ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 1B
Government of the
Minutes
Thursday, February 5, 2009, 7 PM, Reeves Center, 2000 14th Street, NW
The regular monthly meeting of ANC1B was held on Thursday,
February 5, 2009, at 7:00 pm in the Reeves Center. Commissioners in attendance:
Commissioner Brianne Nadeau Chair, E. Gail Anderson Holness, Secretary,
Rosemary Akinmboni, Myla Moss, Meghan Conklin, Vice Chair, Peter Raia, Sedrick
Muhammad, Deborah Thomas, Juan Lopez, Treasurer and Thomas Smith. Chairman Nadeau called the
meeting to order at 7:10 pm. introduction of Commissioners followed.
Officer’s
Reports
Secretary
Commissioner Anderson Holness presented the minutes from the
January meeting and asked for corrections.
She noted a correction for the last page, “Respectfully submitted by E.
Gail Anderson Holness, Secretary.
Commissioner Lopez added that a correction needed to be made in the
Treasurer’s report. The line that
reads,” Commissioner Lopez moved that ANC1B authorize a $25.00 payment to the
Treasurer of the Security Fund…” The
line must be changed to: Commissioner Lopez moved that ANC1B authorize a $25.00
payment to the ANC Security Fund…” approval.
Also, Commissioner Muhammad’s name should be added as the person
responsible for securing the new Reeves Center location for the Commission
meetings. Chairman Nadeau stated that
the level of detail in the minutes only reflects business items because she
instructed Bianca Body, administrative assistant not to include all of the
discussion points. Commissioner Anderson
Holness stated as Secretary she requested that Ms. Body to complete the minutes
in full form. The date on the minutes
also needed to be changed to Wednesday, January 7, 2009. After full discussion of the changes, Commissioner Anderson Holness
moved that ANC1B approve the minutes as noted with corrections. Commissioner
Lopez seconded the motion. The motion
was adopted 9-0
Treasurer
Commissioner Lopez stated that the Commissioners had packets that
with a brief overview for the month of January.
As approved, three checks for: the ANC Security Fund- $25.00, the Howard
University Community Association- $1,000 grant, and Phil Spalding $249.36 for
office supplies. There were no other
expenses for the month of January. The
new Industrial Bank statement as of January 30, 2009 showed an ending balance
of $92, 376.19. Last month he had a
first quarter report summary, but did not hear anything back. He now has a full first quarter report and
reviewed it a couple of times. The only
outstanding issue is a grant from the African American Holiday Association
($1,000) that is now overdue.
Commissioner Lopez asked Commissioner Moss if she has contact
information for them. He also asked
Commissioner Akinmboni if she was able to help the Association with their
receipts. Commissioner Moss stated that
she would talk with them to get their receipts to the Commission. Commissioner Lopez then moved that ANC1B
approve the 1st quarter report for fiscal year 2009. Commissioner Moss seconded the motion. The motion was adopted 9-0.
Chairman
Chairman Nadeau participated in a meeting last week regarding the
office space. The Commission will have
500 square feet in the Reeves Center on the 7th floor starting
around April or May. In the meantime,
storage space for the Commission will be in the attic of the Butler
Center. She will continue to provide
updates as more evolves.
Community
Events & Announcements
Commissioner
Muhammad:
- Councilmember
Jim Graham will hold a white vigil tomorrow, February 6, 2009, in memory
of Jose Sanchez. He was attacked
near 14th and _____ Place.
A white vigil is often held in Latin American countries as a call
for peace after senseless violence or to raise awareness for social issues
plaguing the community. It will be
held at 12:15pm. Councilmember Graham is hosting the event and invited
guests include: Mayor Fenty, Janice Cantana, director of the Office of
Unified Communications, Edward Delgado of the 3rd District
Police Station, ANC Commissioners, and members of the clergy, community
organizations, advocacy organizations, and residents. The vigil will take place outside the
Pan-am Grocery Store at 3500 14th Street, NW, near the corner
of 14th and Parker Place.
