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Community Liaison Council Meeting
Minutes
December 20, 2007; 4:00–6:00 pm
Visitor Information Center, Building 45 (Natcher Building)
Conference Room D
National Institutes of Health
CALL TO ORDER & ANNOUNCEMENTS—Dennis Coleman & Ginny Miller, Co-Chairs
Mr. Coleman opened the meeting by welcoming the Recreation and Welfare Association’s Trio Carolers (Alice “Frankie” Smith, Stephanie Dailey, and Leslie McIntire), who performed a few holiday songs that were enjoyed by all, as evidenced by unanimous clapping.
Following the above musical interlude and expressions of gratitude to the singers, two announcements were made.
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A broken South Drive trench grate, which Ms. Hildebrand had identified at last month’s meeting as being a hazard to bike riders, was temporarily fixed, but the fix didn’t hold up to cars driving over the grate. After no small effort, Lynn Mueller identified a supplier and ordered a new grate, which has now been installed.
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The BRAC Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) was released on 12/14. A summary of how various impacts are addressed in the DEIS will be discussed later in the meeting. These are the traffic, air quality, noise, infrastructure and other impacts that were previously identified by both NIH and neighborhood groups during the January 2007 Scoping Study. Also in the handout is the Notice of DEIS release, which provides contact information for anyone wishing to obtain the DEIS and review it. What warrants announcement at the start of today’s meeting is that the deadline for public comment is 1/28. The project proponent (Department of the Navy or DoN) is required to answer each comment in the Final EIS, which is expected in April 2008. The Final EIS would be followed by a Record of Decision (RoD) in May or June. The RoD documents any mitigation commitments DoN decides to make. A 2 to 3 year construction period will then start.
FACILITIES—Ron Wilson, ORF
Streetscape Improvement Plan
NIH is still operating under a continuing resolution, which limits spending to prior fiscal year activities. Since the Streetscape Improvement Plan is a new activity, Mr. Wilson had no further information to report on either the plan or the CVIF berm to be included in that effort.
NIH Employees Who Work Irregular Hours
Mr. Wilson compiled and presented more detail on the campus scientific population. CLC members had wondered whether the irregular work hours of bench scientists and other researchers would be used by NIH to justify a departure from NCPC’s more demanding parking ratio for employers near Metro stations (0.33 spaces/employee, as opposed to the present 0.50 spaces/employee).
Out of about 18,000 campus personnel, some 5400 do scientific work (e.g. postdoctoral fellows, staff scientists, clinical investigators, principle investigators). CLC members generally felt that the 5400 number would be difficult to use by itself to justify parking requirements one way or the other. Mr. Wilson felt that the data needs more analysis such as the extent of irregular hours and when they might occur relative to availability of transit services. Mr. Moss noted that the scientific population could underestimate irregular hour workers since it does not include clinical center doctors and nurses and other 24/7 personnel like security, power plant and custodial staff.
South Side Fence Location Relative to Future Development
In response to a request from last month’s meeting, Mr. Wilson showed a map of the southwest campus with planned building sites overlaid from the Master Plan. Future developments included a new Animal Research Center, 2 laboratory buildings, a multi-level parking garage, and a new Loop Road. The current fence is about 400 feet from the planned buildings. The area between the current fence and the 250 foot explosion stand off line is now mainly a parking lot and partly open. The open space has been used by the K-9 force to exercise dogs, as well as occasional lunch time recreation for staff in nearby buildings without having to go outside the security fence.
Ms. Michaels said that the cost of moving the fence is relevant to NIH’s ability to move it, since it was only installed in 2005 and such an expense may not be sufficiently related to supporting NIH’s mission and associated facilities. It may be unreasonable in other words for neighbors to expect NIH to make more property available for community use. Mr. Moss added that security remains a factor in addition to economic and mission issues. Ms. Rice, echoed Ms. Michael’s concern that regardless of what some neighbors may desire, NIH would have a hard time justifying such an expenditure of government resources and land, since NIH’s mission is certainly not to provide dog parks or sports fields. Local recreation facilities and services are the County’s responsibility.
