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Community Liaison Council Meeting
Minutes
March 15, 2007, 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Visitor Information Center, Building 45 (Natcher Building)
Conference Room D
National Institutes of Health
CALL TO ORDER AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dennis Coleman called the meeting to order
at 4:07 and welcomed the attendees, NIH staff and John
Burklow, Director of NIH’s Office of Communications & Publ;ic
Liaison and former Director of the Community Liaison Office. Mr.
Burklow stated that he was pleased to see all the familiar
faces present and looked forward to a productive meeting. Mr.
Coleman then opened the facilities segment of the agenda
by introducing Ron Wilson, Acting Director
of ORF’s Facilities Planning Division.
PRESENTATIONS
FACILITIES
Bldg.
35 Plan Revision
Mr. Wilson began with an update on the Porter Building,
specifically results of the National Capital Planning Commission’s
(NCPC’s) action on Phase II site and design changes.
The building was redesigned because of cost issues. As
a result, the revised plan differs from the one the Commission
approved in 2002. The NCPC staff report was provided
in the handout. The Commission approved the revised
plans without recommendations or conditions. Approval
reflects findings that the building complies with the Master
Plan, and is compatible with its campus setting. In response
to a question about plans for the Porter Phase II site until
the project is built, Mr. Wilson replied that there is no
current construction funding for Phase II at this time and
the site will remain a grass field for the foreseeable future.
On a separate matter, Ginny Miller and Leslie
Hildebrand expressed their concern about noise
from Porter Phase II and stated that, although the noise
generated by the addition may meet county standards, the
building will still cause additional noise. Meeting
the noise standard is not sufficient in their view, and
what is desired is a reduction of noise. NIH should
insist that building noise be well below the standard. Mr.
Coleman pointed out that the Porter complex is near the
fence line and Phase I has accounted for most of the noise
complaints received since his arrival.
Mr. Wilson explained that the Phase II design team is aware
that noise is an issue at this location and that the original
design of the Phase I mechanical system had not entirely
met NIH’s noise expectations. The Phase II plans
will require the architect to incorporate noise reduction
features and equipment into the building design. He
understands that neighbors are concerned about the effectiveness
of these measures in avoiding additional noise impacts. He
will underscore community noise concerns with the architect,
who is already under contract.
Ralph Schofer stated that nothing in a
typical facility development contract would preclude a change
order to tighten up or revise a spec. Based on NIH’s
noise reduction track record, he is also concerned about
the apparent absence of internal staff noise expertise. According
to Mr. Schofer, if such expertise existed, noise would never
have become an issue for Phase I of the Porter complex.
George Oberlander added that there is no
requirement for NIH to design buildings to meet the maximum
noise standard. For noise adjacent to a residential
area, the standard applied should be less than the maximum
of 65 dbA (day) and 55dbA (night), and that is what CLC members
want. Now is the time to tell the designers to keep
the decibel level below a certain limit, and that limit does
not have to be the county maximum limit. Mr. Wilson replied
that there is no current construction funding for Phase II
in any event, so the site will remain a grass field for the
foreseeable future.
Mr. Coleman asked Mr. Wilson to report back on the specific
decibel requirements stated in the contract and what if anything
would be different about Phase II to constitute any noise
improvement over Phase I. Mr. Wilson agreed but added
that building design has to satisfy other requirements in
addition to noise, such as work space heating and AC, ventilation
and associated air handling equipment.
Ginny Miller summed up the community position
as, “We can live with unresolved aesthetic issues,
but not with additional noise issues.”
Streetscape Improvement Plan
Mr. Wilson answered several Streetscape
Improvement Plan questions, which had been raised by the
Agenda Committee and communicated to him by Mr. Coleman:
- Who will do the plan? The Division of
Facilities Planning will coordinate planning efforts. Because
a Master Plan revision is involved, the Master Plan consultant
would likely do the work and document it.
- What vision will be incorporated in the plan? The
vision will reflect the goals, objectives, and principles
of the Master Plan. These are: to provide a
secure and supportive environment for people involved in
NIH activities; to enhance the quality of the research
and work environment and overall campus quality; to provide
guidelines for improving the quality of NIH landscaping,
open spaces, and architectural compatibility; to provide
accessibility to campus facilities; to improve and enhance
the pedestrian environment and associated transportation
network; and to develop a recognizable landscape approach
that enhances the quality and character of the campus.
