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National Institutes of Health |
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Community Liaison Council Meeting Minutes 4:00 p.m., April 27, 2000 Natcher Conference Center (Building 45), Conference Room D Draft WELCOME Janyce Hedetniemi, director of the Office of Community Liaison (OCL), welcomed members, guests, and speakers and proceeded to make several announcements. HANDOUTS:
ANNOUNCEMENTS: New CLC Member Lucy Ozarin introduced Richard Sipes who will replace Frank O’Rourke as the joint representative of Whitehall Condominium Association. Ms. Hedetniemi welcomed him to the group and asked him to fill out a membership information form. Take Your Child to Work Day Ms. Hedetniemi welcomed Tony Clifford’s son, who was participating in "Take Your Child to Work Day". May CLC Meeting Ms. Hedetniemi said the May 18, 2000 meeting of the Community Liaison Council will include a presentation by Dr. Steven E. Hyman of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Dr. Gerald Fischbach of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) on the new Neurosciences Building; a report on the work of the Friends of the Clinical Center; and a report from Lynn Mueller on NIH’s trees and on a planned program to revitalize NIH’s stream. Third Annual Health Forum The third annual health forum will take place on October 21, 2000. Ms. Hedetniemi said the program for the day will be longer. She hopes to encourage larger, more diverse attendance including families and children. Hazardous Waste Pick Up NIH will host a household hazardous waste pick up on Saturday, June 24, 2000 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The community can bring household hazardous waste for deposit in receptacles of the parking lot at the intersection of Rockville Pike and Wilson Drive. Need for More Community Participation by Other Federal Agencies The Montgomery County Civic Federation has asked Ms. Hedetniemi to consider working with other nearby federal agencies to enlarge their participation and communication with the community. She asked for suggestions from the CLC in working on this. Harvey Eisen of Edgewood Glenwood Citizens Association suggested this be made an agenda item. Jeanne Billings of Wisconsin Condominium Association suggested that the Montgomery County Council should address this issue and invite federal agencies to become more active in the community. Other Ms. Ozarin thanked NIH for fixing the culvert and asked if NIH plans to pave the path behind the fence opening in the Whitehall community. Ms. Hedetniemi said that she is looking into this. Ginny Miller of Wyngate Citizens Association noted that cars are coming directly out from Lincoln Drive onto Old Georgetown Road rather than turning right or left which is what they should be doing legally. She asked Stella Serras-Fiotes to see if the county would look into this situation. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said she would check with the county. Ms Serras-Fiotes added that the situation may improve when South Drive is reopened soon. Mr. Eisen said he got an immediate response from Mr. Mueller’s office to a question he sent by e-mail about trees on the NIH campus. Mort Goldman, Sc.D., of Luxmanor Citizens Association suggested that if NIH is going to rent space in areas away from the main campus, other community associations may want to become involved in the CLC. Ms. Hedetniemi said she invited new membership about a year ago but would look into again inviting members from other neighborhoods. Jim Ward of Ayrlawn Citizens Association said that contractors are parking in his neighborhood. Ms. Hedetniemi said she is aware of this problem and has frequently pointed out to contractors that NIH is renting space at Pooks Hill and Twinbrook for them to park. She will continue to work to alleviate this situation. PRESENTATIONS Report from the Working Group on the Pipeline by Janyce Hedetniemi, Director, OCL, NIH, and Mort Goldman, Sc.D., Luxmanor Citizens Association Before turning to Dr. Goldman, Ms. Hedetniemi gave some background information on meetings with Washington Gas (WG). She attended what turned out to be the concluding meeting of WG’s Route Advisory Committee on March 21, 2000. At the meeting, WG completed presentations on the three possible routes and distributed forms for the committee’s use in commenting on the relative merits of each of the three possible routes. WG will prepare a report on those comments. Ms. Hedetniemi reported that WG also has said that since NIH has opened discussions with two other possible providers—Transco and Columbia Gas—WG will provide information about the three possible routes when all offered proposals are "on the table". Ms. Hedetniemi said the scoping process and environmental assessment (EA) on the pipeline is predicated on having information regarding the specific routes proposed. She went on to say that NIH plans cannot begin until such time as this information is available and, at the moment, it appears that the information may not be available this summer as anticipated. In all likelihood, however, NIH can initiate the scoping process and the EA this fall. Dr. Goldman continued by offering the following summation of how the CLC Working Group on the Pipeline will proceed in the meantime. First, the Group has developed a time line for public notification, meetings, and filing of the Notice of Intent, with the expectation of a fall initiation of the scoping process. The time line can be moved forward to a summer sequence if necessary. Next, the Group discussed and identified what should be included in the Notice of Intent, which is required for the EA. This will include a detailed description of the background of the project, the specific utility requirements of the NIH campus, and the development of issues of concern expressed by the neighboring communities. He pointed out that the situation is complicated, in that the other two gas companies invited to bid are interstate and therefore require that their National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedure be conducted by the Federal Environmental Regulatory Commission (FERC) rather than by NIH. Ms. Hedetniemi said she will distribute the Notice of Intent to all CLC members when it is completed. Report on Master Plan 2000 Update by Stella Serras-Fiotes, NIH Master Planner, ORS Ms. Serras-Fiotes said the same firm of consultants, Oudens & Knoop Architects, PC, who did the original Master Plan, has been awarded the task for the Master Plan 2000 Update. She introduced Stuart L. Knoop, who will direct the program; Charlotte Kosmella, SmithGroup, who will work on physical planning; Fred Heider, Athavale Lystad and Associates, who will work on environmental planning; and Irwin Andrews of Gorove/Slade who will work on traffic and transportation. Ms. Serras-Fiotes then proceeded to present the outline (attached). Questions/Comments Ms. Serras-Fiotes said the Master Plan 2000 Update will be a reworking of the original plan rather than a completely new plan, so the Master Plan 1995 would be referred to frequently as the basis for decisions on the future. Ms. Hedetniemi suggested the CLC members bring their copies of the original Master Plan to the June meeting. Pat Southerland and Jonathan Isaacs of Huntington Parkway Citizens Association said they needed copies. Robert Resnik of Huntington Terrace Citizens Association asked if NIH is coordinating plans for parking and traffic with Suburban Hospital. Ms. Hedetniemi said she and Ms. Serras-Fiotes had talked with them in the past and that certainly, they would invite them to discussions to ensure coordination. Ms. Serras-Fiotes added that NIH has an ongoing cooperation with Suburban, Navy, and the County within the Transportation Management Organization which NIH initiated and which has been successful in several transportation planning areas. Mr. Resnik also suggested that there are new members of the CLC who might benefit from a history of development of research at NIH. Mr. Knoop of Oudens & Knoop Architects agreed to include this in the next presentation by the Master Plan team to the CLC. Eleanor Rice of Locust Hill Citizens Association asked if NIH is planning to develop satellite campuses. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said this was not within the scope of the current effort. She added that NIH already has rented considerable space for administrative offices on Executive Boulevard. Renting space for this purpose is not as difficult as finding laboratory space to rent. As lab space on the campus becomes tighter, NIH might look to find off-campus lab space. She said the Master Plan 2000 may indicate the need for satellite space in the future, but this cannot be anticipated before the planning process is done. Ms. Hedetniemi said the Vaccine Research Center is designed to be an international center with teleconferencing facilities that will allow for instant worldwide communication, even down to sharing slides and data at the laboratory level. She said the increase in such technologies may obviate the need for expanded facilities. Ms. Miller asked if the number of employees on campus has increased. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said it had, but that the ratio of parking spaces to number of employees had gone down. She said there will be a discussion of parking at the next CLC meeting. Ms. Rice said that North Bethesda now wishes it had objected to the great number of parking places around the offices at Executive Boulevard since it has generated more traffic. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said these spaces were approved by the planning authorities and are included in the leases in the area. Carolyn Revelle Hufbauer of Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) said she would like to talk with Ms. Serras-Fiotes about how to calculate non-auto- driver mode shares in determining vehicle trips in Bethesda. Ms. Serras-Fiotes said she thought NIH had a successful way of tabulating this and would get back to her on this subject. Ms. Hedetniemi said that, as demands on the NIH physical plant and medical research have greatly expanded, expectations have also increased for what can be achieved here. She said that keeping to high standards will be a challenge for the Master Plan 2000 update. ACTION ITEMS Ms. Hedetniemi will distribute the Notice of Intent on the pipeline to the CLC. Members of the CLC will consider how other federal agencies in the Montgomery County might become more engaged in the community and will give their suggestions to Ms. Hedetniemi. Ms. Hedetniemi will consider making an agenda item of how to get more community involvement by other nearby federal agencies. Mr. Isaacs and Mr. Southerland of Huntington Citizens Association will be given copies of the NIH 1995 Master Plan. Ms. Serras-Fiotes will discuss traffic tabulations with Ms. Hufbauer. Ms. Serras-Fiotes will notify the county of the problem with cars exiting Lincoln Drive. Ms. Hedetniemi will look into paving the Whitehall path. Ms. Hedetniemi will continue to work on contractor parking in neighborhoods. Ms. Hedetniemi will invite discussions on plans on parking and traffic with Suburban Hospital. Ms. Hedetniemi will consider sending another letter asking nearby neighborhood associations to become involved in the CLC. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held on Thursday, May 18, 2000, at 4:00 p.m. in Conference Room 151 of Building 1 on the NIH campus. Attendees: Janyce N. Hedetniemi, OCL, NIH Ginny Miller, Wyngate Citizens Association Jeanne Billings, Wisconsin Condominium Association Anthony Clifford, DES, ORS, NIH Harvey Eisen, Edgewood Glenwood Citizens Association Ina Feinberg, City Commons of Bethesda Morton Goldman, Sc.D., Luxmanor Citizens Association Jeanne Goldstein, Montgomery County Civic Federation Dick Grote, Bethesda Parkview Citizens Association Carolyn Revelle Hufbauer, M-NCPPC Jonathan Isaacs, Huntington Parkway Citizens Association Barbara McDonald, OCL, NIH Lucy Ozarin, Whitehall Condominium Association Robert Resnik, Huntington Terrace Citizens Association Eleanor Rice, Locust Hill Citizens Association Richard Sipes, Whitehall Condominium Association Stella Serras-Fiotes, FPPB, DES, NIH Pat Southerland, Huntington Parkway Citizens Association James Ward, Ayrlawn Citizens Association Guests: Irwin Andrews, Gorove/Slade Jose Flores, Alden Properties Fred Heider, Athavale Lystad and Associates Bruce Hopkins, Alden Properties Stuart L. Knoop, FAIA, Oudens & Knoop Architects, PC Charlotte Kosmella, SmithGroup
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