Community Liaison
Council Meeting Minutes
September 30, 2004, 46 p.m.
National Library of Medicine, Visitor Center, Room 38A
National Institutes of Health
DRAFT
HANDOUTS
- Agenda
- Bethesda Master Plan 2003 Update/Draft Environmental Impact
Statement Schedule
Parking Gains/Losses
WELCOME
Tom Gallagher, Director, Office of Community Liaison (OCL),
Office of the Director (OD), National Institutes of Health (NIH)
and Co-Chair, Community Liaison Council (CLC), welcomed members
and guests. He noted that the meeting venue had been changed
because no room was available at NIH’s Natcher Conference
Center. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Gallagher invited Morton Goldman, Sc.D., Luxmanor Citizens
Association, to the podium to receive a thank you plaque in
“grateful recognition” of Dr. Goldman’s
contributions to the CLC and its Agenda Subcommittee and Working
Groups. From the time of his arrival at the NIH, Dr. Gallagher
said that Dr. Goldman had assisted him by providing a historical
perspective on issues addressed by the CLC. Dr. Goldman accepted
the plaque and said that serving on the CLC had been challenging
at times, but for the most part, it had been fun. Although
he no longer would be available to serve on the CLC, he remained
willing to participate on short-term projects.
Dr. Gallagher shared the news that Lucy Ozarin, M.D., Whitehall
Condominium Association, and former NIH researcher, was celebrating
her 90th birthday. In honor of the occasion, he invited the
CLC members to celebrate with refreshments after the meeting.
PRESENTATIONS
Fence and Metro Access Update
by John Datolli, Director, Division of Physical Security
Management, (DPSM), Office of Research Services (ORS), OD,
NIH
Dr. Gallagher said that nearly three years earlier, when he
first met the Director of NIH, Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., he
had inquired about imminent issues before the OCL. Dr. Zerhouni
identified the disruption to neighbors that would result from
the loss of cross-campus access to the Medical Center Metro
Station when the NIH perimeter security fence was constructed.
Dr. Gallagher said that the NIH and the community had offered
many proposals, and that even Representative Chris Van Hollen
[and former Representative, Connie Morella], of Maryland’s
Eighth Congressional District, had become involved in trying
to resolve the issue.
Dr. Gallagher noted two solutions that had been initiated
to assist pedestrians and bicyclists to reach their destinations
on opposite sides of the NIH campus. Dr. Gallagher said that
the first solution was to install a hard surfaced pathway
outside the entire perimeter of the NIH security fence. The
second solution was to allow the community to use a free NIH
perimeter shuttle bus, beginning at and returning to the Metro
station, with a dedicated route and stops on streets bordering
the campus, including Battery Lane. Dr. Gallagher announced
that a recently decided-upon third solution was to construct
an additional Visitor’s Center on the west side of the
campus at the South Drive and Old Georgetown Road entrance.
Dr. Gallagher introduced John Datolli, Director, DPSM, ORS,
OD, NIH, to provide information about the operation of the
gates and the security process at each of the proposed Visitor’s
Centers.
After the Inspector General conducted a threat risk assessment
and recommended that NIH construct a secure perimeter fence,
Mr. Datolli said that the NIH’s Chief Security Officer
was responsible for NIH’s security. Mr. Datolli explained
the safety and security features of the perimeter fence and
gates. When the security fence becomes operational, Mr. Datolli
explained that visitors would be allowed to enter the campus
either at the Visitor’s Center near the Metro or the
one at South Drive on the west side of the campus. After presenting
and scanning driver’s licenses for identification, he
said that visitors would have any carrying bags searched,
pass through a magnetometer, receive a printed badge, and
then be permitted to enter the campus. Mr. Datolli added that
information and relevant data from scanned licenses would
be stored in the security system, and that new badges would
be generated at each visit. He noted that with this procedure,
it would not be necessary to have security guards at each
building to screen and issue visitor’s badges. Mr. Datolli
said that visitors could either walk or ride the interior
shuttle bus from each Visitor’s Center to their destination.
Visitors who required a vehicle on the campus would undergo
a security inspection only at the entrance on South Drive
at Rockville Pike. At this entrance in the future visitors
also would be able to park in an underground garage outside
of the perimeter fence and enter the Visitor’s Center
to be processed before entering the campus.
Mr. Datolli remarked that NIH employees would be able to access
the campus at other gates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except
for the West Drive gate, which is reserved solely for Clinical
Center patients. Because commercial vehicles posed a potential
larger threat, he explained that these would be checked at
a new Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility, currently planned
near the North Drive entrance at Rockville Pike.
Discussion
Dr. Gallagher and Ginny Miller, Wyngate Citizens Association
and CLC Co-Chair, asked about processing badges for children
or others lacking official identification. Mr. Datolli said
that there would be an age cutoff and processes developed
to accommodate these exceptions.
