Chair's report:
Secretary’s report: minutes of the February 16 meeting (draft sent out February 17).
Meeting notes posted on DCJack.org, linked to anc1d.org, on March 2, March 8
Treasurer’s report:
Request authorization for contract with Multicultural Community Service for Spanish language interpreters, once a month, two hours, $160 per session.
Routine checks to write: Tony Grillo $100, Lorena Mejia $50
Committee reports: Commercial Corridor
Next meetings: April 6 (informal), April 20 (business)
Resolved, ANC 1D advises the DC Council – and in particular the Committee on Libraries, Parks & Recreation – to disapprove contracts submitted by the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) for the Mt Pleasant Branch Library, and to indicate that no contracts will be approved until several conditions are fulfilled, listed below:
1. Local needs: DCPL submits a revised design after serious consultation with the local ANCs that
◦ Reflects the distinctive needs of the neighborhood and local users by asking ward one ANCs for their ideas, and funding a study of local needs and alternative approaches.
◦ Respects the almost unique historical traditions of this Carnegie library by not encumbering it with a distracting and discordant 'hunchback'. The two other Carnegie branch libraries (Southeast & Takoma Park) did not suffer such bloat.
◦ Facilitates rather than hinders future emergency access by a ladder fire truck to about a dozen older apartment buildings, by using an expansion of the ground floor entrance reduces the difficulty of access by seniors, handicapped, and families with infants and kids.
In particular, 1D urges the DC Council to make clear to DCPL that - compared to decades of better future benefits and the very large capital costs - designs must be based on local needs and neighborhood distinctiveness, not a DC-wide template. 1D urges the DC Council to give priority to the safety needs of neighbors by waiving the "by-right" development of this government agency so that these issues may be addressed, say by the Board of Zoning Adjustment, and by the Historic Preservation Review Board.
Specifically, 1D advises the DC Council to require that the design be developed in collaboration not only with ANCs but the Department of Transportation, the Office of Planning, and the Department of Parks andRecreation so that this investment can be leveraged with the neighboring facilities for greater public benefit. The Office of Planning (and 1D) has observed that this could be a gateway that would greatly enhance cross-ANC traffic, and aid the smallest main commercial corridor of ward one's four ANCs.
2. Uphold the law: DCPL fulfills its legal duty of DCPL to notify and give Great Weight to local ANCs of planning and design process, and does so by demonstrating utmost respect for code and case law to answer each point raised by ANCs in particularity from the perspective of the ANC and with evidence-based arguments.
In particular, 1D urges the DC Council to make clear to DCPL that there are no rewards for shirking or skirting the ANC and other laws. 1D urges the DC Council to insist that the law be upheld – the main entrance of any substantially rehabbed public building must be accessible to all.
3. Larger, longer-term benefits: DCPL revises the design and process to facilitate adapting to major changes of the next half century in technology and public engagement.
In particular, 1D urges the DC Council to make clear to DCPL that an approved design must provide for low-cost and high flexibility to adjust spaces to meet the needs of future studies that have been promised but not done. Similar flexibility is needed for DCPL to anticipate and adjust to the radical changes now arising from new technologies and patterns of information development and application.
Already, arguments for using better present practices to increase effectiveness by a factor of ten has been brought to DCPL's attention, which they have ignored. A further gain in cost-effectiveness seem possible and even likely. It appears that the DC Council need require changes in DCPL's management culture, and in the facility plan to facilitate systematic learning.
(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, ANC 1D directs the Treasurer that any budgetary directive contained in resolutions passed within the last 36 months will become null and void on December 31st 2009. This will make it easier to forecast and track expenditures related to budgets.
WHY: Several ANC 1D resolutions set budgetary authorizations without any type of sunset provisions or termination. These essentially become unmanaged liabilities that could put ANC 1D in fiscal jeopardy.
(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 December 3)
Resolved: ANC1D advises the DC City Council, Mayor, and Non-Voting Delegate to recognize healthcare as a human right, to endorse and support the single-payer approach to healthcare delivery, to advise the United States Congress to support national single-payer healthcare legislation, and to take all necessary steps to secure passage of such legislation in Congress.
