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National Institutes of Health |
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Community Liaison Council Meeting
Minutes Draft WELCOME Janyce Hedetniemi, director of the Office of Community
Liaison (OCL), welcomed Community Liaison Council (CLC) members, guests,
and speakers.
HANDOUTS Introductions Ms. Hedetniemi introduced NIH Acting Director Dr. Ruth Kirschstein. CLC members introduced themselves to Dr. Kirschstein. PRESENTATIONS Update from the Acting Director, NIH
by Ruth Kirschstein, M.D., Acting Director, NIH In her opening remarks, Dr. Kirschstein commented that, as a longtime resident on the NIH campus, she considers herself a member of the Bethesda community. NIH receives broad support in the government and the country, Dr. Kirschstein said, because the research it supports and conducts holds the promise of better health for everyone. Biomedical discovery has advanced rapidly in recent years. Earlier this week, NIH scientists and scientists from Celera Genomics, Inc., in Rockville, Maryland, announced completion of the draft sequencing of the human genome, a landmark achievement that will contribute enormously to scientific understanding of the complex interactions of genes and the environment in causing disease. NIH conducts most of its work through grants to universities and medical centers around the country, Dr. Kirschstein said. Research conducted at NIH accounts for only about 10 percent of the total NIH budget. Public opinion polls consistently show a high level of support across the country for biomedical research, Dr. Kirschstein said, and this has been reflected in Congress' relatively favorable treatment of NIH in recent federal budgets. Dr. Kirschstein said that the newly appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, formerly the governor of Wisconsin, seems favorably disposed toward NIH. He and members of his staff are scheduled to visit the NIH campus within the next two weeks. Regarding recent appointments, Dr. Kirschstein was delighted to announce that among a number of outstanding scientists and administrators have been recruited to NIH recently including a new director for the National Eye Institute. Update on NIH FY 2001 Budget Congress also passed legislation late in calendar year 2000 to create two new research entities at NIH, the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities and the National Institute for Bio-Imaging and Biomedical Engineering. These additions increase the total number of NIH institutes and centers from 25 to 27. Discussion The extensive construction work now under way on the NIH campus is driven not by the growth in the NIH budget (most of which is spent off-campus), but by the fact that NIH persuaded Congress of the urgent need to repair and replace many campus buildings, the physical condition of which had declined over a period of many years when the appropriation of funds for building maintenance was a low priority. The campus is not expanding, Dr. Kirschstein said, but rather replacing buildings that are no longer adequate or safe for their intended use. In response to a question by Ginny Miller of the Wyngate Citizens Association, Dr. Kirschstein said the scientific evidence clearly links the increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes with the increasing incidence of obesity. Type 2 diabetes, usually considered a disease that affects middle-aged and older adults, is now reaching epidemic proportions among adolescents as a result of high-fat diets and lack of physical activity. Harvey Eisen of the Edgewood Glenwood Citizens Association praised Ms. Hedetniemi for her openness in her dealings with the CLC. Ms. Hedetniemi thanked Dr. Kirschstein for her presentation on behalf of CLC members.