- What approach will be used to generate the plan? The
approach will begin with the goals and principles just
mentioned. An assessment of existing conditions along
route 355 from Woodmont to Cedar will be conducted and
documented. The assessment will include landscaping,
paved surfaces, vehicle and pedestrian circulation systems,
lighting and signage, county and state rights of way, existing
development plans and guidelines, and easements. County
and state planning for areas adjacent to NIH property will
also be addressed to ensure a compatible and comprehensive
treatment.
- What is the schedule and timeline for developing
the plan? There is no funding in this fiscal
year’s budget, but NIH planning staff can begin
collecting information and determining the scope of work
to be undertaken. As a result, they can identify
unresolved issues, justify funding and prepare for starting
a budgeted project next year.
Ginny Miller agreed that landscaping appeared
to have been done in a piecemeal fashion along the route
355 frontage, which visually includes several elements such
as the Gateway Center, the visitor parking lot, the Metro
entrance, the CVIF, a berm, plantings, NIH driveways, various
light sources, and a pedestrian walkway. She asked
whether any landscaping money had been included in the Gateway
Center and CVIF projects. Mr. Wilson stated
that landscape plans were part of both the Gateway Center
and CVIF projects and had been submitted to and approved
by NCPC.
The Streetscape Improvement Plan will take what NCPC has
already approved as a starting point for each area, but it
will include other refinements and linkages to adjacent areas. The
result will be more coherent than the separate project approach
which has admittedly left some gaps. Ms. Miller emphasized
that, because this is the “front door” to NIH,
it would have been better to devise the entire integrated
plan at the beginning and work toward it. Mr.
Wilson said that is what NIH intends to do now,
since separate projects along the frontage are done or nearing
completion and some shortcomings are apparent. The
Master Plan remains the overall campus development guideline. He
mentioned that funding to prepare a plan remains an issues
and that he will keep CLC members fully informed as an integrated
frontage improvements plan takes shape.
In closing this agenda item, Mr. Coleman summarized that
streetscape improvement planning won’t start in earnest
until next year. He trusts that any significant results
from this year’s information gathering and work scope
determination will be reported to the CLC prior to that. He
added that Facilities Director Dan Wheeland also wants an
integrated look along 355, and this will facilitate NIH a
positive result.
CVIF Screening
After Mr. Coleman introduced Lynn Mueller, Mr.
Schofer immediately asked whether NIH could raise the berm
between the commercial vehicle inspection facility (CVIF)
and route 355 in an effort to better conceal the building. Mr.
Mueller stated that there is not enough space to do so, but
replacing dead plants and planting taller trees will be easier
and less expensive and achieve the desired result. That
effort is what he will present today.
Mr. Mueller met with the project officer and the landscaper
yesterday to identify plants needing replacement, and that
is expected to occur within a month. The landscaper
will also provide 5 additional trees because some existing
ones are undersized for their location and purpose.
Mr. Mueller surveyed the CVIF area from Pooks Hill to determine
placement of the new 18- to 24-foot-tall white pines. There
will be 10 to 12 of these, depending on how the bids come
in. He showed a map of the existing trees and the proposed
location of new ones. He expects the new trees to screen
off most of the building from south bound traffic on 355. Additional
trees can also be planted in the future to soften the appearance
of the south side of the building from north bound traffic. These
plantings will have to be coordinated with the Streetscape
Plan. Mr. Schofer again suggested plants along the
roofline, but Mr. Mueller thinks that is not feasible, given
weight and maintenance considerations.
The contract for new trees allows planting by Memorial Day,
but if this is not possible, the trees will have to be planted
in the fall to avoid summer acclimation problems. Because
there is no irrigation system in place, fall might be the
better choice in any event.
Mr. Mueller said the contractor is aware of the area’s
appearance and will be doing other short term improvements
over the next several weeks, such as planting, mulching,
lawn care, and spot reseeding.
Tony Clifford reiterated management’s
desire for additional CVIF screening and short term improvements. Mr.