Mr. Coleman said that 2 sides (like we seem to have here) typically characterize land use issues. In this case, the property that some community members want to use belongs to the government, and the government has already provided other property outside the fence for community use. An effective community case should demonstrate that the current set-aside is somehow inadequate, overused, dangerous or something else undesirable. The CLC is a forum for information on both sides to be aired, but the CLC is not authorized to make decisions about government property. He thanked Mr. Wilson for the map, and will provide it to Mr. Sawicki, who supports moving the fence and was not in attendance.
Mr. Coleman felt that insufficient information is available to clearly resolve the issue and explain the rationale for what some neighbors desire and what NIH decides with respect to that desire. Airing that information from both sides seems a valid CLC objective for an issue like this, and we’re not there yet.
NIH can estimate the cost of moving the fence and document its biomedical research mission and other spending constraints, but the neighbors seeking access to more government property need to think about developing and presenting their position. Examples include a petition indicating either a groundswell of community support for the idea or dissatisfaction with the status quo, or some other indication that the present community space is inadequate, unusable, dangerous or something else that would be remedied by moving the fence. In the absence of such information, a compelling case for moving the fence is not apparent.
ENVIRONMENT
Since 2 of the past 3 meetings had extensive environmental presentations, nothing is on the current meeting agenda for this topic.
TRANSPORTATION—Lynn Mueller
Diagonal Driveway Crosswalk South of Cedar
The problem is that the driveway in this area is at a 45 (rather than 90) degree angle with respect to MD355. Therefore, cars entering the driveway from MD355 don’t slow down much before encountering pedestrians who don’t always stay on the indicated trail or use the crosswalk.
Mr. Mueller is exploring contractors who could paint “rumble strips” on the road. Speed bumps are problematic from a snow removal perspective. Also, more visible signage is always an option. Mr. Schofer recommended that Mr. Mueller look at the speed bumps outside the Wildwood Medical Center. Mr. Coleman suggested asking the NIH police to station an officer at the intersection since it is on NIH property where the campus police have jurisdiction.
Mr. Mueller will report progress at a subsequent meeting. Mr. Moss will investigate how and when to establish at least a one time or if necessary, periodic NIH police presence at that location during the AM rush hour, especially if other measures are not effective in redirecting pedestrians or slowing down cars.
Tree Removal Issues
Mr. Mueller reported on the removal of a tree along the southern bike path. Its base had a rotten spot which complicated its removal. Twisting of the trunk while the tree fell resulted in a 10 foot section of NIH fence being flattened. The fence will be replaced in a day or two. Two other trees along the property line were also discovered to require removal. All 3 trees will be replaced with smaller ones within a week. Mr. Mueller showed photos of the trees in question and the heavy equipment required by their large size.
Twelve, 18 to 24 foot tall white pines are being planted to better screen the CVIF, and about half are now in place. Smaller gaps near the CVIF along Rockville Pike will be planted in the spring with about 120 shrubs (witch hazel, forsythia, viburnum). He reported that the transplanted white pines are doing well.
The area behind the fire station on Cedar Lane is a natural reforestation area where NIH piles leaves to make mulch for grounds keeping purposes. Logs stacked along Cedar Lane come from trees taken down elsewhere on the campus. The logs are temporarily stored there until there are enough to warrant pickup by the tree service.
Mr. Oberlander asked if the giant stones near pedestrian gates were placed there for security. If so, mature trees would serve the same purpose, so perhaps larger trees could be purchased from the security budget as opposed to planting saplings. Mr. Moss said the rocks are placed around pedestrian gates to prevent unauthorized vehicle entry and were intended to replace concrete bollards with a more natural look. Trees would not work as well in such areas unless they were of such large size as to make their procurement, stability and survival doubtful.
With respect to trees, NIH planted 430 and lost 133 in 2007. There are now 5600 numbered trees on the campus. Mr. Coleman noted that Mr. Mueller has sponsored development of an automated tree management system. Each tree is recorded as to type, location, condition, maintenance needs, treatments received, habitat contribution, etc. Mr. Mueller could give another presentation on the system next year if the agenda committee wants an update.
