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The Foggy Bottom Current

Wednesday, January 17, 10, 2018

Vol. Vol.XII, LI, No. 31

Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End

DANCING FOR THE KINGS

Johnson’s Florist and Garden Center closes due to rent costs ■ American University:

concessions can no longer be made By ZOE MORGAN Current Staff Writer

Johnson’s Florist and Garden Centers in Tenleytown is set to close despite protests from local residents who object to American University (AU) increasing the property’s rent and fees. The property at the corner of Van Ness and Wisconsin streets is owned by the university. Community members formed an ad hoc committee trying to keep Johnson’s in the space, launched a phone and email campaign, and led a protest outside the store on Jan. 7. Mary Alice Levine, who helped form the ad hoc committee, told The Current the group is seeking a

Hannah Wagner/The Current

Caporales San Simón dancers perform a traditional Bolivian dance at Gala Theatre’s Three Kings Day celebration on Jan. 7. The day featured the Magi, live animals, local performers, a walk through the neighborhood and gifts for every child.

ANC 2B members rescind censure on DelleDonne By KIRK KRAMER Current Staff Writer

The Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) had plenty on its agenda at its first meeting of 2018 on Jan. 10. However, before turning to it, the ANC laid to rest a controversy that had caused hard feelings and stormy meetings in the last year. Members of ANC 2B voted to overturn their Sept. 13 censure of commissioner Nick DelleDonne, whose personality and behavior had been criticized as abrasive

and condescending by other commissioners and constituents. The motion to rescind the censure came from Commissioner Scott Davies, who characterized the legislative process used by the ANC as “flawed.” The DC Attorney General’s office last month criticized the censure on the same grounds. Mike Silverstein, another ANC member, said the September vote was taken in the heat of emotion. “(DelleDonne’s) behavior was upsetting to people, but we went See ANC 2B/Page 1

Zoe Morgan/The Current

Johnson’s Florist and Garden Center in Tenleytown is set to close its doors after American University allegedly raised rent costs too high. meeting with American University President Sylvia Burwell to discuss the issue. Levine said the group isn’t looking for a subsidy and that leaving the District wasn’t John-

son’s intention. “We believe that AU has a responsibility to the community to make it easy for Johnson’s to stay,” See Johnson’s/Page 1

D.C. Water tells residents to expect rising rates By KIRK KRAMER Current Staff Writer

With costly federal mandates in force at the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority, officials are warning customers to expect rates to rise until they peak in 2026. That is according to Tommy Wells, chairman of the D.C. Water board and director of the District’s Department of Energy & Environment. Wells addressed residents at the Nov. 27 meeting of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3/4G (Chevy Chase), where he had been asked to discuss the Clean Rivers Impervious Area Charge. This surcharge is intended to offset the costs of rainwater that runs into the city’s storm sewers from rooftops, paved driveways, patios and other impermeable surfaces. The fee for each property is based on a D.C. Water estimate of the impervious areas located there. Wells said the age of the district’s water and sewer system – parts of which date back to the Civil War era

– is responsible for the high rates. When the infrastructure was built, it handled both sewage and stormwater runoff, unlike the more modern systems that separate wastewater from ordinary rain. During heavy rains, the total capacity of rain and sewage overwhelms the city’s Blue Plains Treatment Plant, which allows raw sewage to spill into local waterways. To comply with the federal Clean Water Act, the District reached a consent decree in 2005 requiring the construction of enormous tunnels to store the sewage and stormwater mix at a cost of $2.6 billion. After the rain stops, Blue Plains can then work through the untreated backlog filling the tunnels. “The only way to fix it is to build underground rain barrels to hold water. Thirteen miles of tunnel tilted towards Blue Plains,” Wells said. “What is the source of the $2.6 billion? Our bills.” He said the bonds funding the project are not the usual 30-year variety.

“D.C. Water got one of the first 100-year bonds in the history of the United States,” Wells said. “Every user for the next hundred years will pay, not just this generation.” ANC 3/4G Chair Randy Speck said the District government does not have to pay fees for much of its impervious areas, such as streets and alleys. “The city council should say, since we’re not paying our fair share, we should buy down the rates,” Speck said. Non-exempt ratepayers have raised concerns about the impervious area surcharge. In addition to ordinary homeowners, particular complaints have come from religious groups that maintain graveyards in the District, including the Episcopal Church’s Rock Creek Church Cemetery and the Roman Catholic Mount Olivet Cemetery. According to a Nov. 29 article in The Catholic Standard, the D.C. diocesan newspaper, Mount Olivet, paid fees of only $6,478 in 2009. This See D.C. Water/Page 1

ASSOCIATIONS

NEWS

THE CURRENT NEWSPAPERS

INDEX

Foggy Bottom

New Duke’s Grocery

Company reorganization

The Foggy Bottom Association releases its newsletter for the upcoming week/ Page 9

The owners of Duke’s Grocery are opening a new pub in Foggy Bottom / Page 18

New management wants to set the record straight about the company’s situation / Page 6

Calendar/13 Classifieds/18 District Digest/2 In Your Neighborhood/8 Opinion/6

Police Report/12 Real Estate/11 School Dispatches/10 Service Directory/17 Week Ahead/4

Tips? Contact us at newsdesk@currentnewspapers.com


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