ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on June 24, 2020. Commissioners present: Grace Lewis (5A02); Emily Singer Lucio (5A03); Ronnie Edwards (5A05); Claudia Barragan (5A06); Sandi Washington (5A07); Gordon Fletcher (5A08)
(Note I did not provide an ANC 5A meeting recap for May 2020 because the commission’s secretary Commissioner Emily Lucio (5A03) produced minutes that were very detailed. Based on discussion at the June meeting, I do not expect that the ANC will continue to provide this level of detail).
The District Department of Public Works was on the agenda but did not attend due to a conflict.
Ward 5 Councilmember Report
Silas Grant, Senior Advisor to Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, noted a couple of council office personnel changes. Barbara Mitchell and Nolan Treadway have departed. Ms. Mitchell was the deputy chief of staff and Mr. Treadway was the communications director.
The DC Council has passed a series of emergency bills related to COVID-19. One piece of legislation requires utilities and telecommunications/cable providers to offer payment plans to residents.
Catholic University Residence Hall
The ANC voted 5-0-1 to support construction of Catholic’s new residence hall. Commissioner Claudia Barragan (5A06) abstained. View Catholic’s presentation here.
The Zoning hearing for the residence hall will be held in July (case number 12-01C). The residence hall is part of Catholic’s approved Campus Plan. The four-story building on John McCormack Drive NE will have 360 beds. In response to previous questions from ANC 5A, Catholic provided a list of its contractors, including local contractors. In addition, the university noted that it maintains a database of contractors so that when contracting opportunities arise, those on the list will have first opportunity. The university asked for names of local contractors who would like to be added to the database.
Commissioner Barragan expressed her belief that Catholic has not done adequate outreach, and she also expressed concerns about equity. She asked for information about how many residents in her SMD work at Catholic. She thought one good idea would be for Catholic to share employment opportunities to her SMD first before the general public.
Catholic makes up a single SMD in ANC 5A and typically does not have an ANC commissioner representing the SMD. A student served as commissioner from approximately 2016 to 2019, but the seat has been vacant since then. Two SMDs, 5A06 and 5A07, border the campus. Commissioner Sandi Washington (5A07) has been a commissioner for many years, while Commissioner Claudia Barragan (5A06) is new to the commission this year and has lived in the neighborhood for four years. It is clear that Commissioner Washington has an established working relationship with Catholic and a lot of institutional knowledge regarding Catholic, while Commissioner Barragan is just starting to build her own relationship with the university. This dynamic has led to a few testy exchanges at recent ANC meetings. One neighbor noted to me after the meeting that it would be a good idea for the ANCs to help one another, as it is unclear if that is happening.
Unrelated to the residence hall, in response to a question from Commissioner Gordon Fletcher (5A08), Catholic representatives noted they are still working on a plan for fall classes. They will need to submit a reopening plan to DC for approval. Currently, they are thinking about having in-person classes with capability for online connection for students who cannot be present in person. They would like to have the semester start earlier than usual by August 24 so that students can be dismissed by the Thanksgiving holiday and not have to worry about traveling back and forth between Thanksgiving and the end of the semester.
ANC 5A08 Public Safety Task Force
The ANC previously approved the establishment of a resident task force to address public safety issues in ANC 5A08. At the June meeting, after discussion of the national climate around policing, the ANC decided it wants to have a larger community discussion on public safety and policing over the summer. Catholic University representatives stated they want to be part of the conversation. They noted Catholic has a new public safety chief who lives in the surrounding neighborhood and also noted that campus security officers are unarmed.
Edit: The ANC also voted to table a motion to support a statement on policing drafted by the DC Chapter of the NAACP.
Art Place at Fort Totten
24 Hour Fitness has rescinded plans to open at the Modern at Art Place, the first phase of Art Place at Fort Totten that was completed in 2017. Preparation is taking place to tear down the remaining Riggs Plaza apartment buildings for construction of the second phase of Art Place. Accordingly, know that 4th Street NE between Ingraham Street and Kennedy Street will be closing at that time, so people used to parking on that street will have to find somewhere else to park. View the most recent construction notice here.