Why: Every person deserves quality healthcare. The US Conference of Mayors and over fifty state, county and local governments have passed resolutions in support of single-payer healthcare legislation. National polls show that about 65% of people in the US support the idea of a universal, national healthcare system. Nearly 45,000 people die in the United States each year because they don’t have health insurance. Rising health care costs caused a 60 percent increase in the underinsured from 2003 to 2007 and contributed to nearly two-thirds of all bankruptcies in 2007. Despite the success of the D.C. Healthcare Alliance program, 9.8 percent of District of Columbia residents still lacked access to health insurance in 2008. Single-payer legislation, currently in the US House of Representatives and the US Senate, envision a universal coverage of all medically necessary services. DC and the national government must hear from the grass root levels that US people do want a single-payer healthcare system.
(Draft received January 10; revised January 26)
ANC1D advises City Council to pass an enforceable District Facilities Plan bill defining all space needs of DC agencies and service providers. Community notice and input should be achieved through the Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
Why: The District Facilities Plan is a planning document long required by DC’s Comprehensive Plan, yet never completed by the city government. The plan is needed to identify the facilities needs of DC government agencies and service providers and to ensure the fair and equitable placement of services needed throughout the city before “surplusing" and then disposing of public property.
(Draft received January 12)
Resolved ANC1D supports the ongoing efforts of Mount Pleasant Main Street in working with the District Department of Transportation its efforts to improve the streetscape in Mount Pleasant using funds provided by the Transportation Enhancement Grant from the Federal Highway Administration.
Why: During the ANC1D informal business meeting discussing this grant and other streetscape improvements this Commission heard enthusiasm from the community on many of the proposed improvements. Additionally, this Commission has recently approved a resolution endorsing the creation of a Pedestrian Encounter Zone in Mount Pleasant.
(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 3)
The ANC1D commissioners endorse City Arts design for a community mural at 3125 Mt Pleasant Street NW.
Why: The mural by well-known DC muralist Bryon Peck would provide some color and interest along an otherwise drab street and instigate a community dialog of more murals on more walls.
(Draft received March 10)
Resolved, that ANC1D advises the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to use Transportation Enhancement Grant funds for improvements in Mount Pleasant; and that DDOT undertake a study of a trial “Pedestrian Encounter Zone” in the 3200 block of Mount Pleasant Street, yielding a substantial expansion of the effective area of Lamont Park, as well as promoting pedestrian and bicycle use of Mount Pleasant Street, between Lamont Street and Park Road.
Why:
There is general agreement in Mount Pleasant that the commercial strip should be made more attractive to pedestrians, and less devoted to automobile traffic. Mount Pleasant Street at this time is a 56-foot-wide barrier between Lamont Park and the shops on the east side of the street. Pedestrians frequently cross this street in mid-block, making their way across two lanes of traffic, two lanes of parked cars, and one center lane used for turning buses and as a truck loading zone. Declaring this barrier a “pedestrian encounter zone” would give pedestrians priority over traffic, legitimizing and enhancing current use.
Such “encounter zones” have found success in Europe, where certain central-city areas have been designated areas where pedestrians, not cars, have priority. Traffic is not prevented from entering the area, but drivers must yield to pedestrians, not merely at crosswalks, but everywhere within this zone. Traffic moves slowly, typically with an 18 mph speed limit. The “pedestrian priority” status tends to shift through traffic to other roads, resulting in areas that approach pedestrian malls in people-friendliness, yet which do not prevent access by delivery vehicles or business patrons.
Mount Pleasant Street is ideal for an experimental implementation of a “pedestrian encounter zone” in the District. This is not an essential through route to any outside destinations. Through traffic can take 16th Street, bypassing Mount Pleasant Street entirely. East-west through traffic is best confined to the east-west arterials, Park Road and Adams Mill Road/Irving Street. The reduction of traffic on Mount Pleasant Street would be enhanced by allowing the long-recommended and planned left turn from northbound 16th Street onto westbound Park Road, avoiding the tedious roundabout of the triangle park on the east side of 16th Street, and so reducing any temptation to cut through Mount Pleasant Street to reach westbound Park Road.
Noisy northbound traffic on this block could be further reduced by revising the routes of northbound Metrobuses to take 16th Street, and the left onto Park Road, instead of coming up Mount Pleasant Street. This would have the additional benefit of allowing the conversion of several bus stops into metered automobile parking areas. These additional customer parking spots could justify the elimination of some of the parking on the 3200 block, further reducing vehicle congestion on Mount Pleasant Street, and promoting the use of this area for pedestrians, instead of for cars.
These preliminary concepts require more detailed and thorough investigation. ANC1D advises such an invetigation, a study of this “pedestrian encounter zone” as it might be experimentally implemented here in Mount Pleasant, to see how well this could work in DC.