Chair's report:
Secretary’s report: minutes of the July 20 meeting (draft sent out July 25)
Meeting notes posted on DCJack.org, linked to anc1d.org, on July 30.
Treasurer’s report:
Q3FY10 financial report delivered to auditor's office July 22
Routine checks to write: Tony Grillo $100
Non-routine checks: Neighbors' Consejo, outdoor chairs and tables:
Next meetings: September 21 (business)
None
(Draft received 10/6/09)
Resolved, ANC1D allocates $200 and asks its staff to conduct a contest dividing $100 of prizes among the top four winners ranked by a neutral panel for a tag name for the Mt Pleasant neighborhood. The second $100 is for expenses of publicising the context and a small honorarium for panelists. The names must not favor nor disparage the style or perspective of any group in Mt Pleasant.
(Draft received 10/6/09)
Resolved, ANC1D requests that CM Mendelson hold oversight hearings on the functioning of the justice system in DC taken broadly. These hearings should include think tank and other specialists with experience in evaluating how justice as a government services is delivered and evaluated, and include specifically Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners. ANC 1D requests that Congresswomen Norton also ask the DC subcommittee of the House to schedule oversight hearings, and if CM Mendelson does substantially respond to this request, to build on the results of that study. ANC1D requests that the DC Superior Court and the DC Court of Appeals also commission a study and hold hearings to assess the concerns of residents, the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of justice in DC, taking Mt Pleasant as a specific case example for an in depth rather than superficial study.
Why: ANC1D has sponsored some small studies to prove the huge accumulation of anecdotal reports that large portions of Mt Pleasant feel there is next to no justice delivered to our residents. An oral history of the Viet community here, once almost a thousand residents, reports that they moved because they got next to no service of justice, especially in criminal matters.
When asked about their responsibilities, MPD officers point to their frustrations with the Office of the US Attorney, and some to the DC Office of the Attorney General.
(Draft received 10/6/09)
Resolved, ANC1d asks the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) to require proposers to contact all the ANCs affected and to assure that complete documentation is given.
Why: Proposers are often confused and placed in an opposition setting when they learn too late that they must work with their local ANCs. It would help all parties (HPRB, ANCs, & proposers) a great deal if HPRB would make clear this point clear in their procedures.
(Draft received 10/13/09)
RESOLVED: The ANC 1D website does not contain a sufficient amount of information to be a useful and reliable resource for the Community; nor does it effectively communicate with many members of the community that do not use English as their primary language. Furthermore, ANC 1D relies on several other community websites as proxies to its own website such as the Mount Pleasant Forum and DCJack.org instead of also maintaining a centralized, functional portal to information about ANC 1D business and information.
ANC 1D asks Commissioner Lepanto to lend his professional expertise and skill to redevelop and redeploy the ANC website before November 30, 2009. ANC 1D hereby authorizes $1000 for outside contractors to assist in this development upon submission and approval of work plans.
WHY: Many members of the community rely upon the internet to find out information, the ANC relies upon the internet to disseminate and communicate information, yet very few of us have any expectation that the website will have up-to-date information or will be able give us the information that we are looking for in a timely fashion. While the practice of disseminating data and files to other websites is useful and admirable, few who are new to the community would instinctively look beyond the ANC website to find information. Finally, while the ANC endeavors to conduct its business meetings bilingually, yet it does not publish data on the web in anything but English.
(Draft received November 2)
Resolved, ANC1D advises dDoT DC Department of Transportation), the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, and the Neighborhood Improvement Fund to assure that it follows the law and notifies ANC1D before any grants are made for projects in Mt Pleasant, and to delay implementation for any recent grants until 1D and the neighborhood has a chance to read and understand the project, with the times as set forth in law. ID requests, in accordance with DC code that applies the same terms of reachability as FoIA, that the Major for all agencies, and specifically the above agencies, report on currently considered grants or ones made recently.
Why: DC code requires that any grant made for work within an ANC area be noticed to that ANC allowing at least 30 business days for Great Weight reviews. In order to fulfill its charter and statutory function of monitoring and advising on government functions, this information is needed just as much as information on actions by government agencies themselves.
(Draft received February 3)
RESOLVED, that Phil Lepanto is assigned the tasks of ANC1D website development and maintenance for the calendar year 2010. Costs for initial set up are not to exceed $4500. Monthly costs for hosting, maintenance, and translation fees are not to exceed $400. In accordance with ANC-1D policy, Commissioner Lepanto will submit work plans for contractors to the Commission for approval in advance of the work to be performed. While the primary language of the site will be English, Commissioner Lepanto will secure translation services to translate important site pages into Spanish. Selection of contractors shall be subject to Commission approval.
(Draft received March 15)
Resolved, that ANC1D advises the demolition of the remains of the façade of the Deauville building, on the grounds that demolition is necessary in the public interest.
Why: The site is scheduled for the construction of a new building, the original having been totally destroyed by fire. The purchaser, the National Trust, intends to build workforce-class affordable housing, a category that is in low and decreasing supply in the gentrifying neighborhoods of Mount Pleasant and western Columbia Heights. The remains of the façade would severely constrain the development of this new affordable housing, and would substantially increase the cost of construction. What remains of this façade only superficially resembles the original, 1908 construction. Given the societal need for workforce-affordable housing in a neighborhood afflicted by high housing costs, and that preservation of the remains of this façade would virtually prohibit the development of workforce housing at this site, ANC1D believes that demolition of this façade is necessary in the public interest.
(Draft received May 18)
ANC 1D advises the DC Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to approve the application of Haydee's Restaurant to open an outdoor extension of their restaurant with a license to serve in this additional area.
Why: As seen in the attached plans this is not a large expansion, with space for only several tables.
Haydee's Restaurant has been an exemplary manager of an alcohol license, as detailed in recent 1D resolutions, whose rationales ("Why" sections) are here included by reference.
This plan will serve the public benefit by attracting more visitors to Mt Pleasant, and encouraging more people in the commercial corridor, diluting the fear-inducing effects of a strip that is often unused. The presence of many other people should give a greater sense of surveillance and safety. It should help support a sense of activity in a strip with many vacant stores.
Thus, approval of this extension of Haydee's liquor service to this delimited space will likely improve, and will not harm neighborhood peace, order, and quiet.
--