Minutes of the Ad Hoc Airport Advisory Committee 7/27/97 The Little River Airport Ad Hoc Airport Advisory Committee met on Sunday, 27 July 1997 from 4:00 - 6:00 pm in the Clubhouse at The Woods, 43300 Little River Airport Road, Little River. Five committee members were present: Trey Loy, Tim Scully, Joel Bornstein, Ray yates and Jack Reichel. Grant Wheeler, Dick Ahrens and Dave Brewer also attended. We agreed that the next Ad Hoc meeting will take place Sunday, August 10 from 4-6pm at the Woods. Minutes ------- The minutes of the last meeting were approved with one correction from Jack. Reports on recent events ------------------------ GPS REPORT Tim reported that the 5 copies of the GPS report finally arrived in Chuck Boyer's office last week, but thet they are stuck on his desk awaiting a cover letter from Bob Parker, who is out of town. Chuck said that the reports will be delivered this week. COAST GUARD LETTER Chuck Boyer telephoned Tim to let him know that a letter would be arriving regarding the query sent to the Coast Guard. It seems that the Coast Guard officer we wrote to was angered by the letter. He phoned DPW and asked who we were and why we were asking him questions. Tim had failed to send a copy of the original letter to DPW, so they were unable to answer some of the Coast Guard's questions. Chuck said on the telephone that we should talk to him before sending out any letters that have any possibility of causing contraversy, so he can avoid being blindsided. Tim apologized to Chuck for failing to copy him on the letter. Tim FAXed the letter he'd sent to the Coast Guard to Chuck with another apology. Chuck said that he didn't see anything wrong with the letter. Tim read DPW's letter which asked the committee to get DPW approval before sending letters "of this nature". He also passed around the letter to the Coast Guard around to everyone at the meeting. There was some discussion of how much our relationship with DPW has improved - we appreciated the way that Chuck telephoned to explain the letter. Dave Brewer suggested that we should similarly telephone to let the addressee know about impending letters so they are taken in context when they arrive. Joe suggested that out letters should explain that we are a citizen's committee and not an arm of DPW. NOISE POLICY ------------ Tim reported that DPW sent a package of revised Noise Abatement flyers which have been amended to say that "Safety Supercedes Noise Abatement". There were sent to the committee, the pilot's group, the airport supervisor and Coast Flyers, according to DPW's cover letter. The same flyers were also mailed to the publishers of various pilot's guides, and DPW sent us copies of the cover letters. Trey suggested letting Neil Boyle know, so the Beacon could publish an article on the noise policy. Grant said that Neil no longer works for the Beacon, he is now teaching at the High School. Jack expressed regret that Neil is gone, he was an excellant reporter and was supportive of the Ad Hoc Committee. Everyone agreed. Tim will send the information to the Beacon without addressing it to a specific reporter. short GPS report ---------------- Tim passed around a shortened version of the GPS report, produced by printing the first 32 pages. Joel asked why this is being considered. Tim answered that the full report, bound, costs $12 to produce. The short version, with no color illustrations or binding, costs $1 to copy. This offers interested parties two ways of getting the report. The committee approved this idea. Trey suggested bringing a few of the short versions of the report to the August 18 HWP&T meeting, in case more people attend. [We have recently been told that the HWP&T meeting has been rescheduled from August 18 to Thursday AUgust 28.] LEGACY ------ Next, we discussed the legacy this committee might leave to the official committee. Tim suggested a list of issues that could be be worked on, such as: additional hangars, non-aviation use, card-lock fuel, etc. Trey pointed out that it may be a while before the official committee members are appointed and the committee formed. He suggested that this committee should consider continuing to wrap up the GPS issue, if the Supervisors agree. He also suggested that the pilot's group is sure to raise all the open issues, so this committee doesn't need to do so. Dave Brewer asked Trey what he would like the next committee to know. Trey just wants to keep the airport as it is, nothing more. Noise abatement was a big item for him. Ray said he'd like to see proper tools provided for the airport manager. Nang told him that she was not currently certified to give the alitmeter setting, that the radio was not certified and that she was uncertain of the certification status of the altimeters. Joel said he believes that DPW has budget to have the altimeters certified annually (and this is not expensive) and that the transmission quality of the Unicom radio is more than adequate for clear communication. Jack said that he has added Tim to the Mount Diablo Pilot's Association (MDPA) mailing list. The MDPA has built a clubhouse and is very active. Bill Larkins, an aviation historian, is preparing a talk on the history of aviation in Contra Costa County for MDPA. Jack related one story of ballooning in Martinez in 1910. He said that Mr. Larkins talk will be exciting. He suggested that we ask Mr. Larkins to consider researching aviation history in Mendocino County for a talk here. Joel said that a Mendocino historian (Bill Wagner?) has photos of Little River Airport in the 1940's - perhaps he could help? He then suggested that a talk on the history of the airport could precede a community meeting. Trey said that this isn't appropriate for the Ad Hoc Committee, let the pilot's group do this. Ray said it is community history and not just for pilots. He, for one, has no objection to the Ad Hoc Committee doing this. Tim suggested making it part of an Airport Day which the pilot's group has been discussing for some time. Grant said it is better for this to be at a separate meeting. Community meetings are usually polarized, this is different, it is just history. Ray said that making it part of an airport day sounded good. We could cover WWII, the airline which used Little River, etc. We agreed to meet next on August 10 at 4pm at The Woods. The agenda will be: - approve minutes of previous meeting - reports on recent events - official Airport Advisory Committee - GPS instrument approach - agree on agenda for next meeting Ad Hoc Airport Committee voting members: ----------------------------------------- Joel Bornstein pilot, flight instructor lives near airport Trey Loy non-pilot, lives near airport Jack Reichel pilot, businessman Tim Scully pilot, computer programmer, lives near airport commutes by air to Oakland weekly Ray Yates non-pilot, Albion businessman Fran Tucker non-pilot, neighbor of the airport manages the Woods Ad Hoc Committee alternate members: ----------------------------------- Michael Moore pilot, economist Susan Winding airport neighbor, non-pilot, local business owner