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Community Liaison Council Meeting
Minutes
April 21, 2005, 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Visitor Information Center, Building 45 (Natcher Building)
National Institutes of Health
HANDOUTS
- February CLC Meeting Minutes
- March CLC Meeting Minutes
- April 2005 OCL Update
- NIH News in Health
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mr. John Burklow welcomed everyone to the meeting and had
attendees introduce themselves to the group. Mr. Burklow asked
if anyone present had a question(s) about either the February
or the March CLC meeting minutes, which were distributed to
meeting attendees. If any questions do arise, please contact
the Office of Community Liaison. The OCL Update and
NIH News in Health publications were distributed
to CLC members.
Mr. Walter Mitton from the Office of Community Liaison updated
the CLC about the upcoming NIH sponsored Share the Health
Exposition on May 15, 2005. Mr. Mitton invited the council
members to join NIH at this event, as well as to help NIH
publicize the event by informing their communities, their
neighbors, friends and family members about the event.
Ms. Joan Kleinman, District Director from Congressman Chris
Van Hollen's office, made an announcement that Congressman
Van Hollen will be holding an open forum and town hall meeting
on Monday, May 9th, 2005, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The town
hall meeting will be held at Forest Oak Middle School from
7:30 pm until 9:00 pm. All residents of the eighth congressional
district were invited to attend.
PRESENTATIONS
Historical Review "Tour of Duty at OCL"
Thomas Gallagher, Ph.D, Former Director, Office of Community
Liaison, NIH
Dr. Thomas Gallagher returned to talk to the group about
all of the accomplishments the CLC had during his tenure as
the Director of OCL. Dr. Gallagher came to the D.C. Metro
area from the state of Wisconsin, days after the September
11th terrorist attacks. He was asked to join his former boss,
Tommy Thompson, as he began his career as the Secretary of
Health and Human Services. Dr. Gallagher began his work here
with the Secretary as the Assistant Secretary for Budget in
the downtown Health and Human Services building. Upon arriving
in the area, Dr. Gallagher was instantly interested in working
at the NIH and with its Director, Dr. Elias Zerhouni. In July
of 2002, he was named as the Director of NIH's Office of Community
Liaison.
While serving as the Director of OCL, Dr. Gallagher split
his time between NIH issues and meeting with HHS dignitaries
and guests. After 2 ½ years in this role, he chose
to resign from his position as a political appointee to take
a job in private industry. Dr. Gallagher is now the Senior
Accounts Manager for Health and Human Services contracts with
an international company, SAIC.
When Dr. Gallagher first came to the D.C. metro area, it
was very easy for the public to access the NIH campus by foot
and automobile. Shortly after his arrival, security measures
and risks increased, which limited campus accessibility for
non-NIH employees. Also during his tenure, the perimeter fence
was designed and constructed, a major research building has
been built, the south lawn revitalization project has begun
and is almost complete, and a multi-level employee garage
was constructed. All of these are important projects that
he is proud to have been a part of. Dr. Gallagher told the
council that professionally speaking, he has had the best
three years of his career here at the NIH. He enjoyed working
with the community and he left believing that there was a
strong relationship between NIH and the community. Dr. Gallagher
thanked the council for all of its help and patience and said
he really enjoyed working with each and every person.
Ms. Ginny Miller addressed the council and stated how Dr.
Gallagher has always had such enthusiasm for the NIH and was
always so gracious to the council. On behalf of the council,
Ms. Miller thanked Dr. Gallagher for everything he had done
during his tenure by presenting him with a plaque.
Final Master Plan (MP) and Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS)
Ron Wilson, Master Planner, DFP, ORF, NIH
The current status of the Master Plan (MP) and Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) is that all comments have been formally
responded to and addressed. There were a total of eleven submitted
comments, all of which are printed and responded to in the
final EIS. One particular comment addressed noise coming from
a few NIH buildings, and how NIH is going to respond and correct
the situation. Included in the final EIS is Section 5.5.4,
which addresses noise levels generated by NIH buildings. The
language in Section 5.5.4 of the final EIS notes that NIH
has a commitment to mitigate and reduce noise emissions from
our buildings.
A notice of availability will appear in the Federal Register
tomorrow, Friday, April 22, 2005. Copies of the final EIS
will be sent out to all members of the CLC. NIH is required
to have a 30-day waiting period before it can submit a Record
of Decision. We are in that period at this time. The entire
process is expected to conclude sometime in late May or June
of 2005.
