ARC 5-19-2021 MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES
MAY 19, 2021
The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission was held on
Wednesday, May 19, 2021 in the City Council Chambers of Mendota Heights City Hall.
1. Call to Order/Roll Call
Chair Gina Norling called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. The following commissioners
were present: Gina Norling, David Sloan, William Dunn, Kevin Byrnes, Arvind Sharma, Jim
Neuharth, and Jeff Hamiel.
Staff present: Assistant City Administrator Cheryl Jacobson, and City Administrator Mark
McNeill.
2. Approval of Agenda
There were no additions or corrections to the agenda. Motion by Dunn, second by Sloan to
accept the agenda as printed. Motion carried 7-0.
3. Approval of Minutes
Consideration was made of the Minutes of the March 17, 2021 meeting. No corrections or
changes were offered. Motion by Sharma, second by Dunn to approve as written. Motion
carried 7-0.
4. Public Comments
There were no members of the public who wished to comment.
5. Unfinished and New Business
a. ARC Strategic Goals Discussion
Chair Norling presented proposed strategic priorities for the ARC. She wants the ARC
priorities to coincide with the City Council’s strategic goals which had been adopted
earlier in the year. Her goals for the Commission were:
• Democracy of ideas
• Amplify Human Imagination
• Aggregate Collective Wisdom
• Give everyone a chance to opt in.
She said that the unwritten mission is to ensure that Mendota Heights has its fair share
of air noise. After discussion, it was decided by consensus that the more accurate
mission would be to “Ensure that Mendota Heights receives an equal, or no more than
its fair share of air noise.”
The MASAC was discussed, and why that concept had failed in the early to mid-1990’s.
Chair Norling also reviewed the ARC’s powers and duties as outlined in the City Code.
Chair Norling asked that the ARC has a larger discussion. Byrnes said that the presence
of former City Councilor Liz Petschel meant that the ARC probably didn’t need to
provide the City Council with regular updates, but that with Ms. Petschel’s retirement,
that should be given consideration.
Chair Norling reviewed the City’s Mission and Vision statements, and the five Strategic
two year priorities. She asked that the ARC think about what a future state scenario
might be. She proposed that ARC have a special meeting in June, where each
commissioner would come back with an idea to brainstorm a future scenario for ARC.
Sloan asked for clarification as to what could be done, and how much flexibility ARC can
have. In response, McNeill reviewed the City’s five priorities, and said that the closest
thing for the ARC to pursue would be the enhancement of City services. He said that
with the loss of former Councilor Petschel, there is an even greater need to educate and
interact with the community on airport noise issues. Jacobson spoke about the need to
let residents know that they can be heard when they have a complaint, rather than it
being lost to data when they report it to MSP. She suggested that maybe ARC members
could respond when complaints are brought to city hall, rather than a NOC staff
member.
Dunn said, as an example, C-130’s were a question, and that at one time they didn’t
qualify for being listed in the top 10 noise complaint generators, they are now. Hamiel
said that, in his experience, when people have someone to listen to a complaint and
then have a connection with someone who is able to respond to questions, he found
that people are generally satisfied.
It was stated that the ARC could be a sounding board for the community. Jacobson said
that MAC now has a community engagement office.
b. Establish ARC Work Session Meeting Date
It was decided that a special meeting could be held at 6 pm on Thursday, June 3. The
July meeting would be a joint meeting with the Eagan ARC.
6. Acknowledge Receipt of Reports and Correspondence
a. Review of Airport Operation Statistics
i. Complaint Information— It was noted that, since Sally Lorberbaum is no longer
on the Commission, she will not be doing complaints. Sloan said that there
should be a discussion about who is going to do what in terms of responsibilities
for preparation of the reports.
ii. Runway Use Information-- Neuharth said that the charts looked to be fine, and
that they are back within the control lines again.
iii. Turboprop Information—Neuharth said that he had just received the turboprop
information, and will go through it prior to the next meeting.
iv. Noise Monitor Information—Dunn commented that by comparison, Minneapolis
is noisier than Mendota Heights, but that it has five to seven times the number
of flights.
b. MAC Monthly Reports—March 2021
There were no comments
7. NOC Meeting
Jacobson reported that there had been a “light” agenda at the NOC meeting which had
been held earlier in that day. The Committee had receive an update on Converging
Runway Operations at MSP. Jacobson said that Rebecca McPherson of the FAA had said
that there is no FAA legal requirement to do community engagement and it is not the
norm for this instance. However, the FAA has committed to doing more outreach and it
will be virtual.
She said that the airlines gave updates, and each reported that things were slowly
returning to normal; Delta is no longer blocking middle seats. Brad Juffer had talked
about engagement, and said that the May listening session was small in numbers of
attendees.
8. MAC Monthly Reports
There were no comments.
9. Adjourn
Chair Norling asked for a motion to adjourn. Motion by Dunn, second by Sloan.
Motion carried 7-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:01 PM.
Minutes Taken By:
Mark McNeill,
City Administrator