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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/30/2007 - Minutes Renton Airport Advisory Committee October 30, 2007 MINUTES – Approved as Amended December 18, 2007 Renton Airport Advisory Committee (RAAC) Chair Mike O’Halloran called the meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. A sign-in sheet for members was stationed at the table by the main door to Council Chambers. A separate sign-in sheet was also there for guests to sign. I. Welcome The Chair introduced the City’s staff and guests present for tonight’s meeting: City Council Transportation/Aviation Committee Chair Marcie Palmer and Councilmember Don Persson, Member; Jay Covington, Chief Administrative Officer; Peter Hahn, Deput y Planning, Building, Public Works Administrator – Transportation; Suzanne Dale-Estey, Economic Development Director; R yan Zulauf, Airport Manager and Jonathan Wilson, Assistant Airport Manager; Jennifer Jorgenson, Transportation Systems Division Secretary; Jan Fedor, Boeing Facilities Manager and, guest Shaunta Hyde, Manager, Local Government Affairs – Puget Sound. II. Approval of Previous Minutes The Chair called for approval of previous minutes from September 26. Marleen Mandt asked that the spelling of her name be corrected (from Marlene to Marleen) and that the first paragraph on page 5 be corrected to add, “as it relates to aircraft” to the end of the first sentence. Colleen Ann Deal and Elliott Newman asked to be added to the attendance list as they were at the last meeting. The final correction was to note the two newest members mentioned in the second paragraph are serving as Alternates and to indicate the voting status of the members on the attendance list. The previous minutes were approved as corrected. III. Airport Issues Update Peter Hahn reported the Transportation/Aviation Committee met last Wednesday and arrived at a decision to formally withdraw the corporate jet center concept from further consideration. As such, Ramp C is no longer encumbered and the Airport Layout Plan that was in the works with a jet center is now totall y out of the picture. Mr. Hahn next reported The Boeing Company has announced they are interested in leasing Ramp B once again and they are entering into negotiations with the City to that end. He went on to say that URS, the consulting firm that developed the original ALP, states they can have a Airport Advisory Committee Meeting October 30, 2007 Page 2 of 8 H:\File Sys\AIR - Airport, Transportation Services Division\01 Administration\02 Committees\Airport Advisory\RAAC Minutes\2007 Minutes\2007_10_30 Minutes\October 30 2007 Approved as amended.doc revised airport layout plan ready by year-end that takes into account the availability of Ramp C and the lease of Ramp B back to The Boeing Company. Mr. Hahn advised that, as of Monday, the City was in receipt of two formal requests for information from the Airport under the Freedom of Information Act and the City is working diligently to provide the requested documentation. Also of note, the City of Renton has received formal notification from the FAA of a Part 16 complaint that has been filed against the City. This is an extremely lengthy document of 30 or more items. Ryan Zulauf clarified that The FAA Part 16 deals with discrimination and the complainant believes it has been treated differently than other tenants on the Airport. Mr. Zulauf gave an update on the Airport Dredging Project. The design of the project is being re-worked and the lack of funding for the project is still a major issue. Airport staff is working on the 2008 Runway Rehabilitation Project. This paving project should repair the dips and ripples in the runway surface. Mr. Zulauf was recently advised the FAA would allow $3 million for the paving project. The City will need to provide 5% in matching fund for the work. Staff anticipates the specification and bid package should be ready early in 2008, with construction to occur during the month of August. It is anticipated the runway work will take a few weeks with the runway being closed at for at least four days. The work will be dependent upon the weather. The City will be coordinating very closely with Boeing in order to mitigate production and delivery concerns during the construction process. The last item of note is that Gate V-2 is down. The repair parts are on order. IV. The Boeing Company’s Request for B Ramp (Apron B) Ms. Hyde apologized for the lack of Boeing representation on the RAAC and promised they would have a presence at the future committee meetings and either she or Mr. Fedor will be attending on a regular basis from now on. She acknowledged Boeing may be entering into negotiations with the City to establish a