Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutFlying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission - 05/14/2009 APPROVED MINUTES FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2009 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER Heritage Room 1 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Rick King; Vice-Chair Jeff Larsen, Commissioners: Judy Gentry and Mark Michelson COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Greg McKewan, Jeff Nawrocki and Kurt Schendel STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES: J.P. Maslyn VISITORS: Joe Harris, MAC; Brian Fox, Air Methods Vicky Peller Price, Zero Expansion; Barbara Haake, Anoka County Airport Advisory Commission; Bridget Rief, MAC; Chad Leqve, MAC; Scott Skramstad, MAC; Rick Dahlquist STAFF: Scott Kipp, Senior Planner; Carol Pelzel, City Recorder I. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Chair King called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. II. SWEARING IN OF REAPPOINTED COMMISSION MEMBERS A. JEFF LARSEN B. MARK MICHELSON The Oath of Office was administered by Kipp to Larsen and Michelson for a term expiring March 31, 2010. King explained that there has been a transition in the MAC representative on the Board and Jeff Nawrocki has replaced Joe Harris. Since Nawrocki was unable to attend this evening's meeting, Harris was in attendance representing Nawrocki. King presented a plaque to Harris on behalf of the Commission expressing their appreciation for the time Harris served on the Commission. C. KURT SCHENDEL FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2009 Page 2 The swearing in of Schendel will occur at the next regular Commission meeting since he was not in attendance at this meeting. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA King explained they have several people who would like to address the Commission this evening so they will not be following the order of the agenda. MOTION: Michelson moved, seconded by Gentry, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried, 4-0. IV. PUBLIC COMMENT V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. COMMISSION MEETING HELD THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2009 Skramstad asked that the seventh and eighth sentences of the second to the last paragraph on Page 5, be amended to read "Rief explained that in the noise model for the last three plans they took a certain percentage of operations (for example three percent) from the tower and applied that for the development of the nighttime noise contour. This resulted in decreasing the daytime counts by a certain percentage (for example three percent)". Gentry asked that on Page 11, in the sixth line of the last paragraph the word "significant"be changed to "significantly". King suggested that the third sentence in the second paragraph of Page 7 be changed to read "King said after a meeting with the City Manager, it was decided that from the City's perspective, there is no need for the change in airport classification." On Page 12, the last paragraph, King asked that"Neuman and" be deleted from the second sentence of that paragraph. MOTION: Larsen moved, seconded by Gentry, to approve the March 12, 2009, regular meeting minutes as corrected. Motion carried, 4-0. VI. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. RUNWAY 1OR-28L EXTENSION PROJECT—BRIDGET RIEF, MAC Bridget Rief of MAC presented a recap of the first phase of the runway project that is underway at Flying Cloud to extend the south parallel runway. They are currently grading the safety area of Runway 1OR and constructing the VOR navigation facility across from the airport. They plan to have this work completed some time in June. Bridget reviewed Phase II of the project including grading for the relocation of the approach lighting system to the west and the south building development area. B. MAY 28, 2009 SPECIAL PUBLIC MEETING ON AIRPORT EXPANSION FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2009 Page 3 King reminded the Commission of the Special Public Meeting on the airport expansion scheduled for May 28 at 7:00 p.m. at Hennepin Technical College. Speakers for that meeting will include Chad Leqve and Bridget Rief from MAC. There will also be two FAA representatives at the meeting to answer questions. Postcards have been mailed to people living within a 1.5 mile radius of the airport informing them of this meeting. Approximately 7,800 postcards were mailed. Commissioners Gentry and Michelson wrote an article that appeared in the local newspapers regarding this meeting. C. CITY MANAGER REQUEST FOR COMMISSION DISCUSSION 1. Open Access to Non-Authorized Personnel 2. Surface Surveillance Radar 3. Annual Review of Safety Records from FAA Runway Safety Office 4. MAC Retesting of Remaining Wells and Groundwater King explained that this item briefly summarizes the points that were made in Peller Price's recommendations and the City Manager asked this Commission to discuss these items. King suggested that the Commission take some time to study these recommendations and they set aside a good portion of their July meeting to discuss them. It will also give the Commission an opportunity to review this information on the Zero Expansion website. VII. EDUCATIONAL ITEMS A. GUEST SPEAKER—BRIAN FOX,AIR METHODS King introduced Brian Fox, Program Aviation Manager for Air Methods, as this evening's guest speaker. Fox explained that Air Methods is the nation's largest provider of emergency medical transportation services in the world. Air Methods provides helicopter pilots and maintenance to Life Link III located at Flying Cloud Airport. Air Methods flies approximately 40 to 50 flights per year out of Flying