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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFlying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission - 05/31/2007 - Special APPROVED MINUTES FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2007 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER Heritage Room 1 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Rick King, Vice-Chair Jeff Larsen, Commissioners: Joe Harris, Mark Michelson, Kurt Schendel and Brad Stratton (arrived at 7:10 p.m.) COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Greg McKewan VISITORS: Rich Akerlund, City Heritage Preservation Commission Tim Anderson, MAC Chad Leqve, MAC Warren McVey, FAA Representative Becky Roering, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Rick Schoeneck, 7938 South Bay Curve Scott Skramstad, MAC STAFF: George Esbensen, Fire Chief Scott Kipp, Senior Planner Rob Reynolds, Police Chief Carol Pelzel, City Recorder I. CALL TO ORDER Chair King called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. He explained that this is a special meeting of the Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission to discuss the MSP runway construction project and flight track changes, and Flying Cloud airport security. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Michelson moved, seconded by Larsen, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried, 5-0. III. PUBLIC COMMENT IV. EDUCATIONAL ITEMS FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 31, 2007 Page 2 A. MSP RUNWAY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT AND FLIGHT TRACK CHANGES Chad Leqve, MAC representative, explained to the Commission that the center segment (3,100 feet) of Runway 12R/30L at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) would be reconstructed this summer. In order to reconstruct this portion of the runway, it is anticipated that it would be closed down from approximately August 13 to mid-October. He further explained that during the construction period, aircraft that would normally take off or land on the south parallel runway will be shifted to the other three runways; the north parallel runway (12L/30R), the north/south runway (17/35), and the crosswind runway (4/22). Leqve said that residents living under the arrival and departure paths of the south parallel runway might notice a decrease in air traffic during this period. Landings on Runway 17 will be used for landings from the north over Minneapolis. When aircraft are landing on this runway, residents under the arrival path will notice more aircraft where there have previously been very few. Landings on Runway 22 will affect residents located under that runway's arrival path in St. Paul. They are estimating 302 landings per day on Runway 22 while at the present time there are none. Leqve pointed out that if Eden Prairie notices a change in the flight patterns, it would probably be a reduction in the frequency of over flights. He indicated that affected residents would be informed of the proposed construction and flight track changes through a newsletter, web page and postcard as well as four community open houses. Leqve stated that people can go to MAC's website at macnoise.com to sign up for the newsletter. Larsen asked if this Commission's function is to get this information to the City Council. Kipp responded that the purpose of this presentation is to get this information out. Leqve said that MAC's website is a good resource. Several cities have chosen to put that website address as a link on their website. Hopefully the website will provide them with the information they need. Kipp explained that the City's website does have a link to this Commission and there is also a link to MAC's website. The Commission agreed that Kipp should report to the City Council that the Commission did review the proposed runway reconstruction and to put a link to MAC's website on the City's website. King asked the Commission if they wanted to make some kind of summary report about this information to the City Council. Kipp suggested that he prepare a summary report to be included in the City Council's packet of information to make them aware of this and to alert them to MAC's website. V. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. AIRPORT SECURITY King explained that the purpose of this item is to review existing security at Flying Cloud Airport. After that discussion, the Commission will need to decide what they want to do or recommend. This discussion will give them a shared understanding of FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 31, 2007 Page 3 what has happened with regards to airport security and what has been established in the past, what has happened since and what the future plans are. Tim Anderson, MAC Representative,provided the Commission with the history of how MAC got to where they are now with airport security. Perimeter security at all airports is still an issue. Anderson explained that the former Flying Cloud Airports Advisory Commission Chair, Tom Heffelfinger, pushed MAC for general aviation security and without him they would not be where they are today. At the same time, TSA was working on guidelines for general aviation airports. They used the Flying Cloud template for aviation security and sent it out to the other five reliever airports. King pointed out that the Flying Cloud Airport Security Guide was developed in August, 2004. He asked if there were any national guidelines at that time. Anderson responded that the national guideline for security was not federally