National Institutes of Health
Office of Community Liaison
Meeting Minutes Nov. 19, 1998

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Community Liaison Council Meeting Minutes
4:00 p.m., November 19, 1998
Natcher Conference Center, Room D

Ms. Hedetniemi welcomed attendees and members, and introduced the following presenters:
Esther R. Bowring, Senior Planner, Recycling, Division of Solid Waste Services, Montgomery County, Maryland
Eileen Kao, Planning Specialist III, Division of Solid Waste Services, Montgomery County Maryland

HANDOUTS:

• Agenda
• Amendment to the 1995 NIH Master Plan, November 2, 1998.
• Various printed recycling brochures from Montgomery County.

Ms. Hedetniemi announced that Stoney Creek that runs through the NIH campus has been polluted for the last two months with what the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) has determined to be cooking grease. Dr. McKinney has worked with officials from MDEP to contain the pollution and avoid run-off to Rock Creek and to determine the source. It has definitely been concluded that the source is not from the NIH. MDEP believes it comes from a Bethesda restaurant that is putting cooking oil down the drain. Mr. Ward said that the Coast Guard has a way of tracing pollution by examining the content of the oil and tracing it to the place that uses those contents. Dr. McKinney thought markers had to be put in the oil for it to be traced, but Mr. Ward said this was not the case.

In response to a question from Ms. Rice, Ms. Hedetniemi said NIH was aware that a neighbor had requested zoning approval for a bed and breakfast on West Cedar Lane. Ms. Hedetniemi said the NIH has no formal relationship with this person, nor is NIH supportive of the petition.

Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that the Master Plan for the Northwest quadrant had to be revised because the Clinical Research Center (CRC) footprint was larger than originally projected in the 1995 Master Plan. The larger size of the CRC affected plans for the location of the Fire Station, a parking garage, a secondary Day Care Center, and the new Guest House. In addition to the displacement of these four facilities, the Potomac Electric Power Company (PEPCO) has determined that power requirements of the new CRC will necessitate the location of a third power substation in the northwest quadrant. To decide on the plan with the least impact on the community, Ms. Serras-Fiotes’s office did a thorough study of the topography of the area and completed a tree survey. These considerations along with impact on traffic patterns were factors in revisions to the Master Plan that was submitted to the NCPC, the state, and the county for the 90 day review process.

The following changes are included in the Amendment under review:

The Fire Station and potential Public Safety Annex is to be located west of its original location, closer to Old Georgetown Road.
The secondary Day Care Center will be located with a drop-off and pick-up lane north of Center Drive.
The PEPCO substation, which will have no occupancy, will be located between the Fire Station and the Day Care Center.
The Guest House will be a low-lying residential building with 24 units located north of the Cloisters within easy walking distance of the new CRC.
The parking garage will be placed on the site of existing on-grade parking lot 10-D with access from Convent Drive and South Drive and adjacent to a CRC side entrance.

Ms. Hedetniemi added that the Louise Nevelson sculpture would be moved and placed in the center loop of the newly configured Center Drive. Mr. Schools announced that more money had recently been donated to be used to build the Guest House for families of adult patients. At present Marriott works with NIH to offer free and reduced rate rooms.

Ms. Bowring, Senior Planning Specialist with the Division of Solid Waste Services, Montgomery County, gave a brief history of the county’s multi-family recycling effort. The program got off to a slow start but has been energized recently by an aggressive drive that has resulted in the inspection and grading for recycling compliance of all multi-family dwellings. The goals of the program are to inspect each site four times a year, to improve the "capture rate" from 45 percent to 60 percent, and to phase in recycling more materials. The county plans another campaign to improve compliance beginning in January 1999.

Ms. Miller asked if there was a number to call. Ms. Bowring said her office plans to have the phone number widely distributed and printed on all county waste collection material. Mr. Goldman suggested using children to reach parents. Ms. Bowring replied that they have a special magic show geared to teach children about the importance of recycling. Also, the county executive, Mr. Duncan, has a postcard campaign aimed to get school children to take a pledge to recycle. In response to a question on how the county rated nationally in recycling success Ms. Miller was told Montgomery County has a high rating. Mr. Schofer asked if the material is buried. Ms. Bowring said the recycling material is, in fact, recycled. Revenues generated by recycling the materials offset costs. Ms. Billings asked how the brochures are distributed. Ms. Bowring replied they are sent to the multi-family dwellings and to libraries and malls.

 Ms. Bowing said that, at this point, Montgomery County is not accepting non-aluminum cans and certain types of plastic containers because neither is cost effective to recycle. In response to a question on how citizens can aid in the recycling effort, Ms. Bowing asked that materials be recycled clean, without lids, and free from plastic bags.

Ms. Eileen Kao, Planning Specialist, Division of Solid Waste Services, Montgomery County, described business recycling. The aim of the program is to keep the county a pleasant place to live. The goal for business recycling is to encourage businesses to improve compliance to 50 percent. She said that her office has worked for eight years with NIH to ensure a strong and successful program that has reduced waste. She turned the program over to Dr. McKinney to describe the NIH recycling efforts.