Cloud, not including flights from other bases. Fox explained the make up of Air Methods stating that they operate a fleet of 320 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft at 254 bases in 43 states and are headquartered in Englewood, Colorado. Air Methods has two Bell 222 helicopters (one in Eden Prairie and one in Hibbing) and four Bell 407 helicopters. The Bell 407 is a quieter helicopter and they are in the process of converting to quieter helicopters. When aircraft come into Flying Cloud they utilize the procedures that were set up to go over the river. They have tried to maintain an environmentally friendly atmosphere around the airport both during the day and at night. They do not do maintenance runs or training flights at night unless it is an emergency. All of their nighttime flights are emergency flights and some times they are required to do maintenance at night. FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2009 Page 4 King asked how noisy the Bell 407 would be and if it is possible to fly over a residential area and not be heard. Fox said he cannot remember in the last two years of receiving a noise complaint on the Bell 407. Typically they fly the Bell 407 out of St. Cloud and try to stay over the river if winds permit. They have not received any noise complaints on the Bell 407 in St. Cloud. King asked under what Visual Flight Rule (VFR) conditions do they not fly. Fox responded that they have a strict weather minimum policy. During the day it is 802 (800 ceiling, two-mile visibility) and at night it is 1003 (1,000 ceiling, three-mile visibility). Larsen asked if Air Methods has special regulations in terms of medical flights or if they are part of the aviation public. Fox answered that they fly under Part 135 on demand operations. They are given some very specific guidance on what they can and cannot do such as weather minimums. Larsen asked who makes the final determination in whether or not they can fly because of weather. Fox responded that the pilot at that base is required to review the weather and determine if Air Methods' requirements are met. Every pilot has their own minimums and if a flight is turned down, they may call another location to come in from a different angle or fly around the storm system. Everything is totally up to the pilot that is on duty and they are the only ones that can approve the flight. Vicky Peller Price, a member of the audience, asked about the parent company of Life Link being investigated by the NTSB and FAA for excessive crashes to determine if it was due to pilot error. She asked that Fox elaborate on this. Fox explained that NTSB will look into any aircraft accident that takes place in the United States. Air Methods provides helicopter services to Life Link so he has no information on the specifics of the investigation. B. GUEST SPEAKER—VICKY PELLER PRICE, ZERO EXPANSION Peller Price thanked Nawrocki for providing them with information and the Commission for allowing her to speak this evening. Peller Price's presentation stressed that this Commission should concentrate more on better practices at the airport; make sure MAC adheres to their commitments in the agreement; and, continue to work with MAC and with residents to ensure that Flying Cloud is a secure and safe facility. She pointed out that Flying Cloud is not PE compliant and that the 2002 FAA Airport Incursion report cited three specific problems at Flying Cloud which MAC has not adequately addressed. They are pilot error, open access gates and site problems with the tower. Also, crops planted on airport property represent attraction for birds and animals. Issues of cost versus risk continue to make MAC an unreliable neighbor and untrustworthy partner. Zero Expansion has not received an answer to whether groundwater samplings have been undertaken on or adjacent to Flying Cloud property since the last Flying Cloud landfill testing in the 1990's. Peller Price explained that Zero Expansion is recommending that MAC create an educational tool so pilots can navigate the airport safer and abide by the curfew and other rules; this Commission annually review the FAA Safety Record and use it to determine possible problems at FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2009 Page 5 the airport; any existing tenant wells be tested for groundwater contamination; and, that MAC be given more legislative oversight. On behalf of the Commission, King thanked Peller Price for her presentation. He indicated that there were a lot of things brought up that will need to be discussed by this Commission and they will need to determine how best to approach those recommendations. Barbara Haake explained that she is a Commissioner on the Anoka County-Blaine Airport Advisory Commission and that she was a member of the Legislature when they changed minor airports from 4,000 foot runways to 5,000 foot runways. In November 2007 a company called Key Air came to the Anoka County Airport asking the Commissioners for a 6,000 foot runway. Now a Met Council consultant is suggesting that there be two minor airport designations, Minor I and Minor IL The Minor II designation would allow for a 6,000 foot runway. Haake said it is her belief that they need to have statewide aviation planning. Haake explained that Anoka is a safe airport at 5,000 feet. Key Air wants a 6,000 foot runway and 95,000 pound double wheel weight. Haake asked what they currently foresee for Flying Cloud when they extend the runway. She asked if they are doing a total rebuild. Bridget Rief from MAC explained that when they extend to 5,000 feet a portion of the runway will be reconstructed and the runway will be 30,000 single wheel weight and 60,000 dual wheel