Nancy Hoos, Sonoma Citizens Association, inquired about the
hours of operation for the Visitor’s Centers. Mr. Datolli
said that the Visitor’s Center on Rockville Pike would
operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; however, he said that
the Visitor’s Center on Old Georgetown Road would be
open only Monday through Friday [and not on government holidays].
Mr. Datolli said that operating hours Monday through Friday
had not been finalized. However, he emphasized that there
would be limitations. Mr. Datolli explained that the convenience
of Suburban Hospital personnel, the National Naval Medical
Center, commuters, and Metro’s operating hours all had
to be considered. Dr. Gallagher said that 5:30 a.m. had been
the earliest access time requested. CLC members noted that
Metro had just introduced an earlier start time of 5:00 a.m.
Lesley Hildebrand, Huntington Terrace Citizens Association,
and Ms. Hoos asked about the process for bringing a bicycle
onto campus. Mr. Datolli said that a cyclist would leave the
bike at a designated nearby location and obtain a badge. Then,
a security guard would assist in retrieving the bike.
Ms. Hildebrand remarked that residents from neighborhoods
south west of the campus would have a long walk to South Drive
and Old Georgetown Road. Dr. Gallagher replied that it added
a minute and a half to reach South Drive from the Lincoln
Drive entrance. He noted that neighbors could either take
the perimeter shuttle to South Drive or use the south perimeter
path to reach the Metro station.
Melanie McAllister, a guest from a nearby neighborhood, asked
whether frequent visitors would need to obtain a badge each
day. Mr. Datolli replied that, whether one, two, or more times
a day, a new badge would be issued each time a visitor wanted
to access the campus. Marilyn Mazuzan, Town of Oakmont, wondered
how NIH security personnel would determine whether visitors
had left or remained on the campus. Mr. Datolli said that
security guards would ask visitors to place badges in a bin
at exit turnstiles. He said that those exiting would be counted
by a mechanism when passing through the Visitor Center’s
turnstiles.
George Oberlander, Huntington Parkway Citizens Association,
asked about admitting pedestrians at the West Drive exit near
the Children’s Inn. Ms. Hildebrand agreed that pedestrians
approaching the campus from the northwest side of campus would
have a long walk, whether entering at the South Drive/Old
Georgetown Road Visitor’s Center to traverse the campus
or walking along the perimeter path at West Cedar Lane and
Rockville Pike. Mr. Datolli said that pedestrian use of the
West Drive entrance would pose problems, because this entrance
and security had been programmed, budgeted, and planned with
deference to patients and patient hours.
Dr. Gallagher stated that these solutions offered a vast improvement
over restricting access for those not conducting business
on campus. He said that operations and procedures would be
monitored and evaluated when the fence was operational. Mr.
Datolli added that he would be available to present updated
information to the CLC before the fence became operational
in January of 2005.
Presentation on the NIH Campus Master Plan Update
(MPU)
by Ronald Wilson, Master Planner, Division of Facilities
Planning, Office of Research Facilities Development and Operations
(ORFDO), OD, NIH
Dr. Gallagher introduced Ron Wilson, Master Planner, Division
of Facilities Planning, ORFDO, OD, NIH. Mr. Wilson said that
on September 28, 2004, the NIH submitted the Draft Master
Plan 2003 Update, Main CampusBethesda, Maryland and
Draft Environment Impact Statement (DEIS) to the National
Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and the Montgomery County
Planning Board (MCPB). He provided a handout that displayed
a schedule of review, comment period, and information about
the MPU on the Web via a link at http://orf.od.nih.gov
[or at http://orf.od.nih.gov/masterplan2003.htm].
Mr. Wilson informed the CLC that the MPU and DEIS would be
available on the Web on October 1, 2004. He said that the
MPU would also be available on CD-ROM and that a mailing of
200 printed copies included CLC members and others. Mr. Wilson
noted that the MCPB would hold its review meeting in November—tentatively
either November 4 or 18. He added that NCPC action would take
place on January 6, 2005. Mr. Wilson said that CLC members
would be briefed on the MPU during the October 21, 2004, CLC
meeting.
Mr. Wilson said that the DEIS [http://orf.od.nih.gov/docs/EIS.pdf]
had been filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
on September 24, 2004. After the Plan was published in the
Federal Register on October 1, 2004, he said that there would
be a 60-day public comment period, until close of business
on November 29, 2004.
