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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Aviation Advisory Commission - Meeting Date: 8/8/2012 MINUTES AVIATION ADVISORY COMMISSION GLENDALE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT 6801 N GLEN HARBOR BLVD - SUITE 201 GLENDALE,ARIZONA 85307 AIRPORT CONFERENCE ROOM AUGUST 8, 2012 7:00 P.M. I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Chair Ron Cohoe with the following Commissioners present: Walt Chaney, Victoria Rogen and Leslie Sheeler. Also present were Walter Fix, Airport Administrator; Basil Allen, Airport Tower; Bill Gillies, Luke Air Force Base; Tito Suazo, Aerosim Aviation; Victor Vazquez, Aerosim Aviation; Zach Bird, Aerosim Aviation; Randy Kruger, Glendale Airport Pilots Association; Bob Stratton, Glendale Airport Pilots Association (GAPA); and D. Hubert. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING Commissioner Rogen motioned to approve the June 13, 2012 meeting minutes with the following changes as requested by Chair Cohoe: • On Page 2, the sentence "Mr. Fix stated that that since the review..." should be changed to "Mr. Fix stated that since the review..." • On Page 3, "WWI Bombers" should be changed to "WWII Bombers" • On Page 5, "...will explain the process of how to lease, build or rent a room at the Airport." should be changed to "...will explain the process of how to lease,build or rent property at the Airport." Commissioner Sheeler made the second. The motion carried 4 - 0 III. REQUEST FOR CONTINUANCE OR WITHDRAWAL OF ITEMS. None. IV. AIRPORT BUSINESS The following business was discussed: 1. Presentation/Guest Victor Vazquez: Mr. Tito Suazo, of Aerosim Aviation, presented the accomplishments of Mr. Victor Vazquez as follows: • Mr. Vazquez, who recently turned 18 years old, has just earned his Commercial Pilot Rating. • Mr. Vazquez has always been interested in flying as a child and his parents encouraged this interest. 1 • Mr. Vazquez began flight instruction under the guidance of Mr. Zach Bird of Aerosim Aviation. • Mr. Vazquez soloed on his 16th birthday and the following year passed his Instrument Written exam. • Mr. Vazquez obtained his Private Pilot's license at age 17 and six weeks later achieved his Instrument Rating. • Mr. Vazquez then set a goal of achieving his Commercial Rating at age 18 passed the Written Commercial exam, the Fundamentals of Instructing exam, the Ground Instructor exam and the Flight Instructor Airplane exam while still 17 years old. • Mr. Vazquez passed his commercial single engine land check ride with FAA Examiner Bradley. • Mr. Vazquez plans to reach his Certified Flight Instructor rating in the next month. • Mr. Vazquez has achieved all of these aviation goals while still maintaining good grades in high school. Mr. Bird also praised Mr. Vazquez and has enjoyed being his flight instructor. Chair Cohoe and the Commission complimented Mr. Vazquez on all of his amazing accomplishments. 2. Briefing of the F-35 for Luke Air Force Base(LAFB) Mr. Gillies reported that after several years of consideration, environmental impact studies and public hearings, the Record of Decision was signed for LAFB to house the F-35 program. Mr. Gillies gave a PowerPoint presentation which included the following information: • The F-35 o 5th Generation Multi-role Fighter o Single seat, single engine o MCAS Yuma selected as an F35 base o Expected to eventually replaced the F-16/A-10 • USAF Proposal for Pilot Training Center o LAFB was the preferred choice o 23 public scoping meetings were held o 13 public review meetings were held o There will be up to 144 aircraft housed via the program o The Air Force Secretary signed the Record of Decision on August 1St o Initially,there will be 72 aircraft and 3 squadrons o The first aircraft is expected to arrive late 2013 to mid 2014 o Necessary construction at LAFB will begin this year with up to $110 million allocated • Reasons LAFB Chosen 2 o Facility and ramp capacity o Community support o Range access o Weather o Future growth at LAFB Mr. Gillies added that an F-35 flew in and out of LAFB two weeks ago and not one noise complaint was received. Mr. Gillies stated that the F-16 training will continue at LAFB. Mr. Gillies was very pleased that LAFB was chosen for the F-35 program. Commissioner Rogen wondered how the names of the airplanes were chosen. Mr. Gillies explained that the names are based on the mission of the aircraft and by the decision of Congress. Mr. Bird asked if the F-35 program would impact the airspace at the Airport. Mr. Gillies replied that there are no foreseen impacts to the Airport's airspace, but the military airspace will get busier as the F-35s arrive. Commissioner Rogen wondered if an increase in population was expected due to the F-35 program. Mr. Gillies stated that if anything, it would be a minor increase. Mr. Gillies added that as the F-16s are drawn down, that population will be leaving. The Commissioners congratulated Mr. Gillies on the F-35 program. 