Annual Meeting Wrap-Up
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Mayor Bowser, Councilmember Pinto, BCA president Langenbacher, and representatives of MPD, georgetown University, and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital presented 2020 updates at the annual meeting.
Annual Meeting Links
BCA Board Election Results
Following BCA by-laws requiring that voters be present at the annual meeting, all candidates received a substantial majority of "yes" votes. Therefore the following BCA members have been elected or re-elected to serve on the BCA Board of Directors. (See the October 28 web post for candidate bios.)
Officers Re-elected
President: Eric Langenbacher
Co-Recording Secretary: Michael J. McDuffie
Corresponding Secretary: Linda Brooks
Non-Officer Directors (At-Large) Elected
Melanie Gisler
Gail Juppenlatz
BCA 2020 Annual Meeting
At 7 pm, Thursday, November 5, BCA President Eric Langenbacher called to order the BCA annual meeting, which was held and recorded via Zoom and attended by some 50 BCA members and others.
Neighborhood Police Report. MPD Commander Duncan Bedlion, presented the police report for patrol area 206 in which the Burleith neighborhood falls. He highlighted considerable reductions in violent crime, down 32% overall, and in assaults with deadly weapons, down 45%. Robberies are also down 13% year-to-date vs. the previous year. He addressed recent trends in stolen vehicles and reminded residents not to leave spare keys in the car or cars running. He also addressed a recent arrest at 35th and T of thieves who’d committed their theft across town. He emphasized that no shots were fired, contrary to what some neighbors thought they had heard.
Events. BCA President Eric Langenbacher presented the year’s events including the winter gløgg party, meeting with the Mayor about Ellington Field, Halloween decoration contest, and cancellations of the spring clean-up, summer picnic, and Halloween party. In lieu of these events, the BCA solicited suggestions and made significant donations to five local charities. The BCA also oversaw the restoration of five neighborhood call boxes. The BCA intends to host the fall clean-up, pandemic-appropriate Santa visits, and the holiday decoration contest.
Outreach and Engagement. Langenbacher highlighted BCA outreach through the website, social media, listserv, and Burleith Bell as well as future and ongoing initiatives including the consultations with GU and MedStar, the Georgetown Community Partnership, communication with city agencies, outreach to local schools, and discussions in preparation for Burleith’s centennial in 2023. Langenbacher also reminded the community of local issues of trash, parking, leaf collection, and public health guidance.
Administration. Langenbacher took the community through our current membership, which remains steady to historical averages, our strong finances, our budget for 2021, and the proposed BCA slate. Board member and membership director Linda Brooks explained the new remote voting process the BCA is employing this year. Eric also highlighted the Burleith Community Fund (BCF), its achievements, and its process for funding projects.
District Government Report. Mayor Muriel Bowser updated our community on the state of our city. She said she is proud of how DC government employees, citizens, and businesses have stood shoulder to shoulder. She congratulated Councilmember Brooke Pinto on her election. She highlighted the great work DC residents have done with public health advice to contain the virus. She reminded us the Ward 2 Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services (MOCRS) liaisons are out and at our service as our connection to the government. She asked for our patience with government services as the city has been operating on an emergency status since the middle of March. She looks forward to bringing students back to school in-person, but there are issues mostly related to labor and the Washington Teachers’ Union. She also addressed how the city is serving the homeless in Ward 2. She touched on Ellington Field, the outstanding issue from our last meeting, noting that she made good on her commitment to hold off on planning until our councilmember was seated and that we should now reengage those conversations.
Ward 2 Report. Councilmember Brooke Pinto addressed the state of Ward 2 highlighting constituent services as a priority for her and everyone on her team. Her legislative priorities and accomplishments include addressing $1.5B in revenue shortfalls, committing to keep “streateries” (outdoor restaurant seating that occupies parking lanes) open through December 2021, extending unemployment benefits to undocumented workers, and opening up the right to use public toilets in certain conditions. New revenue estimates a $212M deficit for FY21, which will be partially offset by a surplus from FY20, and otherwise addressed by the mayor and her team reviewing 4-year capital projects and the city’s financial plan. Pinto also fielded questions about the Council’s recent legislation allowing vaccinations without parental sign-off for children as young as 11 and other school issues.
ANC Report. ANC 2E01 Commissioner Kishan Putta addressed the community on the state of our ANC touching on issues including infrastructure, transportation, DC Public Schools, Duke Ellington performances, Ellington Field, and the Jelleff Community Center.
GU Office of Neighborhood Life. Chris Murphy, Vice President for Government Relations and Community Engagement, presented an update on GU’s neighborhood engagement. The number of students living off campus increased this year from 1,850 to 2,100 with a bit more undergrads and fewer grad students. Murphy and his team, Cory Peterson and Gwen Coleman, also highlighted the comprehensive health and safety plan, orientation program, support for the Burleith clean-up, the Student Neighborhood Assistance Program (SNAP), plans to bring students back to campus, and what to expect of the number of students in the neighborhood going forward. GU is enforcing a policy that on-campus folks get tested twice a week and students living off-campus get tested once a week.
MedStar. Regina Knox Woods, Vice President, Government Affairs for the District of Columbia, MedStar Health, addressed the meeting with a show of appreciation to the community for our leadership and collaboration. She addressed medical waste and litter collection, parking incentives for staff, and the great lengths MedStar has gone to reduce trucks and traffic during construction of the surgical pavilion. Emily Emrick, an architect with Shalom Baranes Associates, provided an update on the surgical pavilion construction which is executing on time.
Langenbacher adjourned the meeting at 9 pm.