HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-01-19-HFA-min HANSCOM FIELD ADVISORY COMMISSION
MINUTES- JANUARY 19 , 1988
In attendance were
Barbara Patzner Airport Manager
Michelle Matteo Bedford
Peter Barker Lexington
Richard Theriault Lincoln
Paul Roberts Concord
Ed Farnsworth Carlisle
Robert Domnitz Meriam Hill Associates
Ben Obear AOPA
John Wraga Beechcraft
John McGovern Pilot-Concord
Peter Reid Hanscom Tenant
Robert Weiss Air Travel Journal/Travel N E
Ken Picoulino Pilot
Al Schmertzler HPA Lincoln
Jim Merageas FAA Tower
Michael Dye Jet Aviation
Norm Fredkin Raytheon
Henry Wilfholm Digital
Bob Lombardo Beechcraft
Theresa Szymanski Jet Aviation
Francesca De Van Massport
Joyce Hals Massport
Sara Arnold Massport
Evelyn Parent Hanscom Pilots Assoc /HPA
Mel Berman HPA
Andrew Ostrom HPA
Will Lunn Catskill Airways
Jane Farmer LWV
Larry Ingber
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1 Minutes
There were no corrections to the November 17th Minutes
A lengthy discussion followed, concerning whether Massport should resume
taking the minutes, as they had previously through October 20, 1987 HFAC
members took the minutes of the November and January meetings since Massport
felt that HFAC appeared generally dissatisfied with earlier Massport minutes
and should take the minutes to properly reflect HFAC views Several HFAC
members Bob Domnitz, Michelle Matteo and others were uncomfortable with
HFAC taking the minutes since, not being trained stenographers, pertinent
details could be missed and the minutes could vary considerable from month tc
month depending on the individual taking the minutes
While some felf that exact quotes and by whom were important, most appeared _
favor of the minutes reflecting an overview or sense of what transpired, wit'.
details only when necessary for items such as motions and factual data
Other possible alternatives discussed for the minutes were for Massport to
furnish a stenographer to record the meeting in shorthand, use of a tape
recorder and for HFAC to obtain funds for a stenographer Since a majority c
HFAC members were satisfied with the minutes being taken by Massport, as long
as they were appropriately reviewed by HFAC, a motion was proposed as follows
in support of Massport taking the minutes
Motion "The Commission is generally satisfied with minutes taken by
Massport, and minutes should be limited to approximately two
pages in the future with no more than a concise paragraph
expressing opinions "
The motion was noted affirmative by the HFAC and Barbara Patzner agreed
Massport would take the minutes in the future
2 State of Hanscom Presentation
It is a tradition for Massport to give the "State of Hanscom" report of
accomplishments for the past year and goals for the coming year at the Januar
HFAC meeting
Barbara Patzner, the new Hanscom Airport Manager, who was introducted to HFAC
members and attendees by Chairman, Michelle Matteo, gave the 1988 address f
copy of the State of Hanscom report was mailed to the HFAC list by Massport
with the January meeting notice
The intention to continue Hanscom as a general aviation airport was stated,
along with legitimate concern for the impact of operations on surrounding
communities as well as the needs of aviation In 1987 a study by the FAA,
Massport and the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission which evaluated a numb€
of airports including Hanscom, concluded that Hanscom should continue as a
general aviation airport and confirmed Massport's opinion that it's role in
general aviation should not be altered The intent to abide by the 1987
Master Plan which has resulted in a decade of very limited growth and fairly
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constant noise levels was also stated Massport also intends to study and
implement a noise monitoring system in conjunction with HFAC, and improve slit
regional land use
Much of the committee discussion concerning the State of Hanscom Report
concerning the State of Hanscom Report centered around Massport's PACE
program, to relieve congestion at Logan Airport These discussions are
covered in the following item 3 PACE program Peter Barker of HFAC, with
help from others, expressed the intent of writing a review of the State of
Hanscom Report, covering HFAC questions on several issues including PACE
3 PACE Program
The Program for Airport Capacity Efficiency (PACE) nas been described by
Massport's David Davis in HFAC and Massport meetings The next meeting for
further clarification is scheduled at Logan Hilton on February 22nd at 6 00
p m The program arose due to increased congestion and reported safety
problems at Logan The overall goal is to remove a substantial portion of
general aviation flights from Logan through higher fees, control during peak
landing times and diversion of about 7 percent to other airports such as
Hanscom, Lawrence, Beverly, Norwood and Stow According to Massport, only
about 9 flights a day should be diverted to other airports such that the
increase should not be very noticeable at Hanscom
Members of HFAC, Richard Theriault and Michelle Matteo questioned how the nir
flights per day diverted to other airports was arrived at and expressed
concern that the number could exceed nine per day It was emphasized by
Massport that nine would not all be at Hanscom, and that some of these could
be commuter flights Commuter aircraft at Logan are defined as less than 60
passengers (or Commuter aircraft defined as 30 passengers for Hanscom Field)
It was also stated by Barbara Patzner that Massport must provide for
commercial aviation needs at Logan and it's market area beyond the year 2000,
and also mentioned use of larger aircraft to help relieve congestion Rich
Theriault expressed community concern for the increased PACE traffic at
Hanscom and also listed the Civil Terminal development (Greiner) plan,
commuter flights and possible land acquisitions as laying the groundwork for
future commuter growth at Hanscom Massport stated tht market demand was moE
significant from a commuter standpoint and several in attendance stated that
commuters had historically not done well at Hanscom Joyce Hals stated that
Massport would have an analyst at the next HFAC meeting to better clarify hoc.
