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2000-12-13 Airport Relations Commission MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES DECEMBER 13, 2000 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission was held on Wednesday, December 13, 2000, in the Large Conference Room at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. The following Commissioners were present: Chair Scott Beaty and Commissioners Gregg Fitzer, Joe Leuman, and John Roszak. Commissioner Ellsworth Stein arrived late. Administrative Assistant Patrick C. Hollister took the minutes. Also in attendance were three residents of the Rogers Lake East neighborhood, Mr. Jerry Nelson, Mr. Mike Cosel, and Mr. Clark Wicklund. CALL TO ORDER Chair Beaty called the meeting to order. Chair Beaty announced that three members of a neighborhood group in the East Rogers Lake neighborhood were present at the meeting. Chair Beaty said that the neighborhood group is concerned both that the air noise situation is getting worse in the Rogers Lake neighborhood and that the entire neighborhood should be eligible for sound insulation. Chair Beaty said that he sympathized with their situation. MINUTES Commissioner Roszak moved approval of the November 8, 2000 minutes. Commissioner Fitzer seconded the motion. AYES: 4 NAYS: 0 AIRPORT NOISE VIDEO WORKSHOP FOLLOW -UP Chair Beaty said that since there were guests at tonight's meeting, their issues would be discussed first, although he wished to provide them with a brief explanation of the Airport Noise Video project. Chair Beaty said that the goal of the video was to provide some history and some facts about the air noise situation. Chair Beaty said that the goal of the video was to educate our constituents and neighboring communities about air noise in Mendota Heights. Chair Beaty said that the Commission would try to get the video played on NDCTV as often as possible, and that the Commission may even wish to send the video to other public access stations in the Twin Cities area. Mr. Cosel asked what the video would show. Chair Beaty said that the purpose of the video was not to scare people away from Mendota Heights, but to inform citizens about the problem and to encourage certain improvements to the situation, such as the conversion from hushkitted Stage 3 to manufactured Stage 3 and Stage 4 aircraft. Chair Beaty said that the video would also push for equitable distribution of air noise. Chair Beaty said that the Commission's original preference was for the airport to move, but that the legislature decided against that. Chair Beaty said that Mendota Heights needed to make sure that the use of the airport was fair, and that the City had tried a lot of measures to that end. Chair Beaty said that the City wanted to be impacted by the noise as little as possible. Chair Beaty said that the extreme position would be to demand that no planes fly over Mendota Heights at all, but that in order to maintain credibility, the key concept was "equitable distribution of air noise." Mr. Cosel said that he was aware of the 1973 tower order that protects much of Eagan from air noise and forces more planes to fly over Mendota Heights. Mr. Cosel said that the City needed to fight this tower order, including a court challenge if necessary. Commissioner Roszak said that a legal challenge to the 1973 tower order would involve suing both the FAA and the MAC, and that this would be very expensive. Mr. Cosel said that he had discussed the history of the air noise situation with some of the long-standing residents in the Rogers Lake neighborhood, specifically Mr. Samuelson and Mr. Koonan. Mr. Cosel said that Mr. Samuelson is a retired employee of Northwest Airlines and that a long time ago the airport purchased his house in Eagan on Pilot Knob Road. Mr. Cosel said that Mr. Samuelson then bought the house back from the airport for one dollar and physically moved the house to a vacant lot in the Rogers Lake neighborhood. Mr. Cosel said that Mr. Samuelson was fully aware of the airport noise situation and that he would not have moved to Rogers Lake if it had a lot of airport noise. Mr. Cosel said that he had bought his house in 1987 and that the airport noise was not as bad then as it is now. Mr. Cosel said that he had talked to Bob Doffing about this issue, and that Mr. Doffing had told him that the airplanes could now turn fifteen degrees when the wheels leave the ground. Mr. Cosel said that he and many neighbors in Rogers Lake had attended the recent public hearings on the Part 150 revision. Mr. Cosel said that he was disappointed that members of the Airport Relations Commission were not there. Mr. Cosel said that the noise contours were determined by the sound monitors #13 and #15, and that the Rogers Lake neighborhood wanted a sound meter in their immediate area. Mr. Cosel said that the air noise situation has definitely gotten worse because someone like Mr. Samuelson would not have moved to Rogers Lake if it was a high noise area in 1975. Chair Beatty said that the Airports Relations Commission was concerned about the number of flights over Mendota Heights. Mr. Cosel said that his neighborhood's first priority was to get the airplanes to fly somewhere else, and that the second priority was to get insulation for all the homes in the neighborhood. Mr. Cosel said that the flight track maps for the new runway show the planes diverging after 2.5 miles off of the runway. Mr. Cosel said that the planes should fly straight at least five or six miles before diverging. Mr. Cosel added that the planes should take off of the two parallel runways at 15 degrees. Chair Beaty discussed the Eagan tower order. Mr. Wicklund said that economics must take priority over community concerns. Mr. Cosel said that the ANOMS system does not provide accurate information and that airport officials should visit his house to hear the noise. Chair Beaty said that the 65 DNL is a weighted average and that it does not mean that the noise is never higher than 65 decibels. Chair Beaty said that the City has achieved some minor improvements in the air noise situation, such as the implementation of crossover operations during non-peak hours. Chair Beaty asked Mr. Cosel what the Airports Relations Commission could do for the neighborhood. Mr. Cosell said that he would like to have an ANOMS meter in the Rogers Lake neighborhood on Bluebill Drive. Chair Beaty said that it might be possible to obtain one through MASAC. Chair Beaty said that the City could make a formal request to MASAC for an ANOMS meter for the Rogers Lake neighborhood. Mr. Cosel said that his neighborhood group had also spoken with Planning Commission Chair Ultan Duggan about the possibility of having Saint Thomas students perform a study of air noise in Mendota Heights. [Commissioner Stein arrived at this point.] Chair Beaty said that the Commission could provide copies of its meeting minutes every month to the neighborhood group in order to keep them apprised of what's going on. AIRPORT NOISE VIDEO Chair Beaty asked the Commissioners how they felt the Airport Noise Video went on December 2, 2000. Commissioner Fitzer said that it was a good workshop. Commissioner Leuman apologized for not being able to attend, but said that Dave Sebastian had provided a similar facilitation service at a meeting that he was at and that Mr. Sebastian did a good job. The Commission reviewed the results from the workshop and made the following script- writing assignments for various parts of the video: Commissioner Roszak: History Commissioners Leuman and Fitzer: Fleet Composition Commissioner Petschel: Flight Tracks Chair Beaty: Advocacy Mr. Hollister: Part 150 into the Future, Runway Use System, Corridor Commissioner May: Call to Action, Credits Commissioner Ellsworth: Organizations Chair Beaty asked each Commissioner to bring a draft to the next meeting. Chair Beaty also asked Mr. Hollister to contact Brown Institute to inquire if they could provide a student to do the voice-over for the video. OTHER ITEMS Chair Beaty asked Mr. Hollister to place the contract with the MAC on the next agenda. ADJOURN Motion made to adjourn by Roszak and seconded by Leurnan. AYES: 5 NAYS: 0 The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.