Clifford’s office will be funding some of this work,
but it will be directed by Mr. Mueller. In short, something
will be done soon, and more will be done later when the integrated
streetscape improvement plan is complete.
With regard to operation of the CVIF, Brad Moss added
that the opening date will be Saturday April 14. This
will allow 2 days’ testing before a regular business
day. Once the CVIF opens, most if not all commercial
vehicles will have to go through that entrance. The
Center Drive entrance will revert to an employee-only entrance,
except for an off-hour commercial deliveries. The weight
of the vehicle rather than its size, will determine whether
it has to use the CVIF entrance. For example, a compact
pizza delivery vehicle may not have to go through the CVIF. Final
procedures will emerge from the startup testing period.
Both Mr. Coleman and Ms. Miller thanked Mr. Mueller for
his responsiveness to screening issues and his attention
to short term progress in resolving them.
Wilson to South Dr.
Sidewalk Visibility Upgrade
Mr. Mueller reported that the Wilson to South Drive sidewalk
visibility upgrade has been finished. In addition,
there is now a crosswalk at the Visitors’ Center construction
site. It would have been done sooner, but there was
no specific funding and a dispute had arisen with the painting
contractor. Mr. Mueller finally decided to just do
it with a credit card transaction.
Mr. Mueller closed by noting future agenda item #17 entitled
Campus Wildlife Habitat Field Trip & Census. He
announced that at noon on April 23, the NIH Earthday celebration
will include information and tours about campus wildlife
preservation efforts. For example, his group has continued
to install bluebird houses around the campus, which now total
86. Last spring, 37 bluebird fledglings were counted
by volunteers monitoring the houses.
TRANSPORTATION
Wilson & 355 Project
Tom Hayden reported that the NIH portion
of the Right of Entry paperwork has been completed for the
state’s Wilson Drive & 355 intersection upgrade
project. This project has both design and funding in
place and a Notice to Proceed slated for June 2007 release.
The upgrade will replace the existing traffic light stanchions
with new ADA-compliant poles. There will also be a
pedestrian walkway across Rockville Pike (also ADA-compliant)
and another across Wilson Drive, both with pedestrian indicator
lights. The traffic light will be coordinated with
the ones at Cedar Lane and South Drive. Once started,
construction is expected to take 45 days or less. A
separate easement agreement on the Navy side must also be
executed, and NIH cannot control that timing.
In response to Mrs. Hildebrand’s question about why
such projects take so long, Mr. Coleman added that in addition
to state, NIH and Navy property being involved, there have
been 3 different State Highway Administration regional managers
for Montgomery County during the last 6 months, and
this was likely a contributing factor.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
Southside
Lawn Drainage
Tony Clifford was pleased to report that
CLC member Steve Sawicki was impressed by
recent progress and thinks that the lawn drainage improvement
project is finally on track. Mr. Sawicki has been working
with Adam Derek of the County Department
of Public Works. He has a budget and a mission to improve
the environment of the subdivisions adjacent to the southwest
corner of the campus. Mr. Clifford sent Mr. Derek a
copy of the consultant’s report on the source and solution
of lawn drainage problems.
Mr. Derek wants to meet with Mr. Clifford and his team on
the site (hopefully next week). Mr. Derek thinks an
underground pipe is needed to divert storm water, but it
would need an easement through the neighbors’ properties. Mr.
Clifford made clear that NIH and the neighborhood have been
concerned about this issue for some time, and a simpler easement
approach could involve NIH property.
Keith Compton, county Chief of Highway
Operations, had originally thought or been told that the
county was not responsible for the lawn drainage problem
and that debris trapped in NIH’s chain link fence
was the cause. That thinking has been countered by
the NIH consultant report.
In response to Ms. Miller’s question about the county
public works hierarchy, Mr. Clifford stated that he had originally
contacted Arthur Holmes, Public Works Director, and asked
who to deal with on this issue. He has had no response
yet, so it is fortunate that Mr. Sawicki has made separate
contacts with someone assigned to his neighborhood. If
things get off track again, Mr. Clifford will find out more
about the county chain of command, but there’s no reason
to rock the boat at this time. The next step is to
meet with Adam Derek, Steve Sawicki, and the team and evaluate
what can be done through Mr. Derek.
