ARC 9-8-2021 Meeting MinutesCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
SEPTEMBER 8, 2021
The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission was held on
Wednesday, September 8, 2021, at Mendota Heights City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve.
1. Call to Order
Chair Norling called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm. The following commissioners were
present: Gina Norling, David Sloan, Jim Neuharth, Kevin Byrnes, Arvind Sharma, and Jeff
Hamiel. Absent (Excused): William Dunn
Staff present: Assistant City Administrator Cheryl Jacobson and Communications Coordinator
Sharon Deziel
2. Approval of Agenda
Motion by Hamiel/Second by Sharma to approve the agenda. Motion carried 6-0
3. Approval of Minutes
a. Approval of Minutes of the May 19, 2021 Regular Meeting
No comments or changes were presented. Motion by Neuharth/Second by Sharma to
approve the minutes of the May 19, 2021 meeting. Motion carried 6-0.
b. Approval of Minutes of the June 3, 2021 Work Session
Motion by Neuharth/Second by Sloan to approve the minutes of the June 3, 2021 work
session.
Commissioner Sloan presented a clarifying change to paragraph 5 of section 2. Strategic
Planning Session. Sloan requested that beginning with the sentence “he said”, that the
record read, “He said they had organized their own neighborhood ARC. In later years, the
city organized what is now the ARC”. Sloan also recommended that beginning with the
sentence “in his current Lemay neighborhood”, that the record read, “In his current
Augusta Shores neighborhood, the construction and insulation is better”.
Motion by Hamiel/Second by Sloan to approve the minutes of the June 3, 2021 work
session as amended. Motion carried 6-0.
c. Approval of Minutes of the July 13, 2021 Work Session
Motion by Sharma/Second by Hamiel to approve the minutes of the July 13, 2021 work
session.
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Commissioner Neuharth noted that his attendance should be listed as an excused
absence.
Motion by Sloan/Second by Neuharth to approve the minutes of the July 13, 2021 work
session as amended. Motion carried 6-0.
d. Approval of Minutes of the July 13, 2021 Joint Meeting with the City of Eagan ARC
Motion by Hamiel/Second by Sloan to approve the minutes of the July 13, 2021 joint
meeting with the City of Eagan ARC.
Commissioner Neuharth noted that his attendance should be listed as an excused
absence.
Motion by Neuharth/Second by Sharma to approve the minutes of the July 13, 2021 joint
meeting with the City of Eagan ARC as amended. Motion carried 6-0.
4. Public Comments
No public comments were received.
5. Unfinished and New Business
a. ARC Strategic Priorities
Chair Norling provided a status update of the strategic priorities and noted the version
provided in the packet was edited based on feedback and discussion from the July 13
work session. Norling opened the topic up to Commissioners for comments, corrections
and further discussion.
Commissioner Sloan provided a correction under strategy one, and the action item
creating and implementing an ARC Education Program. He noted that the item was to be
assigned to Commissioner Hamiel and Commissioner Dunn, and not himself.
Commissioner Neuharth asked about the intent and timing of the listed assignments. He
understood that the assignments were too be made as the document became a working
document. He requested additional time to review the document to gauge his availability
in participating in assignments.
Commissioners agreed to use the priorities chart as a working document and to plan
future meetings and what they would like to accomplish based on the priorities identified.
b. ARC Communications Plan
Chair Norling opened the conversation noting that a priority for the group was the
development of a communications plan, using existing city channels. The City’s
Communications Coordinator Sharon Deziel was introduced.
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Assistant City Administrator Jacobson reviewed the city’s communications tools and
highlighted the city’s website, Friday News, Heights Highlights and social media.
Jacobson noted that the City’s website includes pages for the Airport Relations
Commission and MSP Airport. She explained that the city’s website is limited in layout
capability and page design is based on a predetermined template. She discussed the
inclusion of funding to redesign the city’s website in the preliminary FY22 budget. Chair
Norling clarified that the funding requested in the preliminary FY22 budget was to
redesign the whole website. Jacobson affirmed that was correct.
The Commission discussed ARC communications. Jacobson asked about the objective of
the Commission’s efforts and for them to think about whether the Commission functions
as content sharers or content creators. She noted that currently the Commission and City
functions mostly as content sharers in regards to airport information.
Commissioner Hamiel provided a review of the ARC’s attendance at the recently held city
coffee connection. He reported that overall it was a small turnout, with 2-4 people
stopping by the ARC’s information table. Brad Juffer from MAC attended and provided an
airport map which was a helpful visual.
Commissioners highlighted the recent Runway 17 closure information provide the MAC
and expressed surprise at the lateness of the notice. Commissioners all agreed that it
would have been nice to have more notice from MAC of the closure. Commissioner
Hamiel noted that Rick King is a strong advocate of community notification.
The group discussed the availability of POLCO, the city’s online survey tool. Assistant
Administrator Jacobson noted that POLCO is an opt-in survey tool used by the city. She
highlighted the ability of the POLCO system to distinguish resident from non-resident
respondents.
Commissioner Hamiel suggested survey topics may include questions focusing generally
what people think about the ARC; do residents come here or leap over directly to the
Airport. It was stated that it appears there isn’t a lot of public interest about what the
ARC does. A carefully crafted survey may help the City and Commission understand the
needs of the community and provide direction and focus.
Commissioner Byrnes stated that being aware of the tools doesn’t mean that the group
has to use them.
Communications Coordinator Deziel suggested that a photo of the Commission would be
beneficial in humanizing the group and would contribute positively to engagement and
approachability. The Commission discussed arranging for a group photo to be taken at
the November meeting.
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Commissioners pointed out that MAC listening sessions have had some turnout in the
past. Commissioner Neuharth noted that one outcome of a previous listening session was
the issue of turbo props.
The Commission asked about publication dates of the Heights Highlights.
Communications Coordinator Deziel noted that the current issue to be published at the
end of September will cover the months of October, November and December. She
stated that the next available publication will be after the first of the year.
Assistant Administrator Jacobson suggested as a beginning point, inviting the MAC
Community Engagement office to a future meeting to explain the changes in the office
and availability of information that the ARC can use. Commissioners suggested that
discussing complaint data collected by MAC would be useful.
Chair Norling summarized the next steps in supporting a communications framework.
The Commission agreed to begin with an informational article on the ARC for the January
Heights Highlights. Commissioner Neuharth volunteered to help write the article. The
potential for a follow-up survey was mentioned as a possibility.
Chair Norling and the Commission agreed to table the redesign of the ARC and airport
information on the city’s website given the overall website redesign project anticipated
for 2022.
6. Acknowledge Receipt of Reports and Correspondence
a. Review of Airport Operational Statistics
i. Complaint Information
ii. Runway Use Information
Commissioner Neuharth noted that changes are still likely related to COVID-19.
He suggested consider recalculating data when operations get back closer to
normal such as 80-90%. The Commission will look again around January 1, 2022.
iii. Turboprop Information
iv. Noise Monitor Information
b. News Articles
7. Adjournment
Motion by Neuharth/Second by Hamiel. Motion carried 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:14
pm.