07-16-2025 ARC Minutes
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.
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.