The population of the Bethesda campus increased from 16,230 in 1995 to 17,800 in 2000—a 9 percent increase in 5 years—Ms. Serras-Fiotes said. The Master Plan had anticipated a reduction in personnel on the campus from 1995 to 2000 as a result of budget constraints and government downsizing. However, NIH received relatively generous budget increases over the past 5 years, and institutes have overcome constraints on the hiring of federal workers by hiring contract workers instead. The growth of on-campus programs and personnel currently projected by the NIH leadership would result in an increase in the campus population to 20,274 by 2005; 22,397 by 2010; and 27,004 by 2020. By contrast, the maximum on-campus population that could be accommodated by the 1995 Master Plan if all projects were implemented is 23,000. Thus, even with full funding of the Master Plan, the campus would not be able to accommodate the level of growth now being projected by the NIH leadership, Ms. Serras-Fiotes said. A campus population of around 22,000 is the maximum that planners believe the existing infrastructure will comfortably support, Ms. Serras-Fiotes said; major infrastructure expansion and replacement would be necessary to support campus growth beyond that point. Factors constraining growth beyond 22,000 include the capacity of utility services (specifically the sanitary sewer and the power plant) and environmental impacts (specifically traffic and parking; at a ratio of half a parking space per new employee, an additional 500 parking spaces would be required for every 1,000 additional employees). In conclusion, Ms. Serras-Fiotes said, the NIH leadership is recommending that a "moderate growth scenario" be pursued to accommodate up to 22,000 people on the Bethesda campus by 2020. Additionally, they recommended pursuing expansion of off-campus facilities. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said her office will shortly begin developing a Master Plan for NIH's off-campus local facilities. Discussion In response to a question by George Oberlander of the Huntington Parkway Citizens Association, Ms. Serras-Fiotes said the estimates of negative campus population growth in the first 5 years of the 1995 Master Plan were based on relatively pessimistic assumptions about the likely rate of increase in NIH's funding. By contrast, the NIH leadership's current growth projections are based on more optimistic assumptions. Ms. Miller said her recollection of the 1995 discussions about the Master Plan was that limitations on the capacity of the Bethesda campus, rather than budgetary constraints, were the rationale for downsizing the campus population. Ms. Serras-Fiotes responded that in 1995 the NIH leadership did not expect that budgetary and political realities would permit the level of growth that has in fact occurred. In response to a question by Ms. Miller, Ms. Serras-Fiotes acknowledged that the traffic capacity of the streets and roads surrounding the NIH campus is one of the most significant constraints on the ability of the campus to accommodate a larger workforce. However, traffic congestion is a regional problem that NIH cannot resolve alone, she said. Ms. Miller asked if it would not be more sensible to accommodate all of the projected additional NIH personnel off-campus. Ms. Serras-Fiotes responded that a large proportion of NIH's administrative staff has already been moved off campus and further expansion of off-campus facilities is being actively considered. However, adequate laboratory space is difficult to obtain off-campus. Additionally, the NIH leadership is wrestling with the question of how NIH researchers located off-campus can maintain important functional relationships with fellow researchers. In response to a question, Ms. Hedetniemi noted that the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences is located almost entirely in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Ms. Serras- Fiotes said that two other Institutes have large research facilities in Baltimore where they collaborate extensively with the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Additionally, the National Cancer Institute maintains a research facility in Frederick, Maryland. However, a major constraint on the ability to move research off-campus, Ms. Serras-Fiotes said, is the need of most NIH clinical researchers for proximity to the NIH Clinical Center, a facility that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. In response to a question, Ms. Serras-Fiotes said NIH is pursuing several opportunities for collaboration with the National Naval Medical Center that would enable NIH to use facilities there. She added that NIH is making it a priority to identify off-campus accommodations that are located near Metro stations to enable as many employees as possible to use public transportation. Ms. Hedetniemi noted that the anticipated growth figures in Ms. Serras-Fiotes' presentation represent projections based on NIH leaders' "wish lists." When the implications of these figures were presented to the NIH and Institute leaders, she said, they were very respectful of the potential community impacts. She added that the concerns CLC members were raising about traffic and other community impacts would be addressed in the process of updating the Master Plan and preparing the environmental review and documentation. In response to a question, Ms. Hedetniemi said that NIH had conducted an exhaustive survey of where its employees live and had determined that many people commute from as far away as the Maryland-Pennsylvania border; Shepherdstown, WV; and Fredericksburg, VA. A County express bus service operates from Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg to the NIH campus, the Naval Medical Center, and downtown Bethesda, said Tony Clifford, Director of the NIH Division of Engineering Services (DES); passengers receive free parking at the mall. A bus service also operates from Glen Arden in Prince George's County. Ms. Hedetniemi noted that the following three CLC working groups will be involved in the NIH Master Plan 5-year update: Construction Impacts (co-chaired by Ralph Schofer of Maplewood Citizens Association), Transportation (co-chaired by Ms. Miller), and Environmental Impacts (co-chaired by Mort Goldman of Luxmanor Citizens Association). A meeting schedule of these three working groups will be distributed to CLC members as soon as possible, she added. Ms. Hedetniemi added that the Montgomery County Transportation
Policy Task Force is currently analyzing regional growth scenarios.
