ARC 1-20-2021 MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES
JANUARY 20, 2021
The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission was held on
Wednesday, January 20, 20231. Because of the on-going pandemic, the meeting was held on-
line.
1. Call to Order
Chair Sloan called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm.
2. Roll Call
The following commissioners were present via roll call: David Sloan, Gina Norling, William
Dunn, and Kevin Byrnes.
Absent: Commissioner Arvind Sharma
Staff present: Assistant City Administrator Cheryl Jacobson, and City Administrator Mark
McNeill.
Guests Present: Brad Juffers, MAC, and Michelle Ross of MAC
3. Approval of Minutes
Consideration was made of the Minutes of the September 16, 2020 meeting. No corrections
were offered. Motion Lorberbaum, second by Norling to approve as submitted. A roll call vote
was taken. The results were:
Sloan Aye
Lorberbaum Aye
Dunn Aye
Neuhardt Aye
Norling Aye
Byrnes Aye
4. Public Comments—There were no members of the public who wished to comment.
5. Unfinished and New Business
a. MSP Operations—Departures from Runway 12L—Brad Juffers appeared, and
reviewed updated charts and figures to address the questions which had been raised
by the ARC in October. He noted that there is now a full year of 2020 statistics to be
considered. He said that 2020 had been unique—the number of operations was
reduced by 40%, compared to the previous year. Normally, Runway 17 has the most
operations, but in 2020, it had the least, due to a reduction in the number of
departures. He said that the number of nighttime departures was three times the
number of daytime arrivals, and that much of that traffic was due to cargo flights. In
answer to a question from Norling, Juffer said that the overall drop in night time
departures was even greater than 40%--it is down 515% between 10 PM and 7 AM.
He showed information reflecting long-term use trends for 12 L and 12R. Prior to
the opening of 17/35 in 2005, all traffic used the parallel runways. Since 2005, the
overall use of the parallels was 100,000 operations less annually.
He said that the parallel runways will be undergoing construction later this year,
which will impact runway use, although he didn’t have any details yet.
He said that in 2020 there was a comparatively big increase in the use of 12R, and
slightly less use of 12L. Until 2020, the parallel runways were most used. Because
of CRO, in 2016, Runway 17 became the most used. Also in 2020, the FAA
prioritized the use of the parallel runways. As a result 17 was used less, and 12 L
was used more.
Neuhardt asked if the patterns were expected to remain the same. Juffer replied
that the use of Runway 17 will start again when the number of flights returns to 80%
of pre-COVID levels. He said that it is nearly impossible to forecast use levels—
airlines have to plan and make flights available months in advance, so that supply
exists far before demand exists. He said that MAC was not anticipating full recovery
until 2024.
Norling said that she would have additional questions to follow-up, but expressed
her appreciation to Juffers for his presentation.
Chair Slaon said that he had watched the NOC meeting which had been held earlier
that day. He agreed thsat the 980% pre-COVID use levels won’t be attained this
year. Juffers felt that the vaccine will result in a quick turnaround in use figures.
b. 2021 Meeting Dates—Jacobson reviewed the proposed 2021 meeting dates. Those
are: January 20, March 17, May 19, July 13, September 8, and November 17. It was
noted that the July meeting might be joint with Eagan, but it is unclear as to whether
that would be virtual at this time. Motion Lorberbaum, Second Norling to accept. A
roll call vote was taken. The results were:
Sloan Aye
Lorberbaum Aye
Dunn Aye
Neuhardt Aye
Norling Aye
Byrnes Aye
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b. Update on Eagan Flight Procedure Change—Jacobson reviewed the day’s prior
discussion at the NOC, regarding Eagan’s request for changes, and the FAA’s
response. She said that the FAA rep had reported that they cannot test for impacts
until traffic returns to at least 80% of pre-COVID volumes. The FAA rep had said that
if the results of the change were “de minimus”, the FAA would not approve the
change. However, the rep didn’t identify what that would be.
c. Flight Procedures Change Request Guidelines—Jacobson reviewed a form which
has been drafted for use by MAC, for people who are asking for flight procedure
change requests. She felt that it is a starting point and that it would provide some
transparency. Minneapolis didn’t like it, and felt that it was a barrier and unfriendly.
Brad Juffers revised the language for the MAC staff to use i.e., NOC “criteria” were
now “considerations”. The NOC had voted 11-1 to adopt its use, with Minneapolis
voting in the negative.
d. Review of Airport Operational Statistics
i. Complaint Information-- Lorberbaum noted that the number of complaints
were down, but so were the volumes of flights.
ii. Runway Use—In the absence of Jim Neuharth, Byrnes reviewed. There were
no comments.
iii. Turboprop Charts—Turbo prop complaints were down. Dunn noted that
because of the reduction in overall flights, the turbo props didn’t need to turn
as quickly to get out of the way of commercial jet traffic.
iv. Noise Monitor Charts. Dunn said that there were no noise events in Mendota
Heights, but that a single C-130 might have triggered reports from three
monitoring stations.
e. MAC Meeting. Sharma reviewed a presentation which had been discussed at the
most recent MAC meeting; it was a Board Air Service Update dated August 17, 2020.
The study had looked at the impacts of COVID on air operations, and that in March,
use of MSP was down 95%. Air traffic has since grown, but now has plateaued at
about 25% of normal. That is about what is being seen on-average nationally. The
study showed that previously slowdowns led to an increase in the number of low
cost carriers, and that it is expected that business travel will continue to be hurt.
Almost all international travel is now shut down. In summary, he said that the study
predicted that recovery will be slow and uneven, and that it will take years to fully
recover.
6. Adjourn
There being no further business, Chair Sloan adjourned the meeting at 7:03 PM
Minutes Taken By:
Mark McNeill
City Administrator
City of Mendota Heights