ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on April 23, 2025. Commissioners present: Keith Sellars (5A01); Timothy Thomas (5A02) – Vice Chair; Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) – Chair & Secretary; Jack Hermes (5A04); Derrick Holloway (5A06); Elaine Alston (5A08); Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) – Treasurer.

ANC 5A05 is vacant. The commissioner for ANC 5A07 needs to be installed.

Commission Business

Commissioner Hermes was sworn in as parliamentarian for the ANC.

Meeting Expectations

Chair Lucio introduced meeting expectations for discussion. She said the goal is to be helpful and accountable to the community. A few commissioners were adamant that it was not necessary to adopt these expectations. The ANC voted to support (Commissioners Bocoum, Hermes, Sellars, and Lucio voted in favor; Commissioners Alston, Thomas, and Holloway opposed).

Spending Requests

The ANC has over $100,000 in the bank. The ANC voted to allocate $5,000 for office furniture for the ANC office located at The Modern at Art Place on Galloway Street NE. The ANC voted to spend up to $1,200 for a laptop for Commissioner Alston. The ANC voted to spend up to $1,200 for an iPhone for Commissioner Alston. There was discussion of other spending requests that I could not quite follow; sounded like the ANC decided to table discussion of spending for those items.

Conway Education Center (5A03)

Conway Education Center withdrew its request for holiday work because residents of ANC 5A03 objected to holiday work.

Washington Latin Public Charter School (5A05)

At an ANC 5A05 single member district (SMD) meeting, residents supported holiday work by Washington Latin. Representatives of the school did not appear at the full ANC meeting though, so the ANC could not vote on the issue.

No Ward 5 Mayor’s Office Report

No one from the mayor’s office appeared at the meeting.

Ward 5 Council Report (Andriana Lovelace, Constituent Services Coordinator for CM Zachary Parker)

The city is still in a holding pattern on the budget. The mayor has proposed using a 2009 law to reduce the FY2025 budget gap created by the House.

CM Parker’s office held a spring cleaning event on April 26.

ABCA is working with MPD to close down illegal cannabis shops.

After the council office report was given, the ANC discussed some issues caused by known residents of North Michigan Park on Emerson Street NE and the potential return of these individuals to the community as their cases work their way through the legal system. Anyone interested in what is happening can reach out to Carmen Williams, president of the North Michigan Park Civic Association and Commissioner Alston.

Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School Calle Ocho Campus Building Expansion (5A03) (Kristin Scotchmer, Strategic Adviser & Owner Representative, Mundo Verde)

Mundo Verde Presentation to ANC 5A (April 2025)

Project website: https://www.mundoverdepcs.org/calle-ocho-growth

Shalini Shybut is the new executive director of Mundo Verde. She can be reached at sshybut@mundoverdepcs.org.

Mundo Verde’s Calle Ocho Campus is located at 4401 8th Street NE. The school plans to build an expansion on part of the Providence campus at 817 Varnum Street NE, across the street from the existing school campus. This building expansion has been discussed a bunch over the years at the ANC.

Kristin Scotchmer, strategic adviser and owner representative for the school, stated that the school received its raze permits and now has all of the proper permits in place, so residents will start to see construction ramp up pretty quickly.

Construction points of contact:

• Call – Calle Ocho campus front office 8:00 am – 6:00 pm. (202) 803-8967

• Call or text – Construction Project Manager John Breyer – (202) 352-0214

• Other points of contact – EMERGENCY
  • General Contractor: Gilbane Building Company
  • http://www.gilbaneco.com/
  • Jennifer May
  • (202)497-5191

Providence Campus (5A03) (Evan Goldman, Executive Vice President, Acquisition & Development, EYA)

EYA Providence Presentation to ANC 5A (April 2025)

Project website: https://www.providencereimagined.com

EYA and Menkiti are teaming up to redevelop the Providence campus. TCurrent plan is for roughly 120 affordable rental units (half reserved for senior apartments) and 250-280 townhomes. EYA will build another playground as the existing Michigan Park Community Playground gets heavy use. There is also a plan for a dog park. Lots of green space planned, including possibly open field space closer to the Buchanan side of the campus, and a walking loop around the campus.

The existing medical office buildings, parking garage, Police/Fire Clinic, and Carroll Manor Nursing Home will remain on the grounds. They are not part of the redevelopment project.

The Office of the Attorney General for DC had to assess the value of the transaction and the charitable assets that had to remain the city. The demolition of the old hospital building will cost roughly $30 million. The remainder of the property/assets is valued at $5 million. That money will be set aside in a trust for healthcare uses in DC, one of which will be to help subsidize an urgent care facility on the property. Providence is working with the DC OAG to transfer medical equipment to nonprofits in the city.

Now that OAG’s review is done, the development team is waiting for the State Health Planning and Development Agency (SHPDA) to complete its review in order to extinguish the existing certificate of need for the hospital. That is expected shortly. Once all of that is done, things will ramp up pretty quickly.

There will be a community benefits agreement as part of the development process. Commissioner Hermes (5A04) represents much of the Catholic University area and he stated that some of his constituents would like the campus to retain some Christian identity in the project beyond just the name. (Note: It was parent company Ascension’s decision to close the hospital). EYA responded that this was the first time this has been brought up, but they stated that they would be happy to talk more about what that could look like, for example, maybe a quiet contemplative or meditation space outdoors.

EYA plans to return to the ANC in June to provide another update.

Office of the Ombudsman for Public Education (Bri Sullivan, Assistant Ombudsman)

The Office of the Ombudsman for Public Education is housed within the State Board of Education, but it is independent from the State Board. Assistant Ombudsman Bri Sullivan gave a short presentation on the office’s services. Services are confidential. The office serves as an information hub for families and maintains a neutral role in the school system. The office investigates patterns for elevation to senior leadership. The office sees a lot of cases in Ward 5, lots of concerns about safety (safe passage, bullying, violence in schools). The office offers mediation and conflict resolution assistance.

Community Concerns

A resident noted again that the slide at the North Michigan Park Rec Center has been broken for well over a year and is dangerous. The playground generally is in poor condition. Commissioner Thomas (5A02) stated he would reach out to the site manager for a visit.

A resident inquired about the new minimart at the strip mall next to the McDonald’s. The ANC did not have much information about it, but Commissioner Alston (5A08) stated that she was told it will be open 24/7. She also said that a cannabis retailer is no longer looking to locate in the strip mall. (Note: I do not know how accurate this is. The space at 4942 South Dakota has a placard providing notice of a public hearing for a medical marijuana retailer named Clinical Health and Wellness. The protest petition deadline is June 2. Unclear if the ANC received notice.).