The meeting convened at
Attended by: Paul Schwartz, Leon Johnson, Nancy Smith, Julie Schor, Pam
Ellison, Luke Turner, Jackie Parham, Rich Holzsager & Eleanor Allen.
Guests: ANC Commissioner Faith Wheeler & Officer Heather Straker.
Approved minutes of 3/13, 3/27 & 4/10.
I. Those present agreed on tonight's agenda.
II. Discussed the 5/22 meeting with Muriel Bowser & Sekou
Biddle.
suggested talking about the new School Board structure. Eleanor will send
out the postcard. Carolivia will check with the
church to secure space.
III. Discussed the 5/20 potluck at Dodie Butler's
house. Plaque for Dawn to
be designed by Dodie and David Nicholson.
A motion was made for $50
expenses. [Second?] Motion passed by consensus. Paul asked about TDCNA's
relationship with block captains.
IV. Discussed the planned 5/26 picnic which should perhaps be postponed to
June. A 5/8 email from Carolivia was
distributed. Paul will contact
Carolivia to follow up and clarify the date and
specifics.
V. General meeting to take place on 6/26 - need to finalize nominating
committee. We need 6 members in good standing and 4 non-members.
VI. Treasurer's Report
a. Review of report for month ending
b. Jackie noted that we approved a budget of $3,750, but we have only $1,400
in the bank.
c. With respect to revenue, we should ask local businesses for sponsorship
of the newsletter. Paul summarized the revenue raising discussion from our
4/10 board meeting.
d. We spoke about reaching out to multi-unit buildings such as the Elevation
building, Cedar Crossing and
need contacts in those buildings.
VII. Old/Continuing business
a. Safe Takoma partnership. Additional documents are needed. We need
business insurance - Seth Grimes is looking into this. Commissioner
Wheeler
is VP of Safe Takoma - she stated that they do not want to create a burden
on TDCNA. Julie stated that we need to demonstrate that we are in good
standing, that we have a letter from the IRS regarding out tax exempt
status, and that we have a recent 990 - although those present noted that we
do not file a 990 because we fall under the reporting threshold. Jackie
asked about resolving the insurance issue and the need to create stationery
for the paperwork. Paul will sign any necessary documents.
b. Takoma Theater. We discussed Carolivia's email which raised the issue of
Takoma Theater. Commissioner Wheeler is on the Takoma Theater Conservancy
(TTC) advisory committee. TTC wants to buy the theater and turn it into a
cultural arts center. Jackie asked about the cost and Wheeler stated that
it has been assessed at $1.5 million, but that the owner is asking for $3.5
million. TTC met with the DC Arts Commission and are raising money to
purchase the theater.
group to do a business plan. Neighbors Inc. gave $2,000 to the effort and
Historic Takoma donated $1,000. TDCNA is being asked to donate or make a
commitment to raise money. Eleanor stated that we haven't taken a poll of
our members or the community at large so its premature
to endorse the
effort, but in any event, TDCNA does not have money in the budget to donate.
Rich stated that we could start a fund to support TTC. Luke asked if the
board or general membership wants to take a position on the issue and stated
that we haven't met with the owner, Mr. McGinty.
Commissioner Wheeler
stated that the theater can't be torn down as Mr. McGinty
requested -
apparently he wants to use the space for an office building. Paul stated
that he is getting pressure from the community to act (including an inquiry
from his wife). Paul stated that that TDCNA approved a letter opposing
the
destruction of the building but Paul voted against it because of a lack of
discussion on the issue, in particular, we haven't
polled the community or
met with McGinty. Paul stated that the E.
Dupont/Logan area did a survey on
community needs which then used that to lure Whole Foods. Paul plans to look
into that to assess the feasibility of a study in our neighborhood, and
stated that we should table this discussion until we have a plan to reach
out to the neighborhood.
c. Expansion of Historic District. We did not have time to discuss this
item.
VIII. New Business/Announcements
a. Officer Straker. Officer Straker
distributed a letter and asked for help
with a grant for the August 7 National Night Out, to be held from
Commissioner Wheeler agreed to send a copy of the application to TDCNA.
funds due to ANC districts 401 and 402 and to act as fiscal agent for
National Night Out. Rich seconded. The motion passed.
b. Process. Rich stated that as a process point, he talked to Past
President Dodie Butler who stated that it was
accepted that if the Board
voted to take a policy position, the general membership would have an
opportunity to weigh in. In the interest of time, this discussion was tabled
to the June board meeting.
c. October elections. Need to have nominating committee in place by
Julie has names of past nominating committee members and has a list of
possible board members.
IX. The meeting was adjourned at