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2007-02-14 Airport Relations Commission Minutes 2007-02-14 Airport Relations Commission Minutes CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES FEBRUARY 14, 2007 The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission was held on Wednesday, February 14, 2007, at 7:00 p.m., in the Large Conference Room at City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights, Minnesota. The following Commissioners were present: Liz Petschel, Chair; Bill Dunn, Robin Ehrlich, Dave Sloan, Ellsworth Stein, and Ansis Viksnins. Also present were: Jim Danielson, City Administrator; Jake Sedlacek, Assistant to the City Administrator; and Mary Heintz, Recorder. Not Present: Vern Edstrom and Brian Linnihan, Commissioners. New Member Introduction Chair Petschel opened the meeting and introduced new ARC member Ansis Viksnins. Commissioner Viksnins described his background and said he had great interest in ARC and looked forward to making a contribution to the group. Chair Petschel reported that he had already received new-member orientation. Approval of Minutes Chair Petschel requested two changes to the meeting minutes: 1) page one under Legislative Workshop Update, line four, to correct from “as alternative plan” to “an alternative plan,” and 2) page three, line six of first paragraph, to change from “MAC had been non-responsive” to “NOC had been non-responsive.” A motion was made by Commissioner Sloan, seconded by Commissioner Dunn, to approve the January 10, 2007, Airport Relations Commission Meeting minutes as amended. Unfinished and New Business A. Discussion of Chad Leqve’s NOC Letter to FAA Commission feedback to Chad Leqve’s January 25, 2007, letter to Carl Rydeen was positive, describing it as being excellent. Chair Petschel stated that the letter had been sent on behalf of Mendota Heights and, in summary, had asked why FAA wasn’t using Page 1 2007-02-14 Airport Relations Commission Minutes the new runway to the maximum capacity. Commission Meeting – February 14, 2007 Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission 2 Commissioner Sloan expressed his frustration with the ARC meeting that Mr. Rydeen had attended, which came across as bureaucratic. He said experience had now taught ARC to use NOC as a vehicle to work the system effectively. Chair Petschel said the Commission attempts to identify and solve problems on its own but the next step is NOC, adding that it would have been very easy for ARC to write a letter to Mr. Rydeen and have him just ignore it. She said, with Mr. Leqve’s letter, the process is going through NOC, an arm of MAC. Commissioner Viksnins inquired about a timeframe. Chair Petschel responded that Mr. Rydeen had asked her at a recent meeting what was really disturbing to ARC, other than the whole EIS, and she had responded that it was another month of taking 40% departures. She said the strategy now would be to wait for an FAA response to the letter and, if necessary, then involve the City in contacting local and national legislators. Commissioner Sloan said it would also make sense, if Mr. Rydeen did not respond in a reasonable amount of time, to forward a copy of the letter to his supervisor at the FAA Midwest Region office in Chicago. B. Discussion of 12R Reconstruction Chair Petschel reported that 12R-30L reconstruction would begin in August, followed by 12L reconstruction next summer, both of which will be quite noisy for Mendota Heights. The Assistant to the City Administrator referenced the reconstruction maps and reviewed the existing-versus-proposed pavement section comparison. He stated that the runway would be closed August 13 to October 17. It was Commission consensus to write a letter to Mr. Rydeen stating that the City would be making every attempt to inform constituents about the construction and the extra air noise that will occur over Mendota Heights this summer and that, as a group, the Commission was curious to know whether flights Page 2 2007-02-14 Airport Relations Commission Minutes would be fanned to the southwest as part of the departure procedures during construction. It was suggested that the letter begin positively, stating that the City would be communicating with residents and wants to know as soon as possible, as an information packet will be utilized to update residents about what will happen during shutdown. Chair Petschel reported that MAC will be sending postcards to City residents, one in early summer and another a few weeks before construction. The Assistant to the City Administrator added that the City will do some community open houses at City Hall and invite all interested residents to learn about construction and the implications. He also stated that reporters would be invited. It was suggested that additional notification be placed in the Heights Highlights, newspapers, and MAC link on the City Hall website, and that all Commissioners attend the open houses, also giving residents the opportunity to learn what ARC is doing on their behalf. The recommendation was made to complete the ARC brochure, to be used at the upcoming open houses. Commission Meeting – February 14, 2007 Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission 3 A. Discussion of New Legislation Chair Petschel reported that the State House File No. 359 bill was not heard today, contrary to expectation, but the City would be informed as to when the hearing would be. She said her group had the opportunity to attend the Metropolitan Airports Oversight