09.17.2025 ARC Meeting PacketCITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
September 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Mendota Heights City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve, Mendota Heights
1.Call to Order
2.Consent Agenda
a.Approve meeting minutes from the July 16, 2025 Meeting
b.Acknowledge Airport Operational Statistics Reports
1. Complaint Information
2. Runway Use Information
3.Public Comments
4.Business
a.ARC Update to the City Council
5.Information and Correspondence
6.Announcements and Commissioner Comments
7.Adjourn
Alternate formats or auxiliary aids are available to individuals with disabilities upon request.
Please contact city hall at 651-452-1850 or cityhall@mendotaheightsmn.gov.
Page 1 of 19
CITY OF MENDOTA HEIGHTS
DAKOTA COUNTY, MINNESOTA
AIRPORT RELATIONS COMMISSION MINUTES
July 16, 2025
The regular meeting of the Mendota Heights Airport Relations Commission was held on
Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at Mendota Heights City Hall, 1101 Victoria Curve.
1.CALL TO ORDER
Chair Norling called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm.
Commissioners present: Norling, Sharma, Bobbitt, Sloan, Dunn, Neuharth, Hamiel
Staff present: City Administrator Jacobson and Administrative Coordinator Desmond
Public present: Rose Agnew
2.CONSENT AGENDA
a.Approve Minutes from the May 21, 2025 Meeting
b.Acknowledge Airport Operational Statistics Reports
1.Complaint Information
2.Runway Use Information
Chair Norling approved the consent agenda.
3.PUBLIC COMMENTS
No public comments
4.BUSINESS
a.ARC Update to the City Council
Chair Norling initiated a discussion on preparing an update to the City Council and shared a
draft presentation, noting that the last update was given in 2015.
Commissioner Dunn reported that he had spoken with Liz Petschel regarding the history of the
ARC. He noted that she is willing to assist with documenting this history. Chair Norling asked
Commissioner Dunn to request her help in drafting a brief written chronicle of the
commission’s origins. Commissioners Sloan and Dunn recalled that the commission began
when new runways were added.
City Administrator Jacobson invited Commissioner Hamiel to provide background on MASAC
and its historical role in addressing airport noise. Commissioner Hamiel explained that
MASAC was before the NOC and functioned similarly to the current NOC, measuring noise
levels and helping, at that time, determine whether the airport would remain in its current
location.
Page 2 of 19
2.a.
Chair Norling reviewed the commission’s purpose as defined in the city code and asked for
feedback.
Commissioner Bobbitt commented that in the bullet point “Actively involved in addressing
airport noise issues” the words “involved” and “addressing” may be changed to something
more specific and stronger. He also suggested moving the bullet points around and adding
one about communication to the City Council.
Commissioner Neuharth proposed including examples of monthly monitoring charts and
comparisons of past and current noise contour maps in the presentation. Commissioner
Sloan suggested highlighting the noise monitors that are in Mendota Heights.
Chair Norling acknowledged these suggestions and asked City Administrator Jacobson to
circulate the draft presentation to commissioners for review and comment. Commissioner
Sloan further asked whether RNAV should be addressed in the slides.
Commissioner Neuharth recommended adding future educational opportunities for
commissioners and council members, such as tower and airport visits.
Vice Chair Sharma inquired about the timeline for the presentation. Chair Norling responded
that the goal is to present to the City Council in October.
5.INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE
a.FAA Staffing Articles
6.ANNOUNCEMENTS AND COMMISSIONER COMMENTS
City Administrator Jacobson announced that phase II of runway construction will run from
August 18 to September 26.
Commissioner Dunn commented that the first phase of construction didn’t have much of an
impact in the spring. Chair Norling said that the decibels were up a lot in the spring during the
construction.
Commissioner Neuharth asked if there would be something going out to the residents about
the construction and runway shutdown. City Administrator Jacobson said that the city will
provide information in city communications, including social media and Friday News. She
added that the communications and notifications would primarily come from the MAC.
City Administrator Jacobson announced that the FAA’s RNAV implementation was delayed
until March of 2026.
7.ADJOURN
Motion by Neuharth and second by Sloan to adjourn the meeting.
Motion carried 7-0.
