2007-07-11 Airport Relations Commission Minutes
2007-07-11 Airport Relations Commission Minutes
CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES
July 11, 2007
The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission was held on
Wednesday, July 11, 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; Ellsworth Stein, Vice
Chair; Bill Dunn, Robin Ehrlich, Brian Linnihan, and Dave Sloan, Commissioners.
Also present were: Sandra Krebsbach, Councilmember; Jim Danielson, City
Administrator, and Mary Heintz, Recorder.
Not Present: Sally Lorberbaum, Commissioner, and Jake Sedlacek, Assistant to the
City
Administrator
Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Commissioner Dunn, seconded by Commissioner Sloan, to
approve the June 13, 2007, Airport Relations Commission Meeting minutes. The
minutes were approved as submitted.
Unfinished and New Business
Adopt Plan of Action
Commissioners
requested three revisions: 1) Revise Issue 4, item 2, to “Attend regular NOC
meetings and
identify issues of interests or concern,” 2) All of Issue 5 be transferred to page
four,
instead of being separated, and 3) Issue 11 be changed to “Work with NOC to
determine
if noise monitors are at the best locations and as technology needs to be updated.”
A motion was made by Commissioner Ehrlich, seconded by and Commissioner Linnihan,
to approve the Plan to Action as amended.
B. Discuss Meeting with Legislators
Chair Petschel said that, after the last Cities meeting, there was consensus to
draft a letter
and see if Representative Hanson would sign it and send to the Committee chair,
noting
that MAC will lobby legislatures in July.
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2007-07-11 Airport Relations Commission Minutes
She said Merland Otto liked the letter, which identified all the ways the City is
affected,
and suggested the group of cities (Mendota Heights, Eagan, Apple Valley, Richfield,
Burnsville) unite to help facilitate it in any way possible.
Commission Meeting – July 11, 2007 Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission
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Chair Petschel said one message that needs to be included is better legislative
oversight of
MAC, so there will be rewording of the letter and it will then be mailed to the
other cities
for approval, sent to the Committee chair, and hearing dates determined, likely to
be in
August or September. She said cities need to be united, with mayors and councils
being
on board, and the Legislature’s getting a handle on MAC will be important. Chair
Petschel commented on the significant positive change in stance from St. Paul’s MAC
representative in criticizing MAC. The City Administrator said the result may be
that
MAC will be reconfigured. Chair Petschel said a change may be in how appointments
are
made.
Chair Petschel stated that she would send a copy of the letter to Commissioners once
she
had received it.
C. Discuss MAC Letter to Eagan
Chair Petschel asked for any feedback regarding MAC’s response to Eagan’s letter of
complaint regarding Runway 17/35. She said the letter would be the topic at the
next
NOC meeting, as well as Mr. Levque’s presentation on low frequency noise and an
update on corridor excursions.
Councilmember Krebsbach said she would be at the meeting but asked Chair Petschel to
sit at that meeting’s table. She noted Diane Miller reported that the impetus for
the
complaint letter had come from Eagan’s ARC but that the main reason is that they
aren’t
used to the noise. Chair Petschel also noted that Eagan has never experienced
fanning
before.
Commissioner Ehrlich commented that MAC’s response couldn’t have been better.
D. Discuss August Meeting
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2007-07-11 Airport Relations Commission Minutes
The City Administrator’s report stated that MAC is holding a Community Open House in
the City Council Chambers to share information on their summer’s reconstruction
operations on August 6 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ARC had previously discussed
rescheduling their August meeting to coincide with that meeting, and the City
Administrator is seeking Council approval for the new date and time at their July 17
meeting.
Commissioner Linnihan said he wouldn’t be able to attend an August 6 meeting. The
City Administrator reported that the meeting would be taped, and Councilmember
Krebsbach expressed her desire that ARC have four taped meetings a year, that shows
a
different commission working on behalf of the City. Chair Petschel said four would
be
too many, that only a meeting with a set agenda and nothing provocative would be
suitable.
