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[[underlined]] Policy on Public and Congressional Information [[/underlined]]

The Regents gave full consideration to a staff report recounting the history of Regents' discussions on open meetings, the relevance of the Sunshine Act, current practices and options for the future. Expressing general appreciation for the report, the Regents agreed to develop a statement on the issue, which statement will be considered at the next meeting. That statement should delineate the policy of the Board, present a complete explanation of it, and be suitable as a direct communication to the press.

[[underlined]] Mall Parking and Visitor Access Study [[/underlined]]

At the Regents request, the staff has updated the study conducted by DeLeuw Cather (1980) on "Special Studies of Visitation, Transportation and Parking for Museums on the Mall." Reprojecting visitation based on recent experience, the staff concluded visitors will exceed 40 million per year by the year 2000. Long-range planning is needed to accommodate this increase.

One solution proposed earlier was the construction of an underground Mall garage for 2,300 cars and 80 buses between Third and Seventh Streets, N.W. (between the National Gallery of Art and the National Air and Space Museum). Construction would now require an estimated $75 million, and, given a variety of assumptions regarding alternative rate structures and usage, the garage would need an annual subsidy ranging between $1.8 and $3.9 million to meet costs and repay a 30-year fixed rate 10% financing plan. While construction would not be self-liquidating under current estimates, these conditions could be restudied by the early 1990's, when new visitation projections can be made.

Other visitor access facilities were discussed: parking at Union Station, Tourmobile, Metrorail, and Metrobus. A Smithsonian Transportation Coordinator has been appointed to develop, in coordination with other pertinent agencies, such low capital cost solutions as improved shuttle bus/Tourmobile service, transit service enhancements, public information systems, and employee use of transit systems, carpools, vanpools, etc.

[[underlined]] Status Reports [[/underlined]]

The Secretary discussed the following status reports which had been circulated in advance of the meeting:

Merger of the Radiation Biology Laboratory and the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies
Personnel and Reorganization
Museum Support Center and Inventory of Collections
Other Major Construction Projects
Space Planning
Legislation
Litigation
Management of the Front Royal Deer Population
Hirshhorn Bequest
Television

[[underlined]] Regents' Dinner [[/underlined]]

The Dinner was held in the National Air and Space Museum on May 8. The Secretary greeted guests and introduced the Chancellor, who presented Langley Medals to H. Ross Perot, Jr., and Jay Coburn, as voted by the Regents on January 24, 1983.