directed. They were breaking new ground when they created this template. Michelson asked if this is the document that Heffelfinger asked them to develop. Anderson explained that he encouraged them to put together a plan to direct them. He watched over them to make sure that they continued to develop this document. They also received guidance from the federal government. Anderson said since September 11, the bulk of his responsibilities at MAC involve aviation security. It is a problem that they are dealing with effectively at both reliever and major airports. King explained that he met with Heffelfinger and he did confirm with him that this is the plan he worked on. Anderson reviewed airport and aircraft security including government actions, air space,pilots, operations and airports. He explained that what they have done has been effective and they have identified threats and vulnerabilities and he does not see them moving very far beyond what they have already done. Anderson further explained that there are extensive flight restrictions in place around Washington D.C. and restrictions are commonly placed around traveling dignitaries as well as select aviation restrictions being put in place for special cases. They do advanced screening of pilots and the FAA does have a data base of pilots. Pilots will be required to carry a government issued photo ID. Becky Roering, TSA representative, explained that the FAA's data base includes 2,500 pilots in the State that are conducting flight training. The TSA inspectors make sure they are not training people they do not want them to train. With regard to airport and aircraft security, Anderson reported that general aviation airports are secured by their nature. Small airplanes are not effective as a weapon and have a low destructive potential. General aviation aircraft are not a threat to nuclear power facilities. Anderson reviewed with the Commission Flying Cloud Airport's characteristics explaining that there is a six-foot fence around most of the airport and there is specific signage. Roering pointed out that some small commercial airports are not required to have a fence line. The FAA is more concerned with animal control but do not require fencing. Anderson showed the gate locations at Flying Cloud and indicated that there are 12 gates. Harris said that Heffelfinger pushed for eliminating the number of gate openings at the airport. They now have eight operable gates with one being FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 31, 2007 Page 4 permanently closed. In the fall of 2004 they installed four gate operators and they have the ability to go to a punch key access if necessary. Anderson explained that Flying Cloud does have informational signage as well as restricted area signage. He reviewed the lighting of the airport and explained that there is a camera system located at the airport. Anderson stated that everyone has a role to play just like in other communities to keep the facility safe. In response to a question from Stratton, Anderson explained that in 2004 there were six planes stolen in the United States and in 2005 there were five planes stolen. Police Chief Rob Reynolds stated that after September 11, on a national level, airplane thefts were cut in half. This is attributed to users at the airports being more aware of what is going on, similar to neighborhood watch groups. Neighborhood watch groups are the most effective tool and awareness of what is happening around the facility is key. Roering reported that prior to 911, she was not sure she knew how many general aviation airports were in the State. They did not do any outreach to those facilities. They did do tower inspections and other than that they didn't work with them. Since September 11, they started looking at the general aviation community and in 2003 they started working with them and they became part of their work plan. They identified the airports and what type of operations they conduct. Roering said they don't regulate general aviation and they don't want to be regulated. Currently the TSA inspectors do some type of outreach at least two times a year to the general aviation community. She said she is not aware of any significant events happening at general aviation airports over the past few years. In looking at Flying Cloud Airport, Roering said that the fence line at the airport is better than she has seen at commercial airports and the signage is consistent and also better that at some commercial airports. She said she feels Flying Cloud is doing a good job. Roering indicated that TSA will be getting more focused on general aviation airports and when they do a site survey of the Flying Cloud Airport she thinks they will be pleased with the results. King said that given what Roering has seen with Flying Cloud Airport, he asked if there is anything glaring that stands out that they should focus their attention on improving. Roering said the users of the facility know what belongs there and what doesn't. She said she would not invest as much in physical security but would make sure that the people that work there and are at the facility every day are aware of what is not right and that the local police patrol the area. Also, she said it is important that the TSA has the right contact person listed so that if they do have to get information out to the general aviation community they can do it quickly and get it to the right person. Also, they should reach out to the local police department to make sure they have a contact person 24/7 for specific threats to general