front page - search - community

WARD REPORTS
(Published February 23, 2004)

WARD 1 REPORT

ANC 1D AUDIT: D.C. Auditor Deborah K. Nichols has told the Mount Pleasant Advisory Neighborhood Commission to tighten up "significant weaknesses" found in its financial operations.

A recently completed routine audit of the ANC’s books for the period from Oct. 1, 1999, through June 30, 2003, found that most of the ANC’s quarterly financial statements were filed late or were incomplete or inaccurate at the time of submission. In addition, the auditor found "an inadequate record-keeping system and the lack of a monthly or quarterly review of the financial books and records … to ensure that all disbursements were authorized, properly recorded, and supported by appropriate documentation." The audit found payments totaling $2,336.79 for goods and services that "were not supported by adequate documentation."

The ANC must respond to specific violations detailed in the Feb. 11 report within 90 days or forfeit its next scheduled quarterly allotment of funding. All of the violations occurred prior to the start of the two-year terms now being served by the current members of the commission.

WARD 2 REPORT

DUPONT CIRCLE ANC CHANGES: Three members of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2B are stepping down – two due to moving outside the ANC’s boundaries and the third to become director of the District’s Office of Property Management.

Councilman Jack Evans hailed Vince Micone, Carol Mitten and Irv Morgan for their ANC service as "dedicated and talented leaders" in his weekly constituent newsletter. "Vince, Carol and Irv will be missed, but I look forward to new residents volunteering to take their places," Evans said.

Micone, who has been ANC 2B02 commissioner for more than five years and served as the ANC’s chairman for four years, is relocating to Foggy Bottom. "Dupont Circle’s loss is Foggy Bottom’s gain," Evans observed.

Morgan, who has represented ANC 2B07 for three years and has served as the commission’s vice chairman, is moving out of the District but will continue to work in the neighborhood’s 17th Street NW corridor.

Mitten, who began serving her first term as ANC 2B05 commissioner earlier this year, was recently appointed to head the District’s troubled Office of Property Management, where she will be in charge of managing construction, maintenance and security of the District’s properties. Mitten previously chaired the D.C. Zoning Commission.

Residents who are interested in the vacant ANC positions may contact the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics at (202) 727-2525 to inquire about procedures for filling the seats.

WARD 3 REPORT

ANC VACANCIES: Glover Park and Cathedral Heights are looking for new advisory neighborhood commissioners. Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3B is urging interested residents of single-member districts 3B01 and 3B04 to contact the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics to become candidates to complete the current term, which expires next Jan. 2, for the two vacant seats. Candidates must turn in petitions with 25 or more signatures of registered voters who live in the ANC single-member district to be eligible for election or appointment to the seats. The deadline for filing petitions for the Glover Park seat (ANC 3B01) is March 1. The petition period for the Cathedral Heights seat (ANC 3B04) is expected to begin in mid-March, following publication of the vacancy in the D.C. Register. More information and boundaries of the ANC districts are available by calling the elections board at (202) 727-2525.

WARD 4 REPORT

USED CARS LEAVING: Councilman Adrian Fenty is hailing a Jan. 30 order by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge that Yaba Motors vacate the property at the corner of Kansas and Georgia avenues NW. The sale of the property at 4101 Kansas Ave. NW is part of a settlement of the James Vann Funeral Home estate. Fenty said he has been working with the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development and the National Capital Revitalization Corp. to help them acquire the property, as well as other parcels in the area, to aid in the redevelopment of the Georgia Avenue corridor. "I am pleased that this intersection will finally be rid of this eyesore," said Fenty, who also has been campaigning to eliminate many used car dealerships in the ward that have prompted complaints from his constituents.

WARD 5 REPORT

BROOKLAND CDC DINNER: A presentation of the Brookland Main Street project is among planned highlights of this year’s Brookland Community Development Corp. Annual Italian Spaghetti Dinner on March 20. The dinner, which raises money to fund the CDC’s community projects, will be held in Margot Hall at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church at 12th and Monroe streets NE from 3 to 8 p.m. Tickets cost $10, with half-price tickets available for children younger than 10, and can be purchased by contacting the CDC at (202) 526-4848.

Among the CDC’s other projects are the summer/early fall Brookland Farmers Market, the Brookland Day Fall Festival, the Holiday Trolley Tour and the Brookland Print Project, which highlights neighborhood artists. The CDC also helps sponsor the Greater Brookland Garden Club’s annual house tour.

WARD 6 REPORT

WAX MUSEUM SITE: The National Capital Revitalization Corp. (NCRC) has announced plans to select a developer for the former Wax Museum site at Fifth and K streets NW on Feb. 26.

Three development teams headed by major general contractors have put forward proposals that include a mix of luxury condominiums and rental apartments with at least 20 percent of the rental units to be offered at below-market rates to lower-income individuals and families. Major differences exist in the project designs, although all include a supermarket, park areas and underground parking.

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C voted Jan. 7 to support the development proposal of a team headed by Paradigm Development Co., which wants to build "Central Market Commons" on the site. The plan includes a 50,000-square-foot, two-level Harris Teeter supermarket with a pharmacy, an on-site bakery, florist, winery, deli and sidewalk cafe. Fred J. Morganthall, president of the North Carolina-based grocery chain that currently operates six stores in Northern Virginia, has pledged to "hire locally" into the expected 100 full-time and 100 part-time jobs that would be created by the store.

Safeway, which currently operates 16 supermarkets in the District, is part of a development team headed by Lowe Enterprises Mid-Atlantic Inc., which calls its planned project "5th & K." The Fresh Grocer, which operates seven supermarkets in Philadelphia, seeks to bring its first store to the Washington area as part of a development team headed by Akridge Real Estate Services, which wants to build "Mount Vernon Park" on the site.

The NCRC Board of Directors meeting at which the decision is expected to be made is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, 900 Massachusetts Ave. NW.

WARD 7 REPORT

EARTH DAY EVENT: Planning is underway for a major Earth Day celebration on April 24 at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. The National Parks Conservation Association, the National Park Service, the Earth Day Network and the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization are teaming up this year to co-sponsor a day of community service and park improvement, as well as a voter registration and education effort. A variety of activities are planned for 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and volunteers are still needed. For more information, contact Alan Spears of the National Parks Conservation Association at (202) 454-3384 or aspears@npca.org.

WARD 8 REPORT

GROUNDBREAKING: Mayor Anthony A. Williams and other city dignitaries are expected to wield shovels on March 4 at the ceremonial groundbreaking for the District’s new Unified Communications Center. The event, which will be open to the public, is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. on the east campus of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, 2720 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. The $72 million, 130,000-square-foot center will bring under one roof the emergency communications systems for the District’s police, fire, ambulance and disaster services agencies.

HOSPITAL LAYOFFS: Greater Southeast Community Hospital, still operating under bankruptcy court protection, announced Feb. 18 that it has eliminated 79 staff positions. The positions included technicians in the medical-surgical, cardiology and emergency departments; licensed practical nurses, secretaries, dietary assistants, and workers in other support areas such as housekeeping. The layoffs reduce the workforce of Ward 8’s largest employer to 1,036, according to a hospital statement.

Greater Southeast recently regained its industry accreditation, with requirements for improvement, after spending much of the past year appealing its denial of re-accreditation. Hospital officials did not return a call requesting comment on the recent layoffs, which the statement emphasized did not include registered nurses or other professional-level patient-care positions.