Advisory
Neighborhood Commission 6D
Present:
Commissioners Hamilton, Litsky, Moffatt, Siegel, Skolnik, and Sobelsohn.
The
meeting was convened at 7:04 p.m.
Before
the meeting officially started, Councilmember Tommy Wells swore in Roger
Moffatt as the Commissioner for ANC6D05.
1. Special Election
Commissioner
Litsky announced that the official letter declaring the seat in SMD 03 vacant,
and saying that petitions for the seat had to be filed by Monday, January 29th. He said that at the February ANC meeting,
the procedure for the new election, which will be held during the March ANC
meeting, will be announced.
2.
Agenda
Commissioner Sobelsohn asked that discussion of the
November minutes be moved to the February meeting. Motion:
Commissioner Sobelsohn moved/ Commissioner Skolnik seconded the approval
of the agenda as amended. The motion
was approved without objection.
3.
Community Comment and special guests
Four community residents addressed the Commission - Paul
Greenberg, president of the Tiber Island Co-op,
Nancy Masterson a resident at the Gangplank Marina, Gene Solon, a resident of
Harbour Square and Vanessa Ruffin of Half Street.
Councilmember
Tommy Wells said that part of what he wants to do is work closely with athe
ANCs, and introduced Naomi Mitchell, who is his staff person covering all ANC
meetings, so that he can respond quickly to issues that are raised at meetings.
He also asked the Commissioners to develop a list of ten initiatives that are
the Commission’s goals for the next year.
He said he plans to adopt a ward-wide agenda of priorities, and use the
ANCs as his eyes and ears in the community.
Hiram
Brewton II, the new Ward 6 Neighborhood Service Coordinator was introduced. He said he was a Ward 6 resident, and he’s
now walking the Ward, identifying problems.
He can be reached at 727-7975, hiram.brewton@dc.gov.
He introduced Simone Green, who lives at Potomac Place Towers in Southwest, who
will be the new Ward 6 Community Outreach Coordinator, working with the ANCs as
well as neighborhood groups. She can be
reached at 442-8150, simone.green@dc.gov.
4. Public Safety
Officer
Tolbert of PSA 104 gave the crime statistics for PSA 104. He was told of the continued concern of the
Commission regarding safety and security as construction begins at Waterside
Mall. He was asked to relay this
concern to Lt. Mitchell and urge her to attend, to ensure that the
Commissioners can ask specific questions on issues of concern to the community
that Officer Tolbert could not provide.
5. Old Business
The
question of ANC approval of proposed alley closings on Squares 700 and 701,
between M and N and Half and 1st Streets SE had originally been
referred to a negotiating committee with Monument Realty, the developer, at the
November meeting, and negotiations continued through December with
Commissioners Skolnik, Siegel and Sobelsohn and Mac Macauley and Shkeda Johnson
representing the ANC.
Amy
Phillips of Monument Realty outlined its current proffer of community benefits
for ANC 6D:
1. Preference for ANC6D
residents in the minimum 8% affordable housing units that will be provided in
the project. If additional square
footage, up to 12%, is included for
Moderate Income housing, depending on whether it is subsidized by WMATA
(Monument Realty’s partner in the project), the District of Columbia or a
non-profit agency, current residents of Near Southeast/Southwest will also
receive preference through a lottery for these units.
2. A $10,000 contribution to the Southwest Scholarship
Fund.
3. A $50,000 contribution to Jefferson Jr. High School
and/or Amidon School, for projects mutually designated by Monument Realty, the
school principals and the ANC.
Motion:
Commissioner Sobelsohn
moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded that the ANC support the alley closings
because of the offer of a satisfactory community benefits package by the
developer. The motion passed without
objection.
There
was a presentation on the mixed-use development that will be built over the
closed alleys on Square 700-701. It
will include commercial, residential, and retail space, as well as a hotel. It goes before the Zoning Commission for a
design review under the South Capitol Gateway Zoning Overlay on January
11. Motion: Commissioner
Sobelsohn moved/Commissioner Siegel seconded that the ANC support the
development at 55 M Street and it send a letter to the Zoning Commission
expressing its support. The motion passed by a vote of 4-0-2, with
Commissioners Hamilton and Skolnik abstaining.