weight, exactly what Anoka has today. King explained that at the last meeting of this Commission they reviewed the potential change in the airport classification system and took a strong stand against it and recommended the City Council also take a stand against it. The City Council did adopt a Resolution opposing the change and wrote a letter to the Met Council opposing a change of designation for this airport. Chad Leqve of MAC stated that the proposed change in the airport classification system is not a MAC initiative. A tenant on the field brought this forward. VIII. FINAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN CITY AND MAC A. NOISE COMPLAINTS/STAGE 2 OPERATIONS REPORT (MARCH-APRIL) Skramstad reported that for the months of March and April there were 730 complaints filed from 60 households with two of the households filing 46 percent of the complaints. The top five residents account for 63 percent of the total complaints. The number of complaints is up from January and February when 519 complaints were filed from 51 households. Three hundred and forty seven complaints were filed for operations conducted between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. In reviewing the reason for those complaints, it appears that many of those are complaints about MSP aircraft on approach to the parallel runways. MAC sent out a total of 85 letters with one operator receiving 33 letters. Skramstad said he did speak to the chief pilot of this FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2009 Page 6 operation in April and MAC received a written response confirming that those flights are life source type operations. Gentry said they have talked about limiting the number of letters they send to an operator several times and there has been no follow-up on this discussion. She asked if this is something they will be talking about in the future. King explained that this is something that has to be discussed with the City and the City's attorney. MAC is amenable to making some kind of adjustment but the City Attorney is cautiously considering options that won't create a lot of conversation around the final agreement. The purpose of the letter is to remind people about the voluntary curfew. Gentry said there had been a letter in today's newspaper suggesting that those people not abiding by the voluntary noise ordinance be charged landing fees. They are not allowed to charge such a fee and people should be made aware of this. Michelson asked if the City Attorney has made a recommendation regarding these letters. King said he has not. The City has been made aware of this Commission's consensus that they limit the number of letters sent. The Commission should consider what they want and make a recommendation to the City Council to change the procedure. The Council knows that this Commission feels the number of letters should be limited and it is more beneficial to get letters that mean something and that the Commission is concerned about the public perception of this change. Peller Price from the audience said it appears that the letters aren't doing anything and it concerns her that they are doing a lot of work to do something that doesn't address the problem and the noise complaints continue to rise. She personally feels that no one wants to address the noise problem because they will butt up against forces fighting this to get something that will stop these people. Pilots and the general aviation community buck any kind of regulation and restrictions. Leqve pointed out that the voluntary program is only as good as the good will put into it. This is a voluntary agreement and if they make this mandatory they cannot use Federal funds to develop airports. There are a host of criteria that comes with that money. They want to try to do the best possible job they can in legislating pilots realizing they will never get to 100 percent of compliance. There are operations that will have to take place during those nighttime hours. IX. NOISE ABATEMENT/AIRCRAFT INCIDENTS A. LIFE LINK III HELICOPTER FLIGHT TRACKS (MARCH-APRIL) Skramstad reviewed the flight tracks for the Air Methods helicopters. For the past two months there were 66 complaints with 21 of those complaints directly related to Life Link operations. The 66 complaints were received from 23 different households and 32 percent of those complaints were directly correlated to Life Link helicopter operations between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2009 Page 7 X. NEW BUSINESS A. AIRPORT BUSINESS MEETINGS ON NOISE ABATEMENT Larsen reported that included with the agenda material was a synopsis of the business visits that members of the Commission made to the FBO's at Flying Cloud. One of the things they need to remember is that Flying Cloud is a changing entity and they need to continually remind these organizations of the voluntary noise curfew. They need to continually bring these people into conversations about the operations at the airport. The parties Larsen talked to are interested in trying to be good citizens in Eden Prairie and are interested in noise abatement discussions and how they can contribute. Some of the things that have been done to help with noise abatement is the posting of noise abatement posters in the flight prep rooms. It was also suggested that noise abatement flyers be put in the MAC airport hangar lease bills. Larsen reviewed with the Commission several other recommendations for making Flying Cloud users aware of the noise abatement procedures. Michelson said there are always new people at the Airport and he suggested that they develop a summary of the Final Agreement and send that to those people. Skramstad pointed out that there is a summary of the