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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976-01-20-GHTF-min.pdf GOVERNOR'S HANSCOM TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES January 20, 1976 - Estabrook Hall , Lexington, Massachusetts MEMBERS PRESENT Chairman R Langdon Wales , Lincoln Representative Evan Y Semerjian, Citizens ' Aviation Policy Association Allan Kenney, Lexington Representative Jacquie Smith, League of Women Voters Maurice J Nolan, A I M, Raytheon Arthur Barnes , Norumbega Association Thomas P Callaghan, Massport, Director of Community Affairs Senator Ronald C MacKenzie 5th Middlesex District David E Stephens , Concord Representative Representative Edward M Dickson, 38th Middlesex District Mike Goulian , Mass Aviation Trades Association Representative Genevra R Counihan, 40th Middlesex District Frederick L Hafer, Bedford Representative ABSENT Representative Carol C Amick, 37th Middlesex District Senator Chester G Atkins , Middlesex and Worcester Senator John W Bullock, 4th Middlesex District Representative Lincoln P Cole, Jr , 35th Middlesex District Major Donald G Rhoads , USAF Electronic Systems Division Representative Robert A Vigneau, 34th Middlesex District MASSPORT James A. Fay, Chairman David W Davis , Executive Director Michael W Christian Ann M Herschfang Frank L Harrington Jr Richard E Mooney, Director of Aviation Albert V Bratt Jr , Chief, Research and Analysis Frank Hidinger, Manager, Hanscom Field Tim Campbell , Staff assistant STAFF Rita Gilbert OTHERS PRESENT Neil L Lynch Bruce M Singer, R Dixon Speas Associates Carl V Robert, R Dixon Speas Associates Vincent A Scarano, FAA Raymond Blessing, Aide to Senator Chester G Atkins Nora C Rawlings, Concord William T Spencer, Merriam Hill Association Bard S Crawford, Merriam Hill Association Manfred P Friedman, CAPA, Lexington Conservation Commission Jean Rubenstein, assistant to Congressman Paul Tsongas Cathy Buckley, Central Transportation Planning Staff Nicholas Scurto, Ham corn Air Force Base Joyce Greif, CAPA, Merriam Hi l l Association 2 The meeting was called to order at 7 35 p m by Chairman P Langdon Wales In his opening statement Wales said that since the Task Force had the full cooperation of Massport members felt responsible that the master plan should address the community concerns The next phase of the master plan is defini - tion of the planning alternatives for Hanscom Field to be analyzed in the final phase of the master plan The Task Force will demand that the consult- ants demonstrate that the set of alternatives they propose is a comprehensive response to the community concerns The Task Force is working toward its own analysis of alternatives to satisfy itself that the range of future possibilities of interest to the communities is adequately covered The purpose of this joint meeting is to provide the Massport Board and the Task Force an opportunity to explore together informally the policy questions outlined in the Task Force letter of December 10 to Dr James A Fay that will have to be resolved by Massport in the next few months The Task Force does not expect that the Board will provide definitive responses during the meeting , but rather will confront the questions better informed as to the community concerns about them when they are presented for Board action The major part of the meeting was spent in a discussion of the course taken by the master plan Dr Fay felt it was perhaps now time to re-examine and focus on policy choices , and possible further changes in the study plan He saw four major issues - 1) growth , 2) noise, 3) ground access , 4) compre- hensive planning for the long run Bruce Singer, summarizing the status of the master plan, stated that the consultants planned to provide guidelines , with a major focus on the questions raised by the "Profile of Community Concern ", taking into consideration the environmental impact, and a continuing community participation program The development of alternatives and options for the future were to be dis- cussed at the next subcommittee meeting Several members expressed the importance of heeding the community 's expressed needs Board member Ann Herschfang said the Task Force should define the alternatives to be explored by the consultants Chairman Fay said the Task Force should see to its concerns and let the Massport staff see to it that the Massport interests were represented Task Force members expressed some reservations about the Phase I Report Evan Semerjian argued for study of a no-airport alternative, an idea that had previously been set aside as impractical Task Force member Arthur Barnes pointed out that the major planning work on a no-airport alternative involves addressing the problems of alternative uses rather than airport planning issues Dr Fay said that if Hanscom Field continued to be a heavy money loser Massport would have to consider closing it as one of its alternatives Task Force member David Stephens felt that the Task Force efficiency had been less than it might have been due to some degree of misconception of the significance of the previous scenarios as laid down about a year