PO Box
75115
Washington,
DC 20015
November
8, 2004
The
meeting was convened at 7:00 p.m.
Present:
Commissioners Assalaam, Hargrave, Johnson, Siegel, Williams
1.
Agenda
The agenda was approved with modifications..
2.
Community Concerns
Gene Solon gave his views on the baseball stadium,
and complimented the ANC on its position on the stadium.
Sara Livingston read a statement saying that the
community was not being sufficiently informed of ANC activities, and that the
law required the broadest dissemination of information. She expressed concern that news of the ANC
was being published in Capitol Hill publications, but not in the Southwester.
Commissioner Hargrave suggested that the
Commission’s rules be modified to act on community concerns when they are
presented . Commissioner Williams said
we should address these concerns by insuring a relationship with the
Southwester. Commissioner Moffatt
responded that the Commission is not precluded from taking action on community
concerns, but it is not required.
3.
Commissioner Concerns
Commissioner Williams thanked the community for
their votes, saying that she had been called away before the election, and was
grateful for the support and hard work of the people in her SMD.
Commissioner Moffatt mentioned that there ia a petition circulating on the baseball
stadium. Commissioner Siegel mentioned
that he would be attending a meeting with the next day prior to the City
Council vote, at the District Building
Commissioner Williams stated that there has been a
lack of communication between the City Councilmember and the ANC on the many
major developments—including the Stadium and Waterside Mall--facing
Southwest. She said she has been trying
to reach Councilmember Ambrose, but she’s been unresponsive. She said she believes that the Councilmember
should be held accountable to the ANC, and she has staff to follow up on these
issues. She asserted that Councilmember
Ambrose has been unresponsive, and that she has not been able to get any
answers from her office, and no help is on the way. She asserted her belief that the Councilmember has broken the
law, and she finds herself working against the Councilmember instead of with
her.
Commissioner Hargrave said that he thought that
while it was presumptuous to say that the Councilmember is accountable to the
ANC, when her responsibility is to the entire Ward, he suggested that a
solution to the problem would to be to formally request a meeting with the
Councilmember. Motion: Commissioner
Williams moved that a meeting be set up between the Councilmember and the
ANC. It was seconded by Commissioner
Assalaam and passed 5-0.
Commissioner Williams introduced the two newly
elected new members of the ANC, and thanked Commissioner Hargrave and other
members of the community for undertaking tasks for her in her absence.
Commissioner Assalaam raised the issue that there
had been irregularities in the SMD voting at several precincts in Southwest,
and that, particularly, the election workers were handing out Commissioner Moffatt’s ballot to voters in his
SMD. Commissioner Hargrave said that it
is unlikely that the problems in voting are limited to this ANC, and that a
letter should be written outlining the problems with SMD voting.
Gottlieb Simon said that the Board of Elections is
inviting comments on the problems with voting, and mentioned a particular
problem with the pads of ballots, which had discrepancies between what was on
the ballot, and what the top of the ballot said. The Board was not notified of these problems till mid-afternoon
on Election Day, and it was a quality control problem at the Board, rather than
the polls. Two years ago, the problem
was with knowing which SMD was at which precinct, this year it was
different. Motion: Commissioner
Hargrave moved that a letter be drafted to the Board of Elections
outlining the problems faced by ANC Commissioners at the polls. It was seconded by Commissioner Assalaam,
and passed 5-0.
4.
Police Report
There was no representative of the 1st
District present at the meeting, but Commissioner Williams reported that there
was a murder in the 1400 block of 1st Street SW. She also announced the CAC meeting for the
next evening. Commissioner Hargrave
added that there qwere no crime statistics, but a t the CAC meeting there would
be a report from Commander McGuire.
5.
Presentation: King/Greenleaf Recreation Center
6.
Commissioner Williams inquired as to when there had
last been an update on the Center. And was told that there had been a report
last year, and there had been a topping off ceremony. Jair Lynch, who is the developer of the site, said there had been
soil concerns that had delayed the project for about a year, but it was now
nearing completion. He introduced Tonya
Jackson, directo5r of community policy. Debra Pernell, the architect of the
project, lives in the community, and is excited about the buzz that the
architecture is receiving. He mentioned
his pride in doing neighborhood work.
