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Home My WebLink About1976-09-07-GHTF-min.pdf GOVERNOR'S HANSCOM TASK FORCE MEETING MINUTES September 7, 1976 Room G-15, Lexington Town Office Building MEMBERS PRESENT Chairman R Langdon Wales , Lincoln Representative Arthur Barnes , Norumbega Association Representative Genevra R Counihan, 40th Middlesex District Frederick L Hafer, Bedford Representative Maurice J Nolan, Raytheon, A I .M Evan Y Semerjian, Citizen' s Aviation Policy Association Jacquie Smith , League of Women Voters David E Stephens , Concord Representative ABSENT Representative Carol C Amick, 37th Middlesex District Senator Chester G Atkins , Middlesex and Worcester Districts Senator John W Bullock, 4th Middlesex District Thomas P Callaghan, Massport Director of Community Affairs Michael W Christian, Massport Authority Board Representative Lincoln P Cole, Jr , 35th Middlesex District Representative Edward M Dickson, 38th Middlesex District Mike Goulian, Mass Aviation Trades Association Allan F Kenney, Lexington Representative Senator Ronald C MacKenzie, 5th Middlesex District Major Donald G Rhoads , USAF Electronic Systems Division Representative Robert A Vigneau , 34th Middlesex District MASSPORT Albert V Brett, Jr , Chief, Research and Analysis Tim Campbell , Staff assistant Frank Hidinger, Hanscom Airport Manager - STAFF Rita K Gilbert OTHERS PRESENT Manfred P Friedman, CAPA, Lexington Planning Board Mora C Rawlings , Concord Vincent A Scarano, FAA David Emerson , Mass Aviation Education Council Peter P Gallinaro, Burlington Representative Bard Crawford, Merriam Hill Association CORRECTION Chairman R Langdon Wales opened the meeting at 7 45 p m OF MINUTES Formal approval of minutes would not be sought at each meeting but any corrections required should be offered by members at any meeting Arthur Barnes questioned the exact meaning of Richard Mooney's statement in the minutes of the August 10 meeting , to the effect that "Hanscom was pretty close to its physical limit now for based aircraft" Albert Bratt said he thought it was hangar space that was being referred to, and agreed to get clarification CURRENT TASK Wales said that the Task Force was dealing simultaneously with FORCE THEMES a number of themes enumerating some current ones as 1) the progress of the Master Plan , 2) the steps toward an economic evaluation of the impact of Hanscom Field on the surrounding area, 3) joint military/civil use of Fort Devens airport, 4) the approach to publicity and communication with the public and 5) the Noise legislation NOISE BILL Fred Hafer, chairman of the Airport Noise Study Subcommittee, distributed copies of 2 items he had received from Lucie Searle a bill authorizing the adoption of airport noise standards and noise abatement plans to be filed , and House 5260, a Resolve submitted by Governor Dukakis on 8/11/76 This resolve would create a special commission to study the problems of noise and land use at and near airports in the Commonwealth other than Logan and then make recommendations to the legisla- I ture It has been referred to the Joint Committee on Trans- portation , and a hearing will be held on Tuesday, September 21 at 11 a.m in Room 443 of the State House The commission would consist of 3 members of the Senate appointed by the Senate President, 5 members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House, and 5 persons appointed by the Governor, 1 of whom shall be an airport manager, 1 of whom shall be a resident of a community adjacent to an airport , 1 of whom shall be an official of a city or town in which an airport is located, the secretary of transportation and construction, who shall serve as chairman, and the secretary of environmental affairs The commission is to review the work of the Massa- chusetts Airport Noise Study Advisory Group (MANSAG) Evan Semerjian felt that the commission was being given very little time in which to study a very complex problem and although in support of such a commission, expressed concern about both the complexity and just what their specific task would be, other than to collect material He felt that the commission should have the benefit of the Task Force 's knowledge which should be com- municated to the commission when it is formed Wales agreed, and asked that the Noise subcommittee summarize the experience, information and positions developed by the Task Force on noise control at Hanscom Jacquie Smith pointed out that it can' t be assumed the bill will go through , a great amount of study is needed to be done by the commission and urged that the Task Force lend its support It was agreed that the Task Force goes along with the concept of some noise control being needed at airports , and also with the idea of such a commission Wales asked about the time schedule, and Smith said the bill will be filed on Wednesday , September 8 and that hearings would start in February and run through April Semerjian MOVED that the Task Force support by its own resolution House Resolution #5260 with the proviso that the final report date be extended to a more reason- able time The resolution was unanimously adopted FORT DEVENS Barnes spoke about his proposed plan for joint military/civil AIRPORT use of the Ft Devens airport With a map he showed that there is almost no room for expansion of the present airport, and also very easy access to it from route 2A The facilities include 1 long runway, 1 short runway , parking facilities and hangar space Barnes sees its potential as part of an airport system, serving regional , not town needs , relieving pressure as it may develop at Hanscom, and