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National Institutes of Health |
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Community Liaison Council Meeting Minutes June 15, 2000, 4:00 p.m. Natcher Conference Center, Building 45, Conference Room D Draft WELCOME Janyce Hedetniemi, director of the Office of Community Liaison (OCL), welcomed members, guests, and speakers and briefly went over the following handouts.
Agenda May Community Liaison Council (CLC) minutes CLC member roster The current issue of The NIH Record June issue of the OCL Update Member Contact Information Form ANNOUNCEMENTS July CLC Meeting Ms. Hedetniemi said that the next CLC meeting will be held on July 20, 2000 and potential meeting topics would include a presentation on the new fire station, a report from the Working Group on the Pipeline, and a brief presentation on the NIH Master Plan 2000 Update. She also reminded CLC members that there will not be a CLC meeting in August. New Member Orientation Ms. Hedetniemi announced that a new CLC member orientation meeting would be held in July for interested CLC members. She also invited Ginny Miller of Wyngate Citizens Association and Stella Serras-Fiotes of NIH to participate. She distributed a calendar for interested members to list their availability so that a meeting could be scheduled. Recycled Water Ms. Hedetniemi explained that a letter had been distributed to homes that directly border the NIH campus which said how NIH is interested in "re-appropriating" its run-off water to water its plants and trees. She said that in order for this to occur, NIH must have concurrence with adjacent residents. Community News Robyn Des Roches of Edgewood Glenwood Citizens Association said that her community was in communication with the WSSC about the pathway at the northern end of campus which borders the WSSC property. Ms. Hedetniemi provided some background on the issue. She explained that NIH has built a pathway from the fence line into the campus proper. NIH staff and Edgewood Glenwood community members helped reconstruct the path up to the fence line. Since the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission owns the property on the other side of the fence, they have been petitioned to maintain their portion of the path. Eleanor Rice of Locust Hill Civic Association said that she had contacted Senator Brian Frosh who is working with the State Highway Administration to make the area of Rockville Pike between Pooks Hill Road and Cedar Lane safer for the community. She said that serious accidents and even pedestrian deaths have occurred. She said excess speed and three legal U-turn areas make that portion of Rockville Pike very dangerous. Ms. Rice said now that this has been brought to the state's attention, they have promised to help. She also said that she will invite the Maplewood community to participate in their next meeting. W. David Dabney of the Bethesda Urban Partnership (BUP) said that the Bethesda 8 will be adding a new vehicle to the fleet, a sort of trolley with rubber wheels. He also noted that BUP-directed staff in red shirts will be maintaining the median strips which lead up to the Beltway. Carolyn Revelle Hufbauer of the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) said that like Bethesda, the Friendship Heights County Council established a transportation management district to address parking and other transportation management concerns. She also said that she was looking forward to participating in the Master Plan 2000 Update with the area community organizations. Randy Schools of the Recreation and Welfare Association (R&W) said that the 4th Annual NIH Outdoor Film Festival begins on August 18, 2000. He also reminded CLC members to take advantage of the Farmer's Market held on campus in Lot 41B every Tuesday from 2 to 6 p.m. Mr. Schools also announced that a ceremony would be held on June 21, 2000 to premier a new stamp honoring Bethesda-resident Walter Johnson at Povich Field in Cabin John Park in Rockville.Ralph Schofer of Maplewood Citizens Association congratulated Randy Schools on becoming the new Bethesda Chamber of Commerce president. Other Ms. Hedetniemi announced that the East Bethesda Citizens Association had appointed a new member to the CLC--Andy O'Hare. He is the replacement for Lou D'Addio. Ms. Hedetniemi reminded CLC members that the NIH Household Hazardous Waste pick-up is scheduled for June 24 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Lot 31H on the NIH campus. Ms. Hedetniemi told CLC members that if they had changes to the roster, to complete the Member Contact Information Form. Ms. Hedetniemi noted the article about the NW Quadrant Amendment to the NIH Master Plan in the NIH Record. PRESENTATIONS Presentation on NIH Parking Ms. Serras-Fiotes gave CLC members an overview of the past, current, and projected parking situation on the NIH campus. Specifically, she noted that the heart of the issue is the amount of parking or lack there of on the campus. She