Dr. McKinney said that the NIH recycling program began in 1989, focusing on recycling white office paper. The initial challenge was to fund the program. Since then, funding has been available and the NIH has been able to concentrate on meeting county requirements. He noted some of NIH’s unique issues, such as how to recycle plastic pipette trays and other non-hazardous medical debris. Dr. McKinney’s office recruited volunteers on each floor or section of a floor to coordinate the program. Interacting with the housekeeping contractors, they put out metal containers in the buildings and aggregate ones outdoors. The program is working well; for example, six metric tons were recycled from Building 10 in October alone. At present, Dr. McKinney said NIH is recycling 16% of its solid waste and while he hopes to increase this percentage, he does not have a specific goal.

Dr. McKinney said that the NIH also cooperates with the county in staging pick-ups for hazardous household waste. He said there was a traffic jam on campus the last time this service was offered.

Dr. Billings asked if there is a penalty for non-compliance. Ms. Bowring said such a penalty exists but has never been enforced because her office prefers to work with positive responses. Ms. Rice asked why NIH is using styrofoam since it is not recyclable. Ms. Kao said it can be recycled but has to be clean. Cleaning it was not practical or cost effective. Mr. Schofer said that if all china materials were used, cleaning them would put phosphates into the water and increase pollution in another way. Ms. Kao acknowledged that there are trade offs in the use of such materials and that minimizing the use of polystyrene is desirable; she said her office will continue to evaluate these choices.

Mr. Williams gave the following summary of road changes and construction on campus:

At the present:

Construction is taking place off Center Drive towards Building 41.
Repairs are taking place from the Metro Station by Building 9.
The outer loop of old Center Drive off Cedar Lane is open.
There is some construction at Memorial Drive and Old Center Drive.
 
On November 30

Memorial Drive by Building 4 and Center Drive will be closed. Employees entrance to ACR garage is diverted.
The pedestrian walkway on Center Drive from Building 31 to Building 10 is closed.

Mid December

The drive on the south side of Building 10 will be restored to its original state.
One side of the relocated Center Drive will be open.
The boundary of West Drive will be put in place.
The present entrance to Building 10 will close and the south entrance will become the
main entrance.
Memorial Drive will open for through traffic again.

End of January South Drive will reopen.
February through the end of May
The end of Convent Drive will be closed.

Mr. Williams said that, when all roads are reconfigured, his office wants to rename them and the parking areas and completely redo all road signage.. Ms. Hedetniemi encouraged him to involve the Community Liaison Council in this task. Mr. Schofer suggested that all sign changes be done when the roads are laid out.

Mr. Ficca said that his office was putting additional active maps of construction updates on the NIH Web Site. Mr. Williams said that changes to roads and construction were expected to be particularly heavy in the next few weeks and suggested that neighbors avoid the campus until after the holidays.

Ms. Rice asked about the status of the stormwater pond. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that because construction of the pond will necessitate losing parking spaces, there will be a delay in starting this project until the new parking deck is nearer completion.

Mr. O’Rourke said that Whitehall requests that NIH move the fence 200 yards to the east. They are working with a landscape architect on the plans. Ms. Hedetniemi asked for a letter to NIH formally requesting this and noted that NIH cannot make any such move before checking on the access safety and lighting.

Mr. O’Rourke thanked NIH for removing the graffiti that had been visible from Whitehall.

Whitehall will write NIH a letter asking for the fence to be moved.

 NEXT MEETING:

The next meeting of the Community Liaison Council (formerly CCWG) will be Thursday, December 17, at 4:00 p.m., Room F, in the Natcher Conference Center.

Barbara McDonald, OCL, NIH
Jeanne Billings, Wisconsin Condominium Association
Esther Bowing, Division of Solid Waste Services, Montgomery County, Maryland
Steve Ficca, ORS, NIH
Morton Goldman, Luxmanor Citizens Association
Jeanne Goldstein, Chevy Chase Valley Citizens Association
Richard Grote, Bethesda Parkview
Susan Hinton, NCPC
Eileen Kao, Division of Solid Waste Services, Montgomery County, Maryland
Gyula Kovach, EPB, ORS, NIH
Robert McKinney, Division of Safety, ORS
Ginny Miller, CCWG Co-Chair, Wyngate Citizens Association
Frank O’Rourke, Whitehall Condominium
Lucy Ozarin, Whitehall Condominium
Robert Resnik, Huntington Terrace Citizens Association
Eleanor Rice, Locust Hill Civic Association
Ralph Schofer, Maplewood Citizens Association
Randy Schools, R&W, Inc.
Stella Serras-Fiotes, ORS, NIH
James Ward, Ayrlawn Citizens Association
George Williams, OES, ORS, NIH

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