He said that the project
is using public dollars, and they have used small and disadvantaged businesses
in the projects—they set a goal of 35% and have met it, including several hires
from the neighborhood. He said he was
proudest of involving the children of the neighborhood. Ms. Jackson said they had reached out to
five schools— Amidon, Jefferson, Gibbs, Thomas and Webb—and they were taught
about the jobs involved in building the center, not only construction, and had
the opportunity to play the roles involved. They used site visits and classroom
projects so the kids could learn what goes into a building.
Mr. Lynch said that within
the next few months they will be meeting with the Department of Parks and
Recreation to talk about how the building will be used—hours, staffing,
etc. And he believes the Parks
Department will want to talk with the community as well.
Commissioner Moffatt asked
when it would be completed and was told that they were aiming to have the
interior completed by midwinter, but they had received additional funding to
upgrade the tennis courts and don’t know whether they will be able to work the
ground until early Spring. They may
have a “soft” opening midwinter, but the formal completion may not be until
early Spring.. Commissioner Williams
asked through which programs local people had been hired, and was told that
they are required to use Department of Employment Services programs for the
project, and the requirements of the contract require that they use people from
a DOES list. They hired people from
Savannah Terrace, Sheridan Terrace, and Manor Place, and they had to use the
DOES database to do that. Commissioner
Williams then asked about the budget and whether additional funds were needed.. Mr. Lynch reported that there have been
additional funds added to the building for tennis courts, and they are on
budget for the building.
Commissioner Hargrave
asked whether there was space within the building for community meetings, such
as ANC meetings. Mr. Lunch said that
that was a matter for discussion with Parks and Recreation, but that other ANCs
were making use of new recreation centers for meetings.
In response to a question,
Mr. Lynch said that the budget was $5 million, and Commissioner Williams said
that she remembered the figure being $1.6 million. She was told that it was if it had been a renovation that might
have been the figure. Mr. Lynch stated
that Parks and Recreation would have to be asked for additional information.
In response to a question
about problems at the construction site, Mr. Lynch said that there had been had
been a couple of shootings in the area, and a worker had had a car stolen. Commissioner Williams asked why Bowen was
not on the list of schools that were involved in the project. She was told that there were problems in
accessing Bowen , and was told that the principal was approached, but did not
make the students accessible for the project.
7.
Update: Baseball Stadium
Commissioner Williams
began by stating that her neighbors along South Capitol Street and the unit block
of M Street oppose public financing for the stadium, they support building the
stadium in the proposed location,
Commissioner Hargrave
asked that someone who represented the Commission at the hearing summarize for
the community what had been presented on the Commission’s behalf. Commissioner Assalaam said that he was very upset because they
Commission’s representatives had to wait 10½ or 11 hours before they testified. He said that while the ANC had originally
been scheduled to be number 40, the Commission had been moved back to number
50, and in fact, were 67th on the list.. When he objected to Councilmember Evans office, saying that the
ANC should have testified right after the official government representatives,
he was told that the ANC was not part of the government. The business people testified the whole day,
and when he finally testified, he read the ANC’s testimony, and then blasted
Councilmember Evans, bringing up that he made District citizens wait while
others testified, and “firing” hime.
Commissioner Moffatt said
that three other Commissioners—himself, Commissioner Litsky and Commissioner
Siegel had testified, and all were on the same wavelength. Commissioner Siegel said that no property
owners have been contacted by DC government, and that Councilmember Ambrose has
not responded to their request for a meeting.
He expressed his disappointment that the City and the Councilmember have
been unresponsive.
Commissioner Williams
reiterated her view that the City and Councilmember Ambrose have not been
available to discuss its views with the ANC, Commissioner Assalaam added that
the ANC and the community has been disrespected by their not coming to the
community first, and ignoring the Commission, and not attending meetings. Gene Solon interjected that they have done
the same thing with the Waterfront development. Commissioner Williams said that she has e-mailed Councilmembers
Graham, Fenty, Catania and Mendelson, and have responded and offered to help in
the ANC’s efforts to be heard, and
Councilmember Catania has been particularly gracious.
8.
Update: Waterfront Development
Commissioner Williams
began by saying that while she had agreed to compile a job description for the
consultant the ANC had agreed to hire, she had not done so because of her work
on the Presidential elections. It is,
she said, one of the most pressing issues in the community. She has feelers out for assistance, and has
compiled a partial description. A big
question is cost for a consultant. The
issue, she said, should remain at the top of the ANC’s agenda.
Commissioner Williams then
raised the question of the ANC’s communication with NCRC on the issue of the
land sale, and she was told that the list of questions that had been discussed
at the last ANC meeting had been submitted by Commissioner Johnson to NCRC, not
endorsing or not endorsing the sale, but just raising the questions. Commissioner Hargrave mentioned that the
minutes stated that the communication would take place, and he was concerned
that the Commissioners had not seen what was going out.