new lease for Apron B on the Renton airport. Apron B will be used for commercial aircraft. She stated they had 4,000 airplanes on order with 2,300 delivered so far and that Boeing is in production currently through the year 2016. Marleen Mandt asked if the “Good Neighbor Policy” would still be in effect when Boeing takes over Apron B (i.e.,engine runs from 8-5 pm M-F, 9-4 pm on Sat, and 12-3 pm on Sunday). Ms. Hyde assured everyone that Boeing has every intention of adhering to the Good Neighbor Policy. She suggested that the RAAC might be interested in touring the manufacturing facility and asked if there was an interest among the group to do so. She said that a tour towards the Airport Advisory Committee Meeting October 30, 2007 Page 3 of 8 H:\File Sys\AIR - Airport, Transportation Services Division\01 Administration\02 Committees\Airport Advisory\RAAC Minutes\2007 Minutes\2007_10_30 Minutes\October 30 2007 Approved as amended.doc beginning of December would probably be best. She would be happy to arrange it if we desire. At this point, both Ms. Hyde and Mr. Fedor left the meeting due to prior commitments. V. Airport Layout Plan Review The recent changes to Apron B (impending new Boeing lease) and Apron C (elimination of the corporate jet center) have caused the ALP to be put into a holding pattern. The City has suspended Phase 2 of the Noise Study; however, the timetable remains that by year-end a final ALP will be brought back to this committee for review. Mr. Elliott asked if the noise study would be done if it turns out the resulting ALP is significantly different from the one we have today. John Middlebrooks asked if Ramp A would be included in Boeing’s lease. Mr. Hahn stated that Boeing has never stopped leasing Apron A and it is presumed they will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. VI. Airport Leasing Policies Last Wednesday the Transportation (Aviation) Committee met to discuss their draft set of revised policies. They have requested a few minor changes and that it be thoroughly reviewed by legal counsel with an aviation background. A copy of the revised draft policies was handed to each RAAC member in attendance. Dina Davis asked if Apron B was where we had to remove Boeing Utilities. The answer was yes, and the City will be looking very closely at the finer details in future leases because of this. Colleen Turner wanted to know how the reduced amount of available land would change the future possible uses. Will the ALP state what’s going to be allowed? Mr. Hahn reminded the group that only a portion of Apron C has available space and the old restaurant site. The intent here is to be very flexible, but any use would have to be airport-related and in the best interest of the City of Renton. VII. Seaplane Base Design Charrette Mr. Hahn explained that so far we’ve been dealing strictly with the northwest corner of the airport, or what’s better known as the former restaurant site. Initially, there was a joint proposal with NW Seaplanes in the works, but this fell through. The difficulty of leasing this property is Airport Advisory Committee Meeting October 30, 2007 Page 4 of 8 H:\File Sys\AIR - Airport, Transportation Services Division\01 Administration\02 Committees\Airport Advisory\RAAC Minutes\2007 Minutes\2007_10_30 Minutes\October 30 2007 Approved as amended.doc compounded because the site is encumbered with utilities and the City is looking for a public presence at this location. As recently as yesterday, the City received a proposal that took into mind some of the concepts the City of Renton is looking for. Colleen Turner asked about proposals for Apron C and why would we take proposals for one area and not the other. Ryan clarified that Apron C was being considered for a corporate jet center and that warranted a change to the ALP. Ryan said that the current 1997 ALP allows the old restaurant site to be used for support of seaplanes and no change is needed to consider a lease of that property for that use. Mike O’Halloran commented that he was confused about what the current ALP looks like. Ryan will provide a copy of the current ALP for the next meeting. Marleen Mandt commented that yellow airplanes were flying over her house and making noise and that they belonged to Kenmore Air. Todd Banks, General Manager of Kenmore Air asked if the planes had wheels or floats. Marleen Mandt stated that they had floats. Todd Banks stated that Kenmore’s aircraft that come into Renton for maintenance have wheels, not floats. Marleen Mandt expressed a noise complaint concerning a helicopter coming from Kennydale. She said that it’s small, possibly a two or three-seat unit and that it regularly flies over her house Marcie Palmer confirmed the presence of a heliport at a home