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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1989-03-21-HFAC-min.pdf APR-11-1988 12 15 FROM HANSCOM TO 9735611 P 02 _ .� SE'd_ECIMEN 4. 4- 15o9 MINUTES �Et.-`°v�,. March 21 , 1989 O 8 meA, HANSCOM FIELD ADVISORY COMMISSION R � 7989 ATTENDANCE 1 Michael Dye Jet Aviation Robert Domnitz Merriam Hill Assoc, - Lexington Paul V Roberts Concord M Henry Wifholm Digital Liz Banks Lexington Minuteman Francesca de Van Massport Sara Arnold Massport Dick Marchi Massport R D Sanford NBAA & Cobey Corp Norm Fredkin Raytheon Julie McCay Turner League of Women Voters Patrice Hurley Bedford Jack Taylor Lexington S Jan David Beeqhcraft East Paul J Collins Beechoraft East Liz Corcoran Lincoln Planning Board Col Vincent J MacDonald Hanscom Air Force Base Michael J Harrington Bedford resident Frank J McGovern Bedford resident Kenneth H Ringle Bedford resident Joyce Hale Massport Barbara Patzner Massport Charles R Lezama Bedford resident RPR-11-1988 12'26 FROM HANSCOM TO 9735611 P 01 MINUTES Paul Roberts called the meeting to order at 7 40 p m All present introduced themselves 1 jlj nates. There were no corrections or additions to the minutes 2 Prise Subcommittee Report. Robert Domnitz distributed draft minutes for the March 7th noise subcommittee meeting (see attached) He reviewed the results of the meeting, first discussing the issues involved in changing to new EXP (the method of estimating noise at Hanscom based on the newest FAA noise data) He then reported on the discussion that ensued regarding the nighttime surcharge, presenting the latest proposal developed by the four members present at the March 7th noise subcommittee meeting He stressed that the members present were able to reach an agreement He reported that Michael Dye, who represented the aviation based users, was not able to attend Domnitz said he understood that a minority of the subcommittee would object to the agreement reached March 7th and encouraged the minority to present an alternative position Dye read a statement (see attached) explaining his objections to both the original subcommittee proposal and the one submitted at the meeting He voiced concerns about the process by which the proposals had been developed and about the ratio of users versus community representatives on the subcommittee Dye stated that users are willing to test the validity of the proposal and even the existing surcharge Sandy Sanford also read a statement (see attached) that objected to the noise committee proposal and supported Dye s exception to the process This prompted discussion in which the users who are nonmembers of the subcommittee expressed their discontent with not being allowed to speak at two meetings when the night surcharge proposals were developed Domnitz said he did not ask the nonmembers at the March 7th meeting to refrain from making comments, and he apologized that as chairman he had not made it clear that they were welcome to do so However, he believed that the process had been proper, with dialogue extending over more than six months The other two community representatives who are members of the noise subcommittee concurred Domnitz also commented that the users had not developed alternative proposals and that the tilt towards community membership on the noise subcommittee is proper since it reflects the HFAC ratio Users felt that the length of the discussions did not necessarily mean that the solution was proper They discussed the economic viability of the airport as it relates to the communities Jan David read a statement prepared by Beechcraft (see attached) expressing its dissention APR-11-1988 12'26 FROM HANSCOM TO 9735611 P 02 Dick Marchi from Maseport told HFAC he was not surprised that the two sides had been unable to resolve the situation, and in his experience, concensus of this type is very difficult to reach Sanford moved that the surcharge question go back to the subcommittee and be discussed in a session open to all those present Barbara Patzner thanked the noise subcommittee for all its work and presented Massport s staff recommendations (see attached) for addressing the issue since there is no consensus Henry Wifholm suggested leaving the current surcharge in place until a Part 150 study is completed After further discussion, Sanford withdrew his motion Liz Corcoran asked that the noise subcommittee report be accepted by the Commission There was a tie vote, 5 to 5, with one abstention 3 Tree Cuttint_in Radford Joyce Hale reported that in October 1988, Rick Bessom, a Massport engineer, informed HFAC of a tree clearing project scheduled for 1989 to meet FAA requirements This cutting was to be done on Massport property in Concord and Bedford Because some of the area was in wetlands, Massport went to the Conservation Commissions in both towns Unfortunately, the abutters in Bedford were not individually informed and became extremely concerned when they saw the trees being cut Hale explained that the situation was complicated in part by the Corps of Engineers work on Phase 2 of the Hazardous Waste Removal Program which required some recent tree cutting in the same general area The Massport work was completed three weeks ago Bedford abutters who attended the meeting vocalized their concern that they were not notified ahead, citing that Maseport had shown no concern for its neighbors One abutter reported being told by the FAA that the cutting as done by Massport was not really necessary There were also reports of increased noise without the trees According to HFAC member Patrice Hurley, the last time tree clearing was undertaken, Massport had not notified the neighbors and had promised to do so for future cuttings She asked that Massport look into the matter of lost property values One resident suggested Massport look at the possibility of planting trees on Bedford conservation land near the Bedford gardens Hale explained that Massport is exploring options for plantings that will act as a visual buffer but will not interfere with FAA regulations However, this will not help mitigate the noise issue Further, Massport hopes to institute a management program that will help avoid the necessity of cutting mature trees in the future APR-11-1986 12'27 FROM HANSCOM TO 9735611 P 03 4 $twtistics. Sara Arnold reported on the February 1989 operations and noise