ARC 04 13 16 MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES
April 13, 2016
The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission was held on
Wednesday, April 13, 2016 at Mendota Heights City Hall.
Chair David Sloan called the meeting to order at 7:02 pm.
The following commissioners were present: David Sloan, William Dunn, Arvind Sharma, Kevin
Byrnes, and Jim Neuharth. Absent (excused) were Gina Nordling and Sally Lorberbaum.
Also present: NOC Alternate Representative Jill Smith, City Administrator Mark McNeill, and
Public Works Director John Mazzitello.
Approval of Minutes
Neuharth noted a couple of corrections needed for in 4.e, with a typo, and that the Runway in
question was 12L, not 12R Motion Dunne, second Neuharth, to adopt the minutes of the
February 10, 2016 ARC meeting, with changes as noted. Motion carried 5-0.
Motion Dunne, second Neuharth to adopt the minutes of the March 9th “Open House” meeting.
Motion carried 5-0.
Unfinished and New Business
4.a Review of March 9th Open House. Dunne said that a large part of the discussion at the
Open House meeting centered on the early morning flights of Bemidji Air. He said that a large
amount of their business was due to Amazon, and that the newest planes used by Bemidji Air
were built in 1978. Neuharth said that MAC should get information on the use of prop jets.
Mazzitello said that after the meeting MAC staff offered to follow-up on that topic. Sloan said
that it had been added to the NOC work plan. Sloan said that he had liked the Open House, and
that it provided good feedback.
4.b Airport Noise Overlay Zoning District. Mazzitello said that the intent of this discussion was
to try to establish a more static boundary for the Noise Attenuation Code. He said that he had
checked with other cities, and that while those cities have static outer boundaries in their airport
noise zones, there are some internal variations which change annually. The result is that projects
which are within the boundaries will have to review MSP Noise Contours to determine if noise
attenuation will be required. Those properties that are outside of the 60 dbl contour, but within
the static boundary would not be required to do attenuation, but they would be required to review
the contour locations and provide a statement as such before a Building Permit can be issued.
Other cities surveyed have found that most contractors install attenuation regardless of whether
the property is within an established noise contour or not. The Code would apply to all new
developments or a total renovation; minor remodeling would not trigger a need.
Motion Dunne, second Neuharth, to recommend implementation. Motion carried 5-0. The next
step would be the Planning Commission on April 26th, and, if approved there, it would go to the
City Council for consideration on May 3rd.
4.c Future Meetings. McNeill said that the new CEO of MAC, and another MAC staffer were
being invited to speak at the joint meeting with the Eagan ARC to be held July 13th. In response
to a suggestion of having the June meeting at the airplane viewing area at MSP, Dunne
recommended a visit there sometime instead of a meeting—the set-up is not good for a formal
meeting.
Other suggestions for future meetings included:
• Inviting the legislators who represent Mendota Heights
• Speaker on new air technology
• A tour of the location where Commissioner Nordling’s spouse is employed, and perhaps
a discussion on relevant software technology
• Update on security at the airport
• Presentation on the economic impact of the air national guard on the region.
• A tour of Delta’s facilities
• A working meeting with Dana Nelson on what it is that the ARC needs from MAC
• Meeting with MAC staff when information is available on the Bemidji Air situation
• Elaine Buckner or other FAA representative to talk about RNAV, or a tower controller to
speak about air traffic issues and the impacts on Mendota Heights.
4.d Review of Airport Operational Charts. Neuharth said that the charts looked good, but noted
that 12 L is still above normal. He will meet with Mazzitello to determine how to best calculate
upper control limits.
Acknowledge Receipt of Various Reports/Correspondence
Mazzitello said that Lorberbaum’s charts will be contained in the May agenda. Smith asked how
much public outreach is done by ARC to let the residents know who to contact with noise
complaints? It was agreed that better noise reporting information could be listed on the City’s
webpage, and the timing of the presentation of the ARC work plan to Council was discussed.
The possibility of televising of ARC monthly meetings was discussed, with a consensus to leave
the meeting location as is.
Sharma reported that the main topic of discussion at the March MAC meeting was security line
issues. The problem is due to fewer lines, staffed by fewer TSA agents. Sharma reported that
TSA was making what changes it could to resolve the lengthy waits in line, but overtime
compensation budgets would be exhausted this summer, during peak travel season. Remodeling
of ticket counters will also be underway soon, which may compound the problems. He said that
the MAC Commissioners were concerned that this issue would negatively impact their overall
customer satisfaction ratings.
Sloan reported on the March 13th NOC meeting. He said that Liz Petschel had been recognized
as the outgoing NOC co-chair, and that Tom Fitzhenry of Richfield was elected to fill the vacant
co-chair position. He said that NOC had reviewed complaints, the converging runways issue,
and new noise contours
Public Comments
There were no members of the public present.
Commissioner Comments
Sloan asked that staff confirm that Smith’s status is ad hoc. Smith said that she was happy to
have been appointed as NOC alternate.
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Airport Relations Commission will be May 11, 2016.
Adjourn
Neuharth made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Byrnes at 8:09 PM. Motion carried 5-0.
Minutes Taken By:
Mark McNeill,
City Administrator