Commissioner Williams
stated that what was being sent to NCRC was very tentative, and was couched
that way, and in no way indicated that the ANC was making any endorsement. She said that there were numerous questions
that were being raised, and it was very qualified, and there was no way it
could be mistaken for anything else. Commissioner Hargrave requested that
copies be provided to the ANC and the community.
Commissioner Williams is
concerned that no details have been worked out about the future of the grocery
store, and until those unresolved details were worked out, there could be no
possibility of any endorsement of the project. She said that the ANC had once again been put on a fast track
to make a decision, and it was unfair to ask to make a quick decision, and
they’ve been demanding a decision without the information we need. It’s supposed to go to the City Council on
November 18th, and they’re working on a fast deadline and expect the
community to do the same.
9.
Update: Friendship Baptist Church
Commissioner Assalaam said
that unfortunately the Historic Preservation hearing was the same day as the
hearing on the baseball stadium, and he asked Jerome Gray of Friendship Baptist
Church to give a report. Mr. Gray
reported that while the ANC had written a letter requesting a continuation,
because the matter had been pending for 115 days and there is a 120 day limit
on how long a matter can be before HPRB, the continuation was not granted.
There is a good chance the 1932 and 1952 additions will be torn down, but they
have to go before the Zoning Commission before that can happen. Rev. Little, of Friendship Baptist Church,
has received a letter from developer Stephen Tanner, and a meeting between the
two will occur. They plan to make
proposal for the usage of the Church’s first floor. They are concerned about the potential for the developer to put
condos and skylights on the second floor of the Church. What they would like to see is to see the
old Friendship become a Southwest history museum and visitor’s center. It would
be the history of the entire community, and deal with such things as Ft.
McNair, street names, and a recollection of the now-destroyed Southwest
community. In conception it would be
like the Banneker Douglas Museum in Annapolis.
Commissioner Assalaam reminded the ANC that the Commission voted
to would vote at this meeting on the new development, but that vote was made
moot by the HPRB approval of the project. Commissioner Hargrave said that the
vote was delayed so that the Commission could hear from Friendship Baptist
Church with their proposal.
Commissioner Assalaam responded that the ANC was going to vote to
approve or object to the project.
Commissioner Hargrave said he would like to get an official
communication from the new Friendship Baptist as to the status of their
negotiations with Mr. Tanner, and the status of their proposal. He stated that Rev. Little was not at the
hearing because he thought they were getting a continuance. Commissioner Assalaam said that he believed
that Mr. Tanner had already put in an application with the Zoning Commission,
and the next step in the project will be when they return to the ANC with a
PUD.
10. Liquor Licenses
Commissioner Siegel said
there are three establishments in his SMD that are up for renewal: Ziegfieds’s,
Edge/Wet, and Nexus/Gold Club. He
stated that he has no objection to any of these clubs having their licenses
renewed, and neither he nor the CAC have received any complaints about the
establishments. Commissioner Assalaam
asked about Edge/Wet. Commissioner
Siegel responded that it used to be Lost & Found, and now is a single club
with two sides, and the Wet side has a nude dancing license.
Commissioner Williams
raised her concerns about Commissioner Siegel discussing liquor licenses in his
SMD because, she asserted, he has a conflict of interest by being a license
holder. He responded that he now holds
no liquor licenses, but he is a landlord.
Commissioner Williams suggested that the discussion be put off because
she had insufficient knowledge about Ziegfield’s and wanted to talk with her
constituents. It was pointed out that
there was no time to do that.
Commissioner Moffatt suggested that they not be opposed. Commissioner Williams reiterated her view
that someone else should report on Ziegfield’s because Commissioner Siegel is
the landlord, and the ANC owes the community an unbiased opinion. Because of that, she said, the discussion
should be postponed and the police should be asked for a report.
Commissioner Assalaam said
that questioned whether it would be possible to ask the ABC to delay
consideration so that more information can be gathered. Commissioner Moffatt stated that the
Commission has been aware of Commissioner William’s concerns for a long time,
and they have voiced over and over.
There have been no concerns expressed about the club. Commissioner Assalaam said that he has had a
few people in his SMD express concerns about the clubs, and he would suggest
that we ask the ABC for a postponement and look further into it.
