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Home My WebLink About2004-06-15-HFAC-min Hanscom Field Advisory Commission Minutes June 15, 2004 1.Liberty Mutual Presentation: Brian Porter from Brophy and Phillips Co. reviewed the construction plans for the new hangar they will be building for Liberty Mutual on the old Hangar 1 site. He said they are building a 30,000 square foot hangar with approximately 8,000 square feet of office space and will overlay the current ramp area associated with the site. The hangar is designed to hold the four aircraft that Liberty Mutual currently has based at Hanscom Field. The building will be LEED certified, thus including energy conservation measures. There will be a vehicle parking area with 46 spaces. The fencing will meet all Massport and FAA regulations, and there will be two access gates to the ramp. There will be two enclosed dumpsters. The foundation will be poured in a few weeks and completion is targeted for late January 2005. Some attendees had come to express their concerns about the impact this hangar will have on the historical sites in the area. There was disappointment and frustration that no one from Liberty Mutual was present to listen to concerns and respond to questions related to that issue. It was noted that Bill Costa from Liberty Mutual came to the January HFAC meeting. He heard many residential community concerns at that time, including those relating to Minute Man National Historical Park (MMNHP), and sent a letter in response to questions raised at the meeting. Some people in attendance didn’t feel all questions were answered adequately. John Williams said that Liberty Mutual needs to know what the questions are. He asked whether HFAC questions should be differentiated from questions posed by the general community. Sara Mattes noted that HFAC members need to represent their constituents. It was voted eight to one that a letter would be written to Liberty Mutual asking them to come to a summer meeting—July 20 is the most logical since it is the third Tuesday—to answer specific questions and to hear from the community. P. Enrich will collect questions pertinent to the issue at penrich@rcn.com. Two questions were identified at the meeting: What is the capacity of the hangar in terms of aircraft weight and what is the amount of impervious surface before and after the construction? 2.Minutes: The May minutes were accepted with the following correction: in Section 4, Monthly Noise Report, the reference to “the Boston control tower” should read “the approach control facility”. 3.HFAC Chair: P. Enrich explained that the chair of HFAC rotates among the four towns, according to state statute. With his term ending, Ann Shapiro has agreed to assume this role. There was a unanimous vote to accept her as chair. She will decide the location of future meetings; usually they are held in the chair’s town. 4.Monthly Noise Report: Sara Arnold distributed the monthly noise report. She also noted that after the report from Plane Sense at the May meeting, Cedric Daniel went to the two flight schools and asked about their use of the air space over the Groton area. Both flight schools showed him materials they use requesting students and pilots to avoid that area. J. Williams said that he also talked to the schools. Both of them are trying to spread out the practice areas. Tom Hirsh distributed some information he compiled about the use of that area based on the information he received from Plane Sense. He believes this shows that there isn’t any one flight school that is overusing that area. 5.Deicing Report: Gary Mercer and Kristin Lemaster from CDM made a presentation on the storm water sampling that was done to evaluate the effects of using aircraft and runway deicing agents during the winter of 2003-04. Although aircraft deicing has been conducted since before Massport assumed operation of the airfield, this was the first time Massport had used deicing chemicals on the airfield’s paved surfaces. Sodium formate was used for pavement applications, propylene glycol was used for aircraft deicing. It was determined that there were no adverse effects on the water quality. There were 12 sodium formate applications during the winter, and CDM took six samples during each event. There was also testing done before the winter season to determine base levels. It was stressed that, despite its high cost, sodium formate was selected for airfield pavement deicing because it is an environmentally friendly substance that breaks down quickly, and studies do not show any cumulative effect. During the past winter, sodium formate applications ranged from 3,500 to 10,000 pounds per storm. Use is determined by the weather and pavement surface conditions. Each storm is different. CDM recommends that since there were no harmful effects, Massport can continue using sodium formate comfortably without continuing the water sampling. Useage can be tracked, and computer modeling can be conducted if useage changes significantly. Reports of useage will be included with the monthly noise report during the winter months. 6.Commerical Airlines: R. Walsh reported that Shuttle America stopped its service on June 11, but Boston and Maine is continuing to operate. In response to a question about Linear Air, which is advertising on the web, R. Walsh said that this is an air taxi service to the Cape. This kind of service isn’t anything new; air taxis operate out of Hanscom all the time. Linear Air doesn’t have, or need, an agreement with Massport. 7.Other: Julian Bussgang and Richard Canale asked how soon Massport will respond to the recent letter sent from the HATS Environmental Subcommittee. R. Walsh said that it should be within the next four to six weeks. J. Williams asked about the construction at the 2A/Hanscom Drive intersection that has been at an apparent standstill for many months. He reported hearing safety concerns from the aviation community. R. Walsh said that this is a MMNHP project, and Massport has asked Nancy Nelson, Superintendent of MMNHP, about the time it is taking to get the work done. Apparently Verizon is responsible for the delays. S. Mattes said she hasn’t heard of safety issues from the Lincoln police department. It was suggested that N. Nelson be invited to report on the project at the next meeting. HATS will meet the third Thursday rather than the fourth Thursday in July. HANSCOM FIELD ADVISORY COMMISSION DATE: 6/15/04 HFAC MEMBER ATTENDEES CATEGORYNAMEIN ATTENDANCE Contiguous Towns (4)********************** BedfordSheldon MollX Bedford Alt.Mark Siegenthaler ConcordAnne Shapiro Concord Alt.Charles Blair LexingtonPeter EnrichX Lexington Alt.Michael Barrett LincolnSara MattesX Lincoln Alt.Sarah Cannon-HoldenX Local Citizen Groups (2)********************** So. LexMargaret CoppeX No. LexGraydon WheatonX Area Wide Organizations (2)********************** LWVMelodee Wagen LWV Alt. Other Area Towns (2)********************** CarlisleSteve LernerX WalthamRep. Tom Stanley Waltham Alt.Michael Squillante Businesses Basing Acft at Hanscom (2)********************** East Coast AviationTom Hoban RaytheonMichael Burke Aviation/Aviation Related Businesses (2)********************** Jet AviationFrank DiglioX Signature Flight SupportRick Blaze Signature Alt.Jim Phelps Business Aviation Organization (1)********************** MBAAJohn WilliamsX NBAA (Alt. Org.)Ken Heider General Aviation Organization (1)********************** Hanscom Pilots AssociationThomas HirschX Ex-Officio Members********************** MassportSara ArnoldX MassportRichard WalshX MassportCedric DanielX HAFBRhonda Siciliano FAADave BayleyX MMNHPNancy NelsonX **************************************************************** Other AttendeesAffiliation 1Brian Porter & John VlawBrophy & Phillips 2Gary Mercer & Kristen LemasterCDM 3Catherine WetherellMPA 4Barbara ForsterCNC 518 members of the residential community signed the attendance sheet