aviation airports. Chad Leqve, MAC representative, said that what Roering is suggesting could be done through education and protocol. They need to educate the people at the facility that they need to be aware of their surroundings and that they have a role at the general aviation airport. With that role they should be looking for things out of the ordinary. He asked if in the TSA handbook there is anything that deals with suspicious activity or if they have anything they could use for an educational program. He asked if there FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 31, 2007 Page 5 is a listing of what to look for at general aviation airports. Roering said she was not aware of the TSA having this type of information. The FAA did have something to watch for through operations and she said this could be something they could include in one of their newsletters. Harris said it was important to note that MAC meets annually with their Fixed Base Operators (FBO's). The program they found to be the best is the airport watch video prepared by the Aircraft Owners and Pilot Association (AOPA). They found this video to be the best fit scenario for particular airports. This might not work for other airports but works great for Flying Cloud. There is a high turn over of employees at the airports and it is important that they be educated and this video helps them to do that. Michelson asked if new employees are screened. Harris responded that they are if they are performing safety type functions. King indicated that the TSA Security Guidelines is dated May, 2004 and he asked if this is the operative version. Roering answered that it is the most current. Roering said she has looked at Flying Cloud Airport's Security Guide and suggested that they add a website address where they can find information on awareness training. This would be a good place to list some of the things to look for and also where they can get a copy of the video from AOPA. This document is very close to the national model and is something that is voluntary and is a great initiative. Michelson pointed out that in the TSA Security Guidelines there is an Airport Characteristics Measurement Tool. He asked if Flying Cloud has been assessed. Roering responded that this is something that was done by MNDOT and she could not recall how Flying Cloud did. Both the fencing and signage would be positives. The location and size of the facility would make it a higher risk area. King asked that MAC find out what Flying Cloud's score was when it was measured by MNDOT. Rob Reynolds, Eden Prairie Police Chief, said he agrees with everything that has been presented this evening. He briefly reviewed what has been done locally on the law enforcement side to address security at Flying Cloud. They have a liaison system which is a secondary assignment responsibility and is part of their community watch group. Reynolds explained that the absolute best security they have is the version of the neighborhood watch on the airport. Physical barriers are good at keeping out anything that doesn't have an opposable thumb. Reynolds said the best thing he could suggest is lighting and keeping an open field of view of the area. The airport is located on two busy roads and local officers are constantly reminded to look at the airport as they drive by. The Eden Prairie Police Department does have a patrol that goes through and does security checks at the airport. They have officers dedicated as secondary assignments that go around to meet the tenants of the hangars and also make contact with the FBO's and encourage them to look out for unusual things. Reynolds indicated that those are the types of things that work and the most effective thing is to alert the community. Reynolds reported that after September 11 they became involved with the FBO's and talked with them. From a public safety standpoint, Police is very comfortable with where they are at the airport with regard to FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 31, 2007 Page 6 security. In the 12 months after September 11, they were called a couple of times by operators to look into some suspicious people who wanted to rent airplanes. All of those activities ultimately checked out and they have not had any terrorism activity at Flying Cloud. King said it might be helpful to receive information on Police reports made this year and last year for Flying Cloud Airport. King asked Reynolds to elaborate on the suggestion of lighting at the airport. Reynolds responded that to avoid having someone that shouldn't be on airport property or to discourage someone from breaking into the facilities, lighting would make one piece of property less attractive than another not having lighting. If you have a well lit airport you will keep people away. The more light and unobstructed view you have the better. Leqve pointed out that it is very valuable to see people in uniform around the airport facility. It lets people know that you know what is going on and it is a helpful deterrent. In response to a question from Larsen, Reynolds explained that they encourage people to call through 911 when they see something suspicious. The tower does have a City radio and when talking to the tower they do so through their radios. They do have procedures that are followed and they have done drills for disasters. Anderson explained that Police and Fire in Eden Prairie are very interested in the airport. They are well aware of the layout and they have done tours of the tower. They also know MAC's radio frequency and MAC knows how to communicate