Bates Area Civic Association

If you want drama, make sure you catch an ANC meeting. I’ll get to the drama in a minute, but first I’ll recap what was relevant to BACA residents, which won’t take long.

ANC5C01

ANC5C01 Commissioner Anita Bonds talked about the new stop sign at 3rd/ Bates St. She said it was one of a number of traffic slowing measures she’s requested in our area. See the original post on this blog about that and Ms. Bonds’ response there.

Second, Alice Thompson from the mayor’s office talked about the response from the DCRA Director Linda Argo about the billboards at NJ/P/4th St NW. It was a strange discussion. The community has–per Ms. Bonds statements–been fighting these billboards for 25 years. Yet it seemed that both she and Ms. Thompson were quick to resign their efforts  after receiving Ms Argo’s email.  However, there is still no evidence showing the permits for the billboards. Even if there are, can permits really be valid forever?  I asked this and the answer was, “yes.” When I asked how it was possible that the land could only be valued at $50,000, there was no answer.

This issue should be pursued. I urge our community and its leaders to remain proactive on this.  There are too many unanswered questions.

But I’m digressing. The discussion around the billboards was only like 10 minutes long.

Other Discussion
There was long discussion over giving residents Clubs to lock on their steering wheels to prevent theft.
There was long discussion on Dance Place in Brookland and a proposed adjacent ArtSpace.

And Lastly…

Denise and I went together last night, and at the end of an otherwise long and fairly uneventful meeting, commissioners suggested a resolution, which they read aloud to force ANC5c12 Commissioner Albrette “Gigi” Ransom step down. I won’t even attempt to try to recount why or what the history of the charges were. Something about ANC business cards and then she got accused of a hate crime and being racist. She spoke quite eloquently in her own defense, but three hours after the meeting began, we decided to leave. We have no idea how this drama started or ended.

I’ll wait for Edgewood Civic Assn President Michael Henderson’s meeting minutes for a comprehensive overview. Hopefully he understands more than I do. I think you have to keep going to these meetings for a long time to really know what’s going on.  They speak a special code that I didn’t understand. It also helps to understand the dynamics of the people in the room. And to know everyone’s agenda.