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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/08/2011 - Minutes PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT Renton Airport Advisory Committee Minutes March 8, 2011 Meeting called to order at 5:40 by Chairman Ulf Goranson, who welcomed the RAAC Members and thanked them for their attendance tonight. 1. Approval of Minutes a. Ms. Palmer moved that the minutes of the June 8, 2010 meeting be approved as read, Mr. Lewis seconded. b. Discussion i. Ms. Mandt questioned how the appointment of the new chair took place. It was clarified that Mr. Goranson was requested to serve as chair by the Council. Since this had taken place after the last meeting, tonight’s minutes will serve as record of the request. c. Minutes approved unanimously 2. Airport Issues Update by Mr. Zulauf a. Since the last RAAC Meeting, a long term lease with the Boeing Co. has been secured. The prior lease ran from 1965 through May 2010; the new lease started June 1, 2010 and covers Apron B, compass rose – South, and the Fuel Farm. The lease with the Boeing company is a 20 year lease with 2 10-year options. The next generation of 737’s will be built here. The Boeing Company is now paying fair market, which enables the Airport to cover their costs and begin to reinvest in the infrastructure of the airport. b. Rainier Flight School is a new and upcoming lease. It is a 2*person flight school, leasing space upstairs in the Quonset hut. It will be going through City Council this month, with a 1 –year lease, with an option to renew. c. ProFlight – Ms. Paholke updated the RAAC on the construction of 8 60x60 hangars, plus an FBO. The Renton Gateway Center for Corporate Aircraft will be a top of the line FBO; all of the hangars are leased but one unit. Mr. Brahm asked if Proflight would be managing it and Ms. Paholke confirmed they would be moving their business to the new location. ProFlight’s old building will be vacated, the maintenance shop has been sold, and the fuel farm is being leased. A proposal will be submitted to the city by May 1 regarding the current Proflight building. d. The Airport Layout Plan has been updated to the Airport Master Plan; the process finished and sent to FAA. It was approved by the FAA, no changes were requested, and the process used to develop the plan generated a great document used for federal fund planning. e. Airport regulations and minimum standards – The document has been approved by City Council and is actively referred to. (e.g. the Rainier Flight School met the minimum standards in order to qualify for a lease) It is located on the web. f. The Airport Certification Manual is currently being developed. The Airport isn’t required to have one, since it is not a part 139 Airport, however, it is currently in the process of developing one in order to run a safer airport with operations occurring at the safest level. Includes contents such as a wildlife plan, snow and ice control plan, which are all currently separate documents. r. Zulauf discussed historical knowledge vs. policy and the need for certification manual to have standards and consistency in place, establishing guidelines. The Airport has no desire to become certified, just wants to make it the safest operation possible. g. Capital Projects i. Gateway Center – The Airport brought utilities in to the site - hydrants, Qwest phone lines, gas and electricity. ii. Replaced the roof on the Cedar River hangars. Over 27,000 feet of roofing, plus lining at a cost of approximately $130,000. iii. Seaplane Base Dredging project – 1. This project has been in the works since 2005. The goal is to dredge approximately 16,000 cubic yards of material from the silted in seaplane base. Rather than dump the spoils in Elliot bay, they are currently working to create two islands to cut a channel and divert the sediment. The seaplane base has been in place since 1947; if we only dredge, the problem will continue and intensify. The current dredging and rehabilitation plan includes salmon habitat by adding the modified shoreline and islands, with plantings to avert wildlife. The Airport and consultant are continuing to working with a USDA wildlife specialist and several other organizations to ensure the best success. They hope to go to construction in 2012, with FEMA providing 40% of costs. FEMA has to run federal permitting process for the Airport, but is taking a long time to get done. Some of the work is being done with Airport and consulting staff and reimbursed to us by FEMA, because if certain timelines are missed, the Airport will miss the November 2012 dredging window. Mr. Dempster questioned if this is unprecedented to have consultant help