At the next executive meeting, the ANC will discuss what to do with allocated office space for the ANC at the Modern. Art Place is a planned unit development (PUD), which required public benefits. One of the approved public benefits was free office space for the ANC. The ANC has yet to utilize the space though because there has been disagreement over which party is responsible for utilities and insurance. The Modern is requiring the ANC to have insurance in order to occupy the space and has asked the ANC for a self-insured document so that the Modern will pay utilities.
The ANC enjoys free office space at UDC-CC’s Backus campus. At the time the first phase of the Art Place development was approved, the ANC did not have office space, and therefore the commission at that time determined that it was a good idea to request office space from the developer of Art Place. Commissioner Washington, treasurer for the ANC, stated that the Office of ANC will not provide a self-insured document for a non-government building. And the Office of ANC questions why the ANC would want to give up free space in a government building. The ANC is not allowed to have two office spaces. At this stage, Commissioner Fletcher would like the ANC to resolve once and for all what it would like to do with the space at the Modern. It sounds like the ANC will not be using the office space and may instead ask that it be used for some other public purpose.
ANC 5A06 Reopen Plan
At a previous ANC meeting, Commissioner Barragan noted she wanted to work on a neighborhood-level reopening plan because she believed that the District-wide plan did not take into consideration needs and vulnerabilities of particular neighborhoods. At that time, ANC 5A Chair Ronnie Edwards told Commissioner Barragan to develop a timeline and framework for the plan and to ask for any help she needed. It appears Commmissioner Barragan has a draft document available on the ANC’s website, but it is unclear what exactly is supposed to happen from here. If you live in Commissioner Barragan’s SMD and would like information on her plan, please contact her.
Respond to the 2020 Census
There is still time to participate in the 2020 Census. The Census determines funding allocations at all levels of government, including for ANCs, so it is important for residents to respond. The Census questionnaire takes just a few minutes to complete.
DDOT Alley Repairs
DDOT is planning its next round of alley restorations. If your alley is in need of repair, let your ANC commissioner know. The ANC needs to submit the list to DDOT by July 6, 2020.
Mutual Aid Grant
A resident who volunteers with a Ward 5 mutual aid group is working with Commissioner Barragan to apply for a grant from the ANC. The volunteer noted that the mutual aid group is not a 501(c)(3) organization. The volunteer stated that other ANCs have suspended any requirement that grant applicants be 501(c)(3) organizations in order to support mutual aid efforts.
At a previous ANC meeting, Silas Grant noted that Councilmember McDuffie wanted to work with Ward 5 ANCs to make them aware of mutual aid groups and to help direct aid where needed. At that time, Commissioner Barragan expressed hesitancy about supporting mutual aid groups because in some cases, these groups are not 501(c)(3) organizations and so she thought there would be liability and accountability issues.
Anyhow, with respect to this grant application, there was discussion about the need to make sure the mutual aid benefits the entirety of ANC 5A. Commissioner Barragan apparently told the applicant that she wanted to make sure the mutual aid focused on residents of SMD 5A06 because there are many residents in need in that SMD, but Commissioner Washington noted DC law requires that grants benefit the ANC as a whole.
Finally, there was some discussion about the maximum amount the group could receive. The group would like to request $5,000, but according to Commissioner Washington, the award may not exceed $2,000.
The ANC will discuss the grant application at its next executive meeting.
Donations may be made to the Ward 5 mutual aid group via venmo (@ward5mutualaid) and cashapp ($w5mutualaid). To volunteer with the group, apply at this link.
Next ANC meeting
The ANC anticipates holding a special meeting in July.
To be added to the ANC 5A email list in order to receive meeting notices and announcements, visit https://www.anc5a.org.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 