A second comment addressed the natural gas line used by NIH,
asking NIH to disclose the status and location of the line.
The response to this comment from NIH addressed the status
of NIH's Washington Gas permit. Section 5.4.7 of the final
EIS addresses what steps NIH will take in the event that a
new natural gas line is needed on the campus. The language
that was inserted into the final EIS is the same language
that was previously discussed and concurred to by the Community
Liaison Council.
A third comment submitted during the draft EIS related to
a new NIH parking ratio and subsequent traffic to and from
the NIH campus. Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning
Commission (M-NCPC) did approve the final EIS and NIH's proposed
parking ratio at their January 6th, 2005, meeting. One council
member inquired as to how NIH plans to meet and/or achieve
the new parking ratio. NIH will develop a revised transportation
management plan that will help identify a realistic parking
ratio. This transportation management plan needs to be completed
within one year to meet the requirements of the M-NCPC.
A stronger statement has also been inserted into the Final
Master Plan regarding the proposed 22,000 employment limit
for the campus. This language can be located in Section 2.8.8
of the Master Plan. Ms. Serras-Fiotes stated that if in the
future, NIH does need to exceed the proposed 22,000 employee
limit stated in this Master Plan, NIH will be required to
go through the proper approval process that includes NEPA,
the community, as well as state and federal agencies.
Ms. Ginny Miller inquired about the current NIH parking ratio
in relation to the proposed M-NCPC parking ratio. The suggested
ratio reduction is a recommendation by M-NCPC, because NIH
is a site that is located next to a Metro station. M-NCPC
proposes that employment sites that are located next to a
Metro station have a lower parking ratio. The council was
informed that a new NIH transportation management plan will
be in place within the one year timeframe imposed by M-NCPC,
which will include the new approved parking ratio.
Ms. Serras-Fiotes responded that campus employee numbers
may be forced or required to increase beyond the 22,000 projections
stated in the Master Plan. NIH leadership cannot predict what
the future holds and what future research will be necessary
for the NIH to perform, all of which may require more NIH
personnel. Ms. Serras-Fiotes informed the council that if
an increase is necessary in employee numbers, NIH will include
the community in the process. Ms. Serras-Fiotes stated that
NIH cannot say that it will not grow beyond its 22,000 projected
employee number. At this time, all NIH can state is that the
current campus ceiling is 22,000 and NIH cannot increase its
employee numbers without a full master planning process involving
the community.
Mr. Steve Sawicki responded that when M-NCPC makes a recommendation,
it seems as though NIH is not held accountable to follow that
recommendation. Mr. Wilson assured him that there are many
times when NIH adheres to and openly accepts M-NCPC's recommendations.
NIH does reply and respond to all of M-NCPC's recommendations,
as best we can, but we must do so without compromising NIH's
mission and research activities. Mr. Sawicki reminded the
council that community members live with NIH's decisions and
repercussions 24-hours a day. Mr. Wilson replied that NIH
always considers community concerns in these processes.
Ms. Miller stated that she would like for there to be a capacity
limit placed on the number of employees on the NIH campus
because she feels that NIH keeps increasing that number. Ms.
Miller is also concerned about environmental issues. Ms. Miller
agreed that the 1-to-1 tree replacement plan performed by
NIH is great, but she wants to know exactly how M-NCPC's recommendation
differs from NIH's current tree replacement plan. Mr. Wilson
stated that M-NCPC also would like for NIH to address and
implement a forest conservation plan within one year. NIH
has already created a draft forest conservation plan, and
has shared that plan with M-NCPC. NIH's forest conservation
plan abides by Maryland state laws, which is a one for one
tree removal and replacement. Mr. Wilson stated that NIH has
gone above that requirement, and in most cases replaces each
lost tree with two trees.
Ms. Serras-Fiotes responded that in May she will present
more details to the council about NIH's reforestation plan.
The National Environmental Policy Act is federal governance
and it is binding. NIH follows this act on all its projects.
Mr. Burklow asked Ms. Serras-Fiotes if there is a document
on file or a list that shows which issues or recommendations
from the council has NIH followed or implemented. This would
allow CLC members to track the follow-up actions on issues
they discuss.
