ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on November 29, 2023. Commissioners present: Duvalier Malone (5A01); Diego Rojas (5A04); Tyeron Boston (5A05); Kweku Toure (5A06) – Vice Chair; Gordon Fletcher (5A08) – Chair; Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) – Treasurer. ANC 5A07 is vacant.

ANC Business

Commissioner Shelagh Bocoum, treasurer, stated the ANC only recently gained access to its bank account and is therefore still working on paying a couple of bills.

Chair Gordon Fletcher stated that the ANC is still working to put together an annual report and they hope to have that done by the January 2024 meeting.

There will not be an ANC meeting in December 2023.

Faith United Church Temporary Hypothermia Shelter (5A08)

A representative for Faith United Church, Enrique Cobham, stated that as of November 29, the church had not been added to the city pool to operate a hypothermia shelter yet. Mr. Cobham said the church is in conversation with the ANC about what happens when the center is not active. Once the site is online for the season, the site will be active between 7 pm and 7 am. The city will have security inside and outside the church and the city will be responsible for cleaning the site. The city has already set up equipment inside the church.

Chair Fletcher said the ANC is speaking with the church about an agreement between the ANC, North Michigan Park Civic Association (NMPCA), and the church.

Catholic University Student Housing (5A04)

Representatives for Catholic University gave the ANC a heads up about a filing for an amendment to the university’s campus plan and further processing in order to build temporary student housing. As of November 29, the university had not yet filed the application but indicated they intended to do so in early December. They anticipate having a hearing scheduled in January 2024.

Officials stated the university wants to build temporary modular student housing. They have a zoning order that allows them to build permanent housing, but they said that difficulties in the construction market and economic conditions have led them to consider modular housing as a temporary solution to the need for more student housing. As a result, they need an amendment to the campus plan.

A couple of the commissioners asked about construction impacts and timeline. Catholic officials said impacts should be mitigated a bit because the units will largely be built offsite and then brought by truck to the campus. Representatives will appear at future meetings to provide more information and to get the support of the ANC.

Ward 5 Council Report (Carlos McKnight, Constituent Services Coordinator for Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker)

Ward 5 CM Zachary Parker held his monthly public safety call on November 29. Guests were Sylvan Altieri, MPD 5D Commander; Dr. Barbara Bazron, Director of DC Department of Behavorial Health; and Matthew Graves, US Attorney for DC. A recording of the call is available on CM Parker’s youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@councilmemberzacharyparker.

Ward 5 Mayor Report (Ward 5 MOCR Anthony Black)

The mayor’s office is hosting a senior holiday party on December 13, 2023. There was a community resource fair on December 1 at RISE Demonstration Center.

Leaf collection is ongoing. If you miss leaf pickup for your area, you can put in a 311 request.

Mr. Black continues to have “Ward Days” on Tuesday and Friday when he will be available to meet residents around the ward about any issues they have. Contact him by email (anthony.black@dc.gov) or phone (202-251-5049) if you would like to meet with him.

Miscellaneous

A resident asked about the status of the DC SuperMart convenience store. (According to a sign outside the store, it is open).

The ANC’s next meeting will be January 24, 2024.