said that NIH's goal is to provide adequate parking, maintain order and control over the parking lots, provide alternative means of transportation, and effectively manage NIH's parking and transportation resources. Background To provide some background on the parking issue, she showed CLC members a 5-year graph based upon the 1995 Master Plan, illustrating the number of parking spaces allotted for employees, the allotted ratio of one parking space for every two employees as directed by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), and the parking demand based upon surveys of NIH employees. Ms. Serras-Fiotes explained how from December 1995 to December 1999, NIH reduced its parking capacity to meet NCPC requirements, but indicated that the employee parking demand ratio of .54 was higher than the mandated ratio of .50. She added that as of December of 1999, the number of parking spaces as mandated by NCPC was at 8500, and the estimated parking demand for employees was at approximately 9400. She also explained that these figures fluctuate as the number of employees change from year to year. From 1995 to 2000, Ms. Serras-Fiotes explained the fluctuations in the chart. From 1995 to 1997, NIH lost approximately 2,000 spaces due to campus construction. To help balance this loss, NIH added temporary parking lots, converted visitor lots to employee lots, instituted paid visitor parking, and stacked the visitor parking in the lots. Today, the number of spaces is still below the demand. She said that NIH has restored 80 percent of the parking garage capacity at Building 10, manages parking in six facilities which accounts for approximately 50 percent of employee spaces, and has additional benefits from the managed parking such as security and decreased illegal parking. Parking in 2000 & Beyond Ms. Serras-Fiotes showed two more graphs illustrating projected parking losses in 2000 and between now and 2005. She explained that as NIH continues with its construction according to the 1995 Master Plan, NIH will continue to lose more parking spaces. Construction on the new Child Care Center this summer will result in the loss of approximately 200 parking spaces. Other construction projects slated for this year, such as the new fire station, repairs to other parking garages, and the NE Stormwater Management Pond will cause more parking losses. Most of which are permanent. These losses will drop the ratio from .50 to .45, and even with stacking in existing garages, the ratio will not rise above .48. Ms. Serras-Fiotes added that construction of the new Family Lodge and the new animal facility next year will cause a net loss of 800 spaces, dropping the ratio further to .43. Future Strategy To help lessen the impact of these losses, Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that NIH will need to consider a full spectrum of parking options, transportation management incentives, and longer-term solutions. Parking Options Ms. Serras-Fiotes said in looking at NIH's options, two parallel efforts will need to be continually reviewed--increase NIH's parking capacity and better manage its parking demand through a variety of methods: Increase Parking Capacity
Manage Parking Demand
Plan Recommendations Ms. Serras-Fiotes discussed the short- , mid- , and long-range plans. Short-Range Plans (2000)
Mid-Range Plans (2001-2005)
Long-Range Plans (2005-2010)
Summary Ms. Serras-Fiotes reiterated that NIH intends to limit its parking losses, increase control and enhance the services provided to employees, and provide a variety of commuting alternatives to manage demand. Through these and other methods, NIH projects that it will be able to keep its employee parking capacity closer to the NCPC-mandated figure. Questions/Comments Ms. Rice asked about introducing paid employee parking. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that this has not been successful when implemented by the government in the 1970s, and NIH can not guarantee that parking would be available for all those willing to pay. She also noted that NIH would be the only federal agency to charge its employees to park. Jeanne Goldstein of the Montgomery County Civic Federation said that if NIH employees take more public transportation, the demand will simply shift to the private sector. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that parking would never be eliminated by NIH and not all of its employees would use public transportation. She said it must be a combination of methods; no one measure will solve the problem. Pat Southerland of Huntington Parkway Citizens Association asked what percentage of NIH employees were using public transportation and how that figure compared to the local private sector. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that there are 2300 people in the transhare program but that did not include all of the employees who use public transportation. She added that she did not have the most recent statistics with her, but based on 1995 statistics, NIH was significantly above the Bethesda and Washington, D.C. averages. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that she believes that NIH has increased those statistics since 1995, adding that NIH has reduced its incoming traffic during peak hours by about 30 percent over the past 8 years.Mr. Southerland added that he owns a company involved in parking. He said that for other clients, he has built the parking garage for the client and had that garage funded by parking revenue. He asked if this was a possible option for NIH. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that it was not currently possible. Ms. Miller asked how many people participated in the transhare program 5 years ago. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that it was close to 1,000 people. She confirmed that NIH petitioned the government for more funds to increase that figure, and it increased the categories of participants that are eligible to participate. Ms. Serras-Fiotes also clarified what modifications could be made to existing parking policies for Ms. Miller. Ms. Miller asked if NIH considers Montgomery County guidelines with regard to its parking ratio. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that NIH, as a federal agency, follows the guidelines set forth by the NCPC. Several years ago when the transportation management plan was being devised, she said the number of required parking spaces was calculated using the county codes, which would have resulted in 2,000 more parking spaces on the NIH campus. The NCPC requirement is more restrictive. Ms. Miller said that pedestrians on the NIH campus do not use the crosswalks, and she is afraid that she will hit them. Ms. Hedetniemi said that there are more NIH police patrolling the campus, including officers on bicycles. Mr. Dabney commended NIH for providing its employees with transportation alternatives. He added that Bethesda may need to consider similar alternatives. He added that in Bethesda, employers are finding that in order to attract quality employees, they must offer parking. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that NIH is part of Transportation Management Organization with the county, Bethesda Naval Medical Center, and Suburban Hospital to work on common transportation goals. Mr. Dabney added that BUP will be part of that organization.Ralph Schofer of Maplewood Citizens Association asked how the revenues from NIH's paid visitor parking are applied. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that the money covers 30 percent of the cost of managing the lots. The rest of the money used to cover the expense is from appropriated funds. Ms. Rice said that she notified Montgomery County Commuter Services about NIH's work to reduce its incoming traffic. She said she nominated NIH for an award for its 30 percent reduction of incoming traffic during peak hours despite its growing number of employees. CLC's Role in the 2000 Master Plan Update by Ms. Hedetniemi, Director, OCL, NIH; Ginny Miller, Co-chair, CLC; and Ms. Serras-Fiotes, NIH Master Planner, FPPB, DES, NIH Overview Over the next 8 months, Ms. Hedetniemi said the CLC will engage in a series of discussions with NIH, providing it with the community's opinions and ideas as to what the Master Plan 2000 Update should look like for the next 5 years. Ms. Hedetniemi encouraged CLC members to review their 1995 Master Plans since the operating premises will be similar. Premises to be considered include traffic management, maintenance of open space, maintenance of a 250-foot buffer zone around the campus, sight lines (buildings toward the exterior of the campus are low; interior campus buildings are taller), circular interior transportation with the NIH campus main entrance on Rockville Pike, and the centralization of power plant at the interior of the campus. Ms. Hedetniemi added that the community's role in this process is very important, and it is formally recognized by the county and the NCPC. She said when the Master Plan process started, there was no CLC; it was a core community working group which evolved into the CLC. When NCPC and the Montgomery County Planning Board look at NIH's proposed Master Plan, they look at the degree of community involvement, community concurrence, community disagreement, community recommendations and NIH's accommodation of those recommendations, and the environmental impact statement that underlies the Master Plan. She then gave an example of how the process works. Ms. Miller added that the NIH Updated Master Plan 2000 is a 5-year plan, and it is important for the CLC and community to actively participate. She said this is the time and opportunity to include input, because once the plan is approved by NCPC, that is what the plan will be. At that point, it will be too late for community members to make changes or recommendations. She also explained that during the last Master Plan process, the CLC broke into committees on separate issues, which then met in between the