On Wednesday, October 25, 2017, ANC 5A held its monthly community meeting.
Present: Commissioners Grace Lewis (5A02); Keisha Cofield-Lynch (5A03); Isaiah Burroughs (5A04); Ronnie Edwards (5A05); A. Jamaal Lampkin (5A06); Sandi Washington (5A07); Gordon Fletcher (5A08)
Police Report
PSA 405 October 2017 Crime Stats
Crime was up slightly for the month of October. See PSA 405 Oct 2017 Crime Stats.
Cellphone thefts are up, so be careful walking and using your cell phone, especially now that it is getting dark earlier.
Be on the lookout for an all-black tow truck with no identification that is stealing vehicles during the early morning hours between midnight and 4:00 am. Hondas in particular are being targeted.
National Park Service – Fort Totten Park
Rock Creek Park Superintendent Julia Washburn, Civil War Defenses Project Manager Kim Elder, and Rock Creek Park Chief of Resource Management Nick Bartolomeo gave both good and mixed news related to Fort Totten Park.
First the good news. An asphalt path between Gallatin Street and Galloway Street NE in Fort Totten Park near Fort Totten metro station will be constructed likely next summer. The path is a long time coming and should be really useful for residents of North Michigan Park to access the metro station. See the project website for details.
Separately, lighting and the trail by the Mamie D. Lee community garden near the western edge of Fort Totten Park will be upgraded as part of the construction of the Metropolitan Branch Trail Brookland-to-Fort Totten extension. DDOT has awarded a design-build contract for this extension. Construction will begin some time next year.
The mixed news. NPS is testing soil samples from a hillside near the access road for Aggregate Industries concrete company on the western side of Fort Totten Park. When Metro’s green line was under construction, NPS permitted Metro to use that area of the park for staging. Metro was required to rehabilitate the area after construction and did so by bringing infill dirt from Spring Valley, a superfund site in Northwest DC. NPS only recently discovered that soil from Spring Valley was brought into the park all those years ago. They say that out of an abundance of caution they have hired a contractor to test the soil to find out if there are any contaminants. They mentioned possibility of an herbicide that is present in the Spring Valley area, but they stressed they simply do not know what the soil may contain and that they are testing out of an abundance of caution. They do not believe there will be any health effects because of the topography of the land. They said that waterways in that area of the park are scarce, so they are not concerned about leeching into any waterways. Work will begin around November 9 and last approximately nine months. This area is not near any pedestrian access paths or trails.
In other Rock Creek Park news, NPS plans to improve the Rock Creek Park visitor center located at 5200 Glover Road NW. An information meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 1, 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the visitors center.
Basilica of the National Shrine
The ANC passed a resolution to support the Basilica’s request for a special exception from the Board of Zoning Adjustment for continued use of its accessory parking lot, which is across the street from the Basilica. The exception is necessary because the parking lot is not on the same lot as the Basilica.
Marriott
Marriott has appeared before the ANC several times for support of its long planned project consisting of a hotel (160-room Residence Inn and 100-room Courtyard by Marriott), ground floor retail, and residences near Michigan Avenue and Irving Street NE. The property is federal property which was transferred to the District for hotel “and other compatible uses.” The developer and District officials had assumed all this time that residential use would be considered a compatible use, but apparently GSA does not believe residential use is a compatible use with a hotel. Marriott is working with District officials and Congresswoman Eleanore Holmes Norton’s office to get GSA to permit residential use. The Commission passed a resolution to send a letter to Congresswoman Norton in support of the project, including residential use as a compatible use.
Marriott has made a couple of changes to their plan since its last iteration. They have moved the residential portion to the front of the site on Michigan Avenue and moved the hotel portion to the rear of the site. Access will be off Irving Street and they plan to reconfigure the slip lane on Irving Street to a T-intersection. They reduced the height of the project from 90 feet to 75 feet. They will need to establish a zoning district for the project and anticipate a hearing on this in February or March 2018. All of this though is contingent on getting approval to build residential in the first place.
Price Grocery
The ANC passed a resolution to support Price Grocery’s alcohol license renewal application. Price Grocery is located at 5018 Rock Creek Church Road NE.
Trinity Deli
The ANC passed a resolution in support of Trinity Deli’s alcohol license renewal application. The Class B grocer sells beer. It is located at 200 Michigan Avenue NE.
UDC CAUSES Bertie Backus Food Hub
UDC’s Bertie Backus Food Hub, located at South Dakota Avenue and Galloway Street NE, is opening a community garden. They are looking for residents interested in serving on a management committee for the garden. If interested, contact Matthew Gardine at matthew.gardine@udc.edu.
Council Report
The Ward 5 holiday party will be on December 13, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm, at Dock 5 at Union Market. Bring an unwrapped toy.
Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie has introduced three bills (see Councilmember McDuffie 2017 Bills (pdf)).
- The Accessible and Transparent Procurement Act of 2017 (B22-0395) would require District government to put all solicitations for over $25,000 on a single website.
- The Quick Payment Amendment Act of 2017 (B22-0439) would require District government to disburse payment to contractors within 15 days of receiving an invoice.
- The Government Contractor-Subcontractor Dispute Resolution Act of 2017 (B22-0440) would permit the District’s Department of Small and Local Business Development to conciliate disputes between District government prime contractors and subcontractors.
Mayor’s Office Report
The Office of Neighborhood Safety & Engagement has opened in Ward 7. The mayor’s office is offering a number of MPD recruitment tools, such as six-month rental assistance, student loan forgiveness, and zero percent interest loans up to $20,000 for housing. An Uber driver resource center has opened in Ward 7. The mayor’s office offered $3 million in grants to support additional grocery options for Wards 7 and 8.
Reinvest DC
DC Reinvest Flyer (pdf)
A coalition of grassroots advocacy groups called DC Reinvest sought ANC support for its initiative to get the District to divest from Wells Fargo, which the group says funds the Keystone pipeline and the private prison industry. The ANC tabled consideration of a resolution to do more homework on the initiative.
New Lamond-Riggs Library
President of the Lamond-Riggs Library Friends group Robert Oliver announced that the deadline for LRLF’s survey on the new library was extended to October 27. Councilmember McDuffie will select two residents to serve on the official advisory panel for the rebuilding project. An interim library is planned during construction. Ideally the space should be 3,000 square feet and move-in ready with electrical and plumbing in place.
Mr. Oliver asked for the ANC’s help because about $45,000 in an inactive bank account held by the former Friends group is in jeopardy of being forfeited unless the former leader permits the new group to access the funds. The former group had been defunct for several years before a new group was formed this past summer.
USPS
The postal service was listed on the agenda but no representatives attended the meeting.
Next ANC meeting
The next ANC meeting will be on November 29 due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 