ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on September 23, 2026. Commissioners present: Keith Sellars (5A01); Timothy Thomas (5A02); Emily Singer Lucio (5A03); Derrick Holloway (5A06); Valeria Sosa Garnica (5A07) – Chair; Elaine Alston (5A08) – Secretary; Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) – Treasurer.

Commission Business

Chair Valeria Sosa Garnica (5A07) stated that the ANC finally received all of its FY2026 funding of approximately $23,000 after curing deficiencies related to mismanaged grant reporting.

The ANC voted to approve an FY2027 budget after a long discussion about how much to budget for grants for the new fiscal year starting on October 1. Commissioner Shelagh Bocoum (5A09), the ANC’s treasurer, prepared a draft budget allotting $40,000 for grants. The ANC has a lot of money in the bank because historically it rejected a lot of grant applications and did not spend a lot of money. In the past couple of years, the Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (OANC) loosened up grant rules, and the ANC began giving out pretty sizable grants ranging from $3,000 to $10,000.

Commissioner Elaine Alston (5A08) requested that the ANC budget $60,000 for grants. Commissioner Holloway (5A06) is seeking a grant for a community day in his SMD, as is Commissioner Weston (5A05) for hers. Unclear how much they are seeking. Commissioner Bocoum explained that the ANC only gets about $23,000 each fiscal year so it would not make sense to budget $60,000. Also, Chair Sosa Garnica explained that no commissioner is entitled to grant money. The money belongs to the commission as a whole and is to be disbursed according to grant guidelines. Anyone applying for a grant has to submit the required documentation, including commissioners.

Commissioner Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) suggested a compromise of $45,000 for grants, which the ANC eventually agreed to.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at Gas Station (5A08)

Commissioner Alston (5A08) removed this item from the agenda. Unclear if she plans to have a meeting about this for her single member district (SMD).

Food & Friends Holiday Work Request (5A09)

After a surprisingly lengthy discussion, the ANC supported Food & Friends’ request to do construction work on its expansion on two holidays, Indigenous People’s Day and Veterans Day, in order to make up rain days. Commissioner Bocoum (5A09) did not share this request with residents ahead of time. Commissioner Keith Sellars (5A01) stated that the ANC should have alerted nearby residents. People seemed to overlook the residents who live directly across South Dakota Avenue from Food & Friends outside of Commissioner Bocoum’s SMD. The ANC compromised by approving work to begin at 9am instead of 7am.

Art Place PUD Letter (5A09)

This item was removed from the agenda because the Zoning Commission already voted to approve the Cafritz Foundation’s two-year time extension request. For some reason, the ANC chose not to submit a response before the Zoning Commission meeting o September 10 even though knew about it months in advance.

Hope Adult Public Charter School

The presenter did not show up.

Ward 5 Mayor’s Office Report (Lacy Davis, Ward 5 MOCR)

Fiesta DC parade was on September 27. DPR’s Ward 5 capital projects meeting was on September 29.

Commissioner Sellars (5A01) asked Mr. Davis about the gravel and debris that have been in the Riggs Road cycletrack for a long while.

After multiple requests from Commissioner Sellars (5A01) and Mr. Davis, DC Department of Buildings (DOB) abated the blighted old union building on First Place NE across from Impact DMV Church.

Ward 5 Council Report (Kelly Cislo, Constituent Services Coordinator to Councilmember Zachary Parker)

Ms. Cislo said that car vandalism is on the rise according to MPD. Ms. Cislo scheduled a walkthrough of hotspots with Commissioner Lucio (5A03). Ms. Cislo encouraged residents to sign up for the camera rebate program.

Ms. Cislo said she would reach out to DPR about cleaning the Riggs Road cycletrack. (Note: DPR sent out a machine on September 30).

Commissioner Updates/Community Concerns

Commissioner Sellars (5A01) has tentatively scheduled a meeting with National Park Service for October 26. He is awaiting confirmation from NPS.

UDC Community Engagement Director Juanita Gray shared information about the new 9/11 memorial at UDC-CC Lamond-Riggs campus.

I expressed that it would be great if commissioners could check their email and take advantage of opportunities to submit public comments about development projects and other matters. For some reason, even though residents share information about and feedback for public meetings and hearings, the ANC routinely skips submitting comments for the record.

A resident suggested that Commissioner Bocoum (5A09) contact The Modern about having SMD meetings there because there is a lot happening in her SMD that routinely gets overlooked by the ANC.