He left flyers at the table in the back of the room.
- Department
of Parks and Recreation (DPR) will have a Justice Park design meeting on
Euclid between 14th Street and University Place on Saturday,
February 7, 2009 at the Columbia Heights Community Center located at 1480
Girard Street, NW from 11am-12pm.
This is the 3rd community design meeting of the
year. DPR is accepting feedback
from the community. They have been
extremely responsive in taking initiative by having numerous community
meetings regarding this park.
Boys and
Girls Clubhouse #10
Teresa Green announced that she is looking for volunteers. The clubhouse is located between Clifton and
14th Streets. There will be a
volunteer orientation on Saturday, February 7, 2009 from 10am-1pm. She invited the community to come and learn
what the Boys and Girls Club is about and its volunteer opportunities. Refreshments
will be served.
Mentoring
Works 2
Camille McKenzie announced that Mentoring Works 2 is hosting a
Safety Services and Security Workshop. The
workshop will be held at the St. Stephens Church on 15th and Newton
Streets. The Metropolitan Police
Department, the DC Fire Department as well as other organizations will be there
to assist with residents’ concerns.
Chairman Nadeau asked the Commission to continue to postpone the
Committee reports until Commissioner Smith’s arrival. The Commission agreed.
Consent
Agenda
There is no consent agenda for the month.
Presentations
1B11
Empowerment Project
Commissioner Anderson Holness stated that in an effort to mobilize
1B in a way that it has never been mobilized in terms of empowerment and
utilizing resources in the area, a committee was formed to look into an
empowerment project for 1B11. This
project would be very similar to empowerment centers that were created when
Sharon Pratt Kelley was mayor of Washington, DC with different programs for
youth and seniors. They are working to bring the Sew-n-Know Program that is
held at the Tennis and Learning Center run by Janice Rankin to the young people
in the area. Negotiations are in progress with other entities right now to
assist with empowerment project. This
will empower youth and seniors.
The first organizing meeting of 1B11 was held on January 15,
2009. An individual from Emergency
Preparedness spoke with residents of 1B11.
Commissioner Anderson Holness encouraged other to have similar programs
because the information given is not just for natural disasters that occur, but
for other disasters such as terrorist attacks, weather related and other issues
that deal with emergency preparedness.
They are negotiating to make LeDroit a training center fro emergency
preparedness particularly because it is a high rise with senior citizens. The committee is moving to empower the
community as best as they can.
Chairman Nadeau asked for questions from the Commissioners. Commissioner Anderson Holness added that
there would be a story hour for children.
Mama Susan is the Griot who will tell stories to children ages 0-10
years old on Saturdays. Commissioner
Moss asked, “How often will you have sessions at Kelly/LeDroit facility? When will they start?” Commissioner Anderson Holness replied that
the meetings would be once a month on the 3rd Saturday of the month
and will begin February 21, 2009. Commissioner
Nadeau asked for questions from the community.
There were no questions. She also
called for a Commissioner to volunteer to make a presentation at the March
meeting; there were no volunteers.
Commissioner Holness stated that there will be a book drive in
1B11. The book drive is not only for
children, but for seniors as well. The
drop off spot will be announced at a later date. The plan is to give books to children that attend
the story hour and to the seniors during literacy programs. She emphasized that people would be amazed to
find out the large number of children who have never had anyone read them a story.
She concluded her report soliciting the support of everyone present.
Board for
the Condemnation of Unsanitary Buildings Vacant Property Unit
Twi Huen from
the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Vacant Property Unit made a
presentation.
She stated that her office is charged with taking care of,
inspecting, classifying, and taxing vacant properties. Vacant properties in DC are taxed at $10 per
$100 of the assessed value. If you have
property or a house that is assessed at $200,000, your property taxes for 2009
would be $20,000 for one year. The
rationale behind this law is the Nuisance and Abatement Act of 2008. This is to prevent the nuisance properties
form becoming a haven for crime activities, drugs, prostitution, and kids that
don’t have anything to do who know the neighborhood and don’t have any place to
go. These children will go to the vacant
property and do activities that are not legal.