on the shore of Lake Washington in the Kennydale area. The helicopter belongs to Mr. Connor of Connor Homes and he uses it for business purposes. She stated that he had spoken to her directly about his helicopter and assured her he was trying to be a good neighbor. He keeps his take-offs to after 7 a.m. and goes out straight over the water. He returns the same way and tries to keep his return trips to before 4 p.m. He doesn’t fly over Marleen Mandt’s house. Mr. Hahn added helicopter landing pads are a land use issue addressed through the Development Services Division at City Hall and the Airport has absolutely no control or influence over the decision. VIII. 820 Building Demolition Ryan Zulauf explained the 820 Building is located at the north end of Apron C, just north of the AirO facility. This building was left over when Boeing vacated the area. The building is structurally unsound. It does contain some asbestos that needs to be removed. There is a storm water line located directly underneath this building that will also need to be moved. The Airport will fund the demolition project and it will be completed in 2008. Airport Advisory Committee Meeting October 30, 2007 Page 5 of 8 H:\File Sys\AIR - Airport, Transportation Services Division\01 Administration\02 Committees\Airport Advisory\RAAC Minutes\2007 Minutes\2007_10_30 Minutes\October 30 2007 Approved as amended.doc General Discussion Diane Paholke asked if the runway paving would take the up the entire time between August 8 and August 22. Ryan responded that the time frame in August is typically the best time of the year to get paving work accomplished with good weather. Staff is hoping to get the work done within a week. During the repaving, the runway will be grooved and this should help to eliminate the ponding effect of water on the runway which will improve aircraft braking. Todd Banks inquired what would happen to the seaplane dredging project if the money couldn’t be found for 2008. Ryan responded that the Airport would continue to seek alternate grant funding opportunities, but that if the Airport doesn’t have the money, the dredging will not occur. Dina Davis asked how Boeing’s lease would affect the Airport funds – would it be for the better or worse? Ryan noted that over the last few years, the Airport has been dealing with some major infrastructure repairs and these costs have drawn down on the Airport’s available funds. The Airport is totally self-sustaining and gets no financial help from the City’s general funds. The leases have a financial adjustment built into them that is meant to keep up with inflation, but sometimes it’s just not adequate for all of the work that needs to be done. That’s when hard decisions have to be made as to what needs (or must) be taken care of first, and what items can be held off until a later date. IX. Question and Answer Q. Bob Moran asked what happened to the Noise Study outcome. A. Peter Hahn replied that Phase I was to get input from the two communities (Renton and Mercer Island). Since the jet center option was removed, the Noise Study was put on suspension. Q. Mike O’Halloran asked if we would be receiving a report on their findings. A. Peter Hahn responded that we would not, because no analysis had been started. The analysis was going to start in Phase 2 of the noise study, but the noise study was suspended before we got to that work. We don’t anticipate anything further at this time. Q. Elliott Newman wanted to know what activities Boeing would be doing on Apron B. Would noise be involved? Airport Advisory Committee Meeting October 30, 2007 Page 6 of 8 H:\File Sys\AIR - Airport, Transportation Services Division\01 Administration\02 Committees\Airport Advisory\RAAC Minutes\2007 Minutes\2007_10_30 Minutes\October 30 2007 Approved as amended.doc A. Ryan explained that we really don’t know at this point in time. He does know that they will not be doing any engine run-ups on Apron B. Q. Mike O’Halloran wanted to know why the jet center was voted down. A. Marcie Palmer explained that when they really looked closely at it, there just wasn’t enough physical space available for a decent first-rate jet center. The Council Committee felt it was best to make a formal declaration that the jet center was no longer considered to be a viable option and end this matter for once and for all. Q. Dina Davis asked how this affects the prior assumptions the RAAC had been working on. A. .Marcie Palmer stated that the Airport restaurant space is still available for an appropriate lease. Also, she clarified that the Chamber of Commerce lease expires in 2010 and she does not wish to renew that lease. She feels there are better options for the City of Renton in possibly leasing this airport space to other