ago in a meeting with the consultants , and unsureness as to how to proceed in the area of handling the options However, it was his understanding that the Task Force would be addressing these matters directly and that the consult- ants would be required to demonstrate that their proposed options were responsive to the community concerns He also understood that while there is no contractual responsibility , the Massport had given us considerable opportunity to guide the consultants into areas we felt fruitful , and to the extent we did not fully avail ourselves , we share responsibility for any lapse The communities ' options do have to be presented to the consultants and they have to be responded to -3- Concerning the role of Massport, R chard E Mooney„ Massport Director of Aviation, said he saw the project as a three party job -- bask Fr ce, Massport and consultants , with the Task Force to produce the concerns and scope of study , and the Massport stepping in as needed He aid the Massport Board had stayed in low profile to avoid the position of dictating policy , but now feels the issues have drifted, and there is a need to get back on course Members said that. the Task Force had defined the issues of community concern in preparation for the master plan but the plan had been unresponsive to the community concerns so far, and that Massport, initially an active participant in the three-party activity had become a passive observer during the past six months In response to Mr Mooney's question of why the noise study was incomplete, Singer said that there had been delay for lack of information about certain types of flight activity and he planned to have a supplement to the Phase I Report ready about February 1 Dr Fay felt it more pertinent to now plan for the future and, toward that goal , felt it would be helpful if the Task Force would come up with a plan and then sit down with the consultants David W Davis , Executive Director of Massport said that the Logan master plan (not yet released) calls for diversion of general aviation activity from Logan and it must be assumed that Hanscom traffic will increase in consequence Hanscom operates at a loss now, and Massport must take some action to reduce the loss Wales said that to quantify the diversion traffic was essential to the Hanscom master plan The seven policy issues were then discussed with Dr Fay stating they would be carefully considered by the Board, with a written response then made to the Task Force 1 Role As previously stated by Davis , Hanscom Field could possibly be a back-up for Logan 2 Construction There are no plans for any expenditure of money at Hanscom Field Board member Frank Harrington said that three of the four Massport facilities lose money, and as a consequence capital funds for development of facili - ties at Hanscom are hard to come by and unlikely to be used without extremely good justification It is possible that events at Logan, now unforeseen, could affect the future of Hanscom Field There is no plan for scheduled airline use 3 & 4 Restriction Restriction may well be by noise output rather than type, the mix being an important factor, as well as the time of day Data is currently being gathered for a record of activity from 11 p m to 7 a.m 7 Continuation Yes , to a continuing community liaison -4- Wales announced a change in meeting plans There will be a meeting of the full Task Force on Tuesday , January 27 in Estabrook Hall in Lexington instead of the Master Plan subcommittee meeting as previously planned The meeting was adjourned at 10 20 p m A short Task Force meeting opened at 10 35 The Massachusetts Science and Technology Foundation, represented by Irving Sacks , manager of energy programs , and Lee Steele, consultant, is concerned with seeking a site for the planned Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI) , to be proposed to the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) Their needs are for 1) 20 to 30 acres for the laboratory itself, 2) 100 to 300 acres overall (not necessarily contiguous) , 3) proximity to transporta- tion (within 1 hours drive to Logan) and 4) nearness to centers of intellect- ual activity Climate and geography are not important Several sites are being considered, but they are quite interested in the possibility of Hanscom Field In preliminary talks , they have received favorable response from Lincoln Laboratory and Cambridge Research They anticipate about 1450 personnel , and a total operating budget of 50 million dollars a year when they are operative The time schedule is for February 1 for proposal requests , with 60 to 90 days after that for the finished proposal , and then 60 to 90 days for a decision Comments on the proposal to recommend a Hanscom site can be sent to Irving Sacks at the Mass Science and Technology Foundation, 10 Lakeside Office Park, Wakefield, MA 01880, or to the Task Force, Civil Terminal , Room 205 , L G Hanscom Field, Bedford, MA 01730 At 11 05 Arthur Barnes started to present a proposal for a new HEPAG meeting, but it was felt that more time was needed than was then available, and his presentation would be re-scheduled -5-