They can also be used a haven for crime because they are not being taken
care of. The tax class was put in place
by City Council. Ms. Huen was thanked for her presentation.
National
Marathon
Chris Brown, Vice President of the Greater Washington Sports
Alliance (GWSA) spoke about the 4th Annual National Marathon. The GWSA is a non profit sports commission in
the Washington metro area, and this the fourth year they have come before
ANC1B. The marathon will be held on
Saturday, March 21, 2009. It will start
and finish at RFK Stadium. The entire
mile is 26.2 miles and the half marathon is 13.1 miles The marathon will
transverse and enter at 16th and Harvard Streets at 7:35 am, and
exit at Michigan Avenue and 1st Streets at 8:35am. The total closure time will be 1.5 hours with
clean up time built in. The goal is to leave the city streets in condition than
before.
On March 14, 2009, they will canvass the marathon area with door
hangars about the marathon. They will
also post clean up campaign style signs. Commissioner Anderson Holness moved
that ANC1B submit a letter of support on behalf of the SunTrust 4th
Annual National Marathon. Commissioner
Conklin seconded the motion. The motion
was adopted 9-0.
Design Review Applications
There were no design review applications
at this time.
Liquor Licenses
There were no liquor licenses at this
time.
081030,
Mesobe Restaurant, new CR, 1853 7th Street (Moss)
Commissioner Moss reviewed application
081030 for Mesobe Restaurant. Mesobe
Restaurant is a family owned delicatessen and neighborhood store. They are requesting a change in the liquor
license status because they are opening a restaurant on top of the store. The owner was present to discuss the changes
to his business and to address any concerns of the Commission. Commissioner Moss then moved that ANC1B
support Mesobe Restaurant’s request to have a CR liquor license. Commissioner Anderson Holness seconded the
motion. Chairman Nadeau asked that the
motion be amended regarding the voluntary agreement. Commissioner Moss agreed to amend the motion
to include that a voluntary agreement will be completed within a week. Nadeau amended the motion to say that in one
week the Commissioner of jurisdiction would sit with the owner and complete a
voluntary agreement. The amendment was
seconded my Moss. The motion was adopted
9-1, with one abstention.
071156, DC9,
1940 9th St., extended hours (Raia)
DC9 has a voluntary agreement in place already. They are holding an event called “The Next
Big Thing”.
Commissioner Raia moved
that ANC1B support DC9’s application for extended hours for “The Next Big
Thing” on February 15, 2009 from 11am to 2am.
Commissioner Moss seconded the motion.
The motion was adopted 9-0.
079843
Indulj, substantial change (Raia)
Commissioner Raia reviewed application 079843 for Indulj. At this time last month Indulj’s license for
substantial change was protested by the Shaw Cardozo Neighborhood
Association.
Commissioner Raia moved that ANC1B protest the application for
Indulj on peace, order, quiet, and trash with intentions of having the
community’s voice heard, this will allow time to get the voluntary agreement
signed and it is contingent upon the signing of the voluntary agreement. Nadeau reiterated, “The motion is to protest
until such time that a voluntary agreement is signed at which point the
Commission will withdraw their protest. Commissioner Anderson Holness seconded the
motion. The motion was adopted 9-1-0,
with one abstention.
080774, Gori
Café, new CR, 1119 V St. (Raia)
Commissioner Raia reviewed application 080774 for Gori Café. He contacted the owner; they have a meeting
set up for next week to discuss the voluntary agreement. The owner is very willing to sign the
voluntary agreement. They are currently
negotiating a voluntary agreement, so he suggested that the ANC protest this
license also until all questions are answered on basis of peace, order, and
quiet.