regularly scheduled CLC meetings. Ms. Hedetniemi clarified the following point for CLC members: She said that all federal agencies must present their master plans to the NCPC and the M-NCPPC. However, she added that NIH is not obligated to follow NCPC directives. It simply serves in an advisory capacity only, but it has no authority over NIH. But, Ms. Hedetniemi said, NIH chooses to follow the NCPC recommendations because it wants to be a model for federal partnership with the community.Ms. Serras-Fiotes added that there are regulatory statutes that NIH must follow, but in the planning and design arena, NCPC directives are advisory only. Structure Ms. Hedetniemi outlined how the community participated in the last Master Plan. She said that the core group broke into three subcommittees on different topics. Each subcommittee had two co-chairs (an NIH staff person and a CLC member) and was comprised of CLC members, NIH staff, and interested residents from the community. The NIH co-chair served as a resource for information on the topic and the CLC co-chair encouraged community participation in the process. Each subcommittee then would report to the CLC on their progress and minutes of the meetings would be distributed. The three subcommittees were as follows:
Ms. Hedetniemi proposed the same structure for this Updated Master Plan process. Participation Ms. Hedetniemi recommended that Ms. Serras-Fiotes or Tom Hayden serve as the NIH co-chair of the Transportation subcommittee. Lynn Mueller could serve as the Adjacency subcommittee co-chair, and an environmental program person could chair the Environmental subcommittee. Ms. Hedetniemi then asked for volunteers from the CLC. The following CLC members volunteered to participate on the subcommittees: Transportation Ms. Miller, Ms. Rice, Mr. Schofer, Ms. Goldstein, Mr. Dabney, and Mr. Southerland Environment Mort Goldman, Sc.D. of Luxmanor Citizens Association, Robert Resnik, Ph.D. of Huntington Terrace Citizens Association, and Mr. Southerland Adjacency Ms. Des Roches and Harvey Eisen of Edgewood Glenwood Citizens Association, Lucy Ozarin and Richard Sipes of Whitehall Condominium Association, Mr. Schools of R&W, and Dick Grote of Bethesda Parkview Citizens Association Ms. Hedetniemi added that this offer will also be extended to the CLC members that were not in attendance. She also said that she will ask the subcommittee to choose its CLC co-chair when it convenes at its first meeting. At the July CLC meeting, Ms. Hedetniemi said that she will have a schedule with proposed meetings of the subgroups. She added that the meetings would be staggered in between the CLC meetings and would begin between 4 and 5 p.m. Ms. Hedetniemi reiterated that interested community members are welcome to participate on the subcommittees as are others that may provide insight and clarification on the topics. Update on the Montgomery County Transportation Task Force by Ms. Hedetniemi, Director, OCL, NIH Ms. Hedetniemi said that she was asked to be a part of the Transportation Policy Report Task Force of Montgomery County. The purpose of the task force is to provide advice to the Montgomery County Planning Board on a consensus basis with regard to vision, measures of effectiveness, and combinations of land use and transportation networks to better develop a transportation program for Montgomery County. NIH is the only federal agency other than the National Institute on Standards and Technology on the task force which is comprised of approximately 36 individuals. Ms. Hedetniemi said that she would distribute the membership roster of the task force with this month's minutes. Ms. Hedetniemi said she agreed to participate on the task force because she wants to help others on the task force help the program by using NIH as a model for its innovative transportation management program. She added that NIH is the largest employer in Montgomery County with close to 20,000 employees, and it is above the curve for the county and national average in terms of transportation management. Ms. Hedetniemi said that the task force would be actively engaged for the next 15 months, and she said she will keep the CLC informed. Discussion of the Establishment of Community Advisors to the OCL by Ms. Hedetniemi, Director, OCL, NIH Ms. Hedetniemi said that the OCL will be 6 years old in September. Now that the office is established, Ms. Hedetniemi said she must defend her budget before NIH central review committees. In order to determine how the budget should be allocated, she would like to set up a group of advisors to help identify OCL initiatives and programs. The Community Liaison Advisors would be comprised of NIH staff, CLC members, and other local leaders who would meet two to three times a year. The group would be small, approximately six people. The following individuals/organizations were suggested by CLC members:
Other suggestions included having brainstorming sessions with the CLC subcommittees and including NIH-community based people.