NIH Campus—Security Projects Update
John Datoli, Director, DPSM, NIH, OD, ORS
Mr. Datoli introduced NIH Police Chief, Alvin Hinton to the
group, who also came to discuss the security issues raised
about the NIH Gateway Visitor Center and the campus perimeter
security fence. Ms. Serras-Fiotes introduced the security
projects. The NIH Master Plan and related security projects
were submitted to NCPC and M-NCPPC. There were three areas
that NCPC was concerned with and NIH has responded to and
addressed all of those concerns. The first concern was in
regards to the buffer zone along Rockville Pike being at least
250-feet away from the traffic. NIH does have 82 acres of
undeveloped land around the campus perimeter. It is important
for the safety of NIH employees, visitors and neighbors that
uninspected commercial vehicles and trucks be kept away from
the center of the campus. Rockville Pike is the location that
offers large commercial trucks the best access from the beltway.
The commercial vehicle inspection site will not be open 24
hours a day; it will only be open during business hours. NIH
employees are the only ones who will have access to the main
NIH entrance.
The new Gateway Visitor Center must be located close to the
Metro so that visitors can access it. The only location choice
on the campus that meets our visitor, commuter and safety
needs is to locate the Gateway Visitor Center near the Metro.
Both NCPC and the County Park and Planning Commission are
aware of this situation and have approved our location.
The second area of concern for M-NCPPC was in regards to
creating an environmental and reforestation plan for the NIH
campus. NIH has met the requirement and satisfied NCPC, but
we are waiting on approval from Park and Planning, which has
not yet commented on our plan.
The third and final area of concern for NCPC regarding NIH's
Master Plan and EIS was about the traffic generated by NIH,
both on campus and off. NIH had a transportation assessment
prepared in regards to visitors of the proposed Gateway Visitor
Center. In this assessment, NIH defined how many feet the
awaiting vehicle line for inspection could be before a vehicular
backup existed on Rockville Pike. NIH created a longer road
for this security area so we can avoid any vehicular back
ups. NIH also stated that we do not have any future plans
to build any buildings or garages on the corner of Cedar Lane
and Rockville Pike.
Mr. Datoli next discussed the security and safety of the
proposed Gateway Visitor Center with the council after a member
asked for more information. The center's location, which is
the south side of the Metro, is a key element of NIH's security
plan and policy since vehicles cause NIH more security concerns.
Visitor automobiles will enter the parking garage from the
south side of the NIH campus. Visitors will be instructed
to park on a lower level, and then take a set of stairs or
an elevator up to the main floor of the visitors center. All
vehicles will be inspected similarly to how it is currently
done at the Metro campus entrance. All visitors who would
like to bring their vehicles onto campus will have to have
their vehicle inspected. Available visitor parking spaces
on the NIH campus will be reduced to ensure use of the visitor
parking garage. This does not mean that the total number of
visitor parking spaces will be reduced or eliminated; they
will just move the available parking outside of the campus
perimeter gate. NIH recognizes the inconvenience that our
current security measures cause to visitors and NIH patients,
so this is a way to speed up the process, without losing efficiency.
The visitor parking garage will be paid hourly parking, as
current NIH visitor parking is.
Ms. Debbie Michaels mentioned her concern about the safety
and security of the underground parking garage given its location
close to the Metro. Chief Hinton responded that there are
underground parking facilities located all along the Metro
route, especially in downtown Bethesda. Trained security officers
from NIH security will monitor and patrol the garage 24-hours
a day and 7-days a week. Mr. Datoli stated that the NIH visitor
parking garage will be the safest garage on the Metro line
since security officers will be present all day long. He added
that the garage will be constructed 120 feet away from the
Metro tunnel. The garage will also be located 80 feet away
from the Metro entrance escalators.
Ms. Michaels asked what type of pedestrian walking area will
be installed around that area and how pedestrians will deal
with cars turning into the campus. Mr. Datoli responded that
sidewalks have been offset and curb cuts have been made to
allow for vehicles to see pedestrians while they are crossing
the street.
Ms. Miller inquired as to whether NIH will have to increase
the police force to accommodate all of the new security measures.
Chief Hinton responded no, that will not been necessary. NIH
will employ K-9 officers who will perform random checks with
trained bomb sniffing dogs.