Mr. Schofer noted that the Town of Somerset has such a forest management system with each tree numbered, located and tracked. He added that the fox that has been periodically sighted around campus is actually gray. If other neighbors are reporting a red one, there must be more than one fox.
Songbird Population Note
Mr. Mueller noted with regret that West Nile virus has decimated the NIH songbird population and that was reflected in this year’s bluebird census. The first nesting produced only 5 babies, and the second nesting, 9 for a total of only 14. The number of hatchlings had increased each year from 16 in 2002 to 37 in 2006. Dr. Ozarin suggested that the new storm water retention pond should attract more birds by providing habitat. Mr. Mueller agreed, but said that a different type of bird such as tree swallows would be attracted by such habitat. He closed by saying that NIH’s sole red-tailed hawk has been in residence for a few years and is still here.
SPECIAL PROJECTS—Tony Clifford, ORF
Mr. Clifford began by commending Mr. Mueller and Mr. Wilson. He congratulated Mr. Wilson on his recent promotion to Director of Facilities Planning (formerly Acting Director).
South Lawn—Coordination with County Public Works & Next Steps
On December 3, 2007 Bruce Johnston came to the site and met with NIH staff and community representatives to discuss the water drainage issue. Just before the meeting today, Mr. Clifford received Mr. Johnston’s response to his report that a joint project should be defined. Although Mr. Clifford and his staff still need to digest the contents (some of which are technical in nature), some facts are evident. The 2 east–west-running utility lines (one for gas, one for electricity) limit available space so as to preclude installation of a bioremediation pond to catch run-off. That apparently leaves two options.
One option is to install an underground 24-inch pipe to carry storm water to the County drain several hundred feet to the east. Enclosing water in a long pipe however, is expensive and would prevent its soaking into and being filtered and cleansed by the soil and turf. Such filtering and cleansing is needed to detoxify urban runoff from streets, sidewalks and often over fertilized yards. This means that the underground pipe option may not be the most environmentally conscious approach. Moreover, the downstream consequences of redirecting significant amounts of water into a County drain that has not received it previously at a rapid rate (the pipe drains a suburban area of about 30 acres) need to be evaluated, especially with respect to the system capacity and downstream impact on the future and large (~3 acre) SE retention pond.
A second possibility would be to construct a carefully graded, open channel (aka, an engineered ditch) between the fence and the gas line, which could then be planted with native wetland species and not mowed. However, according to the Department of Environmental Protection, construction of this swale would not justify grant money because it would not be a sufficient additional improvement to Rock Creek water quality. It might be an improvement to the retention pond water quality, however. Another issue is that construction of an engineered ditch may be exacerbated by soil compaction, since the area north of and along the property line used to be a parking lot.
Both options are not without cost, and Mr. Johnson indicated that the County had no budget for projects on property that doesn’t belong to the County, even if the water is outflow from the County’s drainage pipe. NIH has also spent money on grading, drainage grates and consultants, but with 30 acres of suburban hardscape emptying onto it, there is a limit to the absorption capacity of the field during heavy storms. As suggested by Mr. Johnson, Mr. Clifford will meet with Diane Campbell of Clean Water Action sometime after January 7. She may know of additional ideas or resources, and these will be reported back to the CLC.
Steam Venting Incident
Neighbors had been disturbed several times since December 2006 by periodic thumping, jack-hammer like sounds and clouds of steam emanating from a west side NIH building rooftop. It took 6 repeated incidents to identify Building 37 as the source, but the building manager’s logs showed no abnormal events. Upon investigation, NIH engineers found that a pressure relief valve had indeed failed and the system had been venting more often than necessary. In addition, a software problem in the building’s management system had coincidentally masked the failed valve, which is why the building manager couldn’t find any events.
Mr. Coleman pointed out that resolving this potentially dangerous situation is a good example of how NIH benefits from neighborhood watchfulness and persistence. He informed both ORF and ORS directors of this fact. The sentinel in this case had been Harvey Eisen. NIH’s computers were saying that building systems were operating normally, but the community insisted otherwise. The liaison office consistently represented their concerns and wouldn’t let this issue go unattended. When NIH engineers finally investigated, they found that the neighbors had been right all along.
Street Lights
Bulbs along the south security walkway that had been out were identified by neighbors and replaced. Mr. Clifford welcomed this sort of feedback, and has requested that maintenance conduct more regular inspection of trail lighting so neighbors don’t have to go to the trouble of notifying NIH.
INFORMATION FORUM—Dennis Coleman, OCL, Co-Chair
Miscellaneous Hand-out Items
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Mr. Coleman had summarized data from the 2007 NIH census. Of the total of 32,390 NIH staff, 17,700 is the authorized headcount for the main campus, of which ~9500 are federal employees. The actual main campus population is closer to 16500 since there are ~1200 vacant positions. 14600 other staff work mostly at other facilities in Maryland with ~2000 located in other states.
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Mr. Coleman reiterated the public comment period for the BRAC Draft EIS as ending on January 28. The handout includes information on the public comment procedure. He also noted that there will be 2 public hearings, January 9 and 10 from 6 to 8 pm at the Pooks Hill Marriott. Mr. Coleman went over highlights of a 1-page table that summarized DEIS treatment of environmental impacts previously identified by NIH and CLC members.
For example, the DEIS says that dedicated I495 ramps to and from the base would not remedy congestion, but the analysis may have guaranteed this result by assuming that only 25% of base traffic would use the ramps. Ms. Rice thought that such ramps could create a security issue for the base. In another example, little or no local BRAC traffic impact was predicted since the roads are already congested and would still be congested without BRAC. In a third example, the DEIS said that construction traffic had no impact, since it would involve fewer vehicles than the new staff and outpatients BRAC will generate.
At the request of CLC members, Mr. Coleman will send an electronic copy of the 1-page community impact summary to the group. In response to another question, both Mr. Coleman and Mr. Wilson stated that Dan Wheeland, NIH’s facilities director and NEPA official, would follow up on NIH’s own Scoping Study comments.
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Since the DEIS and other planning documents often use abstract letters (A thru F) to describe highway “levels of service” (aka, LoS, which is a measure of how congested a highway is), Mr. Coleman researched whether other states had graphical illustrations to make these letter designations more understandable. He found especially useful illustrations from a California traffic consulting firm and the Florida Department of Transportation. Florida uses photos (as opposed to drawings) and even includes LoS for bicycles, pedestrians, and buses, in addition to cars. Mr. Oberlander observed that in addition to characterizing how full a roadway might be, LoS is also used to characterize how long it takes to get through an intersection.
ROUND ROBIN—Ginny Miller, CLC Co-Chair
Comments and Concerns
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 5:45 pm to partake of holiday refreshments. The next meeting will be on January 17, 2008.
PARTICIPANTS
CLC Members
Willie Antman, West Bethesda Park Association
Marian Bradford, Camelot Mews Homeowners Association
Harvey Eisen, Ph.D., Edgewood Glenwood Citizens Association
Jean Harnish, Whitehall Condominium Association
Lesley Hildebrand, Huntington Terrace Citizens Association
Darrell Lemke, Bethesda Parkview Citizens Association
Marilyn Mazuzan,Town of Oakmont
Deborah Michaels, Glenbrook Village Homeowners Association
George Oberlander, Huntington Parkway Citizens Association
Lucy Ozarin, MD, Whitehall Condominium Association
Eleanor Rice, East Bethesda Citizens Association
Ralph Schofer, Maplewood Citizens Association
Beth Volz, Locust Hill Civic Association
Liaison Representatives
Kira Lueders, NIH Alumni Association
NIH Staff
Dennis Coleman, OCL
Anthony Clifford, ORF
Howard Hochman, ORF
Brad Moss, ORS
Lynn Mueller, ORF
Sharon Robinson, OCL
Ronald Wilson, ORF
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