Meeting Minutes
April 12, 2018,7:30 pm
The meeting convened at about 7:57 PM. Commissioners Bender, Ehrhardt, McHugh and Quinn were in attendance.
Announcements / Open Forum– opportunity for members of the community to raise issues of concern or importance to the 3E neighborhood
Ian Maggard, the Ward 3 Liaison to the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations,invited the community to join the Mayor on Saturday, April 14 to march in the Emancipation Day parade. The parade will be followed by a concert and fireworks. Maggard then handed out a summary of the Mayor’s proposed FY19 budget and announced that DDOT launched the 2018 Pothole-palooza and Pave DC, an initiative to repave all poor-quality city streets by 2024.
An attendee asked for more police patrols around Friendship Place at 41stSt and Wisconsin Ave. She said there has been a problem with thefts and a homeless man recently approached and chased her two grandchildren.
Nicholas Mendelsohn, the Constituent Services Representative from Mary Cheh’s Office, and Lakea Thornhill, with the Pepco Community Outreach Department introduced themselves to those in attendance.
Jonathan Fichter asked questions regarding the MPD reporting of data required by the NEAR Act.
A resident asked about the MPD’s policies regarding homeless people and their possessions.
Presentation by 2nd District Police
Lt Hill from the 2ndDistrict provided an update on crime trends in the area over the last 30 days. He stated that there were 40 total crimes including one assault with a deadly weapon, two robberies, and one burglary. The types of crimes occurring in this area require a mobile response, so the MPD has not been deploying footbeat nor mountain bike patrols. Motor vehicle thefts are on the rise in Upper Northwest DC and the stolen autos are being used to commit other criminal offenses. He reminded people to not leave spare key fobs in vehicles and noted that MPD has not seen car thefts that use electronic hacking devices.
Following up on the questions raised during open forum:
- Hill stated all data required by the Near ACT are being collected. They are trying to determine how the data can be shared without violating privacy regulations. MPD has been training officers in crisis intervention. They have not embedded officers with the physicians because of HIPAA concerns.
- Hill stated that MPD has strict protocols regarding when and how they can clean up, store and discard possessions from homeless residents. Any clean ups they participate in are usually in conjunction with representatives of other DC Government agencies.
- Regarding trouble around Friendship Place, Hill stated that while homeless residents do sometimes have problems with disorderly behavior (urinating and defecating in public and sleeping in doorways), thefts from autos are usually done by professionals.
Commissioner Bender suggested the Commission invite representatives from Friendship Place to a meeting to provide a presentation of the types of services they provide.
Commissioners asked about a report of a homeless person buying alcohol for minors and asked about the status of an investigation into a pedestrian fatality at Western Ave.
Lt Hill reminded the audience that he can be reached at alan.hill@dc.gov.
Presentation of grant request by Joy of Motion
Julia Herman Cain, the director of External presented a grant request for $2000 for flooring to support Joy of Motion’s dance festival at Ft. Reno park on June 10 from 10 am to 2 pm. Commissioner Bender noted that the Commission supported this event last year and stated that the Commission likes to encourage events to become self-sustaining. Cain replied that they received a $20,000 grant from the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities last year but were not eligible to apply this year. Commissioner Quinn asked how many ANC3E residents would be participating and noted that the grant application needs to be updated to specify that the funds will be used for flooring. A vote on the request will be taken at the next ANC meeting.
Discussion of and possible vote on liquor license renewal applications for Wagshal’s and Tenley Minimart
Commissioner Bender informed those in attendance that the ANC does not normally take action for liquor license renewals (as opposed to initial applications) unless there are complaints about the establishment or the Commissioners are aware of problems with the establishment. There were no concerns raised by those in attendance and the Commission took no action on the renewals.
Discussion of and possible vote on public space application by Buredo at 4235 Wisconsin Ave. for a sidewalk cafe
Buredo, a fast-casual restaurant would like to install an outdoor patio with a low wall in front of the restaurant that will close at 10 PM on weeknights and 10:30 on weekends. Commissioner McHugh moved and Commissioner Ehrhardt seconded a motion to support the resolution for a sidewalk café. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0.
Discussion of and possible vote on resolution calling for creation of an Office of Educational Performance Assessment under the DC Auditor’s office
Commissioner McHugh stated that is has been very difficult to get consistent data, or sometimes any data, from DCPS and DC Charter Schools that reflect enrollment, graduation rates, attendance, finances, chronic absenteeism, etc. Councilmembers Cheh and White are introducing bring a bill to the DC Council that would create a DC education research advisory board to collect data from DCPS and DC Charter schools. McHugh stated that no vote will be taken on the draft resolution at this meeting as McHugh would like to update the resolution to reflect their newly proposed bill. Attendees and Commissioners asked: how much money will be allocated for this board; if it would duplicate any other services; and if the legislation would apply to charter schools. There was a discussion regarding what data to collect and the problem of how to count absences, especially at the high school level.
Presentation and discussion about Climate and Community Re-investment Act
Justin McCarthyrepresenting the Put a Price On It Coalition stated they would like to introduce a bill to the DC Council that would tax carbon production. Starting in 2019, a new tax of $20/ton on carbon emissions would be assessed. The tax would increase to $150/ton in 2035. The tax would be paid to the DC government and 75% of the money would be progressively rebated to electric ratepayers. The average family of four would pay $13/month in tax and see a rebate of $27-$45 per month. Toronto, Vancouver and London have instituted similar legislation.
Commissioners: asked if there was evidence that this could reduce carbon emissions; stated that homeowners are running out of ways to reduce their energy consumption; asked if Pepco would pay the tax; asked how much money this bill would raise; asked if the money raised could be used to incentivize green behaviors such as funding Metro or buses to get people to stop driving; asked if the bill could incentivize people to purchase cleaner energy in addition to using less; thought large energy users would just pass the costs onto their customers; and asked if the bill had an educational component.
ANC Business
- Approval of March 2018 meeting minutes – Commissioner Bender moved and Commissioner McHugh seconded a motion to approve the March 2018 Meeting Minutes. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0.
- First and 2ndquarter financial reports – Commissioner Quinn moved and Commissioner Bender seconded a motion to approve the first and second quarterly reports. The motion was approved by a vote of 4-0-0.
- Approval of expenditures – Commissioner Quinn moved and Commissioner Bender seconded a motion to approve payments of $54.33 to FedEx for copying services, $4.90 to Tom Quinn for 1099 form reimbursement. $356.25 to Sherry Cohen for administrative support. The expenditures were approved 4-0-0.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:29 PM by unanimous consent.
ANC3E Apr 12 2018 Meeting Minutes Draft
ANC3E Apr 12 2018 Meeting Minutes Final