings and armed robberies in that area, was well attended. In addition to myself, there were five other Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners from 5C present, Commissioners Pinkney, Youngblood, Clark, Edwards and Ransom. Led by Councilmember Thomas, we started at the site of the well publicized shooting a new resident of our community near the bus stop at Florida Avenue and North Capitol Street. Mayor Gray was in attendance as were Chief Lanier and Commander Greene of the Metropolitan Police Department, Nathaniel Mines, Investigator with the Department of Public Works, and several other persons representing D.C. government agencies and civic associations. We proceeded down North Capitol Street to Bates Street, went west on Bates to First Street, south on First to P Street, east on P back to North Capitol and north on North Capitol back to the starting location. Along the way, we stopped to enter the establishments of several local merchants where Mayor Gray gave assurances that his administration is committed to both public safety and economic development in our community.

In line with the success of the walk-through last Monday, and giving credit for the suggestion to Commissioner Sylvia Pinkney of our neighboring SMD 5C02, I want to propose to organize a public safety walk-through of our entire Single Member District. I suggest that for the first such walkthrough, we do it on a Saturday morning, setting aside 60 to 90 minutes to go block by block and alley by alley, pointing out problem spots and making suggestions for improvements. I will endeavor to arrange for the presence of a representative from the police department, the Department of Public Works and any other agencies we might feel would be helpful. If we are unable to cover the whole Single Member District in one walk-through, we could divide the district in half and cover one half on one Saturday morning and the other half maybe 3 or 4 weeks later. I suggest, for the first walk, the last Saturday in February or the first Saturday in March. Out of that walk-through, we might decide that there is a need to do a night-time walk-through on another date.

I have continued to meet with Commissioner Sylvia Pinkney and other residents of the Bates and the Hanover Area Civic Associations regarding the disposition of the Cook School in the unit block of P Street. I will defer to Commissioner Pinkney for the latest update on this issue since the school is actually situated in her SMD and she has taken the lead on this project.

Finally, I would like to form a focus group or advisory cabinet so to speak, composed of one resident from each block in our SMD. The purpose of the group would be to gather feedback and suggestions related to each individual section of our district so that when I go to ANC meetings, I am truly speaking for the whole SMD. This group would not replace the civic association but would supplement it by going into every nook and cranny of our district and rooting out information that doesn’t make it to B.A.C.A. because of time conflicts or whatever reason. If you would be interested in being the eyes and ears of your block for this purpose or if you can suggest a neighbor, please sign up on the interest sheet. Again, I’m looking for just one person from each block so we get a group that’s representative yet manageable.

That’s my report.

Bradley A. Thomas

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