indirectly siphoning off excess activity from Beverly and Norwood if the need develops Another point that he feels makes Devens a logical place to look for future expansion is its excess runway time together with a small amount of base facility It was brought out that based aircraft are revenue producers , while touch and go's are not Frank Hidinger pointed out that pilots can be refused runway use for touch and go's during peak periods at Hanscom, but can' t be forced to then go to any partic- ular place Members differed on whether availability of such a releiver would create attractive conditions at Hanscom Field for increased traffic of larger aircraft Barnes has scheduled a "Citizen 's Advisory Committee on Aviation" to take place on Thursday morning, September 9 in the FAA offices in Burlington , where he hopes to further explore Devens ' place in the airway system around Boston He pointed out that Devens is a very little used good facility which, as airway traffic in- creases , could help to prevent expansion of existing facilities or new construction Vince Scarano said that if Devens became a regional airport, the FAA would probably staff the existing tower there if the level of activity warranted; it is now staffed by the Army Semerjian felt that action now was premature if not unnecessary, and asked why take action now, why not wait until actual pressure exists He was further concerned about how these plans for Devens would affect the local towns - would they benefit in any way? Dave Stephens sees potential pressure as a long way off, with the military not yet decided about its future at Devens Wales saw the Task Force mission as being concerned primarily with Hanscom , and what is desirable for it; that at present events at Devens would have no bearing on Hanscom, so that whatever action the Task Force took now would merely be setting in motion steps for the ultimate civil use of the airport and recommended Task Force support Hafer saw the importance of Devens as a resource in being that he would hate to see lost, and also sees its potential for joint use, but is concerned about the revenue-generating demand Stephens sees the proposal as diversionary and feels the Task Force should be addressing itself to Hanscom Maurice Nolan agrees that a regional airport is the right answer and wishes Barnes success in his endeavors in that direction , but feels it unwarranted to spend time now on the issue The chief concerns of the Task Force were the possibility of creating a vacuum at Hanscom, and the risk of the Devens facility being lost REGISTRATION/ Al Brett distributed a chart for the period 1955 through 1975 OPERATIONS showing the three-way plotting of 1) Total' registrations of CHART general aviation aircraft in the U S , 2) Total general aviation operations at Hanscom Field, and 3) Military operations General aviation operations at Hanscom rose faster than registrations in the U S as a whole This information fulfills a Massport com- mitment made at an earlier meeting (in Estabrook Hall) MASTER PLAN A letter from Dr Carl Robart of Speas Associates containing a SCHEDULE schedule for completing the Master Plan study was distributed The consultants predict delivery of a draft final report on October 1 They will respond to Massport and Task Force comments two weeks after receipt and deliver printed copies two weeks after that AGENDA FOR Wales said he anticipated the next meeting would be concerned with NEXT TASK three areas of discussion, 1) Task Force review of the draft FORCE MEETING final report, 2) how the Task Force and Massport deal with the public in the review of the draft report, and 3) the exploration of the business and economic impact of Hanscom on the region ECONOMIC DATA While members were generally agreed on the need for having good economic data before making policy recommendations on Hanscom Field's future, some members were strongly opposed to any approach based on the collection of subjective judgments of the effects on any particular business The proposal to invite to the next meeting a consultant who could discuss realistically the tech- nique and resources available for economic evaluation of Hanscom Field was acceptable provided he is supplied with existing back- ground material on Hanscom Field The Chairman is to attempt to secure such a speaker for the next meeting RELEASE ON The draft release on the Master Plan alternatives was generally ALTERNATIVES acceptable but it was felt important to make clear that the restrictions are being looked at as alternatives for study pur- poses and not as positive courses of action A new written draft will be mailed to all members , and they will then send their comments and/or suggestions to Task Force staff so that the release will not be delayed until the next meeting It will then be sent to the newspapers and a wide mailing list so as to elicit public interest It will include reference to the final report and the public hearing on it this fall Bratt said he sees the October 1 deadline from Speas as a date for an internal working paper for Massport and the Task Force to hash through The next meeting will be 9/28, and Wales asked the members to reserve 10/12 for the meeting after that The meeting was adjourned at 10 10 p.m Enclosures Chart 8/20/76 of Registrations/Operations 1955-1975 Resolve House #5260 (TF only) Act 8/4/76 Airport Noise Standards and Noise Abatement Plans (TF only) Note Staff has available for loan a report "New England Aviation System Ten-Year Plan Fiscal 1976-1986" July 1976 from the FAA -5- to-r/it. 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