Adopted Minutes -
Advisory Neighborhood
Commission 4B
The meeting began at about
1. Following a motion by Commissioner Jones, the agenda, as amended, was adopted in a unanimous show-of-hands vote. Commissioner Jones asked that a representative from Kids First be permitted to report on their grant during the grant portion of the agenda.
2. In a unanimous show-of-hands vote following a
motion by Commissioner Jones, the
3. In a
That amendment, moved by Commissioner Jones, and adopted in a 7-0-2 roll-call vote, requires that the Quarterly Report be transcribed on the city's official format and typed, with documentation attached, and submitted to the Auditor's Office with a cover letter that provides a complete explanation of the report. The letter will also explain why no checks were written in some months, and the categories of expenditures will be made clear in the letter and in the report.
Voting "yes" on the vote to adopt the 2nd Quarterly Report for FY '08 were Commissioners Green, Wheeler, Grant, Jones, Jefferson and Sloan. Commissioner Palmer voted "no." Commissioners Johnson and Hughes abstained.
Voting "yes" on the amendment were Commissioners Green, Wheeler, Grant, Palmer, Jones, Jefferson and Sloan. Commissioners Johnson and Hughes abstained.
Treasurer Grant distributed a written Quarterly Report showing that the balance forwarded from the 1st Quarterly Report for FY '08 was $38,266.02. There were $17,390.21 in total receipts and $3,960.80 in total disbursements during the 2nd Quarter of FY '08 (Jan-March 2008). The ending balance was $51,695.81.
He also reported that there were nine checks in April 2008
totaling $1,006.06, and ten checks in May 2008 totaling $2,466.90. May's ending checking account balance was
$49,600.55.
4. In a unanimous show-of-hands vote, the Commission agreed to Commissioner Green's request to discuss the Eastern-Juniper Cooperative Association item after the Treasurer's Report.
5. In a 6-3-0 show-of-hands vote following a motion from Commissioner Green, the Commission agreed to amend its current annual budget to add an additional $500 to the "outside printing" category, bringing the new total in that category to $600.
6. In a unanimous show-of-hands vote, the Commission adopted Commissioner Green's resolution, calling on the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue, and, if necessary, the D.C. City Council, to help the Eastern-Juniper Cooperative Association prevent the foreclosure of their cooperative apartments by taking the property off the July 2008 DC Property Tax Sale List.
"Pursuant to Public Law 93-198, establishing Advisory
Neighborhood Commissions, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4B formally asks
that the government of the
The Eastern and Juniper Cooperative Association's apartments are located on lots 12,13,14,15,16,and 17 in Square 2961; 7700, 7710, 7720, and 7730 Eastern Avenue, N.W. and 815 and 825 Juniper Street, NW.
ANC 4B is not asking for tax forgiveness for what these
residents owe to the
If the Mayor, the Office of Tax and Revenue and the Attorney General are unable to remove this property from this year's tax sale list, we call upon the Council of the District of Columbia to adopt emergency legislation on behalf of the Cooperative that is similar to the assistance it has enacted in the past for other groups with special circumstances.
Our request is modest and is fair to the taxpayers of the
Removing the Eastern and Juniper Cooperative Association from the tax sale list is critical to preserving this property for affordable housing. It shelters nearly 71 families, some for more than 30 years, and is a key part of the stability and diversity of our neighborhood. Over 50 percent of the residents are low-income.
They should be entitled to a five-year exemption from property taxes, pursuant to DC Code 47-3503(b) (1) (c) (3) and (4). Unfortunately, the Cooperative's previous attorney did not file the proper papers, creating the problem the community is wrestling with today.
Mr. Rome has said he believes the Cooperative will be able to get the five-year-exemption prospectively. However, the existing property tax problem must be resolved immediately and on an emergency basis.
Also, the previous attorney's error has compounded the
problem in other ways. This tax sale was one of the reasons Adams National Bank
cited when it instituted its own foreclosure proceedings last month. Fortunately, the Cooperative and the bank
agreed to stop the foreclosure and work on a permanent solution that will
permit the owners to keep their homes. However, one of the requirements is that
the property be removed from the city's tax sale list by July 15, 2008.
The actions we request are reasonable and in the public
interest. By merely taking the Eastern and Juniper Cooperative property off
this year's tax sale list, the
In fact, the city will probably save money by taking the property off the tax sale list. A foreclosure might push some residents into shelters and cause them to require other scarce public resources.
We also point to the Council's recently enacted
Comprehensive Plan for the
We adopt this resolution under the provisions of Public Law 93-198, which permit Advisory Neighborhood Commissions to initiate proposals and to have them considered with 'great weight.'"
Several representatives from the Cooperative Association, including Constance Creasey, the Cooperative Board's Assistant Treasurer, and Donna Stephens, the Board's former President, spoke about the Cooperative's problems with their unpaid property taxes and mortgage payments and the Board's efforts, with its new attorney, to resolve them.
Commissioner Hughes asked that the Cooperative's new attorney provide ANC 4B with a copy of the "forbearance agreement." She also asked for a report at the July ANC 4B public meeting.
7. In an
W.B. Executive Director Warner T. Brown III told the Commission that he wants to hold the 2008 DC Hall of Fame Classic Invitational Holiday Basketball Tournament at Coolidge on December 28 and 29, 2008 but needs permission to use a portable commercial grill on the adjacent Takoma Recreation Center parking lot and wants to "partner" with the Metropolitan Police Department to provide security services at the event.
The motion supporting Mr. Brown's requests was conditioned on W.B.'s compliance with all city regulations and on the city agencies' own support for the event. In addition, the Commission asked that Ward 4 businesses be the first to have the opportunity to bid on the contract(s) to provide the food at the event.
Gina Douglas, of the Friends of the Takoma,
8. In a
The adopted motion asks that the Zoning Commission give ANC 4B additional time to confer with its constituents before it votes on its recommendation to the Zoning Commission on the West Group's PUD extension request. If the Zoning Commission denies ANC 4B's request for additional time to consult with constituents, ANC 4B opposes extending the amount of time the West Group has to build the PUD.
Voting "yes" on the motion were Commissioners Green, Wheeler, Johnson, Palmer, and Jones. Commissioners Grant, Hughes, and Sloan voted "no." Commissioner Jefferson abstained.
9. In a unanimous show-of-hands vote following a
motion made by Commissioner Green, the Commission agreed to support a permit
needed by the Gables Apartments to install driveways at their
Treasurer Grant reported that he gave Andrew Thomas the
photocopies of the Commission's check book stubs that Mr. Thomas
requested. Commissioner Green reported
that she gave Mr. Thomas the copies of Commission's submitted Quarterly Reports
from
1. ANC 4B Standing Committees
2. Community Concerns
The Commission did not have time for this agenda item. However, two residents asked to speak.
Ron Ragland said he wants to call the Commission's attention
to traffic problems on
Andrew Thomas, Jr. said he has questions about ANC 4B's financial reports.
3. Police Report
The meeting adjourned at about
--- Submitted by Sara Green, Secretary