statistics by comparing them to February 1988 Complaints increased, night operations decreased and- total operations for the month were down When looking at the different types of aircraft there were decreased operations for single, jet, helicopter and military aircraft The only increase was in the category of twins and turbos Using the old EXP calculations, there was an increase in noise primarily due to an increase in operations by the more noisy jet aircraft Arnold explained that Massport a programmer had made some changes in the EXP program so that it was possible to start maintaining complete records on the types of twins and turbos using Hanscom Traditionally, the noise consultant reviews the EXP results when program changes are made, and this has not been done yet Thus, there is some potential for error in the February report If there are any changes, this will be reported at the next HFAC meeting 5 Other Hale reported that the Bedford Housing Authority is interested in building twelve units of low income housing on Massport property A land swap was suggested by Bedford Hale explained that Massport is reluctant to swap due to the proximity of the land to the airport Nonetheless, the proposal will be studied by Massport Hale and Patsner reported on plans originally referenced in the business plan presented in January Funding has been approved to repair the concrete on Runway 11/29, Taxiways Alpha, Charlie, Echo and Golf, and the East Ramp There has been no decision on the funding for the maintenance building extension Domnits reported on Massport Board items He referenced a $30,000 financial study contract for Hanscom and the fact that approval of the noise monitoring system had been postponed until April Marchi explained that the Part 150 study will go forward, and Maseport staff is recommending to the Board that Masaport finance the Hanscom portion of the noise monitoring system Roberts reported that Jack Taylor, Corcoran, and Sanford have agreed to be on the nominating committee Taylor will be chairman Col MacDonald reported that he will discuss the Base Comprehensive Plan at a future meeting TOTAL P 03 HFAC Noise Subcommittee Minutes of Meeting - 3/21/89 Attendees Barbara Patzner Massport Joyce Hals Massport Sara Arnold Massport Larry Coleman Massport Robert Miller HMMH Inc Ralph Sanford Cobey Corp and NBAA Henry Wifholm Digital Patrice Hurley Bedford Al Schmertzler AOPA Paul Roberts Concord Robert Domnitz Merriam Hill Assoc - Lexington 1 Recommendations for converting to new EXP and for revising some EXP calculations in both old and new EXP Noise Subcommittee members discussed HMMH s recommendations for converting to new EXP and for making some revisions to EXP calculations a) Under the old method of calculating EXP, twin piston aircraft and turbo aircraft had been grouped together However, the noise from the two types of aircraft is not the same, and new EXP calculates them separately Bob Miller of HMMH, Massport s noise consultant, now recommends using FAA data that provide individual noise characteristics for several types of turbo and twin aircraft, rather than grouping all twins and all turbos together This was accepted for future calculations of EXP b) Miller explained that some turbos (the Beech 300 and Jetstream 31) that are being classified as heavy turbos because they weigh over 12, 500 pounds and therefore need to be charged more for night operations, should not be in that category for noise purposes He recommended changing them retroactively in both old and new EXP to the less noisy group of light turbos This was accepted by the Noise Subcommittee c) Miller recommended endorsing the GEIR recommendation that single engine aircraft be included in EXP using an estimate based on FAA tower counts, but that EXP without singles be used as a secondary source of information when evaluating changes in EXP Discussion ensued regarding the inclusion of flybys in the FAA tower counts and that actual activity at the airport may be around 85% of the tower count It was determined that the difference does not affect EXP comparisons between years , as long as it is calculated consistently, but since the tower counts misrepresent activity at the airport, it could be an issue when considering airport capacity HMMH will look into this and the issue will be discussed further at the next noise subcommittee meeting d) Sandy Sanford raised questions about the new SEL values for several of the aircraft, including the BAC1-11 and the Hawker Siddeley, due to different engines being used by those aircraft It was decided that Miller would discuss this with Sandy at another time and develop a recommendation based on his particular concerns e) HMMH recommended calculating new EXP for years prior to 1988 by using new SEL values for most of the aircraft, since the new SEL values are based on more accurate data An exeption was to leave the BAC1-11 as a noisier aircraft He also recommended separating twins and turbos on a percentage basis using the best available data for each year Members expressed concern with trying to reconstruct new EXP for prior years since complete detailed data was not available Consensus leaned toward using old EXP for measuring changes up until either 1987 or 1988, and then using the change in EXP to adjust the 1 5 dB allowance for increased noise Massport leaned toward wanting to use 1987 because Ldn contours had been created then,. and it would therefore be a good year to establish as the new base Community representatives were concerned about reconstructing the noise levels for 1987 and whether so doing would indicate less noise increase than previously thought It was concluded that the consultant should develop the numbers for presentation at the next noise subcommittee meeting at which time it would be decided whether to use 1987 or 1988 as the year to make the change from old EXP to new EXP 2 Night Surcharge System After discussion, the Noise Subcommittee agreed on revisions to the Night Surcharge System as described in the attached letter to Paul Roberts from Robert Domnitz dated 3/13/89 The agreement differs from the compromise reached a month earlier in that the decibel categories and dollar fees have been spaced more evenly Domnitz urged parties that could not support the agreement to submit alternative ideas to the HFAC or Massport