Guest post

ANC 5A MEETING WRAPUP

On January 28, 2015, ANC 5A held its monthly community meeting at the Backus Campus of UDC’s Community College. Here are highlights from that meeting.

Election of Officers

The ANC 5A Commissioners voted on the following Commission officers, and they were sworn-in (as per ANC 5A Bylaws, “the elected officers serve for one year or until their successors are elected”).

Chair: Ronnie Edwards (SMD 5A05)
Vice Chair: Angel Alston (SMD 5A08)
Treasurer: Sandi Washington (SMD 5A07)
Parliamentarian: Grace Lewis (SMD 5A02)
Recording/Corresponding Secretary: Jasmine White (SMD 5A06)

Police Service Area 405

Sergeant Schaut reported that November and December of last year had an increase in burglaries and that Lieutenant Ridlehoover is re-positioning PSA 405 police officers as flareups occur. For the statistics, go to MPD’s crime map, where you can display data for any PSA and most time spans. Sgt. Schaut also reported that there have been laptop computer thefts from dormitory rooms at Catholic University. He explained that CU students frequently leave the doors to their dormitory buildings and rooms open/unlocked.

Mamie D. Lee School Building

Late last year, DC’s Deputy Mayor for Education awarded the Mamie D. Lee School Building to Bridges and Briya Public Charter School (see our post on that). Subsequently, the ANC 5A Commission voted to notify DC’s Deputy Mayor for Education that both the Commission and the community are strongly opposed to the Deputy’s decision.

At the January 28th meeting, Ronan Gulstone, Legislative and Policy Director for Ward 5 Councilmember McDuffie, reported that McDuffie has asked the Deputy Mayor to reconsider the decision, and a meeting with McDuffie and the Deputy Mayor’s office is planned. Also, McDuffie is pursuing this matter with DC’s newly elected Attorney General, and Councilmembers Grosso and Orange (both At-Large) are also looking into this matter.

MOCRS for Ward 5

The Mayor’s Office of Community Relations & Services (MOCRS), part of the Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs, has Community Affairs Specialists for each Ward. Malik Williams (Malik.Williams@dc.gov) and Tommie Jones (Tommie.Jones@dc.gov) were introduced as the new Specialists for Ward 5. They are your resource in the Mayor’s office for partnering with city agencies, social services, and other organizations to monitor and respond to overdue/unresolved constituent concerns such as cleanliness, code enforcement, and compliance issues. Their office number is (202) 535-1937; they are on Twitter.

Lamond-Riggs Library

As mentioned in previous posts, a Task Force chaired by Commissioner Angel Alston was formed to pursue the full modernization and renovation of the Lamond-Riggs Library at its current location.

At the January 28th meeting, Commissioner Alston and former ANC 5A Commissioner Herb Preston were designated as co-chairs of the Task Force. At the February ANC 5A meeting, they will report on the status of current and near-term annual funding for the library. Working with the constituents who signed up at the meeting to be on the Task Force, they will develop an action plan for the Commission to ensure that the Library is renovated at its current location.

Upcoming Events

Several attendees mentioned upcoming events of interest:

Mayor Bowser’s Open House: 4:00 to 6:00 pm on Monday, February 2, 2015. The Open House is an opportunity for you to meet the Mayor, City Administrator, Deputy Mayors, Mayor’s Office of Legislative Counsel, and Senior Advisor in addition to the other office holders within the Wilson Building. RSVP here.

National Park Service: 6:30 pm on Monday, February 2, 2015, Lamond Riggs Library; NPS Community Meeting on Shortcut Between Gallatin & Galloway.  See project website.