Committee hearing report, and the Assistant to the City Administrator reported that the agenda concerned structure, finances, rate rebate, differing landing fees between MSP and reliever airports, and a message that things were working and not to mess with them. Discussion ensued about Hennepin County Judge Stephen Aldrich’s ruling that MSP Airport owners had failed to honor the full soundproofing of thousands of homes within the 60-64 DNL range contour and directed that the two groups needed to come together for a resolution. The Assistant to the City Administrator noted that one obvious omission in the Page 3 2007-02-14 Airport Relations Commission Minutes presentation had been the accountability of MAC. Chair Petschel said she could not recall another time in recent history when MAC had been so vulnerable, with an obvious appearance of incompetency, and noted there may be leadership issues are MAC that are wanting. She said it is clear that Mendota Heights is on MAC’s radar and subtle accomplishments are being made. Commissioner Dunn commented that MAC appeared to be uncaring and unaccountable and had not represented the people. Upon Commission request, the City Administrator responded that he would email the referenced presentation to the Commissioners, or make copies and mail to them. Chair Petschel commented on her gratefulness to have the Assistant to the City Administrator on board and expressed appreciation for his assistance at the hearing. D. NOC Meeting Update It was reported that FAA agreed to change their departure heading over Burnsville and Eagan to 215 degrees (closest headings to the river bottom) from their current use of 190 degrees effective February 7, to be monitored for 60 days, and continue on 215 should the test go well. Chair Petschel said Mendota Heights needs to be as successful. She then gave updates on the NOC meeting, where the bulk of the meeting concerned FEIS, but questions were raised: 1) if operations were down at the airport post 911, then why couldn’t more be done for noise relief, and 2) if 17/35 was built for more equal distribution, then why weren’t they being used to accomplish that. Chair Petschel reported that the Cities Subcommittee of NOC would meet after the next NOC meeting to determine when to meet and how to keep the group going with the discontinuation of the current leader’s involvement, as he is relocating and was the driving force. Commission Meeting – February 14, 2007 Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission 4 E. Updates for Introduction Book Done. F. Election of Chair and Vice Chair Chair Petschel said she felt she would be a better ARC member if she didn’t serve as Page 4 2007-02-14 Airport Relations Commission Minutes chair, though she would be willing to serve again in that capacity. Commissioner Ehrlich responded that she had done a fantastic job in that leadership role and would support her re-election, as did the other Commissioners. A motion was made by Commissioner Sloan, seconded by Commissioner Dunn, to re-elect Commissioner Petschel as Chair of ARC. It was approved. Commissioner Stein said he would support the election of Commission Linnihan as Vice Chair though, when asked, said he would be willing to serve again in that capacity. A motion was made by Commissioner Dunn, seconded by Commissioner Sloan, to re-elect Commissioner Stein as Vice Chair of ARC. It was approved. Acknowledge Receipt of Various Reports/Correspondence Chair Petschel referenced the December 2006 Technical Advisor’s Report. The differing percentages between Mendota Heights and Eagan for departures off the two runways were noted, as was the benefit Minneapolis had received. Discussion ensued about runway 35, which will never accommodate departures except for catastrophic or emergency reasons, and the MSP lawsuit making the front-page news in the Airport Noise Report. A. N.O.I.S.E. B. December 2006 ANOM Technical Advisor’s Report C. December 2006 ANOM Eagan/Mendota Heights Departure Corridor Analysis D. Airport Noise Report, January 12, 2006 E. Airport Noise Report, January 19, 2007 F. Airport Noise Report, January 26, 2007 Other Commissioner Comments or Concerns The City Administrator requested Commission ideas for the next month’s agenda. Feedback included completion of ARC brochure, begin airport plan of action (goals and objectives for the year, which the City Administrator will distribute to Commissioners for review), and (if there is a response letter) FAA response. The Assistant to the City Administrator reported that Chair Petschel and John Roszak had spent several hours with staff purging files at City Hall and expressed his appreciation. Commission Meeting – February 14, 2007 Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission 5 Page 5 2007-02-14 Airport Relations Commission Minutes Chair Petschel added that several interesting items had been found during the process, which included the original map for Wold-Chamberlain Airport, eligibility documents for Mendota Heights sound proofing, Metropolitan Area Sound Abatement Commission documents, and elevation maps. Upcoming Meetings • City Council Meeting – February 20, 2007 – 7:30 p.m. • NOC Meeting – March 21, 2007 – 1:30 p.m. • MAC Meeting – February 20, 2007 – 1:00 p.m. Adjourn Commissioner Ehrlich made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Stein, to adjourn the meeting at 8:13 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Mary Heintz TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. Page 6