with Police and Fire and both have been very proactive. Fire Chief Esbensen reported that the Fire Department approaches the airport in two different ways. The first is a collaborative effort with the Police Partnership for Emergency Readiness (PER) and this effort will be focused on the airport this summer and it is their plan to get the FBO's involved. Esbensen explained that the second approach is to have one fire inspector dedicated to the airport. He further explained that one of the things they did last year was to go through every hangar on the airport property and conduct a fire inspection. Everyone who operates at the airport and owns a hangar knows the fire inspector and knows that they will be doing inspections on a routine basis in their hangar space. Esbensen said he believes they are welcomed on the airport property and everyone there knows them. They have a very persistent and consistent presence out there. The Fire Department participates in the airport's open houses and other events that are held at the airport. King asked if Esbensen could suggest anything to make the airport a better or safer facility. Esbensen responded that the fact that they will be bringing sewer and water to the airport property gives him a better feeling because they can then sprinkler the buildings and make them fire safe. Esbensen said they have a good relationship with the MAC Fire Department and they have donated a vehicle to the City for training. Stratton asked how many instances per year the Fire Department is called to the airport. Esbensen responded that at tops, two or three times a year. FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 31, 2007 Page 7 King said he would like to get the Commissioner's thoughts on the information presented and whether or not they would like additional information prior to deciding what their next steps will be. Schendel said he would echo what has been stated this evening. The FBO's are at the airport all day long. They know who comes and goes and they know who doesn't belong. There are two gates that don't close and lock but they know who goes in and out of those gates and they know who belongs to which hangar. They have a feeling for what goes on during the time they are there. It is a community and neighborhood that they protect. Schendel said the existing security measures at the airport are good and are a deterrent. It is the people out there that have a big investment and it is that neighborhood and community that makes the difference. He indicated that there is always room for improvement and the thing he feels they can improve on is communication. It doesn't hurt to remind the users of the facility that they need to be aware of their surroundings. Stratton said he agrees that they need to have communication with the pilots and that the addition of sewer and water will definitely be a benefit to the airport hangars. Stratton said something he would like to see would be informational communications similar to the town hall meetings. These could be distributed via an e-mail list of FBO's and hangar owners. This communication could enforce the importance of security. Harris explained that they do have a security list including the FBO's and the City contacts. He said it would be a good idea to develop a plan on MAC's main website where people could register their address. Leqve suggested developing a security tips page on the website that has some suggestions that this Commission has discussed to make the airport tenants aware of indicating that this is an important part of the security effort of the airport. They could include a link to the AOPA video and once the page is developed they could send out an e-mail list that Harris referred to. Reynolds said they would really like to address all of this through their Police Partnership for Emergency Readiness. This partnership is designed to do exactly what they are talking about for all businesses in the community. Reynolds stated that they would like MAC to encourage their Flying Cloud Airport users to sign up for the Police Partnership for Emergency Readiness. Under this partnership, Public Safety publishes a newsletter every two weeks or as necessary and distributes it to their members of the Partnership. He suggested that rather than create something new, they use the system that is in place. Esbensen said they would like the information given to them so that they can distribute it. The website to register for the Partnership is edenprairieper.org. Harris said they would send out a letter to the FBO's at Flying Cloud and encourage them to go to the website and sign up for the program. Reynolds said they would be happy to come to their town hall meeting on June 20 and talk about the program. FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 31, 2007 Page 8 Michelson said they have heard from four different groups this evening and they have all said the same thing. Security begins with knowing the people at the airport and knowing what is normal. It all revolves around a neighborhood watch. The same groups are saying that's what works and that's what they are doing. Michelson indicated that the best thing they could do is to have a forum to get the groups together and to communicate with them. He also stated that they have a common sense way to go about this and they are doing it. Larsen pointed out that in going through the TSA Security Guidelines he noted that under the section titled Airport Community Watch Program they have three additional bullets that are not included in the Flying Cloud Airport