Commissioner
Litsky said that the Marina View Towers project will come before the Zoning
Commission for approval as a PUD on February 15th. He suggested that a negotiating committee be
established to discuss community benefits with the project’s developer,
Fairfield Residential LLC. Motion: Commissioner Sobelsohn
moved/Commissioner Skolnik seconded that a negotiating team be formed to work
with the developers of Marina View Towers on a community benefits package. The committee will consist of three
commissioners – Skolnik, Moffatt and Litsky -- and two members of the Development
Committee. The motion passed 6-0.
6. New Business
Naomi Monk, chair of the
Community Outreach Grants Committee, presented the three remaining grants from
Jefferson Jr. High School PTA.
Commissioner Skolnik said that one grant, given in December, should be
closed out before another is applied for, and that grants should be closed out
within 60 days, which would make it due in February. It was agreed that the ANC would refine its grant procedures and
appropriate by-laws to be specific on procedures and requirements.
7. National Marathon
Chris
Browne of the National Marathon presented plans for the March 24th
race and its impact on the Southwest community. The race will go across M Street, cutting off the north side of M
from the south side of the street. Motion:
Commissioner Skolnik moved/ Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion to
support the race, on the condition that arrangements were made so that
residents south of M Street would be able to leave the neighborhood by car, and
be able to cross the street to access the Mall. The motion
passed 4-1-1, with Commissioner Moffatt in opposition, and Commissioner
Sobelsohn abstaining.
A
letter will be written to Office of Emergency Management, indicating ANC
support, and outlining ANC concerns that have to be addressed prior to the
race. (If a letter is referenced in a
motion, the letter that has been sent as a consequence of that motion should,
if not attached to the minutes, be included in the Commissioner packets.)
8. Approval of Minutes
Motion: The December minutes of
the ANC were approved by a vote of 3-0-3, with Commissioners Hamilton, Moffatt
and Sobelsohn abstaining.
7. Treasurer’s Report
Commissioner Skolnik presented the Treasurer's Report for December
11, 2006-January 8, 2007. A copy of his
report is attached to these minutes.
ANC 6D has $42,938.68 in current funds.
The savings account has $5,125.10, including an interest payment of
$2.26. The report includes expenses
submitted for approval staff salary, $866.56 (Check #291), $104.53 to Verizon
for telephone services (Check #292); $150 for petty cash (Check #293); $90 to
St. Augustine’s Church for space rental (Check #294); $1000 to Jefferson Jr.
High School PTA for community grant (Check #295); and $1000 to the Friends of
Carrollsburg Place for a community grant (Check #296). Motion: Commissioner Skolnik
made/Commissioner Moffatt seconded a motion to approve the December report and
to authorize payment of the expenses. The motion
passed 6-0.
Motion: Commissioner Skolnik/Commissioner Siegel seconded a motion that
the ANC support the expenditure of $25 to the ANC Security Fund. The motion passed passed 6-0.
8.
Administrative
Committee Meeting
The Chairman called an Administrative Committee meeting during to
discuss grant procedures and committee structure and to determine the
procedures for holding the election to fill the vacancy in SMD-03. It will be held within the next two
weeks. Commissioners were again
requested to submit the names of their committee representatives.
9.
Election of Officers
An election was held for ANC officers for 2007. They are: [Is there
a need to record in the minutes the nominators / seconders and votes for these
offices? I don’t think so, but be
prepared in case there are objections since they required votes of the
commission.]
Chair: Roger Moffatt
Vice Chair: Andy Litsky
Secretary: Rhonda Hamilton
Treasurer: Max Skolnik
10. Establishment of Meeting Night
Motion: Commissioner Moffatt moved/ Commissioner Siegel seconded that the
ANC continue to meet on the second Monday of the month. The motion passed 5-1, with Commissioner
Sobelsohn in opposition. The Commission also adopted their meeting schedule for
FY2007. Regularly scheduled business
meetings will take place on the second Monday of each month, except in the
month of August, when no meeting takes place, and in the month of October when
the meeting is held on the third Monday because of Columbus Day.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 pm.