Commissioner Williams
suggested that the ANC follow up and make certain that there is no conflict of
interest, and that there is someone who has no business interest making a
report on the establishment. He may not
hold a liquor license, but he is a landlord, and it should be looked into.
Commissioner Hargrave
asked what the procedure is for notification for the ANC, and Gottlieb Simon
responded that there is 45 days notice given in the DC Register. There was discussion of when the notices
were received and the Administrative Assistant said that she had received the
Ziegfield’s notice in time for it to be discussed at the November meeting, but
had suggested putting it off because the agenda was so crowded for that
meeting.
Commissioner Sigel said
that the issue of his being a club landlord and a Class B license holder had
been raised when he was a member of 6B, and a hearing was held and it was
resolved to everyone’s satisfaction on 6B.
The hearing was at the ABC, and Fred Moosally.
Commissioner Williams said
it is not a personal challenge to Mr. Siegel, but I have challenged every
license, including the Holiday Inn .
She renewed her request that it is an appearance of impropriety, and he
should recuse himself. Motion: Commissioner
Hargrave moved that the Commission take no action on the license renewal for
Ziegfield’s. It was seconded by Commmissioner Moffatt, and passed 3-1-1.
Commissioner Hargrave raised the issue that there that there is a
committee that is supposed to review licenses which is at this time
inactive. There are two incoming
members of the Commission who could get involved, and then informed action
could be taken.
The issue then became
whether to take any action on Nexus/Gold and Edge/Wet. Motion: Commissioner Moffatt moved
that the ANC take no action on Edge/Wet and Nexus/Gold. It was seconded by Commissioner Hargrave,
and approved 3-1-1.
Commissioner Assalaam
suggested that license renewal postings be sent to all Commissioners when they
arrive in the office.
Gene Solon made several
points: that the chairperson can make a motion; that to vote overtly to take no
action is much worse than taking no action; that it is important to have a
functioning licensing committee; and that the Commissioners should get
notification of all liquor licenses. He
also addressed the question of impropriety.
Commissioner Assalaam said that the community has the right to criticize
the Commission. Naomi Mitchell made
note of what she sees as a trend—that the black clubs are disapproved and there
are no questions about the gay clubs, and that disturbs her. The Commission comes down hard on black
clubs and there is no discussion at all about the gay clubs. She says she sees a disturbing a pattern.
Commissioner Williams said
as Chair of the liquor licensing committee she has consistently challenged
licenses. She said that notification
has been a problem and it should be uniform,, and the owner should be invited
to come in.
Commissioner Assalaam said
that any time they are under discussion they should be contacted. Commissioner Hargrave mentioned that an
announcement should be made on the monthly flyer as well so that community
members can come as well.
11.
Chairman’s Report
There was no Chairman’s
Report
12.
Treasurer’s Report
Commissioner Siegel
reported that there are still mail problems.
He reported that the checking account has a balance of $ 26,860.49, and
t he savings account has a balance of $5,076.49. Petty cash has a balance of 72.21, for a total of
$35,008.89 He reported on the
unauthorized debits for $28.90, but he has filled out stop payment forms and
the bank is taking Care of it. The
Office of the Auditor requested the back of an old check that was made out to
the IRS, and they had taken 2 ½ months to cash it. He talked about the problems with the new system where banks are
not sending the backs of checks. Many
banks charge for.
Quarterly Report: two
allotments: total $9,198.70: the AAs
salary was $1,329.84;$ 282 went to Federal taxes; (The certified IRS letter was a request for $22.81, with no
penalty but $.18 cent interest payment..
He said he paid the bill to avoid penalty payments, but sent a letter
requesting an explanation; $218.28 went
for DC taxes; rent was $350; office supplies: $49.10; 11.85 was spent on
on-line banking services; had to put $28.90 for unauthorized debit for
aol. It all adds up to the penny. The balance for the quarterly report was
$29,700.42, which adds up with the checkbook register. There was some discussion about how AOL got
our bank account number, and it was reported that the ANC now has NetZero for
its Internet service provider..
Commissioner Hargrave
asked about the check register balancing with the report, and after some
discussion, Commissioner Siegel went to the ANC to get the detailed check
register.
13.
Administrative Assistant’s Report
Roberta Weiner reported on
the status of the Millennium Arts Center building, saying that there
Councilmember Graham had held a hearing the week prior, on declaring the
building surplus, a necessary step in the building’s sale to the Corcoran. She reported that there was an item added to
the DC Appropriation bill that requires surplus buildings to be assessed for
their potential use as charter schools.