It was Commission consensus that a good meeting to have televised would be when
Mr. Rydeen and Mr. Levque are in attendance, to discuss corridor excursion and
procedures, trends at the tower, etc. Commissioner Ehrlich strongly suggested that
Commission Meeting – July 11, 2007 Mendota Heights Airport Relations
Commission
3
August ARC meeting be televised, and the City Administrator responded that he would
find out and inform the Commissioners. Chair Petschel suggested that the
Commissioners be mentally prepared to listen to the public and complaints at the
meeting, as it had been well publicized and may produce a good turnout.
It was the decision of the Commission to meet 6:00-6:20 p.m., before the Open House,
on
August 6 to approve minutes, receive a quick update on legislative issues, and the
main
agenda item. The City Administrator will provide ARC nametags, ARC brochures, and
Plan of Action brochures to hand out at the Open House.
Commissioners were invited to join Chair Petschel at 7:30 p.m. on July 17 for the
City
Council meeting.
E. Updates for Introduction Book
No information included in the packet.
Acknowledge Receipt of Various Reports/Correspondence
A. May 2007 ANOM Technical Advisor’s Report
B. May 2007 ANOM Eagan/Mendota Heights Departure Corridor Analysis
C. Airport Noise Report, June 22, 2007
D. Airport Noise Report, June 29, 2007
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2007-07-11 Airport Relations Commission Minutes
Chair Petschel commented that distributed technical reports are a month off but said
she
ran the June numbers and they were about the same as May’s, with daytime departures
and night-time operations being the most important. She said the new report now
being
submitted by Mr. Levque is more accurate than the previous version.
Commissioner Linnihan commented that he has seen departures overhead in unusual
areas, and Chair Petschel said she wondered if recent windy days weren’t affecting
how
planes were being sent off the runway, also noting that new controllers might be
using
different configurations.
Discussion ensued about Eagan’s increased complaints due to the more equitable use
of
Runway 17.
Chair Petschel noted that 12L and 12R were utilized more at night and she was seeing
a
discrepancy in trend between Mendota Heights and Eagan. The City Administrator was
asked to highlight significant numbers from the reports and have them in hand at the
upcoming NOC meeting, if needed. Commissioner Ehrlich said the increase was likely
due to regional jets being closer to gates, and Chair Petschel responded that it
wasn’t an
excuse for inequitable distribution.
Commissioner Linnihan observed that taxi times have been worse than in the recent
past.
Councilmember Krebsbach said facts are important and will speak for themselves and
Commission Meeting – July 11, 2007 Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission
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said a summary sheet would be helpful for backup. Chair Petschel stated care must
be
taken to be somewhat sensitive to Eagan.
Chair Petschel also brought to Commission attention the article on the $65 million
MAC
settlement proposed to end class action over insulation that was published in the
June 22,
2007, Airport Noise Report.
Reminders were noted about the proposed ARC meeting date change from August 8 to
August 6, which goes before the Council on July 17 for approval, and the ARC meeting
date change from September 12 to September 11.
Councilmember Krebsbach asked Chair Petschel to point out what significant items
should be watched for in the monthly reports. Chair Petschel responded that it is
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2007-07-11 Airport Relations Commission Minutes
the
corridor analysis, gates on flight headings, and that problems occur when planes go
outside the gate north of the 90-degree heading. She said excursions on the
corridor are a
combination of regional jets being more agile and there being new air traffic
controllers
and she noted that Mr. Rydeen will give his report at the NOC meeting as to what
he’s
going to do to resolve the issue. Chair Petschel said it is almost all human error
that is
fixable and ARC needs to lean on the issue – planes need to be in the corridor.
Other Commissioner Comments or Concerns
Chair Petschel suggested that City staff’s charting of month-to-month excursions be
discontinued, in light of Mr. Levque’s more detailed reports on the subject.
Following
discussion, it was Commission consensus that staff continue to chart monthly,
however,
in the form of an Excel spreadsheet showing 12-month rolling average trends.
Commissioner Dunn requested that the report be sent electronically, rather than
paper
version, to the Commission.
Upcoming Meetings
• City Council Meeting – July 17, 2007 – 7:30 p.m.
• NOC Meeting – July 18, 2007 – 1:30 p.m.
• MAC Meeting – July 16, 2007 – 1:00 p.m.
Adjourn
Commissioner Sloan made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Dunn, to adjourn the
meeting at 8:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Heintz
TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.
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