entities that would garner more income Q. John Middlebrooks asked what direction the URS consultants would be going now that things have changed so radically. A. Peter Hahn commented that it would be primarily a combination of tie-downs and hangar spaces for the general uses that are left on the table. Ryan Zulauf added the Airport needs to have tie-down areas available for transient use. Q. John Middlebrooks followed up his question by asking if URS would be providing several ALPs for the Committee to consider. A. Peter Hahn advised they would have one, or maybe two, layouts prepared for consideration. Marcie Palmer wanted the RAAC to be aware that the City of Renton had received a proposal for a dinner boat company to share space at the Airport’s seaplane base, but the FAA said absolutely no to the idea. (Actual airport land may only be used for airport-related business. There wouldn’t be any place to park vehicles, for guests to duck out of the weather, or docks for use to embark and disembark from the vessel, etc.). Q. Mike O’Halloran asked how the Committee feels about not completing the Noise Study. Q. Roger Lewis asked if that wasn’t the original intent and purpose for the RAAC. A. Yes it was a part of the original intent to a certain extent. Jay Covington said completing the Noise Study at this point would only serve to give us a base line of data, but it wouldn’t change anything in the way business is conducted on the airport. Staff felt it would be more Airport Advisory Committee Meeting October 30, 2007 Page 7 of 8 H:\File Sys\AIR - Airport, Transportation Services Division\01 Administration\02 Committees\Airport Advisory\RAAC Minutes\2007 Minutes\2007_10_30 Minutes\October 30 2007 Approved as amended.doc prudent to wait and see what Boeing has planned for Apron B. Then, if there are no radical changes to be made, there would be no reason to expend any further funds on a Noise Study. Q. Mike Rice commented that if we are going to do a noise study, why not do an approved FAA Part 150 Noise Study? A. Ryan Zulauf responded that the Airport doesn’t qualify for a Part 150 Noise study because the 65 DNL noise contour is almost all inside of the airport boundaries and the FAA won’t fund the work. Dina Davis stated that she believes finishing the Noise Study should depend on what Boeing is planning for in respects to the lease duration – if it would be for less than two years, complete the study, otherwise, no, don’t spend the money. Bringing the meeting to a close, Chair O’Halloran asked the Committee what the best time to tour the Boeing manufacturing facility would be. Marcie Palmer suggested it would probably be best to have Ms. Hyde put together a suggested itinerary, complete with dates and times that we could select from. The Committee will wait to hear back from Ms. Hyde. Chair O’Halloran advised the next RAAC meeting will be held on December 18 at 5:30 in the Council Chambers. At that time the Committee will review the revised ALP options. Meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m. Attendance for October 30, 2007: Member Name Representing Todd Banks Member-At-Large – Alternate Dina Davis Renton Hill/Monterey Terrace – Alternate Jan Fedor The Boeing Company – Primary Colleen Ann Deal Kenn ydale – Alternate Matthew Devine Talbot Hill – Alternate Peter Hahn City of Renton – Non-voting Roger Lewis West Hill – Primary Marleen Mandt Kennydale – Primary John Middlebrooks West Hill – Alternate Robert Moran South Renton – Primary Elliott Newman Mercer Island – Primary Michael O’Halloran, Chair Highlands – Primary Michael O’Leary Airport Leaseholders – Primary Diane Paholke Member-At-Large – Primary Marcie Palmer City Councilmember – Primary Airport Advisory Committee Meeting October 30, 2007 Page 8 of 8 H:\File Sys\AIR - Airport, Transportation Services Division\01 Administration\02 Committees\Airport Advisory\RAAC Minutes\2007 Minutes\2007_10_30 Minutes\October 30 2007 Approved as amended.doc Don Persson City of Renton Councilmember – Alternate Mike Rice Airport Leaseholders – Primary Jennifer Ann Rutkowski Talbot Hill – Primary Michael Schultz Renton Hill/Monterey Terrace – Primary Richard Zwicker North Renton – Primary Ryan Zulauf Airport Manager – Non-voting Guests: David Dunner Mercer Island, WA Chuck Kegley Renton, WA Bernie Paholke Renton, WA Doug Barritt Maple Valley, WA Jonathan Wilson City of Renton, Assistant Airport Manager Suzanne Dale Estey City of Renton, Development Services Director Bill Collins Renton, WA Howard Wolvington Issaquah, WA Marty Ellison Bellevue, WA Ben Ellison Renton, WA Jay Covington City of Renton, Chief Administrative Officer Winfried Feifel Seattle, WA Shaunta Hyde The Boeing Company, Manager, Local Government Affairs – Puget Sound,