ENVIRONMENT
No topic scheduled.
INFORMATION UPDATE
Fox Habitat Evaluation Letter
Mr. Coleman reported that, according to
a biologist who analyzed the situation, there are no fox
dens on NIH property. The fox that had caused some
concern to neighborhood pet owners probably lives in Rock
Creek Park and was just passing through NIH property.
Traffic Demand Management
The handouts include a fact sheet summarizing NIH programs
and incentives to discourage employee reliance on commuting
via single-occupancy vehicles. Mr. Coleman said that
he had come across the fact sheet while visiting the transportation
office. It was in the packet because it illustrated
the comprehensive nature of NIH’s Traffic Demand Management
program. If the CLC desires further details,
Mr. Hayden can give a future presentation on the program.
Environmental Comments on Navy Medical Center
Expansion
Documentation of comments submitted by two local community
associations (Maplewood and Parkwood) to the Navy’s
recent EIS Scoping process are included in the handout.
BRAC News Items
Mr. Coleman highlighted recent BRAC developments
as reported in various newspapers, agency publications and
press releases. The full list of 30 items is in the
handout.
- The governor announced that preparation for accommodating
BRAC is molding all other state budget items and that $130
million of federal transportation funds has been requested
for next fiscal year. (Joan Klieman pointed
out that this money will be going to counties where Fort
Meade and Aberdeen Proving Grounds are located, not Montgomery
County.)
- The ramifications of closing Walter Reed should be revisited
in light of current concerns about the quality of outpatient
care being provided.
- Navy BRAC briefings so far this year have been involving
NCPC and various state and county agencies the Navy is
counting on for infrastructure expansion.
- Montgomery County has requested $4 million of federal
funds to start designing a pedestrian walkway across Wisconsin
Avenue and a separate ramp to and from I-495 to service
the base. The actual cost of building such projects
will become clearer in June when the Environmental Impact
Statement has been completed.
- Any dedicated ramp proposed between I-495 and the Navy
site will need significant analysis since that location
is already prone to congestion, and the flyover bridge
or tunnel required might not be feasible or affordable.
- A BRAC subcabinet was named by the governor and has been
meeting with local officials to identify infrastructure
improvements needed to accommodate BRAC.
- The MD Department of Business and Economic Development,
Office of Military and Federal Affairs has released a report
on BRAC statewide impacts. It indicates that 6 of
the 6 local bottlenecks near NIH are getting at least some
attention. Other recommended mitigations include
a cap on Navy site traffic (similar to that applied by
NCPC to NIH) and an expanded number of bus bays at or near
the Metro station.
- The Navy Facilities Engineering Group has awarded an
$8M contract to issue the design/build RFP for expansion
of the Navy site. The expansion spec is being written
before the final EIS is completed in January 2008.
- Senator Mikulski is looking for a list of the MD highway
projects that will be needed to accommodate BRAC by mid
April 07.
- The Maryland Transit Authority has an easement on NIH
property along route 355 that was once considered for a
Purple Line station, but later rejected in favor of a location
near the Bethesda Metro station. Because of
BRAC, the Jones Bridge Road alignment ending on NIH property
may be revisited. The Environmental Impact Statement
for the Purple Line is in progress now.
Upcoming & Future Agenda Items
The Agenda Committee has been discussing topics for 2007
and beyond. For example, an NIH speaker will
soon provide a calendar of noise-making maintenance tasks. The
Agenda Committee tabled a presentation on Purple Line studies
since they appear to have been delayed for another year. In
May or June a representative from Suburban Hospital will
present status of their own expansion plans.
ROUND ROBIN
Deborah
Michaels asked why radiation monitors had recently
been attached to the fence around the NIH campus. Brad
Moss volunteered to get more information on this.
Deborah Michaels, Marilyn Mazuzan, and Darrell
Lemke attended a BRAC-related meeting at Stone
Ridge School on 3/13/07. They expected representatives
of 12 local citizens’ groups, but 6 were present.
The biggest issue for all remains traffic. Safety was
second, since some people are concerned about the presence
of more psychiatric patients. Stone Ridge, which has
750 female students, has an easement through its property
for the Navy site’s storm water drainage system. Having
to expand that as a result of paving over permeable surfaces
would be massively disruptive. Other concerns are noise,
air quality, and storm water runoff into Rock Creek. The
Navy has apparently already been cited for dumping low quality
water into Rock Creek.