with FEMA. Mr. Hancock questioned if there was a payment deadline. Mr. Zulauf clarified that the Airport has been granted extensions. King Conservation District and SRF board also have given monies. Because of the budget deficits, everyone is working hard to make sure that this takes place rather than lose the funding to other projects. Ms. Mandt asked about the impact to the Kayak center and also what will happen with refuse on island. Mr. Zulauf discussed that historical records show that the delta has been getting larger over the years, a second island may protect the kayak center from being fully silted in. In regards to the garbage, the island may catch garbage but we currently address this on the shoreline with maintenance. Mr. Dempster wanted to know more about the planting on the islands. The planting list has been reviewed by a USDA biologist to be “discouraging” to wildlife, and particularly to be without berries. iv. Airport Storm Water System – The airport cleaned out 75 catch basins and developed a database to track when the catch basins and oil water separators were last cleaned. Additionally, they numbered all the catch basins and set up a cleaning schedule, so the will be on a scheduled cleaning regimen. There are over 300 catch basins on the airport. v. Taxiway Bravo Repaving Project – The airport has contracted with Reid Middleton to perform this repaving project. The current base material is not sufficient enough for planes like 737’s, while the project is taking place, there will also be water lines, fire hydrant lines, and storm drain lines to replace. They are currently anticipating 95% funding from the Federal Government. Checking to see where the money “stops” since the FAA only covers certain parts of the airport. Anticipation of summer 2012, if everything goes as planned. vi. The blast fence was repainted. vii. A banner celebrating the naming of Renton Airport as the “most female friendly in the United States” has been ordered for the blast fence. Ms. Karlene Pettitt organized the flight events. 1. We will continue to add dates to the Renton Airport Facebook page and add more photos. 2. Ms. Mandt praised Renton Airport; since Mr. Zulauf and his team have been here, the Airport has really been looking great. While you would never notice the drains are clean, she is really proud of the way that the airport is looking. Ms. Palmer added that the airport has gone from “dowdy” to “dandy.” Mr. Zulauf concurred that tenants and RAAC have been very helpful in working towards this goal. Boeing has made an investment in the paint hangar, which is currently being revamped and is expected to reopen in June 2011 for finish painting of 737’s. viii. Winter Operations 1. There were no Boeing delays, and few general aviation delays, for any of the events snow events over the winter. The Airport bought over 4,000 gallons of deicer and a new distribution machine, plus has plows for 3- trucks, and hired road graders and brooms. Additionally, they added a friction monitoring device for the runway to get accurate measurements. Friction readings are reported to the tower, so the readings are available to pilots. Mr. Dempster wanted to know if this is part of the 139 standards; Mr. Wilson confirmed that this is modeled after Paine Field, and is part of the overall snow plan. ix. New pilot brochures have been reprinted and provided to local business, as well as those at Boeing Field. Additionally, the Airport is using a new website, “Whisper Track”, which is centralizing noise abatement policies and make them available to the flying public. This will hopefully help get the information to first time pilots, in a fast and standardized fashion. Mr. Brahm inquired if noise abatement procedures could be included in the AIMS. Per Mr. Dempster and Ms. Paholke, it wouldn’t be included since it’s a “suggestion” not a requirement. 1. Action Item: Mr. Wilson will check on if it can be included in AIMS. x. Budget for staffing: 1. Increased hours for part time Airport Maintenance employees; The plan is to bulk up part time staff in spring/summer. Mr. Dempster commented on “dedication” of staff at Airport – feeling that the staff believes it’s “their” airport. 2. A Capital Projects Coordinator position has been added to airport – an airport engineer position to assist with construction and capital projects. Full time position hopefully to hire in the spring. xi. Mr. Brahm requested status of leases on SE corner of Airport. 1. Aerodyne is leased in Southeast corner. 2. Ben Ellison leases the 4 south-eastern most hangars – the ground is leased, building is owned by Mr. Ellison’s business; they have approximately 7 years remaining on lease and may approach the city again regarding construction. 