Councilmembers Phil Mendelson and Mary Cheh 
Letter to Mayor Adrian Fenty requesting information on donation of fire truck and ambulance to Sosua, Dominican Republic
April 9, 2009

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themail archives

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty
Executive Office of the Mayor
John A. Wilaon Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004

hand delivered

Dear Mayor Fenty:

In response to recent actions regarding the donation of a 1998 Seagrave Pumper (S-104) fire engine, purchased for $240,895, and a 2002 Ford E-450 (S-671) ambulance, purchased for $75,132 (hereinafter “property”), the Committee on Government Operations and the Environment and the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary have launched a joint Committee investigation. Attempts by the Committees to obtain critical information pertaining to the authorization of this donation have met resistance, including the intentional withholding of the authorizing employee at a recent Council oversight hearing.

Pursuant to this investigation, the Committees request that, effective immediately, any and all documents related to this investigation be retained pending future information requests. Furthermore, the Committees request that you please provide copies of the following documents in searchable and electronic format by close of business Thursday, April 23rd, 2009:

• All memoranda, rules, and regulations, correspondence, including emails, text messages, g-chats, and pin messages describing how surplus personal property is processed and by whom;
• All documentation supporting and explaining the emergency nature behind this donation;
• All correspondence, including emails, text messages, g-chats, and pin messages, between District employees and any other party or parties about the property in question;
• All correspondence, including emails, text messages, g-chats, and pin messages, between 2 or more District employees about the property in question;
• All correspondence, including emails, text messages, g-chats, and pin messages, between District employees and any other party or parties about the decision to dispose of the property;
• All correspondence, including emails, text messages, g-chats, and pin messages, between any District employee and Peaceoholics, Inc.;
• All correspondence, including emails, text messages, g-chats, and pin messages, between any District employee and any Sosua employee or affiliate;
• All memoranda, rules, and regulations, correspondence, including emails, text messages, g-chats, and pin messages explaining how donated property is valued;
• All documentation relating to the determination or finding that the items in question were in fact surplus;
• All documentation submitted to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) pursuant to its investigation;
• A list of personal property, including all vehicles, donated within the last 5 years, including the item’s original market value, the item’s value upon donation, and to whom it was given.

Should there be any claim of privilege or protection with respect to any of the above questioned items, the Committees request that such claims be made in a privilege log with a description of the basis for such claim of privilege or protection, and all other information required for a privilege log.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Should you have any questions or require clarification, please contact Charles Sumpter at csumpter@dccouncil.us.

Sincerely,

Mary M. Cheh, Councilmember, Ward 3
Chair, Committee on Government Operations and the Environment

Phil Mendelson, Councilmember, At-Large
Chair, Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary

cc: Peter Nickles, Office of the Attorney General
Dan Tangherlini, Office of the City Administrator
David Gragan, Director, Office of Contracting and Procurement
Chris Willey, Interim Director, Office of the Chief Technology Officer
Dennis Rubin, Chief of Fire and Emergency Medical Services