Stone Ridge is trying to expand its community interfaces. They
have a good working relationship with Adm. Robinson and will
meet with him about BRAC, how it affects them, and how they
can work together to decrease the impacts. One
way is through increased use of public transportation. Only
about 20% of Naval Medical Center employees use public transportation
now (vs twice that amount for NIH).
Mr. Lemke added that Stone Ridge seems to support construction
of a spur off Connecticut Avenue to the Navy site. The
Navy has also made it known that base expansion includes
2 additional heliports. Some homeowners will have only
a fence between their homes and the proposed heliport site. Finally,
parking of Navy site visitors in the neighborhoods is already
a problem even without Navy site expansion.
Mr. Coleman said that the Agenda Committee has expressed
interest in learning more about whether any regulations apply
to helicopter flights over urban areas. Ms.
Miller added that helicopters cannot fly over a
hospital or a military facility, so they tend to fly over
the residential areas.
With regard to new exits on and off I-495, Ms.
Michaels said that the state had already violated their own
guideline that exit ramps should be at least a mile apart. Adding
new ramps to and from the Navy site is likely to be problematic
for design and safety reasons.
Joan Kleinman added that Walter Reed staff
themselves don’t know yet how many patients and staff
will relocate to the Navy site and how many will go to Ft.
Belvoir.
Mr. Lemke said that given that, the future traffic volume
on Rt. 355 cannot be known yet either. Ms. Michaels reminded
the group that the Navy has promised a traffic study as part
of the EIS, and she hopes that will provide more information.
Ms. Mazuzan said that even though much remains unknown,
Stone Ridge is prepared to “ratchet up” their
efforts if their meeting with the admiral is not productive. Stone
Ridge has alumni and connections all over the country and
is capable of protecting its interests.
On another issue, Ms. Michaels wanted to know who to contact
about construction workers parking in the neighborhoods. Her
community is on private property, so the county does not
patrol it, and it has become a problem with increased construction
activity at the NIH Gateway Center. Mr. Hayden agreed
to look into this issue.
Ms. Hildebrand then requested that CLC
members reopen discussion of the noise issue. Mr. Coleman
said there had been no decision to close the issue, but rather
to put it on the agenda when the environmental group indicates
that there is something substantive to report. That
status is indicated by future agenda item # 15. Mr.
Coleman’s understanding is that at least some noise
project work was to be done in 2007.
Mr. Schofer wondered how any work could
take place when the principal investigator had left his position
with the contractor last summer. Mr. Schofer pointed
out that NIH noise does not violate county standards and
wondered if anything could be gained by another noise presentation. Ms.
Hildebrand said that NIH noise still seems too loud in her
neighborhood, and since NIH had agreed to further mitigate
noise, a periodic status report is not unreasonable. Since
the last report on the noise project had been in October
2006, Ms. Miller suggested and Mr. Coleman agreed to ask
someone from the environmental group to come to next month’s
meeting and clarify expectations for 2007.
No other Round Robin topics were identified, and the meeting
was adjourned at 6:07 PM.
ADJOURNMENT
The formal meeting ended at 6:07p.m.
CLC Members Present
Kathryn Bender, East Bethesda
Marian Bradford, Camelot Mews
Jean Harnish, Whitehall Condominium
Lesley Hildebrand, Huntington Terrace
Darrell Lemke, Bethesda Parkview
Kira Lueders, Parkwood
Marilyn Mazuzan, Oakmont
Deborah Michaels, Glenbrook Village
Virginia Miller, Wyngate
George Oberlander, Huntington Parkway
Lucy D. Ozarin, MD, Whitehall Condominium
Ralph Schofer, Maplewood
NIH Staff Present
John Burklow, OD
Anthony Clifford, ORF
Dennis Coleman, OCL
Tom Hayden, ORS
Howard Hochman, ORFDO
Brad Moss, ORS
Lynn Mueller, ORF
Sharon Robinson, OCL
Ronald Wilson, ORFDO
Guests
Joan Kleinman, Rep. Van Hollen’s Office
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