Updated 3/7/2019 with a note from Commissioner Emily Singer Lucio

ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on February 27, 2019. Commissioners present: Grace Lewis (5A02); Emily Singer Lucio (5A03); Isaiah Burroughs (5A04); Ronnie Edwards (5A05); Jamaal Lampkins (5A06); Sandi Washington (5A07); Gordon Fletcher (5A08).

Providence Hospital

Representatives from Providence Hospital Services, Inc. (PHS) returned to the ANC to ask for a letter of support for its certificate of need application. Recall that PHS is the entity that is seeking to continue providing primary care services on the Providence campus after April 30, 2019. PHS now needs its own certificate of need because it previously operated under the license of Providence Hospital, which is closing. The PHS representatives also noted that Providence is seeking a separate certificate of need to operate an urgent care facility on the campus.

Amha Selassie, DC State Health Planning and Development Director with DC’s Department of Health (DOH), explained that entities need to file a notice of intent to apply for a certificate of need with DOH and inform ANCs. He stated that entities are not required to get a letter of ANC support, but a letter may be helpful to the application. There was a long discussion by ANC 5A Chair Ronnie Edwards (5A05) about the fact that neither Ascension (which owns Providence Hospital and PHS) nor PHS saw fit to discuss its plans with Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie. Mr. Selassie said that entities are not required to notify affected ward councilmembers.

DOH plans to issue a decision on the certificate of need (for primary care services) around March 20, so PHS wants a letter of support from ANC 5A by March 7. The ANC agreed to provide a letter of support on the conditions that (1) the ANC receives a copy of the letter of support submitted by ANC 8D (not sure why the commissioners wanted to see this letter) and (2) PHS reaches out to CM McDuffie’s office to discuss its application.

Finally, Commissioner Emily Singer Singer (5A03) stated she will hold an SMD meeting with PHS, Mundo Verde Public Charter School (which has been seeking to relocate to 8th and Varnum NE near the Providence campus and apparently wants to use some of the newly available Providence campus space), and EYA (which is developing the St. Josephite campus across the street from Providence but is also apparently interested in developing a project on the Providence campus as well). So if you live in that SMD or you have interest in what kind of development will be taking place at Providence, contact Commissioner Lucio for the date of that meeting.

Update 3/7/2019: We received the following note from Commissioner Lucio, which she states more accurately characterizes her remarks:

Commissioner Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) is currently in communication with PHS, Mundo Verde Public Charter School and EYA to discuss the larger impacts to that area as it relates to all future development in that area.  As a part of those discussions, Mundo Verde recently held a meeting with neighbors to discuss traffic issues.  As it relates to the overall developmental impacts to this area and as interested neighbors, EYA and Mundo Verde are interested in hearing further from PHS about their future plans. EYA has made no plans to use the PHS space.

Wesley Housing

Wesley Housing was back for the same conversation regarding a curb cut application for a proposed development project that will replace the existing apartment building at 1 Hawaii Avenue NE with a new building with more units. Recall the ANC previously considered this issue at a special meeting on January 7, and again with the developer present on January 30, and expressed confusion around being asked to consider pieces of the project before being briefed on the project as a whole. For the third time, the ANC repeated its desire to consider the project as a whole. Wesley Housing stated they would find out from DDOT what happens to the curb cut application if the ANC decides not to act on it. Other commissioners and residents asked if the developer considered putting in a second curb cut so that there would be more than one entrance/exit for the project. A resident recommended a U-shaped entrance to provide better flow. All of these suggestions pointed to the need to have a view of the entire project, rather than considering the curb cut separately. In any event, Wesley Housing will return to the ANC in March to finally present on the entire project.

Right Care, Right Now Update

DC Fire & EMS is making the rounds to update residents about its Right Care, Right Now pilot program to triage 911 medical calls so that only calls that are medical emergencies are picked up by ambulances. View the handout here. The conversation turned to how other hospitals in the District and even Prince George’s County are working together to absorb emergencies that can no longer be accommodated by Providence. It is a real issue that District officials are working to address.

UDC Equity Imperative

Last year, the ANC supported UDC’s “Equity Imperative” campaign to secure more funding. A UDC representative returned to get ANC support again this year. View the handout here. This time though, the ANC questioned how UDC plans to spend the additional funding if it is received. Commissioner Sandi Washington (5A07) questioned whether the additional funding would be spent on administrator and faculty salaries. The representative from UDC was not prepared to answer that question but promised to provide a response in order for the ANC to provide its support.

Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie Report

Councilmember McDuffie’s office stated they continue to work with Commissioner Gordon Fletcher (5A08) to replace the lights on the pedestrian path west of Fort Totten metro station. The path is on National Park Service property so that is making the process a little more cumbersome.

Mayor Bowser will submit her proposed budget to the Council on March 20. There will be budget hearings after that to provide an opportunity for residents to advocate for items in the budget.

Miscellanous

I recommended that the ANC hire an administrative assistant to take care of things like sending out timely meeting notices, updating the ANC 5A website so that it has accurate, useful information, and generally keeping residents informed about what’s happening in the ANC. The commissioners are volunteers and they are busy people. The ANC has plenty of money in its budget to pay someone $15/hour for 10 hours of work each week or however much time to take care of administrative tasks. Commissioner Edwards stated the ANC would look into it.

Looks like the March meeting will be jam-packed. DDOT Director Jeff Marootian is scheduled to attend and there will be presentations on the Wesley Housing development as well as the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten.