Community Liaison Council Meeting Minutes
October 19, 2006, 4:00–6:00 p.m.
Visitor Information Center, Building 45 (Natcher Building)
National Institutes of Health

HANDOUTS

• October 2006 NIH News in Health
• September 21, 2006 CLC Meeting Minutes
• A Status Report on Environmental Noise at NIH
• OCL Information Update: Public Agencies Affect Communities and Invite Public Input

By: Dennis Coleman, Director, OCL, OD, NIH

Mr. Dennis Coleman called the meeting to order and welcomed staff and community members. He passed the floor to Ms. Marin Allen who introduced Congressman Chris Van Hollen for some special guest remarks.

Ms. Allen said Mr. John Burklow was sorry he could not attend the meeting, but that he was launching a health information center for the Jackson Heart Study in Mississippi. She noted that the Congressman was originally from Kensington, MD and that he has been working with NIH on a wide variety of issues. She said Congressman Van Hollen met earlier with Dr. Zerhouni, spent the afternoon looking at key facilities, and planned to meet with administrative staff management after the Community Liaison Council (CLC) meeting.

Congressman Van Hollen greeted the group by saying he was happy to be in attendance and congratulated Mr. Coleman on his new position as Director of OCL. He said he is looking forward to working together and thanked NIH and the community. He said that these meetings are where issues are ironed out and productive, constructive relationships with the community are formed. He thanked Ms. Joan Kleinman and Ms. Amy Blackburn and others. He specifically thanked the group for its work and expressed his hope that there will always be an open line of communication. He also thanked the group for working together on the access issues surrounding the fence that needed to go up around NIH for security reasons. Lastly, he thanked the group for the work done to get a shuttle bus in place. Dr. Zerhouni assured him that the shuttle will continue to run as long as he is at NIH and that Dr. Zerhouni will continue to work on other access related issues that arise.

The Congressman said he understands that the NIH is a national treasure and is proud to make NIH a part of the community.  Inevitably, conflicts will come up, but he promised to work with the group to get those resolved, and continued to offer assistance to members of the community and NIH. He then thanked the group for inviting him to the meeting, and opened the floor to questions or concerns.

Mr. Ralph Schofer raised his concerns about the noise emanating from several buildings. He said NIH has been trying to address this issue over the past five years, but it is still a problem. A couple of years ago complaints got more specific, and although several attempts and projects have been started, Mr. Schofer does not believe NIH has been effective in its approach to dealing with the noise.

The Congressman agreed that there is a problem and said he will work with the group on the issue.

Mr. Schofer also said that the noise committee working with the project staff is run poorly with no information or late information getting to the group. After spending a lot of money and studies, he feels NIH has not really accomplished anything. He pointed out that they need something to get them back on track.

The Congressman informed the group that in his earlier conversations with Dr. Zerhouni, he said they would continue to work in a collaborative fashion on this issue, just as they have done with the access issue. In the meantime, he noted a status report on the noise problem was being delivered later in the meeting agenda.

Mr. Schofer reiterated that he was displeased with the progress on this project and reminded the group that it has been festering for five years, which is too long to solve a problem.

Congressman Van Hollen agreed.

Mr. Coleman said that this project is back on track and members will receive a complete status report later in the meeting.

A Council member asked when the item will be discussed, and Ms. Ginny Miller said that the item could be moved up on the agenda.

A Council member agreed with Mr. Schofer and said that there is something wrong with this project and in her opinion there needs to be different leadership on this project to come up with a resolution.

Environmental Update
By: Kenny Floyd, Director, Division of Environmental Protection, ORF, OD, NIH

Mr. Kenny Floyd introduced Mr. Steve Jaeger of Colin Gordon and Associates who is a noise and vibration consultant contracted by NIH to look into the noise problem and come up with a solution. Before passing the floor to Mr. Jaeger, Mr. Floyd reminded the group that this project was only started last fall in November and December 2005.

Mr. Jaeger thanked Mr. Floyd for the introduction and said that Colin Gordon and Associates had performed similar modeling jobs for many major facilities like NIH. Mr. Jaeger prefaced his presentation by saying that he would be talking about the project schedule and describe the scope of work for this project.

Currently, the specialists are updating the noise model.  By end of fall, Mr. Jaeger’s team will run iterations and mitigation schemes to put into the model, in order to have a report by winter which would offer a path and a comprehensive solution to this problem.

Mr. Jaeger explained that the Phase 1 (Research) includes the following activities:

• Conduct a study of sound levels in the community
• Identify noise sensitive areas
• Compare noise levels to local noise ordinance (65 dBA day/55 dBA night)
• Collect data on NIH noise sources for computer model

He reported that they have completed Phase 1 in a number of locations already by identifying noise sensitive areas and comparing them to county ordinances.  He then showed photos of equipment they are using to capture community noise. Monitors were set up in neighborhoods or boundaries of NIH and measured an L(90) metric – the ambient noise level – which could be attributing to steady noise like an exhaust fan.

A Council member asked how long the monitors were in place.

Mr. Jaeger said the monitors were in place 24 hours, because they were most interested in noise levels at 3 a.m.  Because of the rain and other factors, some were left for 48 and some for 72, some for as long as four days. Mr. Jaeger then went on to present a data sample obtained between midnight and 4 a.m. There are numerous noise sources at NIH, with the most prominent being Building 35 and the utility plant. Mitigation has been taken to decrease noise emitted from this building but more can still be done. Buildings 37, 10 and 11 are also main contributors. They all have large stacks and louvers and coolants which make noise.

Mr. Jaeger explained that Phase 2 (Modeling and Mitigation) includes the following activities:

• Create a model of noise environment about campus
• Identify major noise sources on campus
• Rank sources by predicted contribution to noise level
• Present plans for noise mitigation

Mr. Jaeger reported that they have already logged over 200 noise sources, and developed a model that has most sources already installed. The data is consistent with field (neighborhood) data, especially on the West side. He explained that the reason they develop a computer model is because community noise levels are determined by many factors, such as traffic, weather, etc. It is difficult to tell what is reducing noise at the location, so they use a computer to pick and choose which noises to reduce in order to test the theory before spending a lot to mitigate a building and not have the reduction be noticeable.

Mr. Jaeger explained the methodology they are using for this project. The company uses software called SoundPlan Version 6.4, which models the sound in a three-dimensional space and can account for things like wind, diffraction, and temperature. Each factor is entered individually, which is why the project takes so long to complete. Then we tabulate the contribution of these points and produce color maps to show noise levels. The noise map Mr. Jaeger presented showed that the center of campus is loudest.

In conclusion, Mr. Jaeger said he will be back in February to report back to Council again. 

A Council member wanted to know what Montgomery county noise levels are in relation to other areas. Mr. Jaeger responded that they were as high as 65 dBA and as low as 40 dBA depending on the location within the county.

A Council member inquired about the validity and sensitivities of the model, and asked Mr. Jaeger a series of questions including whether he had personally been to the neighborhood to listen, how much money had been spent to date, what progress had been made, and finally what the likelihood of reducing the noise level was before April or May of 2007 when neighbors want to open their windows.

The Congressman interjected that he needed to leave, but he said he was looking forward to working together to resolve this issue. Mr. Coleman thanked the Congressman for coming to the meeting.

Mr. Floyd apologized for interrupting, but wanted to say that he would be leaving for a meeting in Building 1, but would be back as soon as possible.

Mr. Stephen Sawicki asked when things would get better. Mr. Floyd responded by saying he had personally been to the sites to monitor noise levels and there are still a lot of different sources that need to be addressed  For instance, does the HVAC in Building 35 meet specifications and whether it will need to be replaced. Colin Gordon and Associates created a model to identify what sources were enables and to determine how far those noises need to come down and then look at impacts on the buildings. Lastly, NIH has address whether these were acceptable impacts.

A Council member said the committee was in name only, and did not have much contact with Mr. Floyd. For example, the member reminded Mr. Floyd that he had said the committee would have advance notice to be able to participate in noise measuring, and yet on Monday morning the member received information that Mr. Jaeger would be in the neighborhood that night to take measurements. The committee member asked Mr. Jaeger when he knew about the monitoring and why no one on the committee was informed.  Mr. Coleman asked the group to keep the meeting to the agenda due to time constraints.

Mr. Floyd excused himself from the meeting to attend another meeting. Ms. Allen explained that Mr. Floyd needed to go Ms. Colleen Barrow’s office now; especially since part of what they are discussing at the meeting is the noise issue.

Mr. Coleman concluded this section of the agenda by saying he called the National Institute on Deafness, and got information on how loud is too loud. He then passed out “How Loud is Too Loud” bookmarks from the Institute.

The CLC co-chairs, Mr. Coleman and Ms. Miller, agreed to start back at the top of the agenda with Mr. Ron Wilson providing the group with a facilities update.

PRESENTATIONS

Facility Update
By: Ron Wilson, Acting Director, Division of Facilities Planning, ORF, OD, NIH

Mr. Wilson greeted the group and distributed copies of a map that is used to track ongoing projects on campus.  He said he hoped the maps would provide the Council with a sense of the many activities on the campus at any given time, not including activities and site improvements inside the buildings.

Mr. Coleman said he discovered this map recently but it was from 2001, so he asked Mr. Wilson to update it in order to share it with the neighbors at this meeting.

Mr. Wilson also noted that there is a new Director of the Office of Research Facilities named Mr. Dan Wheeland. He was a formal Navy officer and worked for the Navy Facilities Engineering Command. At some point in the future, he will come before the group.

Transportation Update  
By: Ron Wilson, Acting, Director, Division of Facilities Planning, ORF, OD, NIH

Since Mr. Tom Hayden was unable to attend the meeting, Mr. Wilson was asked to provide a transportation update.

Mr. Wilson has a call into the project officer to find out if the trucks queuing on Rte. 355 during morning rush hour continue to be an issue. He noted that the pavement inspection of South Drive was completed. There have been interim improvements made to cover the hole in the pavement.  Additional investigations are needed to determine a permanent solution at the entrance. Mr. Wilson will report back to the Council in a few weeks with long term recommendations. 

A CLC member asked if NIH was including the curb lane from the north, and Mr. Wilson replied that the study will include the curb lane.

Mr. Wilson also mentioned that there had been barriers on the sidewalk to the Metro, causing people to step over the barrier in order to get to Jones Bridge Road on the way to the Metro. He went on to explain that the barrier was there just for the day, and had since been removed.  He was not aware of any additional complaints.

As a final item, Mr. Wilson said that Mr. Coleman, Mr. Hayden, himself and a few other people from the NIH Small Alterations Team went to look at the sidewalk running from South Drive to Cedar Lane, and have put in a work order to address the problem of visibility in this area.  He indicated that the issue from Wilson to South Drive was a bigger issue that had to be addressed in concert with the State Highway Administration.  In the short-term, ORF and ORS are investigating painting the edges of the walkways along this stretch with white paint to better identify the pathway and keep people. A permanent solution would probably mean running electrical lines and installing light fixtures, and this would be a longer run of lights than the run just installed on the south side of the campus and, therefore, could can be quite costly.

Mr. Schofer wanted to know if yellow stripes on the sidewalk would be a feasible solution.

Mr. Clifford said he had a striping machine and will check on Monday to see if there was any physical impediment or reason not move to move forward.

A Council member asked why the walk light that goes across Rockville pike doesn’t work at Jones Bridge Road.

Mr. Coleman asked Mr. Wilson to discuss this with Mr. Hayden and report back to the group at the next meeting. He also mentioned that the paint solution was a good idea. The lights on the bike trail were $46,000 and South Drive would be an even larger job.

Mr. Coleman then asked Mr. Ed Pfister to introduce the speaker from the county who would be talking about the storm water retention pond.

Environmental Update
By: Kenny Floyd, Director, Division of Environmental Protection, ORF, OD, NIH
Stoney Creek Stormwater Project
By: Craig Carson, Watershed Planner, Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection

Mr. Pfister said the Stoney Creek Pond is part of a comprehensive storm water management plan for the whole campus and all state and federal agencies to control their runoff.  He then introduced, Mr. Craig Carson, who is leading the NIH Pond Project.

Mr. Carson said the footprint for the pond has not changed significantly. All water from Bethesda comes out of a 66-inch pipe and crosses NIH, goes under the pipe system, into the channel, and finally into Rock Creek.  The smaller pond will be dug out and replaced by a bigger pond, which is planned to have a natural appearance, similar to a photo he showed of a comparable retention pond.

Mr. Carson noted that there will be a couple of temporary sidewalk closures in association with storm activities. For instance, there will be a chain link fence to separate pedestrians from construction. Mr. Coleman asked how long the setup for the project will take, and Mr. Carson replied that each closure should be less than a week.

Mr. Schofer asked where the pond soil will go once excavated, and Mr. Carson responded by saying that excavation - and whether or not the soil will be disposed of or reused - is the contractor’s responsibility. 
 
Ms. Eleanor Rice asked if the young bald cypress trees would be saved, and Mr. Carson informed her that they have already relocated the ones they could save, and mentioned that cypress trees will be replanted on a terrace along the edge of the pond to soak up the water. There is even a contingency for this tree in the contract.

Mr. Sawicki asked when this project would start and Mr. Carson explained that the construction bid contract should be in by April, so it should be three months after that.

Mr. Sawicki asked how much soil they planned to excavate, and Mr. Carson answered that 20,000 cubic yards of soil will be pulled out to keep the embankment as low as possible.

Mr. Sawicki asked if the soil was clean, and if it could be used later for the South Lawn project.  Mr. Carson said that there was a lot of native soil and there are places to fill from the old golf course.

Mr. Schofer asked Mr. Carson not to haul soil during rush hour. To Mr. Schofer’s point, Mr. Coleman thought there was a valid concern about the impact of moving 20,000 cubic yards of dirt – or 2,000 dump truck loads. Mr. Carson added that they have 7-5 hours and a section on heavy truck limitations in contract.

Ms. Lucy Ozarin expressed concern about safety and people falling, but Mr. Carson said there are plans in place to have a regular split rail fence and two additional features for safety – a dry flat safety terrace and a flat area at the pond shore.

A Council member inquired about a walking path around the pond. Mr. Pfister said he had been discussing this with Mr. Carson and that there is a potential for a resting trail, but they could also talk about a rustic trail.

A Council member asked what provisions were being made to keep the pond from silting, and Mr. Carson said they have gone to a lot of effort to maintain water quality. Mr. Coleman reassured the member that the pond will be carefully monitored. Mr. Pfister added that it could be 25-50 years before the pond needs to be drudged. Mr. Carson went on to say there are plans to have aerators to make water well up and get exposed to oxygen, and it is oxygen exposure and healthy aquatic insects that help keep things in balance.

Ms. Miller asked how long the project will take, and Mr. Carson said about a year. In the first phase they need to locate some of these utilities, and in the second phase they will start to install soils that have relatively low permeability to keep water from seeping in the road, and the third phase is the big excavation. It is in the contract that they will need to get the soil out quickly.

Special Projects Update
By: Tony Clifford, Chief Engineer, ORF, OD, NIH

Mr. Clifford thanked Mr. Coleman and said that he is continuing to work with the South Lawn Workgroup made up of community members.  Mr. Clifford started off by briefing the Council on the new walkway lights from Maple Ridge to the center of campus, and informed them that right now, there are low level bollard lights that were put in many years ago to illuminate that part of campus, and when the lights are knocked over by people cutting the grass, bare wires can be exposed. It will be 12 weeks plus installation time to get the better lights, which will be compatible in appearance with the path lights used on the rest of the walkway around the security fence-- respectful of light spillage into the neighborhood. 

Mr. Clifford said there is a working relationship between the group and the County.  For instance, he met October 10 with the Montgomery County Office of Public Works and Transportation to talk about storm water drainage. They went to North Brook Lane near White Hall Condominiums and saw a street storm water drain catch basin and noticed that the backside presented an 18-24 inches high unprotected opening - and could be dangerous to small pets, etc.  The County said they would take steps to address the drain for safety, but it will continue to function.

Mr. Clifford presented a south lawn photograph of a storm water discharge pipe problem. The pipe drains eight acres of storm water through underground pipes and terminates two feet from NIH property on a small section of County owned land. The water then migrates across the south lawn to North Brook where there is a County catch basin. Then the water gets captured by the storm water line and taken into the piped storm water system. While the normal storm water system typically flows through underground storm water pipes, this County system depends on flowing over NIH land from Maple Ridge Rd before it re-enters the County piped storm system at North Brook Lane.
 
In response to this issue, Mr. Clifford sent a letter on Oct 18 to Mr. Keith Compton, the Chief of Highway Operations, to say that he wanted proper attention to this problem. He explained that it isn’t a simple fix, but because of gas and Pepco lines installed nearby, Mr. Clifford believes there is room to fix the problem.  Mr. Clifford will continue to work with the county and keep the subgroup informed. He then opened the floor to questions.

A Council member asked when the work was anticipated to begin. Because this is not a federal project, Mr. Clifford explained that the next step will be for Mr. Compton’s group to assess the situation and come up with a reasonable solution. For instance, will it require manholes, pipes, an easement (either closer to the property line or further out in field)?  Then the project needs to be financed. Mr. Clifford did express some concern about the speed of the project because the erosion is getting worse.

A Council member suggested that those who care about this issue could wait until after November 7 and then start putting pressure on election winners when the council starts determining the budget.

Mr. Clifford said both division leaders have been alerted that this is an issue of political sensitivity, and said he wrote a letter to go on record with the county to document that the Council voiced a concern and wanted resolution.