by Victoria A. Harden, Ph.D., NIH Historian & Director, DeWitt Stetten, Jr. Museum of Medical Research, NIH Dr. Harden gave a brief overview of the birth of the NIH campus and described how it grew into the "317 acres of science" that we know today. She explained that NIH had four homes before coming to Bethesda:
Dr. Harden explained that by 1933 the research animals were becoming crowded, and a new animal farm in the country was sought. During the 1930s, Montgomery County was expanding. Bethesda was considered the place for summer homes of the wealthy. The Luke Wilson estate was one of these. Due to the expanding growth in the county, property values and taxes were rising. These taxes coupled with the effects of the Depression on investments, motivated the Wilsons to divest themselves of some of their property. After unsuccessfully offering his estate to the government as an International Education Center in 1933, Mr. Wilson donated 45 acres of his property in 1934 to the Treasury Department, which housed the Public Health Service (PHS). PHS administrators viewed this donation as an ideal location for its much needed animal farm. Between 1936 and 1937, major changes were taking place in the PHS. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt named Thomas Parran U.S. Surgeon General who, in turn, named L.R. Thompson as NIH director. Dr. Parran and Dr. Thompson decided to rebuild the entire institute on the Wilson estate instead of just the animal farm as previously planned. The National Cancer Institute was established in 1937 as a separate entity from NIH. These events occurred at about the time that Luke Wilson died of cancer, and Mrs. Wilson decided to donate an additional 10.6 acres as a site for the National Cancer Institute building and 14.4 acres for the construction of officers quarters. This brought the total Wilson donation to 70 acres. Dr. Harden then showed a series of photographs of the NIH campus in the early years. During the late 1930s and early 1940s the NIH campus was occupied, and in October 1940, Roosevelt dedicated the campus. As World War II drew to a close, the 1944 PHS Act was crafted that shaped the postwar NIH. This act contained two major new provisions:
Soon after this act was passed, Congress appropriated funds for the construction of a Clinical Center at NIH. Construction began in the late 1940s. The facility was opened in 1953. After the war, NIH experienced rapid growth: 1945 NIH and NCI 1949 6 institutes and divisions 1959 12 institutes and divisions 1969 19 bureaus, institutes, and divisions 1979 18 bureaus, institutes, and divisions 1989 20 institutes, divisions, and centers 1999 25 institutes and centers Dr. Harden then showed aerial views of the campus from 1950 to 1969, explaining how the campus has grown over time. She then continued with computer generated photographs of the campus. By 1994, the campus had grown to 317 acres through acquisitions of the Peter estate, from the Convent, the Woodmont Country Club (legally known as the Town and Country Golf Club, Inc.), and others.
Ms. Hedetniemi said she would review the calendar indicating CLC member availability for the new member orientation meeting and would select a time and date. Ms. Hedetniemi said that she would invite the CLC members who were not in attendance at today's meeting to participate in the Master Plan 2000 Update subcommittees. At the July CLC meeting, Ms. Hedetniemi said that she will have a schedule with proposed meetings of the subgroups for the Master Plan 2000 Update. She added that the meetings would be staggered in between the CLC meetings and would begin between 4 and 5 p.m.Ms. Hedetniemi said that she would distribute the membership roster of the Transportation Policy Report Task Force with this month's CLC minutes. Ms. Hedetniemi said that the Transportation Policy Report Task Force would be actively engaged for the next 15 months, and she said she will keep the CLC informed. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held on Thursday, July 20, 2000, at 4:00 p.m. in the Natcher Conference Center (Building 45), Conference Room D on the NIH campus.
Janyce N. Hedetniemi, OCL, NIH Ginny Miller, Wyngate Citizens Association W. David Dabney, Bethesda Urban Partnership Robyn Des Roches, Edgewood Glenwood Citizens Association Harvey Eisen, Ph.D., Edgewood Glenwood Citizens Association Morton Goldman, Sc.D., Luxmanor Citizens Association Jeanne Goldstein, Montgomery County Civic Federation Dick Grote, Bethesda Parkview Citizens Association Barbara McDonald, OCL, NIH Lucy Ozarin, Whitehall Condominium Association Robert Resnik, Ph.D., Huntington Terrace Citizens Association Carolyn Revelle Hufbauer, M-NCPPC Eleanor Rice, Locust Hill Civic Federation Ralph Schofer, Maplewood Citizens Association Richard Sipes, Whitehall Condominium Association Stella Serras-Fiotes, FPPB, DES, NIH Randy Schools, Recreation & Welfare Association Pat Southerland, Huntington Parkway Citizens Association Guests: Victoria A. Harden, NIH Historian, NIH Bob Berger |
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