3. The car dealership/service center is not on Airport property. Mr. Zulauf said that they have had to remind the business in the past to constrain their vehicles to their lot. Mr. Johnson commented that it seems like this is against city code with so many cars on the property. Mr. Zulauf commented that there has been a desire to purchase that property, but nothing can be done at this time, that he knows of. 4. Bosair has 4 buildings in the SE corner. This tenant would like to do something new, but currently is only in planning stages. 5. Building with old tower connected is owned by the city, and the Airport is exploring options. 6. The Chamber of Commerce is located on Airport Property. It was built in the 60s, had a lease of 45+ years, which the city extended them 1 more year. At the end of the lease term it was supposed to revert to the city, but at end of this year, the building becomes city property. The Chamber may be looking for new place downtown. They are also now paying market value rent on the ground. The property hasn’t been marketed/planned out yet, but discussion had previously taken place re. developing it into a restaurant/aviation interest center. h. RAAC Involvement in the development of the Airport Sustainability Management Plan i. Handout for scope of work, ii. The Airport received an FAA Grant of $150,000, making it one of 10 nationwide that received grant. The goal is a document regarding sustainability – making sure that we consume less, can continue in perpetuity, and how the Airport deals with the environmental impacts. AAAE puts out lots of articles about “going green,” Boeing becoming more fuel efficient and emissions conscious, airlines want to use less fuel, airports under pressure financially and environmentally, sustainability pilot program being developed. Financially, tenants have been given ground rate increase, which is necessary to ensure the airport has enough money to not only address current issues, but plan proactively for the future. Controlling environmental impacts - water, salmon, catch basins, etc. The RAAC will have core input into sustainability plan. The contract agenda bill between the Airport and Bernard Dunkelburg is currently going to council, consultants will start work on this and RAAC will begin their involvement soon thereafter. Mr. Dempster questioned if there was anything else for preparation to be better background informed and other ideas 1. Action Item: Mr. Zulauf requested that RAAC members visit the Saga website: www.airportsustainability.org , to read strategies from other airports. 2. Action Item: Ms. Paholke will get Airport Management the name of the magazine with sustainability focus articles. Ms. Mandt wanted to know why wildlife isn’t on sustainability plan. Mr. Perteet said scope is currently only a first outline, RAAC’s involvement will help shape the study. i. RAAC Feedback i. Ms. Palmer wanted to clarify if the RAAC should be meeting more frequently. Mr. Zulauf said that the RAAC meetings are currently set up quarterly, however an additional level of interaction may need to happen, once sustainability study begins. j. Noise complaints: i. Mr. Brahm said he hasn’t heard any complaints lately ii. Ms. Mandt complained about loud jet approximately a week ago. Per Mr. Dempster, it was an old Lear jet that went south. k. Mr. Johnson wanted to discuss challenges for the future of the Airport– Should there be the addition of FBO’s, should there be a transition to bringing in less large planes and more tiedowns. Should there be more discussion about using space to keep business jets away, etc. He reiterated that he was glad ProFlight would be in charge of business center, but she did clarify that some of her business would include jets. Mr. Dempster said use will always be limited by services available – tower hours, FBO availability, Boeing Field proximity, length of runway. Ms. Palmer discussed Airport Master Plan and the way that the airport design is mapped out l. Discussion took place regarding a scheduled “Open House” session where citizens could bring their families by for a tour of the airport/tower. m. A suggestion was made by Mr. Goranson to once again include information about the “Fly Friendly” guidelines in the Mayor’s newsletter for wider distributions to citizens. Meeting adjourned at 7:04 Adjourned Members Present Richard Siers Roger Lewis Ben Johnson Lee Chicoin Robert Brahm Keith Searles Diane Paholke Bernie Paholke Marleen Mandt Jennifer Ann Rutkowski Rich Perteet Ryan Zulauf Jonathan Wilson Carolyn Currie Ulf Goranson Marcie Palmer Mike Rice Al Banholzer Robert Dempster Mark Hancock Matt Devine Wes McKechnie Jack Yager