Mr. Sawicki asked Chief Hinton if the NIH police force is
recruiting additional officers and how will campus security
patrols be conducted in the evening hours. Chief Hinton replied
that NIH is in the process of recruiting more officers and
should be at full employee target levels by the end of the
summer. At this time, the NIH police force is recruiting for
13 positions, which once filled, will meet our target level
of 90 NIH police officers. Mr. Sawicki requested that NIH
consider installing safety phones along the south path as
an additional security measure. Mr. Datoli informed the council
that if an individual on the NIH campus dials 911, they will
instantly be connected to NIH security, not county police.
Dr. Ozarin inquired if all NIH police officers are in uniform
when they patrol the NIH campus. Chief Hinton replied that
some of NIH police officers are dressed in plain clothes,
to blend in and provide the community with the best security.
Mr. Datoli informed the council that in mid-July 2005, the
NIH perimeter security gates will close as previously discussed.
NIH has a communications plan in place to disseminate this
information to employees and area residents that will begin
with articles in newsletters, website information, and building-to-building
information sessions and presentations for NIH employees.
There will also be signage posted around the campus for non-NIH
employees to be notified of the security fence activation.
Once the fence is operational, security teams will be relocated
to the perimeter of the campus, not at individual buildings,
as it is done currently. This perimeter security plan was
created to protect all NIH buildings and structures, unlike
the current plan, which is more individual.
Ms. Leslie Hildebrand asked Ms. Serras-Fiotes for an update
on the noise abatement project. Ms. Serras-Fiotes responded
that the project is on target and is expected to be completed
at the end of May 2005, which is approximately in another
3 or 4 weeks. Ms. Serras-Fiotes has been informed by several
community residents that the noise has been reduced since
the project began a few weeks ago. Ms. Hildebrand replied
that it has not been reduced where she lives and hopes the
issue can be resolved as soon as possible.
Mr. Sawicki asked whether NIH can revert and pull the buffer
zone back around the area now used as employee parking lot
41. Ms. Serras-Fiotes stated that we cannot move the perimeter
fence that was just installed. Mr. Sawicki noted that this
area is slated to be constructed in the future into a multi-level
parking garage. Ms. Serras-Fiotes replied that there is no
funding for the parking garage to be built within the next
five years. Ms. Serras-Fiotes suggested that she provide more
details on the buffer zone at next month's council meeting.
Ms. Serras-Fiotes informed the committee that the temporary
gravel parking lots will begin to be removed by the end of
the year and revert back to grassy areas.
Dr. Marin Allen asked council members to notify either her
or Mr. Burklow with their concerns or comments. Dr. Allen
and Mr. Burklow are committed to resolving the community's
needs and issues.
NIH Ethics—Conflicts of Interest Update
John Burklow, Acting Director, OCL, NIH
Mr. Burklow updated the council on the NIH ethics issue.
At this time, NIH is in a period of adjustment and change
and is working diligently to address the issue fairly and
swiftly. Mr. Burklow stated that NIH is working with the Department
of Health and Human Services to analyze public comments on
the new rules and consider possible changes.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting ended at 6:05 p.m.
ACTION ITEMS
- OCL and ORF staff will meet to discuss the buffer zone
issue.
CLC Members Present
Amy J. Blackburn, OCL, OD, NIH
John Burklow, Acting Director, OCL, OD, NIH
Lesley Hildebrand, Huntington Terrace Citizens Association
Marilyn Mazuzan, Town of Oakmont
Debbie Michaels, Glenbrook Village Homeowners Association
Ginny Miller, Wyngate Citizens Association
Adda Million, Camelot Mews Citizens Association
Walter Mitton, OCL, OD, NIH
Lucy Ozarin, M.D., Whitehall Condominium Association
Sharon Robinson, OCL, OD, NIH
Steven Sawicki, Edgewood Glenwood Citizens Association
Randy Schools, President, NIH R&W Foundation
Stella Serras-Fiotes, DFP, ORFDO, OD, NIH
Guests
Marin Allen, Ph.D, OCPL, OD, NIH
Anthony Clifford, ORFDO, OD, NIH
John Datoli, DSPM, NIH, OD, ORS
Tom Gallagher, Ph.D., Former Director, OCL, OD, NIH
Al Hinton, Chief of NIH Police
Howard Hochman, ORF, OFP
Joan Kleinman, Congressman Van Hollen's Office
Anita Linde, OCPL, OD, NIH
Ronald Wilson, DFP, ORFDO, OD, NIH
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