noise related provision from the Agreement on MAC's website. Kipp said he would send the entire Final Agreement along with a summary page of the Agreement. King asked Michelson to look at the summary on MAC's website to make sure it includes the necessary information and suggested that they also include that on the City's website. Leqve suggested when the Commissioners go out to talk to the business owners at the airport they include Skramstad when they are talking about noise abatement. The continuity would be great and appreciated. Rick Dahlquist from the audience said he has been following the expansion of Flying Cloud for many years and is very interested in the safety and operations of the airport. On occasion he takes off at 5 a.m. and weather is a contributing factor for those early morning flights. His number one concern is safety and sometimes they can't climb as quickly as they should but they are trying to climb as high and as quickly as possible. The procedures established may have to be modified with the runway expansion and as a user the expansion is very welcome. B. MAC RELIEVER AIRPORTS LONG-TERM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE Michelson indicated that MAC's Long-Term Comprehensive Plan refers to two alternatives regarding the deficiencies of the cross-wind runway, Runway 36. He asked when a decision on which alternative will be used would be made. Rief explained that currently the runway safety area and object free area for Runway 36 are deficient. This necessitated MAC Staff to evaluate alternatives for mitigating this situation. The FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2009 Page 8 alternatives include either shortening the runway by 58 feet or slightly shifting the runway a total of 58 feet to the north to maintain its current length of 2,691 feet. The pros and cons of each alternative will be evaluated in the Plan and a recommendation for a preferred alternative will be brought to the full Commission later this summer and then to the Met Council. The Long-Term Comprehensive Plan is an informational item being presented to two of MAC's Committees to make them aware of the proposed schedule for improvements. Staff also needs to do a financial analysis of the two alternatives. In response to a question from Peller Price from the audience, Rief responded they are looking at alternatives and will be studying those alternatives. One of the negatives in shifting the runway is that it creates a strange runway configuration. They need to be sure that they are comfortable with whichever alternative they select. The runway is a little shorter than what the FAA recommends and to come forward with a runway that is even shorter may be an issue with the FAA. MAC will hold informational meetings and at those meeting they will discuss the pros and cons of the alternatives and receive input from the community and airport users as to which recommendation they prefer. Peller Price asked if this proposal is part of the existing project. Rief explained that this is a different runway and is something that needs to be planned for and is not being implemented at this time. King said the Long-Term Comprehensive Plan covers 20 years. He asked if the recommendation to change Runway 36 is in the earlier part of the Plan. Rief responded that it is. They are not eligible for Federal funds until they address the safety area or deficiencies. The Plan will define the alternative they are proposing and once that is in place they will moved forward with their Capital Improvement Plan with the adjustment that needs to be made. Michelson asked if they have received any Federal funds. Rief explained that they do have funds from the stimulus grant for the building area project. The FAA is processing the discretionary grant for the runway extension project. The money is committed and now the paperwork has to be processed. In response to a comment made by Gentry, Rief explained that at the public meeting scheduled for May 28 they will be presenting renderings of what the airport currently looks like and how they envision it looking after the improvements are made. Gentry asked if the new lighting would have any impact on Hennepin Village. Rief responded that those south of the airport will not see anything different and if anything, it may be better. Residents in the southwest portion of Hennepin Village currently seeing lights will still see a light reflection. Larsen said that now that the VOR building will be outside of the airport premises, is there any concern about security. Rief answered that the building will be on MAC property but the FAA will own the facility. There will be a gate to the facility and they do not envision any security issues. XI. OTHER BUSINESS (various FYI items) FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES May 14, 2009 Page 9 1. Public Data Designation and Consent and Public Disclosure Statement 2. Approved FCAAC Minutes of January 8, 2009 3. City Council memos/minutes on Joint Airport Zoning Board The City Council appointed Council Members Duckstad and Aho to the Board. 4. FCAAC 2009 Draft Meeting Topics 5. Correspondence relating to Met Council Airport role Analysis 6. Memo to Council on MAC's Capital Improvements at FCM 7. FAA Releases on Bird Strike Database 8. New hangar at FCM 9. Thank you letters to Wings/Hummingbird and Thunderbird Aviation 10. Various airport/aviation related news articles 11. Next Commission meeting is scheduled for May 28,2009—Special Meeting XII. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Motion was made by Gentry, seconded by Larsen, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried, 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.