The Millennium building, however, is under contract, and may be
grandfathered in, and won’t be a problem.
However, because of the delay on the vote, the building probably will
not be sold before April or May. While it seems resolved it may not be. Commissioner Assalaam mentioned that the
Corcoran said it would move everyone back in after the renovation.
Commissioner Assalaam
asked whether any member of the community would be interested in volunteering
to work on helping to find a new office.
Commissioner Siegel mentioned that he has extra space in his building,
but suggested it would be a conflict of interest. Commissioner Williams said that the Virginia Williams building
has been receptive in the past to having the ANC there. Sara Livingston has volunteered
to assist.
14.
Community Concerns)
Commissioner Assalaam said
that the Treasurer’s Reports should be in notebooks so that the community could
look at them, and that is how it had been in the past, where there was a
cumulative record. He also said that
Commissioners should be able to go to the office and see everything laid out
and be able to access Commission information..
He asserted that he has put forth a work plan, and it hasn’t been
fulfilled.
Commissioner Williams
mentioned that the Commission never had the Administrative meeting at which it
was to discuss the development of grant guidelines, and there had not been
another scheduled. Commissioner
Assalaam said that he was disturbed that the Commissioners didn’t show up for
the administrative meeting, but did show up for a private meeting on baseball.
Commissioner Williams
raised the issue of the grant she submitted for the Peace Memorial Garden on
the corner of M Street and South Capitol Street. The park would be in memory of Paul Kimbrough. Motion: Commissioner
Williams moved that a grant for $1500 be provided for the Peace Memorial
Park. It was seconded by Commissioner
Hargrave. Commissioner Hargrave expressed the view that the grant could not be
approved without having guidelines in place.
Commissioner Williams suggested that the Commissioners had had the
guidelines for several months, and that the ANC act now to approve them. Motion:
Commissioner Williams withdrew her earlier motion, and moved that the ANC grant
guidelines be approved. Commissioner
Hargrave spoke in opposition to the motion, saying that the guidelines should
be approved after discussion in a meeting, and have in place a though-out set
of guidelines. It was seconded by
Commissioner Siegel. Sara Livingston said that it was not a good idea to just
accept the guidelines without careful consideration. Patty Shea noted that ANC 6D is the only ANC in Ward 6 without a
grant committee, and it has been frustrating to be listening to the
Commission. Bernetta Coles said that the
she was not present for the original park proposal, but the community has not
had the opportunity to submit proposals, but it seems the Commissioners
can. Gene Solon said that these issues
should not wait until the end of the meeting. He suggested that there be a
community meeting on developing grant guidelines. He said he had suggested to the Treasurer speak to Gottlieb Simon
about whether a template for presenting Treasurer’s Reports existing. It was suggested that there be a monthly
summary of the Treasurer’s Report.
A community member
suggested that the community was willing to work and that there should be
better communication. Another community
member said that there should be a uniform reporting process for liquor
licenses; and that a graduate student be found who could undertake a project
researching what people want from Southwest.
Motion: Commissioner Hargrave
offered a motion to defer the discussion of the grant guidelines to the
December meeting. It was seconded by
Commissioner Siegel, and passed 4-1.
There was a discussion
about the process of doing guidelines first, and then having a group submission
of applications so everyone is on a level playing field.
15.
Treasurer’s Report (continued)
Commissioner Siegel
provided a check register, but Commissioner Hargrave wanted to see the bank statements. He said it was very difficult to have every
little piece of paper, and the Commission should have some faith in his
ability. He said the all the material
is upstairs in the office. Commissioner
Hargrave said that he wanted to see all the material that was to be included in
the quarterly report before it was submitted, so that the Commission could make
certain that it was all in order. Motion: Commissioner Siegel made a
motion to accept the Quarterly Report.
It was seconded by Commissioner Moffat, and passed 4-0-1.
Motion: Commissioner Hargrave
moved the acceptance of the Treasurer’s Report. It was seconded by Commissioner Moffatt, and passed 4-0-1.
16.
Minutes
Commissiosner Assalaam
asked that the minutes not be approved until the December meeting because
certain sections did not reflect what he said, and he wanted everything he said
on the record. The motion to defer the
minutes was passed unanimously.
Commissioner Assalaam also requested that copies of the ANC’s work plan
be brought to the December meeting for the Commission and the community.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 pm.
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D
65 I Street SW
Washington, DC 20024
554-1795
n
554=1774
office@anc6d.org