ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on October 27, 2021. Commissioners present: Damion McDuffie (5A01); Charles Lockett (5A02); Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) – Secretary; Ronnie Edwards (5A05) – Chair; Sandi Washington (5A07) – Treasurer; Gordon Fletcher (5A08) – Vice Chair. ANC single member district 5A04 covering Catholic University is vacant.

MPD Police Report

MPD 4D Captain Terry Porter said there has been an increase in theft of autos. He said MPD is working with District agencies in the Fort Totten neighborhood (the neighborhood west of Fort Totten Park) to deal with a spate of recent shootings in that area. Captain Porter can be reached at john.terry@dc.gov or (202) 578-1873.

Faith United Church of Christ Council Resolution

Commissioner Emily Singer Lucio presented Faith United Church of Christ with a DC Council Resolution recognizing their work in the North Michigan Park neighborhood. The church hosts a free mobile food market on Thursdays and does other work in the community. The church is located at 4900 10th Street NE.

Onelife Fitness

Onelife Fitness will be opening at 5198 South Dakota Avenue NE in Art Place at Fort Totten in the coming months. There are three membership tiers, with rates starting at $39.99 for basic membership. Free three hour parking comes with membership as well as a complimentary personal training session. In response to questions, the representative for the gym stated the following:

• Current plans do not include onsite childcare, but this question has been raised a lot so they are looking at additional space next to the gym and discussing possible options with Love & Care Child Develpment Center, which is also located at Art Place.
• There will be several employment opportunities, such as front desk, sales, housekeeping.
• There are not specific discounts for seniors. Groups can request information about group membership rates.
• Swimming lessons, individual and family, will be offered for an additional fee

Find more details about the gym, rates, and amenities at https://www.onelifefitness.com/gyms/fort-totten.

Catholic University

Catholic University has a new general counsel, Matthew Dolan, who will be representing Catholic at ANC meetings. The university intends to put forward a student, Diego Rojas, for the vacant ANC 5A04 seat. The university will be applying for a liquor license soon.

Catholic is seeking the ANC’s support for a solar farm on the university’s west campus. It will cover about 25 acres and will have a life span of 15 to 25 years. It will not be located close to any residences. The university will plant wildflowers around the site. Catholic plans this to be an interim use. One resident, former ANC commissioner Joe Bowser, asked Catholic about scholarships for local students and recommended that the ANC get a commitment from the university about providing scholarships for students in ANC 5A before supporting the project. Mr. Dolan stated that the university has a number of scholarship programs that are open to DC students. ANC Commissioner Damion McDuffie (5A01) asked about employment opportunities on the project. University representatives stated that the farm itself will be pretty self-sustaining once it is constructed and that maintenance will be done primarily remotely. There was some protracted discussion about benefits of this project for the community. The Zoning Commission hearing is not until January 2022, so the ANC will take time to work with Catholic on a resolution and vote on the resolution at the November meeting.

Ward 5 Mayor’s Office Report

Ward 5 MOCR Nokomis Hunter stated that all DC teachers must be vaccinated; there is no longer a testing option.

Industrial Bank has a grant program for homeowners and business owners affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, visit https://www.industrial-bank.com/home/dmped.

Ward 5 Council Report

Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie’s Constituent Services Director Kelley Cislo stated that if you are a Ward 5 resident having trouble with getting unemployment insurance claims process, please reach out to the Councilmember’s office for assistance at (202) 724-8028.

Director of Community Engagement Jonathan McNair is taking the lead on redistricting for the Councilmember’s office. He can be reached at jmcnair@dccouncil.us.

Send traffic safety issues to Ms. Cislo at kcislo@dccouncil.us.

SMD Reports/Miscellaneous

ANC Commissioner Gordon Fletcher (5A08) mentioned that the Cafritz Foundation filed a Modification of Significance for Art Place at Fort Totten Block B. (Note: I discussed that submission in this post).

The Ward 5 Mutual Aid group asked again about how to apply for an ANC grant. Commissioner Fletcher stated he will work with the group to get the application together and have it addressed at the November meeting. (Note: It looks like the ANC has updated the ANC website with the correct grant application).

A FOIA request was sent to the ANC regarding the Hawaii Avenue/Webster Street project in SMD 5A06. The ANC will work with ANC Commissioner Derrick Holloway (5A06) to respond to that request.

Commissioners Lucio, Fletcher, and McDuffie will all have single member district meetings in the coming weeks. (Note: Commissioners Lucio and Fletcher held their meetings on November 4).

The next ANC 5A meeting will be November 17, 2021, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.