She noted that last week's Bethesda Gazette had given prominent coverage
to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's decision to locate its new
biotechnology center in Northern Virginia. Any decisions to develop
NIH "satellite campuses" will need to be made in the context
of development and transportation policies for Montgomery County as
a whole, she said. OTHER BUSINESS/COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Ruth Gluckstein-Roe of the Town of Oakmont asked for an update on the status of the International Cancer Information Center building on Old Georgetown Road. Mr. Clifford responded that the building is currently unoccupied and is in need of renovation. He said he did not know when the building might be re-occupied and agreed to keep the CLC informed of any plans that are put forward for using this building. Ms. Hedetniemi noted that CLC member Eleanor Rice (who was not in attendance at this meeting) had raised a concern about safety on Rockville Pike between the Beltway and Cedar Lane. Recently there was a serious accident involving a driver doing a U-turn at Elsmere and Rockville Pike; in addition, several pedestrians have been injured and one killed in accidents involving pedestrians and cars. She encouraged CLC members to continue advocating for pedestrian safety in their communities. Ms. Miller noted that pedestrians also have a responsibility to act with care and safety when crossing the road. Dave Dabney of the Bethesda Urban Partnership (BUP) announced that the BUP has received funding from the state of Maryland to introduce two trolleys on the free Bethesda 8 shuttle service in downtown Bethesda. As of March 19, the trolleys will replace the shuttle buses currently being used on the Bethesda 8 route. The shuttle service currently operates from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday. An initiative before the Maryland General Assembly will, if passed, extend the shuttle service until 11:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and enable service to be added on Saturdays from 6 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. In response to a question, Mr. Dabney said the trolleys are similar in size to Montgomery County's Ride-On buses and can accommodate about 23 passengers. He added that if the popularity of the shuttle service continues to grow, the route will eventually be extended to include Battery Lane, Bradley Boulevard, East-West Highway, and the NIH campus. Mr. Dabney also announced that the Bethesda Literary Festival, a partnership between BUP and NIH, will take place April 26–30. A kickoff event, "Tailgates Under the Stars," will be held at Chevy Chase Cars. BUP will also be promoting Bike to Work Day on May 4. As an aside, Ms. Hedetniemi noted that there are over 500 bicycle lockers and racks on the NIH campus. Andy O'Hare of the East Bethesda Citizens Association said that during the recent wintery weather residents in his neighborhood had complained about ice on the sidewalk between the Medical Center Metro station and the Four Seasons Hotel (formerly the Ramada Inn) on Wisconsin Avenue. Ms. Hedetniemi said that the sidewalk in and around the Medical Center Metro station is the property of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, not of NIH. Mr. Clifford said that, nevertheless, his division is aware of the problem and NIH groundskeepers do their best to ensure that the sidewalk near the Metro station is salted. Ms. Hedetniemi drew attention to the 2001: A Women's Health Odyssey desk calendars that had been distributed to CLC members. These calendars were produced by the Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health and additional copies may be requested from the OCL. Ms. Hedetniemi said that materials from CLC meetings are sent by mail to members who do not attend. If any members are not receiving these materials in the mail, they should let her know. In addition, a list of CLC members, minutes of CLC meetings and current and back issues of the OCL Update newsletter are posted on the OCL Web site at http://ocl.od.nih.gov/. The 1995 NIH Bethesda Site Master Plan is also accessible via a link on the OCL Web site, and the CLC history and mission statement will be posted on the Web site soon.
Ms. Hedetniemi said copies of Ms. Serras-Fiotes' slides
will be sent to CLC members as soon as possible.
Ms. Hedetniemi said that a meetings schedule of the three Master Plan working groups will be distributed to CLC members as soon as possible. Ms. Hedetniemi said the CLC history and mission statement will be posted on the Web site soon. NEXT MEETING The next CLC meeting will be held on Thursday, March 15, 2001, at 4:00 p.m. in Conference Room D of the Natcher Conference Center, Building 45, on the NIH campus. Attendees: Guests: |
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