Commissioner Raia stated that he was asking the commission to
protest until voluntary agreement is signed. Commissioner Raia then moved that
ANC1B protest the application of Gori Café for peace, order, and quiet,
contingent upon a voluntary agreement being signed with us to protect our
community. Commissioner Conklin seconded
the motion. The motion was adopted 10-0.
Committee
Reports
Public
Safety
Commissioner Moss stated that the Public Safety Committee works
with PSA 305, specifically with Lieutenant Jova and Lieutenant Sanders. The charge of the committee is to discuss
public safety matters and come up with
means in which to eradicate crime, curb crime, and look at ways to facilitate
safety throughout ANC1B particularly PSA 305.
The second in command with MPD, Officer Groomes has called a special ad
hoc committee to discuss restructuring of PSAs.
He asked certain members of the community to meet on February 26, 2009
to look at ways to make PSAs more effective.
ABC
Commissioner Raia stated that he is looking for people to serve on
the committee. Residents of ANC1B would
be members of the committee which will focuses on the following area:
1. how licenses
are applied for,
2. how they are
posted in the community,
3. how to get
community input, and
4. Build the
businesses so that they know how to operate legally and the Commission does
have issues with them.
The responsibilities the committee will brief the Commission on
are:
1. Develop and
make a survey for the community on new licenses and revised licenses for more
community input around the establishments (not just relying on Shaw Cardozo or Westminster
Neighborhood Associations),
2. Develop
strategies to help new businesses become an active part of the community,
3. Conduct
monthly meetings to discuss concerns the community may have with any
establishment that serves liquor.
Design
Review
Commissioner Smith stated that the committee was developed last
year and deals with matters of DDOT, particularly location of traffic lights,
stop signs, and speed humps. He
announced that almost every street in his SMD has speed humps on it. Also, a four way stop sign was installed at
11th and Fairmont Streets.
The committee will look at the built environment in the area and
decide what the ANC wants the community to look like. This will deter developers and architects
from throwing any type of design plan at us.
The committee looked at and reviewed two items last year. They are just getting started so they do not
have “formal meetings”. A lot of the
information (drawings and designs) is sent via e-mail. Commissioners Anderson Holness, Conklin,
Nadeau, Muhammad, Moss, Raia, and Akinmboni expressed interest in joining the committee.The committee meets the third Monday of the month
Grant Applications
There were no grant applications at this time.
New Business
Executive Director
Commissioner Conklin discussed the
Executive Director resolution. The
resolution would create a staff hiring committee tasked with looking into
hiring an Executive Director for ANC 1B.
A conversation was held. Commissioner Anderson Holness then moved that
ANC1B table the resolution until at least the March meeting. Commissioner Smith seconded the motion. The motion was adopted 5-4-1.
Grants Committee
Commissioner Akinmboni discussed the
formation of a Grants Committee for ANC1B.
The committee would be responsible for monitoring grant applications,
including informing possible grantees of problems with applications, collecting
receipts, etc. Commissioner Anderson
Holness asked whether this was an existing committee. Chairman Nadeau replied that a formal motion
would be needed to make this committee official. Commissioner Anderson Holness asked
Commissioner Akinmboni if she was willing to serve as the Chair of the
committee. Commissioner Akinmboni
replied that anyone can serve as Chair, but she was willing to do so. Commissioner Akinmboni moved that ANC1B form
a Grants Committee. Commissioner
Anderson Holness seconded the motion. Commissioner
Anderson Holness amended the grant so that the committee vets grants. The amendment was seconded. The motion was adopted 9-1. Chairman Nadeau then asked for nominations
for Chair of the committee. Commissioner
Anderson Holness nominated Commissioner Akinmboni as Chair of the
committee. Commissioner Akinmboni
accepted the nomination. Commissioner
Smith nominated himself as Vice Chair of the committee. There were no other nominations. Both positions were accepted by
acclamation.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Commissioner E. Gail Anderson Holness, Secretary 1B
Ms. Bianca Body, Administrative Assistant 1B