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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, 2021. Due to the on-going pandemic, the meeting was held virtually. 1. Call to Order Chair Sloan called the meeting to order at 6:01 pm. 2. Roll Call The following commissioners were present: David Sloan, Gina Norling, William Dunn, Kevin Byrnes, Jim Neuharth, and Sally Lorberbaum Absent: Commissioner Arvind Sharma Staff present: Assistant City Administrator Cheryl Jacobson and City Administrator Mark McNeill. Guests Present: Michelle Ross and Brad Juffer of MAC 3. Approval of Minutes Consideration was made of the Minutes of the September 16, 2020 meeting. No corrections were offered. Motion by Lorberbaum, second by Dunn to approve as submitted. A roll call vote was taken: Sloan Aye Lorberbaum Aye Norling Aye Dunn Aye Byrnes Aye Neuharth Aye Motion carried 6-0 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 Juffer of MAC reviewed updated charts and figures to address the questions which the ARC had submitted in October. He noted that there was now a complete year of data for 2020. He had reported at the NOC meeting held earlier that day that 2020 was very unique because of COVID. There had been a nearly 40% drop in the number of operations, to a total of 242,937. He said that in a normal year, Runway 17 would have had the most operations; however in 2020, it had had the fewest. Runways 30L and 12R were used more during 2020. Arrivals at night were primarily cargo flights. In response to a question from Norling, Juffer replied that the reduction in the overall nighttime departures was even greater, seeing a decline of 51%. Juffer showed a slide with the long term trends for 12L and 12R. Prior to 2005, all departures were on the parallel runways. After 17 opened, the overall use on those two runways dropped by 100,000 annually. In 2017, Runway 17 became the highest use runway due to CRO. In 2020, Juffer reported that the FAA prioritized the use of the parallels. In response to a question from Neuharth, Juffer said that 17 will be used when flights return to 80% of pre- COVID numbers. Norling asked when that might be. Juffer replied that there were no answers yet, and that it was nearly impossible to forecast use numbers. He said that airlines have to plan and make flights available months in advance. He said that MAC was not anticipating full recovery until 2024; however, with the widespread use of COVID vaccines, it could be earlier than that. Juffer explained that construction activity on the parallels will take place later this year, which will impact use numbers. However, he didn’t have details at this time. He reviewed 12 L and 12 R use maps with those present. b. Approve 2020 Meeting Dates Jacobson proposed January 20th, March 17th, May 19th, July 13th, September 8th, and November 17th. She said that the meeting with Eagan would normally be in July, and might be virtual. Motion by Lorberbaum, second by Norling to approve the dates for 2021. A roll call vote was taken: Sloan Aye Lorberbaum Aye Norling Aye Dunn Aye Byrnes Aye Neuharth Aye Motion carried 6-0 c. Review of Airport Operational Statistics i. Complaint Information-- Lorberbaum noted that there were fewer complaints, which was likely a result of fewer flights. However, she said that in some other cities, that didn’t necessarily correspond—there were fewer flights, but more complaints. Juffer said that the NOC chart showed the number of complaints on average. Mendota Heights showed a small increase in the number of overall complaints (32 additional), but there were 23 fewer complaining households in 2020. ii. Runway Use—Neuharth said that the Upper Control Limits were affected by the greater use of the parallel runways, but otherwise, the runway use looked fine. iii. Turboprop Charts—No information was available to report. iv. Noise Monitor Charts-- No information was available to report 6. Acknowledge Receipt of Reports and Correspondence Jacobson asked Juffer to report on the FAA Neighborhood Survey. Juffer said that the FAA has found that a great number of people report being “highly annoyed” by 65 decibel noise levels—by comparison, in the 1970’s only 12.3 % of people would be highly annoyed by 65 decibels. Now, 65% are highly annoyed by the same volumes. More people surveyed responded that 65 decibels was a noise level which was incompatible with residential and school uses. Lorberbaum asked that as input had been requested from the public, could the information be included in the Friday News. NOC Meeting—Jacobson said that former Councilor Liz Petschel had been recognized for her many efforts to reduce airport noise over the years. 7. Commissioner Comments Lorberbaum asked if speakers had been lined up for 2021. Jacobson said that she would work off of the list from last year, and that she was also working on an appearance from MAC representative Mr. Ginsberg. Norling asked how a commissioner could get a request for new business on the ARC meeting agenda. Jacobson replied that she could send out an email two weeks prior to the meetings, asking for any new items of business. 8. Adjourn There being no further business, Chair Sloan asked for a motion to adjourn at 7:12 PM. Motion by Neuharth, second by Dunn. A roll call vote was taken: Sloan Aye Lorberbaum Aye Norling Aye Dunn Aye Byrnes Aye Neuharth Aye Motion carried 6-0 Minutes Taken By: Mark McNeill, City Administrator