Chair Norling adjourned the meeting at 7:01pm.
Page 3 of 19
Complaints by Location—By Month
(2024, 2025)
Location = Complainants
2024 Mpls Eagan Edina MH Blmgtn
January 68 34 9 4 5
February 66 43 9 7 6
March 66 39 11 9 4
April 75 30 10 9 7
May 96 44 9 12 9
June 131 76 11 19 19
July 82 83 9 16 13
August 92 70 16 30 17
September 141 77 7 18 21
October 89 44 16 10 9
November 65 34 9 8 8
December 52 34 8 5 6
2025 Mpls Eagan Edina MH Blmgtn
January 47 22 8 5 3
February 37 17 4 1 2
March 79 35 10 6 8
April 126 42 7 17 14
May 146 47 8 18 9
June 94 43 11 11 8
July 91 42 10 16 10
August 104 68 8 37 14
September
October
November
December
Percent of All Departures by Location –By Month
(2024,2025)
2024 Mpls
30R
Eagan
12R
Edina
30L
MH
12L
Blmgtn
17
January 23% 4% 32% 9% 32%
February 20% 7% 26% 11% 36%
March 20% 8% 33% 11% 29%
April 21% 9% 29% 13% 28%
May 19% 9% 17% 18% 35%
June 1% 25% 32% 1% 40%
July 0% 40% 17% 0% 43%
August 0% 44% 18% 0% 37%
September 6% 15% 13% 4% 62%
October 19% 4% 21% 13% 42%
November 22% 4% 29% 12% 33%
December 20% 5% 26% 12% 38%
2025 Mpls 30R Eagan 12R Edina 30L MH 12L Blmgtn 17
January 32% 1% 43% 3% 21%
February 23% 2% 26% 7% 39%
March 21% 6% 27% 10% 35%
April 13% 2% 10% 14% 37%
May 7% 2% 5% 27% 39%
June 18% 10% 15% 19% 38%
July 16% 9% 15% 20% 41%
August 8% 5% 5% 31% 40%
September
October
November
December
Page 4 of 19
2.b.1.
75
30
10 9 7
126
42
7
17 14
21%
9%
29%
13%
28%
13%
2%
10%
14%
37%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Mpls Eagan Edina MH Blmgtn
April Complaints by Location and Departures by Location
Complaints 2024 Complaints 2025 %Departures 2024 %Departures 2025
April Complaints April Night Departures
2023 2024 2025 2023 2024 2025
Minneapolis (30R) 2,317 2,442 3,812 80 51 119
Eagan (12R) 1,557 1,956 2,261 129 129 78
Edina (30L) 320 175 93 175 135 84
Mendota Heights (12L) 97 168 236 41 34 58
Bloomington (17) 61 37 104 33 52 93
Total 4,352 4,778 6,506 458 401 432
Page 5 of 19
96
44
9 12 9
146
47
8
18
9
19%
9%
17%
18%
35%
7%
2%
5%
27%
39%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Mpls Eagan Edina MH Blmgtn
May Complaints by Location and Departures by Location
Complaints 2024 Complaints 2025 %Departures 2024 %Departures 2025
May Complaints May Night Departures
2023 2024 2025 2023 2024 2025
Minneapolis (30R) 1,970 3,770 3,139 30 50 113
Eagan (12R) 3,413 2,625 2,756 257 138 42
Edina (30L) 105 279 50 83 161 33
Mendota Heights (12L) 316 466 704 157 70 193
Bloomington (17) 102 103 110 30 69 173
Total 5,906 7,243 6,759 557 494 554
Page 6 of 19
131
76
11
19 19
94
43
11 11 8
1%
25%
32%
1%
40%
18%
10%
15%
19%
38%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Mpls Eagan Edina MH Blmgtn
June Complaints by Location and Departures by Location
Complaints 2024 Complaints 2025 %Departures 2024 %Departures 2025
June Complaints June Night Departures
2023 2024 2025 2023 2024 2025
Minneapolis (30R) 2,319 3,331 3,559 84 2 141
Eagan (12R) 2,584 3,164 2,197 288 264 138
Edina (30L) 108 216 114 130 257 150
Mendota Heights (12L) 542 309 144 183 4 140
Bloomington (17) 82 141 88 24 327 98
Total 5,635 7,161 6,102 709 854 667
Page 7 of 19
82 83
9
16 13
91
42
10 16 10
0%
40%
17%
0%
43%
16%
9%
15%
20%
41%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Mpls Eagan Edina MH Blmgtn
July Complaints by Location and Departures by Location
Complaints 2024 Complaints 2025 %Departures 2024 %Departures 2025
July Complaints July Night Departures
2023 2024 2025 2023 2024 2025
Minneapolis (30R) 3,317 1,984 3,410 206 0 122
Eagan (12R) 1,837 5,457 2,152 120 409 215
Edina (30L) 521 100 104 319 128 176
Mendota Heights (12L) 270 272 87 129 0 199
Bloomington (17) 133 130 59 121 323 128
Total 6,078 7,943 5,812 895 860 840
Page 8 of 19
92
70
16
30
17
104
68
8
37
14
0%
44%
18%
0%
37%
8%
5%5%
31%
40%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Mpls Eagan Edina MH Blmgtn
