MINUTES of June 7, 2011 ANC 4A MEETING

Fort Stevens Recreation Center, Van Buren and 13th Streets, N.W., Washington, DC

Commissioner Stephen Whatley called the meeting to order at 7:22pm.

Roll Call: Commissioners Habieba Snow-Israel, Kimberly Boyd, Dave Wilson, Dwayne Toliver, Gale Black, Karl Kennedy, and Stephen Whatley were present. Commissioner Marian Bennett was absent.

Having determined that there was a quorum, Commissioner Whatley called the meeting to order.

1. ANC ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS

(a) Commissioner Whatley moved for an acceptance of the agenda and was seconded by Commissioner Toliver.

(b) After Commissioner Toliver stepped down as secretary, Commissioner Toliver moved that Kim Boyd be elected as Secretary. Motion was seconded by Dave Wilson. Motion carried.

(c) Commissioner Whatley entertained nominations for Treasurer due to recent resignation of office by Gale Black. Commissioner Snow-Israel voiced concern over issues regarding recent resignation of Treasurer. Vote for Treasurer was tabled until end of meeting.

(d) Legal matters concerning cases filed against ANC 4A and/or named commissioners have been dismissed for lack of standing and jurisdiction by plaintiff (Michael Sindram). Plaintiff plans to appeal decision.

(e) Commissioner Black shared a letter received from Karen Howard stating her objections to the decision to deny funds to the Wilson Crew Boosters. Commissioner Black wanted this communication noted for the record.

2. ANNOUNCEMENTS

(a) Representative for Ward 4 Council member Muriel Bowser

i. 11th Annual Ward 4 Family Fun Day will be held on Saturday, June 18 from 2-5pm at Lafayette Elementary School (5701 Broad Branch Road, NW)

ii. Due to extreme temperatures, DPW has modified their schedule for trash pickup for Wednesday & Thursday of this week. Pickups will be begin one hour earlier at 6am.

iii. Upshur Pool is now open

iv. Proposed reconstruction of Oregon Avenue from Western Ave. to Glover Rd. will be topic of the ANC 3-4G public meeting on June 13th. Residents are invited to attend and express opinions.

(b) The Office of the Mayor – Brandon Starkes (brandon.starkes@dc.gov), Ward 4 Outreach & Service Specialist appeared, but had no report.

(c) The Fourth District Metropolitan Police Department – No one appeared or delivered a report.

3. PRESENTATIONS

(a) Brightwood Community Association. Anthony Briggs appeared before the commission requesting funds in the amount of $5000 for Brightwood Day to be held on July 16, 2011. The grant application submitted to the Commission was incomplete. Therefore, further discussion was tabled until Mr. Briggs returned with 8 copies of complete application at end of meeting.

(b) Council member Phil Mendelson

i. Council member Mendelson reported on the necessity for redistricting stating that the SMDs must be equal in size (~2,000). The final vote will occur in two weeks, at which time a task force will be set up in each ward. If the past is any indication, Council member Mendelson predicts there will be about 300 SMDs and unless there is a problem with numbers, the subcommittee will accept what the task force recommends.

ii. Commissioner Black asked about announcement of Ward 4 not changing any of its boundaries and the issue of the boundary at Rock Creek Park.

iii. Council adopted legislation of new Department of Forensic Science. A new $225 million lab is being built to house the Medical examiner, public health laboratory, and all forensic services that the DC MPD now performs. The goal is to improve the quality of forensic science in the district by having a department that deals solely with forensic science run by scientists and is science oriented. Advantages of this new initiative is that DC won't be dependent on the federal government for testing, and when analysts testify they can say that they are independent – making prosecutions more effective. The hope is that with our own lab we will get more done and have a more robust law enforcement.

iv. PSA changes. Chief Lanier is going to be briefing the community about the 7 police districts that will see some changes in an effort to level the service demands. The Chief will increase the number of PSAs by half dozen. The 4th district will see a change in its southern boundary – picking up some areas from 3rd district.

v. Council member Mendelson spoke on the issue of pay raises for police officers explaining that the amount of pay given to officers must be balanced against their pensions and that new contracts will be negotiated in the near future.

vi. Council member David Catania has introduced legislation that will effect pensions of firefighters, police officers, teachers, etc. The current law is that the Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA) is capped at 3%. Catania's bill cuts the COLA in half.

vii.An amendment was made to eliminate tax exemption on municipal bonds instead of raising income tax. The change of eliminating the exemption would start on October 1. In order to get there, the revenues would have to be $80 million. Commissioner Black moved that ANC 4A oppose the removal of that exemption as it is affecting people in her SMD. Motion was seconded by Commissioner Wilson and unanimously passed. An email will be sent by the Chair to the Council on this matter, expressing the resolution.

4. COMMISSIONER PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSION

(a) Commissioner Whatley stated that ANC 4B may ask for our support in decision to oppose the newly requested hours of operation for the Sunshine Bar & Grill.

(b) Brightwood Community Association. Commissioner Whatley entertained motion that ANC 4A waive the 7 day requirement to consider this application. Commissioner Boyd seconded the motion. Commissioner Toliver wanted to go on record for saying it is critical for us to adhere to our grant process and how we consider grant applications. Commissioner Whatley charged Commissioner Wilson to come up with a plan of handling grant requests more efficiently and effectively. Motion to make a grant of $3K from ANC 4A to BCA. All in favor. Motion carried for $3K.

(c) Mr. Lewis Grant appeared before the commission with a grant request in the amount of $800 for a program called Males to Manhood occurring on Saturday, June 11. Since the address of the organization is listed as a Maryland corporation, the grant request was denied.

(d) Commissioner Black spoke on behalf of her SMD regarding the Crestwood Signage Improvement/Renovation project. ANC 4A08 asks for $1200 in community enhancement funds to restore the neighborhood signs.

(e) Discussion resumed regarding the resignation of the ANC 4A Treasurer. After several exchanges, Commissioner Israel made a motion for Commissioner Black to withdraw her resignation. As Commissioner Black's resignation was not formally accepted by the Commission, no further action was required by the Commission and Commissioner Black remains Treasurer.

Commissioner Whatley moved to adjourn the meeting. Move was seconded.

Meeting adjourned at 9:26pm.





































ANC 4A COMMISSIONERS



ANC 4A01 Commissioner Karl Kennedy

North Portal Estates, Colonial Village, and portions of Shepherd Park



ANC 4A02 Commissioner Dwayne M. Toliver

Shepherd Park



ANC 4A03 Commissioner Stephen A. Whatley (Chair)

Portions of Shepherd Park and Brightwood



ANC 4A04 Commissioner Marian C. Bennett (Vice Chair)

Brightwood



ANC 4A05 Commissioner Habieba Israel

Fort Stevens and Brightwood



ANC 4A06 Commissioner Kimberly Boyd (Secretary)

Brightwood



ANC 5A07 Commissioner Dave Wilson

16th Street Heights



ANC 4A08 Commissioner Gale Black (Treasurer)

Crestwood, Crestwood North and portions of 16th Street Heights



















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Respectfully Submitted by,

Kimberly Boyd (ANC 4A06), Secretary