Discussion
Mr. Oberlander asked Mr. Wilson whether this DEIS included
plans for future off-campus growth. He stated that from an
urban planner’s perspective, long-term needs for growth
should be included in the 2003 DEIS. Mr. Wilson said that
this Environment Impact Statement was not a programmatic EIS,
and that its focus was on campus personnel and growth. Stella
Serras-Fiotes, Director, Division of Facilities Planning (DFP),
ORFDO, OD, NIH, added that NEPA consultants had recommended
focusing this report to the Bethesda campus. Ms. Miller asked
the year in which the NIH campus was forecast to reach a capacity
of 22,000 employees [from the current employee number of 17,511].
Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that NIH had made a commitment to review
the Master Plan every five years before 2023, the year projected
for reaching the 22,000 on-campus personnel capacity.
Presentation on Noise Issues
by Stella Serras-Fiotes, Director, Division of Facilities
Planning, ORFDO, OD, NIH
Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that progress toward a solution to
the noise emanating from the new Porter Neuroscience Research
Center also included progress on aesthetic issues regarding
the appearance of unshielded smokestacks on top of the Center.
She said that the engineers had checked the source of the
noise and proposed options for corrective action. They had
found that installing shields for the smokestacks would also
provide noise abatement. The shield installation would begin
soon with completion expected in Spring 2005.
Ms. McAllister asked whether the lights on the Porter building
could be another source of noise. Further, she remarked that
when she spoke with the OCL staff about this noise, they had
been very nice. Ms. McAllister noted that these lights remained
lit throughout the night. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that the
lights were not a noise source. She added that these lights
remained on for safety, because personnel occupied the building
all night.
CLC members had previously identified a second source of noise
at Building 37. Ms. Serras-Fiotes had requested that engineers
conduct studies and measurement of this noise during the day
and at nighttime. She reported that the noise level exceeded
limits at Sonoma Drive and the Community Store on Old Georgetown
and Greentree Roads. She said the engineers had recommended
adding silencers to the fans. Ms. Hoos asked when work would
begin on these fans. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that cost and
engineering proposals required consideration before a work
schedule could be announced.
Recently, neighbors had reported a third noise source to the
OCL. Dr. Gallagher said an intermittent noise of steam being
released came from the rooftop of the Ambulatory Care Research
Facility. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that this issue had already
been resolved. Anthony Clifford, NIH’s Chief Engineer,
added that there had been a malfunction in the high-pressure
steam valve system. Dr. Gallagher said that he intended to
return to the campus after 8 p.m. to check on this noise.
Ms. Hoos hoped that such potential problems would be anticipated,
detected, and corrected before opening the new laboratory
Building 33. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that NIH had learned from
these mistakes and would remain vigilant and continue to correct
malfunctions. Dr. Gallagher added that shielding the Multilevel
Parking Facility (MLP)-10 lights before the MLP opened on
October 1 was evidence of this vigilance.
Presentation on Parking Status
by Stella Serras-Fiotes, Director, Division of Facilities
Planning, ORFDO, OD, NIH
Ms. Serras-Fiotes provided a printed table that showed an
inventory of campus parking, including locations, total number
of spaces (spaces gained and lost), start dates, and lot type,
i.e., temporary, permanent, multi-level. In addition, she
displayed an aerial photo of the campus. Tom Hayden, Director,
Division of Travel and Transportation, pointed out the areas
on the photo referred to by Ms. Serras-Fiotes in her presentation.
On January 1, 2003, Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that there were
8,175 spaces and a 0.46 ratio of parking spaces to employees.
She remarked that in about a year’s time there had been
a loss of 1,155 spaces due to construction in several campus
locations. Offsetting this loss, she said that 501 spaces
were available in temporary lots.
Ms. Serras-Fiotes reported that a gain of 1,250 spaces had
been realized by the recent completion of MLP-10, although
another 577 spaces would be lost before the end of 2004. At
that time, she noted that there would be 8,194 existing spaces—the
same 0.46 ratio of spaces to employees.
Upon the completion of MLP-9 in 2005, Ms. Serras-Fiotes said
that another 936 spaces would be available. With the removal
of the 501 temporary lot spaces and 265 spaces in the southwest
lot near the tennis courts in April or May of 2005, the number
of parking spaces would total 8,364, with a ratio of 0.47
spaces to employees.
Discussion
J. Paul Van Nevel, NIH Alumni Association, asked if the tennis
courts would remain. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that she did not
know whether the courts would remain. However, she remarked
that there would be a gain in green surface when the southwest
lot was removed.
Eleanor Rice, Locust Hill Civic Association, inquired about
the number of spaces on campus that would be designated for
contractors. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that each contracting
organization was responsible for providing a transportation
plan for their employees. Ms. Rice said that her neighborhood
would initiate restricted parking. Dr. Gallagher advised Ms.
Rice that applying for two-hour restricted parking would be
effective and was a quicker process than applying for neighborhood
parking permits.