Security Guide. He questioned if this was an error or if they are not included for a specific reason. The bullets missed appear to be topics discussed this evening. Harris responded that some of those bullets are addressed in other parts of their document. Harris said they could incorporate those bullets into that part of the document. Anderson said it may be time to incorporate those and other changes that have been made and to update the Flying Cloud Guide. Larsen said he would like the Commission to receive copies of reports showing the types of incidents both Police and Fire have responded to at Flying Cloud. He said he also feels the PER Program would be an excellent tool and they should receive follow- up information on that and find out how many FBO's signed up and what kind of saturation they are getting to the interested parties at the airport. Larsen stated that this whole process is communication. Harris suggested that they do a cooperative partnership with the City and MAC. He said they should place a sign at the gate at Flying Cloud stating that if you see suspicious activity, call 911. The signs could include both the City and MAC's logos. The City deserves credit for their cooperation with MAC. King explained that a sign with the City's logo may indicate that the City is endorsing certain things and he does not want to do anything that would jeopardize their working relationship with MAC. King said he is not for or opposed to placing the City's logo on certain signs at the airport but he would want additional information and ask several questions prior to doing this. Anderson said to have additional signs stating that suspicious activity should be reported would be appropriate and should be included in a new sign plan. King reported that the Commission has received a lot of information from the experts and have received documents on security. It appears that the Commission has the data they need to put together a report for the City Council. The report would include the items discussed including the use of the Police Partnership for Emergency Readiness program. MAC will also look at signage and increase communication around the airport. The report would highlight the Fire Department inspections that are occurring at the airport and that MAC will be revising their security document bringing it up to date. The Commission will review the incidents that have occurred over the last number of years for both fire and law enforcement and may include some of that information in the report. Kipp said they will also want to focus on the neighborhood FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 31, 2007 Page 9 watch efforts and the benefit of that. King suggested that a couple of the Commissioners work on a draft report for review by the full Commission at their July meeting. Kipp said he would work on developing a draft and Schendel volunteered to assist Kipp. King indicated that it would be helpful to have the updated Flying Cloud Airport Security Guide to give to the Council but if that is not possible, to let the Commission know. King said he would anticipate providing the Council with a report some time in August. King expressed his appreciation to MAC for the work they have done to date and he thanked Roering for coming out to meet with the Commission. King also expressed his appreciation to the Police and Fire Chiefs for their participation and input. Roering explained that earlier in the evening they discussed the TSA Airport Characteristics Measurement Tool and how Flying Cloud rated. She explained that this tool is not a scientific methodology to rank airports. It is a work in progress and she suggested that they not use that as a single measurement tool and that they not take any action if the airport falls into a higher category. Roering said that points should be taken away for certain things and that is not included in tool. VI. OTHER BUSINESS King pointed out that the Commission would not be approving last month's minutes at this meeting because it is a special meeting but will be doing so next month. He explained that the question came up that since the City Manager issued a new letter to the Legislative Delegation, if the prior minutes should be changed to reflect that. King stated that the new letter will become part of the record and it will be clear what the progression is. Also, it was pointed out that there was some misinterpretation to other items in the March 8 minutes related to Larsen's attendance at the Chamber meeting. Since those minutes have been approved, they cannot be changed. King said that when people read the minutes and get a different impression from what the author meant, they can follow the same protocol and submit a memo and say perhaps the public is reading this one way and I meant something different. This memo would then become part of the official record and that will help people understand what is going on. Anderson reported that the town hall meetings at the reliever airports will include the presentation of the fee structure and comprehensive plans. They will be holding four meetings and the Flying Cloud/Lakeville meeting will be held on June 20 at the Minneapolis Community Technical College. This may also be the perfect time to present the Police Partnership for Emergency Readiness program at the beginning of the meeting. VII. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Motion was made by Michelson, seconded by Larsen, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried, 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 10:00 p.m.