Information Update
By: Dennis Coleman, Director, OCL, OD, NIH

Mr. Coleman said that many in the group have expressed the desire to have more clout. He said that external agencies can affect local neighborhoods as much as NIH and invite public input, which is an opportunity for CLC members to have more clout. Examples include the Base Realignment & Closure Commission (BRAC), State Highway Administration (SHA), National Capitol Planning Commission, and the Maryland National Capitol Park and Planning Commission.

Mr. Coleman explained BRAC and its decision and rationale to relocate certain Walter Reed Army Medical Center operations to the Naval Medical Center. The Naval Medical Center, NIH, and Walter Reed operations were compared with respect to land, buildings, beds, inpatient admissions, and outpatient clinic visits. NIH has the most staff (~18000 vs. ~5000 for the Navy Center and ~9000 for Walter Reed), while the Navy and Army campuses have more outpatient visits (~500000/yr for each vs. ~120000 for NIH).  He emphasized that only tertiary care (subspecialty and complex) services are now planned for relocation to the Navy site.  Primary and specialty care services will relocate to a new or expanded community hospital at Ft. Belvoir.

Mr. Coleman said that the BRAC process invites public input. For example, if BRAC-related construction at the Navy site starts in mid-2008, public hearings concerning associated master plan revisions and environmental impacts (aka NPEA analysis) would be expected to occur in 2007.  He also showed a signed policy statement indicating that the Naval Center Commander, Admiral Adam Robinson, is committed to environmental stewardship and community involvement.  He underscored that the upcoming hearings are the public’s opportunity to express their ideas and concerns and provide input on the BRAC relocation process.

Mr. Coleman said there is another opportunity coming up for community representatives to influence the review, approval, and funding of state highway projects, such as those that affect Rts. 355 and 187. He said that the SHA makes a tour of every MD county, and on November 2, the tour will stop for a public hearing at the Rockville City Council chambers, where the public can comment on state highway plans for the coming years.

Mr. Coleman explained how the SHA initially develops a Highway Needs Inventory (HNI) which is actually a financially unconstrained “wish list.” of what projects should be considered. Based on SHA staff evaluating the feasibility and priority of the HNI “wish list”, details of realistically possible highway projects for each county are collected in the Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP). The CTP is then reviewed by the Governor and submitted to the state legislature in January of each year.  Whatever is approved at that point becomes a real project.  Mr. Coleman said that public input is important because money available for highways is competitively distributed. For those CLC members who feel that NIH is slow to get things done, he also showed how state highway projects can take 9-12 years to get from evaluation to reality.  Finally, for CLC members interested in attending external agency hearings, he provided some rules of thumb for making public input more effective.

CLC ROUND ROBIN

Because time ran short, the co-chairs agreed there will just be one quick announcement and all matters that were going to be discussed in the Round Robin would be discussed at next month’s meeting.

Before the group adjourned, Mr. Brad Moss announced that the Office of Research Services has named Dr. Alfred Johnson as its permanent director.  

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting ended at 6:15 p.m.

FUTURE MEETING TOPICS

• Campus Tour to include
• Edmond J. Safra Lodge (Family Inn) – confirmed for December 21, 2006
• Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility

CLC Members Present
Kathryn Bender, East Bethesda Citizens Assn.
Marian Bradford, Camelot Mews Citizens Association
Lesley Hildebrand, Sonoma Citizens Assn.
Nancy Hoos, Sonoma Citizens Association
Marilyn Mazuzan, Town of Oakmont
Ginny Miller, CLC Co-Chair, Wyngate Citizens Association
Lucy Ozarin, M.D., Whitehall Condominium Association
Eleanor Rice, Locust Hill Civic Assn.
Stephen Sawicki, Edgewood Glenwood Citizens Association
Mr. Ralph Schofer, Maplewood Citizens Association

NIH Staff Present
Marin Allen, OCPL, OD, NIH
Amy Blackburn, OCL, OD, NIH
Anthony Clifford, ORF, OD, NIH
Dennis Coleman, Director, OCL, OD, NIH
Kenny Floyd, ORF, OD, NIH
Brad Moss, ORS, OD, NIH
Ed Pfister, ORF, OD, NIH
Sharon Robinson, OCL, OD, NIH
Ronald Wilson, ORFDO, NIH
Randy Schools, Recreation and Welfare Association, NIH

Guests
Craig Carson, Montgomery County Watershed Planner
Stephen Jaeger, Collin, Gordon & Associates
Joan Kleinman, Congressman Van Hollen’s Office
Deborah Snead, Montgomery County Regional Svcs. Center
Congressman Chris Van Hollen
Chris Williams, Gazette News

back to top