Janyce Hedetniemi, director of the Office of Community Liaison (OCL), welcomed members, guests, and speakers.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ms. Hedetniemi introduced OCL's new Community Relations Specialist, Ms. Jennie Kirby, who will start work on July 2. Ms. Kirby joined NIH as a Presidential Management Intern in 1999 and worked in the Office of Community Liaison in the Fall of 1994.

Ms. Hedetniemi asked the group to review the May minutes and get back to her with any changes.

Ms. Hedetniemi called the group's attention to the draft RFP for the Natural Gas Transport Service and asked them to address questions about it to Ms. Serras-Fiotes, OFP, ORS, NIH.

Mr. Paul Van Nevel, of the NIH Alumni Association, thanked Ms. Hedetniemi for including the resolution sent on the need for another parking garage on the NIH campus in the May minutes of the CLC. On another subject, he had been to a Montgomery County presentation on retirees that announced new perspectives that are needed for the community to make the best use of the growing number of healthy, talented people of retirement age. Mr. Van Nevel noted that today's retirees are no longer "on the golf course"and engaged in other traditional retiree activities, but are more likely to be very active in community volunteer programs and other similar endeavors. He encouraged CLC members to learn about the availability of senior citizens for volunteer programs and said that the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services is a good place to start to find out what is being done. In line with this suggestion, Ms. Hedetniemi said that the Montgomery County Initiative serves as a mainstream source of information for senior citizens.

PRESENTATIONS

Campus Master Plan Update
by Stella Serras-Fiotes, OFP, ORS, and Stuart Knoop, Oudens+Knoop

Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that this presentation on the Master Plan (MP) has recently been made to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC). She passed around a copy of the slides she was presenting. The first subject addressed the projected growth of the campus population and its relationship to the space available and to possible building projects. She said that in the short-term, projections can be realistic, but planning far into the future is less reliable. Her office bases its projections on the best possible estimation of what the situation will be within the proscribed time frame.

She said that NIH Institutes were asked to base their projected figures on scientific needs over the next 20 years, rather than what they anticipated in the way of budget requirements or specific projects. Her office tempered these projections by including space requirements, resulting in a modified, lower number of personnel anticipated for the NIH Bethesda campus. Then, the projected number on campus was calculated for moderate growth and for maximum growth. With moderate growth patterns, the campus population could grow from 17,800 to as much as 22,200 in 2020. With maximum growth, the campus population would rise to 27,000. With all factors included and making the best estimate for the long-range, the planning office projects that 23,000 employees could be accommodated on campus by 2020.

CLC members asked questions about these figures and raised concerns. Several pointed out that the NIH budget is expected to double and that this seems to indicate a larger than projected growth.

Ms. Hedetniemi made several clarifications about the NIH budget:

Mr. Southerland, of the Huntington Parkway Citizens Association, asked if the ratio of administrative staff relative to the lab staff could be lowered to decrease the projected on-campus population. He was told that labs need support staff and that they frequently need them to be near-at-hand. Ms. Rice, of the Locust Hill Civic Association, said the now-deserted White Oak Center, which is much larger than NIH, should be considered as a place to relocate some of the institutes. In response, Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that NIH is presently locating as many offices away from the campus as is practical. She said that the need to have access to the Clinical Center means that most institutes' labs have to be on the campus.

Ms. Miller, of the Wyngate Citizens Association, said the numbers on campus need to be kept to a manageable level. Mr. Schofer, of the Maplewood Citizens Association, said that doubling the budget is bound to result in campus population growth.

Ms. Hedetniemi pointed out several considerations about the growth of the campus population and the questions and concerns that were being raised:

To indicate how the planning process has worked in the past, Ms. Serras-Fiotes pointed out that the 1995 MP has covered all construction and changes in the last five years, except the Neurosciences Building. She said it is assumed that the rate of growth will decrease. She then showed the group maps of the campus in 1995, 1998, and today and discussed the changes.

Next, Ms. Serras-Fiotes and Mr. Knoop presented the Master Plan schedule, including an outline and dates for convening the three CLC task groups. The schedule showed meetings commencing on the week of June 25 and concluding with the next CLC meeting on July 19. This would include three meetings each for the Transportation, Construction, and Environmental Impacts (non-construction- related) task groups, with no meetings during the week of July 4. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said she recommended this schedule so she could have the task groups' reports to present at the July CLC meeting. She then could work on a draft to discuss with the group at the September CLC meeting and have a final draft for a public hearing in January. This plan accounted for there being no August CLC meeting.

Ms. Hedetniemi pointed out that the last MP was started in January and finished in August. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said that, in1995, NIH had to draw up a complete plan; the current MP will address only a few issues. Several CLC members expressed concern that the meeting schedule would be difficult to complete during the summer, when many people are away on holiday. Others said they thought the process of getting community reactions was being hurried into place and such a schedule could be a hardship for the members who are volunteers. Other CLC members said they believed the group could meet the deadline if an August meeting were to be scheduled. A brief discussion ensued on these matters.

For matters covered in the discussion, Ms. Hedetniemi offered the following suggestions:

Ms. Hedetniemi said that the each of the task groups is ably co-chaired by a CLC member and an NIH staff member. She identified the task group chairs as:

The Office of Community Liaison will arrange rooms in which to hold the meetings and will assist in meeting logistics.

OTHER BUSINESS

Ms. Hedetniemi commended Lynn Portmann of Suburban Hospital on her service to the CLC and wished her well in her new position with the Washington Hospital Center Foundation.

Mercury Man T-shirts were distributed to the CLC members.

ACTION ITEMS