August Complaints by Location and Departures by Location
Complaints 2024 Complaints 2025 %Departures 2024 %Departures 2025
August Complaints August Night Departures
2023 2024 2025 2023 2024 2025
Minneapolis (30R) 3,433 1,787 3,503 138 0 65
Eagan (12R) 3,670 4,584 3,608 275 360 102
Edina (30L) 360 183 40 252 174 20
Mendota Heights (12L) 312 375 5,676 160 0 183
Bloomington (17) 101 179 131 20 212 117
Total 7,876 7,108 12,958 845 746 487
Page 9 of 19
Data used for UCL calculation Chart Notes: Above normal incidences of downward southerly flow winds during
January 2009 through December 2013 the 2nd and 3rd quarters of 2023.
Mean: 12.4 Runways 12L/30R and 4/22 closed from 6/3/24 to 9/21/24 for construction
St Dev: 3.06 Runways 12R/30L closed from 4/14/25 to 5/23/25 for construction
UCL: 18.4 Runways 12R/30L closed from 8/18/25 to 9/26/25 for construction
31.3%
12.0%
18.40%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%Percent OperationsMonth
12L Total Operations
Operations Mean UCL
Mean: Rolling 24/mo
Page 10 of 19
2.b.2.
Data used for UCL calculation Chart Notes:
January 2009 through December 2013 Runways 12L/30R and 4/22 closed from 6/3/24 to 9/21/24 for construction
Mean: 19.5 Runways 12R/30L closed from 4/14/25 to 5/23/25 for construction
St Dev: 7 Runways 12R/30L closed from 8/18/25 to 9/26/25 for construction
UCL: 33.5
16.1%
13.7%
Mean: Rolling 24/mo
35.1%
16.7%
12.4%
33.50%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%Percentage OperationsMonth
12L Night Operations
Operations Mean UCL
Page 11 of 19
Data used for UCL calculation Chart Notes:
January 2009 through December 2013 Runways 12L/30R and 4/22 closed from 6/3/24 to 9/21/24 for construction
Mean: 7.7 Runways 12R/30L closed from 4/14/25 to 5/23/25 for construction
St Dev: 2.96 Runways 12R/30L closed from 8/18/25 to 9/26/25 for construction
UCL: 13.4
4.7%
9.9%
13.40%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%Percent OperationsMonth
12R Total Operations
Operations Mean UCL
Mean: Rolling 24/mo
Page 12 of 19
Data used for UCL calculation Chart Notes:
January 2009 through December 2013 Runways 12L/30R and 4/22 closed from 6/3/24 to 9/21/24 for construction
Mean: 28.9 Runways 12R/30L closed from 4/14/25 to 5/23/25 for construction
St Dev: 8.82 Runways 12R/30L closed from 8/18/25 to 9/26/25 for construction
UCL: 46.5
19.6%
24.3%
46.50%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%Percent OperationsMonth
12R Night Operations
Operations Mean UCL
Mean: Rolling 24/mo
Page 13 of 19
Data used for UCL calculation Chart Notes:
January 2009 through December 2013 Runways 12L/30R and 4/22 closed from 6/3/24 to 9/21/24 for construction
Mean: 2.2 Runways 12R/30L closed from 4/14/25 to 5/23/25 for construction
St Dev: 0.98 Runways 12R/30L closed from 8/18/25 to 9/26/25 for construction
UCL: 4.2
1/2025: Increase due to wind conditions and low departure volume
1.6%1.7%
4.20%
0%
1%
1%
2%
2%
3%
3%
4%
4%
5%
5%Percent OperationsMonth
Departures North of Corridor
Operations Mean UCL
Mean: Rolling 24/mo
Page 14 of 19
4.a
Airport Relations Commission
MEETING DATE: September 17, 2025
TO: Airport Relations Commission
FROM: Cheryl Jacobson, City Administrator
SUBJECT: ARC Update to the City Council
BACKGROUND:
The mayor and city council requested that the ARC provide an update to the city council. The
presentation should include the following talking points:
•A brief history of the ARC
•Purpose of the ARC
•Current activities
•Future of the ARC
At the July ARC meeting, the commission worked on a draft presentation. Commissioner
Dunn worked with Liz Petschel, who provided an overview of the history of MSP noise
abatement (Attachment 1). Additional commissioner comments included suggestions to
provide an estimated contour showing the projected RNAV paths.