up to nine PACE flights a day at airports other than Logan was arrived at
Ben Obear of AOPA felt Logan's problems could be solved and cited an Aero Cli.
Report by Crocker Snow indicating that capacity could be increased 25% at
Logan while decreasing noise
4 Catskill Airways
Catskill Airways of Oneonta, New York, has applied for commuter service
between Utica/Rome and Hanscom with one round trip starting on April 4, 198E
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and two round trips starting on August 1, 1988 It was stated that Catskill
is not affiliated with any major airline Catskill would use 15 passenger
Beech 99 turbo prop aircraft for this service The airline would also like i
initiate service between Hanscom and Newark airports using 19 passenger Beecl
1900 turbo prop aircraft As an alternate, Catskill would use quieter Briti€
Airstream J31 aircraft The Beech 99 and 1900 aircraft reportedly have lower
noise levels than most business jets operating at Hanscom
Michelle Matteo pointed out on page 9, item 2 , of the Environmental
Notification Plan that there were residential areas and schools in Lexington
in the flight path and that it should be so noted The 'IQ answers on page 4
with respect to effects on open space and recreation area, historic and
archeological resources and the ecology were also questioned Joyce Hals
predicted little overall effect based upon the Generic Environmental Impact
(GEIR) It was also brought out that Catskill had one year to use a
certificate, after which it would become null and void
5 Noise Subcommittee and GEIR
The next Noise Subcommittee meeting is February 9th at 7 30 p m at the
Massport conference room It was stated that the final draft of the Generic
Environmental Impact Report (GEIR) would be available for review by the GEIR
Subcommittee prior to the next HFAC meeting The GEIR Subcommittee will be
rescheduled
6 Statistics and Planning
Joyce Hals of Massport presented noise, EXP, along with a number of complaint
and operations data, from September to December 1987 The data generally
followed patterns through 1987 with noise apparently peaking in October ThE
annual noise report should be ready in March and preliminary plans for the
noise monitoring system should be available in April It was pointed out by
HFAC that night operations had doubled and Rich Theriault felt that night
operations should be looked at separately with attention given to possible
stiffer night penalites Joyce Hals wanted to look at the overall effect on
noise, EXP, before drawing conclusions on the effect of night operations and
the need for changed noise procedures It was agreed that the Noise
Subcommittee should consider increased surcharges with stronger collection
enforcement as well as changes in night noise procedures, if warranted by moi
detailed analyses of night time noise data
7 Other
Because of the heavy agenda for the January 19th HFAC meeting, scheduled
discussion of Airfield Deicing and additional discussion of Noise and the GEI
will be covered at the next HFAC meeting
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Considerable discussion took place at the January 19th meeting concerning how
and to what degree the HFAC impacts Massport decisions concerning Hanscom It
was stated by Rich Theriault that the towns did not share regulatory authority
and were in a somewhat secondary position from a decision making standpoint
Peter Barker questioned procedures, if changes were needed from a community
standpoint Michelle Matto stated that although Massport had the decision
making authority they have not violated zoning laws and have generally
recognized community inputs It was pointed out that town representatives had
some authority in enforcing the Master Plan as well as through their political
representatives Joyce Hals stated that the GEIR provides for changes in
noise rules when the communities are unduly impacted and also that Massport
has continuously recognized and acted on legitimate community concerns, such
as the Cerasuolo land, negative reaction to a hotel and future plans for a
noise monitoring system