ANC 5F commissioners will have an administrative planning session tomorrow, Sat., Jan. 7, 11am to 1pm, at Edgewood Recreation Center, 300 Evarts Street NE.

The session will prepare logistics for our first meeting and no official actions will be taken.

It is open to the public.

I'm sharing proposed ANC5F Bylaws and Standard Procedures documents I'll be sponsoring.

5F is a brand new Commission and starts with a blank slate. I've read every ANC's bylaws, procedures, and rules, and drawn some great best practices together in one place. Also OAG letters.

The documents are here:

• Proposed Bylaws: https://t.co/vMXp0fcgdy

• Proposed Standard Procedures: https://t.co/klG4TgkWu7

What's in them?  Seven major things:

1. Reduces 3 layers of meetings/approvals (policy committee, committee of the whole, full Commission) to two. No more duplication

2. One secretary in charge of getting records up and minutes out, within 5 days. No more taking months

3. Makes clear that the full Commission takes actions and is entitled to great weight, not individual commissioners. This language is straight from the Attorney General.

4. Allows officers to be removed at any time by a majority, without cause.

5. Codifies strong financial controls and sets up a very defined process for grants. 5F will start off with $8,000 per quarter in your tax dollars and we should use it very wisely.

6. A "Conduct Policy" and transparency requirements for Commission activities.

7. Four policy committees (including volunteers from 5F residents):

• Alcohol Licensing

• Public Safety, Health, and Community Engagement

• Transportation and Public Space

• Zoning and Development

Each committee will work closely with the relevant DC agency to advance 5F goals.

Your thoughts and suggestions are welcome! DC law requires that we adopt bylaws at our very first commission meeting, which should be this month.

I’m honored to have received the endorsements of DC Voters for Animals, Greater Greater Washington, and the LGBTQ Victory Fund. Can your group endorse me? Email me!

Thank you again to everyone who has contributed to the campaign. I may be uncontested on the ballot but I think it’s important for me to be at Eckington community events, knocking on doors, and introducing myself to businesses in the neighborhood. That still requires a little bit money for materials, yard signs, and website hosting. Please consider contributing $25 if you have not yet, it is greatly appreciated!

All supporters will be receiving a special invite to an Election Night Party (Tuesday, November 8) where we’ll celebrate the end of the campaign and watch the local and national election results. Stay tuned!

Eckington Civic Association held its monthly meeting on October 24:

• Details were shared on a new housing-and-office project on the site of the current Autozone on Rhode Island Avenue east of 5th Street NE. The ECA approved a letter requesting modified access and to request that the W Street entrance to the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT) remain open.

• Discussion of Fort Myer Construction and the effort to move truck traffic from 4th St NE to 5th St NE and reach agreement on noise and hours. Hannah updated everyone on recent developments and shared the Google Group set up on the subject.

• Two events from Eckington Parks & Arts:

  • TODAY: Halloween Yoga from 2pm to 3pm in Tanner Park. Guest instructors from the Bouldering Project will be leading.

  • NOV. 5: Community Cleanup at Little Triangle Park (4th St NE & S St NE, on the MBT), joined by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA).

• Leaf collection will be November 21 to 26, so have leaves raked into your tree box or curb and ready to be picked up by November 20.

• Demolition at Dave Thomas Circle will start in summer 2023.
  

• Lost Generation Brewing (327 S St NE) is now open! Ethan and I stopped by yesterday, and it was packed! Congratulations to Anne and Jared and their team for a successful opening and a great addition to the neighborhood. They’ll be open Wednesday through Sunday, check them out!

ANC 5E held several meetings in the run-up to the election. Here are my notes for you:

• 4th Street NE neighbors gathered to share feedback with an official from Ft. Myer Construction. Neighbors want to see a change in the designated truck route to 5th Street NE and results on emissions, hours of activity, and noise. This is just the beginning of the process, but these solutions need to happen. If elected I plan on picking up where the incumbent commissioner leaves off.
  

• A meeting was held with the owners of Lost Generation Brewing Company, due to open in the next few weeks on S Street NE. Many of you at Eckington Day asked me if I’m “pro-brewery or anti-brewery,” and let me assure you I’m pro-brewery. Turning an underutilized warehouse on the trail to a vibrant small business means more jobs, more opportunities, and more eyes on the street against crime. Officials spoke about parking impacts, safety, and regulatory hurdles that the owners are overcoming to open.
  

• DC Water officials reported that the Northeast Boundary Tunnel Project is scheduled for completion in summer 2023. The project reduces the risk of flooding from once-in-2-years to once-in-15-years. Many of us saw the overwhelming flooding experienced by District Dogs this summer, and the official said this project would have prevented it. The official said construction work on 4th Street NE north of Rhode Island, including restoration, will be wrapped up in January 2023.

• Leaf collection will be November 21 to 26, so have leaves raked into your tree box or curb and ready to be picked up by November 20.
  

• DCRA is still not engaging with neighbors about the situation in the alley behind Yang’s Market. Neighbors want to turn a triangle of land from a garbage dump into a community park, but the current owner is not engaging and DCRA is not holding him accountable. The property is not in the district I’m running for but in the neighboring one, 5F05, and I look forward to working with the new 5F05 commissioner to help the neighbors get resolution on this.
  

• Neighbors on Lincoln Road NE tragically lost all their belongings in a fire on September 28. If you can, please contribute to their GoFundMe fundraiser to help raise funds. Additionally, neighbors at 11 R Street NE who also suffered a fire are seeking items such as cleaning supplies and linens to help them recover. There is a donation box for those items today at the Langley Fall Festival, 101 T Street NE parking lot, until 1pm ET.