The commission anticipates presenting to the city council in October.
ATTACHMENTS:
1.Overview of Noise Abatement at MSP
Page 15 of 19
OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF MSP NOISE ABATEMENT
Organizations like the ARC, MASAC, and the NOC came into being as air travel moved from
propeller driven aircraft at a charming Wold- Chamberlain airport to a busy MSP International
Airport with a fleet of extremely noisy jet aircraft. What was once an airport centered in a huge
space of empty property became a postage stamp amid encroaching metropolitan growth. For
cities surrounding the airport, the aircraft noise went from annoying to onerous, and these
organizations became attempts at self-defense.
MASAC(Metropolitan Area Sound Abatement Commission) was an attempt to put the cities, the
airport, and the airlines at the same table in an attempt to bring about forms of noise
abatement. Between outraged residents, frustrated city representatives, a deaf major
carrier(NWA), and an unsympathetic MAC, the meetings were contentious, went well past
midnight, and resulted in the airport and its major carrier exiting the organization causing its
collapse. This may be an oversimplification of the facts, but it paints a fair picture of an
organization that would never succeed.
It is during this time that the Mendota Heights ARC came into existence. They were meant to
assist city representatives in bringing abatement recommendations to MASAC. It was also
during this time that a catastrophic event occurred that would affect Mendota Heights forever.
The city had been incredibly responsible in terms of how it was developed. There was an
established flight corridor over the city, and city planners put the entire business park in that
corridor. They were very careful to not put residential property in the most noise impacted part
of that corridor. With no warning to the city, MSP and the MAC created the 90 degree heading
off runway 12L which put planes over a heavily residential part of the city that had previously
not been in the corridor. By the time the city became aware of this change in operations, the
MAC said it was now standard operation procedure and couldn’t be changed. A similar
enlargement of the corridor did NOT occur over Eagan which was the genesis of a hostile
relationship with Eagan over noise distribution. With MASAC disbanded, the city was left on its
own to generate whatever abatement could be achieved and to be forever vigilant that MAC
wouldn’t do something catastrophic to it again.
Page 16 of 19
4.a.1.
The ARC kept track of every operation over the city. It continues to track every operation over
the city. Aberrations were questioned. Explanations from the FAA were demanded. It’s
important to note that Chad Lecqve came on the MAC staff during this period of time. He was
the MAC’s point person in terms of working with the cities to address their noise concerns. He
was sympathetic, professional, and productive. An example of this would be the wheels up turn
that CRJ’s were making when departing off 12L. The ARC tracked this change, documented it,
and with Chad’s help went to the MAC and got an actual change in operations. This was
unheard of at the time. Regional jets were smaller and more agile. They were quickly airborne
and turning before they got to the end of the Mendota Bridge. They were clearly out of the
corridor, and no one was holding them accountable. This was putting jet aircraft over every
home along the Minnesota River. Had there not been an ARC, who would have caught this?
Who would have cared?