3. Airport Rules & Regulations, Minimum Operating Standards and Leasing Policy Chair Cohoe stated that since the May meeting, there have been changes to the Rules &Regulations document as approved by the Commission which will be presented this evening. Chair Cohoe explained that many of the revisions included changes requested by the legal team, formatting clean up, word definitions and typographical clean up. Mr. Fix thanked that stakeholder group involved in the recent changes to the Airport Rules & Regulations which consisted of Chair Cohoe, Mr. Roger Whittier, Mr. Carl Brandenburg and himself. Mr. Fix stated that the stakeholder group has been meeting weekly to work on the document. Mr. Fix explained that several years ago, another stakeholder group made a very thorough revision to the document and those revisions were utilized as well. Mr. Fix stressed that the new document is easy to understand. Mr. Fix noted that the recent revisions as presented this evening were sent to Mr. Tony Garcia of the FAA Los Angeles District Office who will review the document possibly by the end of this week. Mr. Fix added that after FAA 3 approval, the document will be presented to the Airport users for comment and onto the Council for approval. Mr. Fix stated that there is a deadline of March 2013 for final Council approval of the Airport Rules & Regulations, Minimum Operating Standards and Leasing Policy. Chair Cohoe displayed the document and went through the 102 changes to the document in detail. Chair Cohoe added that each Commissioner received a copy of the changes via email. Commissioner Sheeler motioned to approve the revised Airport Rules and Regulations as presented. Commissioner Chaney made the second. The motion carried 4 - 0 Chair Cohoe stated that the stakeholder group is now working on the Minimum Operating Standards which is about 75% completed and the new Leasing Policy is also being drafted. 4. Events Committee: Mr. Fix updated the Commission on event opportunities as follows: • The Airport Open House Event will be postponed until 2014 due to current budget restrictions and in order to hold the event in between the years of the Luke Days event. • Pancake breakfast fly-ins will be planned. Outreach will be made to the West Valley Flyers, GAPA and other pilot associations in the valley. • AZ SciTech is an education-based program whereby science and technology is promoted throughout the valley at various events. There is a potential for the airport to participate in this program by holding an event with informational and educational booths on aviation. • Discussions will be held with the Glendale Economic Development Department regarding opportunities for community events to be held in the Airport lobby. • Cost estimates will be obtained regarding WI-FI in the main Airport building, the FBO and possibly in hangars. • The pursuit of an improved entrance sign will continue. At the very least, the current sign can be raised up and repainted. Mr. Fix will also work with the City of Glendale Planning Department to waive the digital sign zoning restriction. V. SUMMARY OF CURRENT EVENTS Mr. Fix presented the current status of operations and projects as follows: 4 • Blast Fence and Blast Pad Project: The second FAA grant award is going to Council next week for approval. The City of Glendale Engineer expects the project to start after Labor Day and to be completed before Thanksgiving. • Runway Sealing Project: This project is possible thanks to the ADOT Pavement Restoration Program. Before the end of this fiscal year, the runways will be crack-sealed, slurry sealed and repainted. Any runway closures necessary will be worked out with the contractors. • Conair Property: A revised preliminary draft Environmental Assessment was received from Coffman Associates. The Environmental Assessment takes up to two years and this is the end of the first year. The court will decide what the land is worth as part of the condemnation process. • Camelback Ranch: The City of Phoenix proposed rezoning for Camelback Ranch Phase II with residential homes very close to the Airport. Mr. Fix has worked to rescind this project. • New Tenants: Pivotal Properties will soon lease an office in the Airport terminal Building. • A LAFB Fly-In Safety Seminar will be held on October 18th and 19t. VI. CALL TO THE PUBLIC Call to the Public was made. Mr. Randy Kruger, Vice President of GAPA, addressed the Commission with comments regarding the Airport Rules & Regulations and the hangar inspections. Mr. Kruger stated that many pilots did not know that there were changes to the Airport Rules and Regulations and wondered why groups such as GAPA were not involved. Mr. Kruger also stated that in regards to hangar inspections, there are not just a small minority of pilots unhappy as previously indicated at the Commission meetings. Chair Cohoe commented that in 2010, there were many airport tenants, including GAPA members, involved in the Airport Rules and Regulations proposed changes. Chair Cohoe added that the topic of the Airport Rules and Regulations has been on the public agenda for quite some time and the public is welcome to all meetings. VII. NEW BUSINESS REQUESTS (Future Agenda Items) Chair Cohoe suggested the following items: • Brainstorm session for ideas to improve Airport business • Discussion of a partnership with City of Glendale Zoning Department in regards to future developments near the Airport. Possibility for a guest speaker in this area. VIII.NEXT MEETING TIME 5 The next meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on the second floor Conference Room of the Airport terminal building on Wednesday, September 12, 2012. IX. COMMISSION COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS Chair Cohoe thanked all attendees for their participation, praised Mr. Vazquez on his achievements and noted that the new Airport Rules & Regulations are a milestone for the Commission and the Airport. X. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:22 p.m. by consensus. The Aviation Advisory Commission Meeting Minutes of August 8, 2012 were approved at the CommissiMeeting of September 12, 2012. /IJZ \:77Z Walter L. Fix, A.A.E. Airport Administrator 623-930-2188 6