HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-02-21-HFAC-min
Hanscom Field Advisory Commission (HFAC)
Minutes
February 21, 2006
Introduction/Minutes:
1. Margaret Coppe lead the meeting due to the absence of Hank
Manz. There were no edits or comments regarding the January minutes.
Nominating Committee Report:
2. M. Coppe reported that the Nominating Committee met
and made a list of all current members and openings. They decided to nominate people for
the 2006 vacant terms, even if that position is expiring at year’s end. It was noted that the
Selectmen in all four towns must approve the nominations.
M. Coppe has contacted the Waltham selectmen and the League of Woman Voters about
representatives, and is waiting for responses. John Williams was successful in recruiting
Dale Zeskind, of Zeskind Associates, to be a representative in an aviation category. Dorothy
Steele agreed to contact Raytheon to determine its interest in continuing on the commission.
M. Coppe will contact Richard Canale about a regional organization that might be interested
in participating. It was noted that an organization should minimally have annual meetings to
be considered a legitimate candidate for membership.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU):
3. It was noted that Hank Manz has not yet had an
opportunity to distribute copies of the old MOUs. It was generally agreed that the MOU
should not dictate a meeting time.
Monthly Noise Report:
4. Sara Arnold reviewed the noise report for the month of January.
Comparing January 2006 to January 2005, she reported that there were increases in all
aircraft categories except turboprop aircraft. She noted that the turboprop decrease was
dominated by fewer operations by Boston-Maine Airways. She also noted that the January
increases may have been influenced by good weather during January 2006.
J. Williams noted that jet activity is up while noise exposure (using EXP) is down, a result
of quieter aircraft using the airfield. However, he recognized that abutting residents report
that they do not necessarily perceive this as a reduction in noise. Marty Pepper Aisenberg
noted that the Time Above metric is really the best representation of perceived noise.
S. Arnold commented that the FAA performed studies that showed a direct correlation
between Ldn and the percent of people highly annoyed, giving it legitimacy for many who
work in this field. She also noted that Hanscom’s Environmental Status and Planning
Report incorporates a number of noise metrics, including Time Above, Ldn and EXP. EXP
calculations are based on the Ldn calculations, which incorporate a nighttime penalty.
However, EXP is the total noise on an average day assuming all aircraft go over one point,
while Ldn looks at the average noise on an average day and factors in different flight tracks.
Planning Report:
5.The bathroom renovations are under construction in the Civil Air
Terminal. Massport is collecting data for the ESPR. The permitting process is underway for
the RSA project. In response to questions, Sara Arnold and/or Dorothy Steele explained:
Because of the mild winter, there has not been much de-icing activity.
Massport did not get Linear Air’s activity report and will try to include it in next
month’s report.
The Crosspoint lease has yet to be signed. As soon as that happens, plans for them to
attend HFAC will be addressed.
The new noise monitoring equipment for both Logan and Hanscom is being stored at
the Civil Air Terminal. Draft web page development material will be emailed to the
HATS ad hoc noise group to review in the next few days. Massport expects a letter
from HATS regarding relocating noise monitors.
There will be an aircraft tracker feature on the new web site but that is not included
in the draft material being sent to the ad hoc group, and the tracker feature will
incorporate a ten minute delay.
The Rannoch system will not be using FAA radar data, and the FAA will not be
using the information that will be available on the website to manage air traffic. The
system will not enhance use of the airfield. The recent newspaper discussions about
radar upgrades at Logan are not associated with the noise monitoring project.
It is anticipated that the noise system upgrade will facilitate in distinguishing aircraft
noise from community noise.
Massport has had no discussions with commercial or cargo operators at Hanscom.
6.The next meeting is scheduled for March 21, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lexington town office
building. It hasn’t been determined whether the State of Hanscom will be presented in
March or April.
HANSCOM FIELD ADVISORY
COMMISSION
DATE: 2/21/06
HFAC MEMBER ATTENDEES
CATEGORY NAME IN ATTENDANCE
**********************
Contiguous Towns (4)
Bedford Sheldon Moll
Bedford Alt. Mark Siegenthaler
Concord Anne Shapiro
Concord Alt. Charles Blair
Lexington Hank Manz
Lexington Alt. Michael Barrett
Lincoln Sara Mattes
Lincoln Alt. Sarah Cannon-Holden
**********************
Local Citizen Groups (2)
So. Lex Margaret Coppe X
No. Lex Graydon Wheaton
**********************
Area Wide Organizations (2)
LWV Melodee Wagen
LWV Alt.
VACANT
**********************
Other Area Towns (2)
Carlisle Steve Lerner
Waltham Rep. Tom Stanley
Waltham Alt. Michael Squillante
**********************
Businesses Basing Acft at Hanscom (2)
VACANT
Raytheon Michael Burke
**********************
Aviation/Aviation Related Businesses (2)
Jet Aviation Frank Diglio X
Signature Flight Support Rick Blaze X
Signature Alt. Jim Phelps
**********************
Business Aviation Organization (1)
MBAA John Williams X
NBAA (Alt. Org.) Ken Heider
**********************
General Aviation Organization (1)
Hanscom Pilots Association Thomas Hirsch X
**********************
Ex-Officio Members
Massport Sara Arnold X
Massport Barbara Patzner
Massport Cedric Daniel X
Massport Dorothy Steele X
Massport Tom Ennis
HAFB Rhonda Siciliano
FAA Dave Bayley
MMNHP Nancy Nelson