An ongoing concern of the cities surrounding the airport was MAC representation. The
commissioners were appointed by the governor and generally had no background in aviation
and no relationship with the cities they represented. The ARC, along with other cities and their
representatives, began lobbying our legislators to change this. Representative Rick Hansen was
very present and supportive in this effort. We finally got a resolution approved by MAC to have
more “say” in who is appointed to represent us. It was important to have more sympathetic
ears as we sought approval of various forms of noise abatement.
Just prior to 9/11, the cities felt the airport was at a huge turning point. The projected number
of future operations at MSP was absolutely staggering. This was occurring with a fleet of
aircraft that still included older, noisier planes. The future looked really bleak in terms of
managing the noise that would come with this type of growth. It was during this period of time
that MAC decided to build the Mall of America runway. What Mendota Heights residents were
not aware of was that there was an actual physical plan for a third parallel runway over
Mendota Heights and Minneapolis. A copy of the rendering was at City Hall. The ARC and the
City of Minneapolis were gravely concerned that this might become a reality. The plan would
require land banking in the area of Fort Snelling in order for it to become a reality. When the
MAC came to each city to formally sign off on the MOA Runway, Mendota Heights and the city
of Minneapolis made their support predicated on no land banking by MAC for 50 years. The
same concession was made when MAC went to the MET council to have its long-term plan
approved. No land banking for 50 years. Keep in mind, this was the ARC operating alone on
behalf of the city.
Page 17 of 19
During this time, the cities of Mendota Heights and Eagan worked with the FAA to develop
what is called the “crossing in the corridor” operation off the south parallel runways. This
means that at off peak hours with a single controller, jets could be directed to “cross” to a point
that avoided residential areas. This created some nice breaks from noise particularly during
night-time hours. No MASAC, no NOC, just two cities working with MAC staff and the Tower.
This was the second operational change at MSP that Mendota Heights was able to attain. The
MAC staff agreed to include the number of times this operation was being used in its monthly
noise report so that both cities could track whether it was sufficiently being used.
A series of events occurred that would create massive change at MSP: 9/11, the acquisition of
NWA by Delta, airline upgauging, and the creation of the NOC. For a variety of reasons, the
airline industry never returned to its pre-9/11 numbers. The airline industry began to operate
as a business and not as airlines. This resulted in “upgauging” a term that applies to flying a
fewer number of flights but with completely full airplanes. No more half empty flights. More
people were flying out of MSP on fewer flights. The exit of NWA meant for a more sympathetic
carrier who was willing to assist in noise management. The creation of the NOC was a new
attempt at putting the cities and the airlines at the same table again. It was the direct result of
a Blue Ribbon Taskforce that local resident Jill Smith was involved in. It came with clear rules
and guidelines to assist in making it viable. Wobbly at first, it became an extraordinary
organization based on the following two premises: no operational change would be sought or
approved for one city that adversely affected another, and that if the cities united and operated
as “one,” they could accomplish significant things. During this time, the cities became aware
through watching current aviation literature that there was an operation initially called
Continuous Descent Approach(CDA) that meant planes preparing for landing could line up with
runway center when they were still distant from the airport. Instead of using their usual “step
down” approach to landing which still burned a significant amount of fuel, they were literally
“gliding” in using less fuel and creating less noise. The ARC had discovered this trend as had
other citizens groups by watching aviation literature. It was brought to the NOC and after years
of lobbying, it became standard operating procedure. You can talk about the environment and
attempts to improve the Mendota Heights environment, but the ARC and NOC took tons of
carbon out of the air over the cities at the ends of the runway and have garnered little
recognition for this.
Page 18 of 19
The ARC tracks all operations over the city, corridor compliance, and national and international
trends in aviation. It was meant to protect the city from something like the 90 degree heading
ever happening again. It has been productive and useful. It is true that noise abatement is
accomplished mostly at the NOC level these days, but larger cities have staff devoted to noise
abatement, but Mendota Heights has never been able to afford that. It has always depended on
the ARC or a staff person with other responsibilities to represent the city at NOC. Aviation is a
constantly changing entity. It’s impossible to know what trend is on the horizon that will require
vigilance on the part of the city. Currently, it is a lack of air traffic controllers. How will that
affect future operations? No one knows.
Page 19 of 19