Presentation on South Lawn Landscaping Projects
by Anthony Clifford, Chief Engineer, ORFDO, OD, NIH
Chain Link Fence
Mr. Clifford reported that the deteriorating portion of NIH’s
“legacy” chain link fence, situated behind Whitehall
Condominiums, would be replaced with new poles and fencing
material. He assured the CLC that no trees would be lost,
because the fence would weave around existing mature trees.
Mr. Clifford advised Dr. Ozarin that this project would take
a few weeks. He noted that construction trucks would enter
this area using the Whitehall Condominium parking lot for
passage.
South Lawn
Mr. Clifford said that the sloped hill area, located on the
southwest corner of the campus at the end of the temporary
parking area near the tennis courts, would be undergoing improvement.
He said that the slope would be leveled and underground drainage
pipes and fill installed. Mr. Clifford explained that this
would improve sinkholes and areas under the fence that had
been washed out by the flow of surface water. He also said
that upon completion, the area would again be available for
recreational use by families and nearby neighbors.
Mr. Clifford reported that, while this project was under way,
another water problem within the county’s purview, would
be solved. He noted that water collects in this more remote
area close to North Brook Lane near Camelot Mews. This water
and water from the south lawn would flow into the new catch
basin’s drainage area.
Mr. Clifford said that there would be a temporary fence constructed
on October 12, 2004, to enclose and store the machinery. He
said that bulldozing the earthwork on the south lawn would
be completed by December 14, 2004. Mr. Clifford noted that
there would be noise from the operating equipment. Ms. Serras-Fiotes
requested that Dr. Gallagher inform Steve Sawicki, Edgewood
Glenwood Citizens Association, and other CLC members about
the start of earthmoving.
Discussion
Dr. Gallagher asked about the plan for the trees in that area.
He remarked that Lynn Mueller, Chief of NIH’s Grounds
Maintenance and Landscaping Team, had installed 47 trees in
this corner. Mr. Clifford said that Mr. Mueller would move
any trees that might be compromised.
Mr. Oberlander wondered whether any retaining walls would
be installed. Mr. Clifford replied that none would be needed.
He added that no dirt would be trucked in because there was
a sufficient amount on the existing slope.
Ms. Rice asked if this area was located inside the perimeter
fence. Mr. Clifford said that this area was outside the perimeter
and that it was an abatement project funded by federal funds.
OTHER DISCUSSION ITEMS
Ms. Rice inquired about the storm water pond that Montgomery
County planned to install south of the National Library of
Medicine. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that she would present information
about this project at a future CLC meeting.
Dr. Gallagher reported that surplus trucks, which were parked
temporarily near the fence by Whitehall Condominiums, would
be removed.
Dr. Gallagher said he would notify the CLC members of the
October 21, 2004, CLC meeting location, after determining
which venue would be appropriate and available.
Dr. Gallagher and Ms. Blackburn noted that in honor of Dr.
Ozarin’s birthday, refreshments would be served. Ms.
Blackburn led the group in singing “Happy Birthday”
to Dr. Ozarin.
ADJOURNMENT
The formal meeting ended at 5:50 p.m. and cupcakes were served.
ACTION ITEMS
- Dr. Gallagher agreed to notify the CLC when bulldozing
begins on the south lawn.
- Dr. Gallagher said that he would notify the CLC members
of the location for the October 21, 2004, CLC meeting.
- Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that she would present information
about the storm water pond at a future CLC meeting.
CLC Members Present
Lorraine Bell, Palladian Partners, Inc.
Amy Blackburn, OCL, OD, NIH
Anthony Clifford, ORFDO, OD, NIH
Margot Durkin, Stone Ridge School
Tom Gallagher, Ph.D., OCL, OD, NIH
Morton Goldman, Sc.D., Luxmanor Citizens Association
Lesley Hildebrand, Huntington Terrace Citizens Association
Nancy Hoos, Sonoma Citizens Association
Debra Liverpool, YMCA-Bethesda
Marilyn Mazuzan, Town of Oakmont
Debbie Michaels, Glenbrook Village Homeowners Association
Ginny Miller, Wyngate Citizens Association
Adda Million, Camelot Mews Citizens Association
George Oberlander, Huntington Parkway Citizens Association
Lucy Ozarin, M.D., Whitehall Condominium Association
Eleanor Rice, Locust Hill Civic Association
Stella Serras-Fiotes, DFP, ORFDO, OD, NIH
J. Paul Van Nevel, NIH Alumni Association
Guests
John Datolli, DPSM, ORS, OD, NIH
Joan Kleinman, U.S. Congressman Van Hollen’s Office
Melanie McAllister, neighbor
Mark Nathan, (alternate) Maplewood Citizens Association
Chris Williams, The Gazette
Ronald Wilson, DFP, ORFDO, OD, NIH
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