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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-10-20-HFA-min HANSCOM FIELD ADVISORY COMMISSION October 20, 1987 MINUTES OF THE MEETING In attendance were Joyce Hals Massport Francesca de Van Massport Ardine Shepard Massport M H Wilfholm Digital Norman Faramelli Massport Joyce Dietmeier Lexington Ed Farnsworth Carlisle Dave Needham Lexington Ted Jula Hanscom Pilots Assoc Theresa Szemanski Jet Aviation Larry Smith Cranberry Hill Assoc Debora Hoffman Sen Dick Kraus Liz Banks Lexington Minuteman Evelyn Parent Hanscom Pilots Assoc Bill Sohni N B A A Michael Dye Jet Aviation John Vallee Beechcraft East Inc Fred Marcus Lincoln Rich Theriault Lincoln Michelle Matteo Bedford Robert Domnitz Merriam Hill Assoc Norman Fredkin Raytheon Co Ben Obear AOPA Peter Barker Lexington HFAC Jane Farmer LWV 1 Minutes Item 1 Robert Domnitz questioned whether some items in the previous minutes had been discussed He said that he could not remember that Jetcopter, a charter service, has a new contract with a Logan Airport freight company and needs tO be at Logan before 7 a m Joyce Hals said that she had reported it Item 2 - Michelle Matteo commented that she would prefer, in the future, that the statistics report be consistent and show all the figures, not only those in Massport's favor She also asked if the corrected minutes were kept on record and was told that they are kept Item 3 - With regard to the purchase of the Cerasuolo property, Peter Barker stated that the conflict is that the Commission voted 9-2 that the land should be given to Bedford and deeded as conservation land Richard Theriault added that Massport may consider the purchasing of land as a good planning program (to prevent its use as housing) however, the purchase of land could be easily construed as land banking (which is not allowed by the Master Plan) Matted concluded that the HFAC letter stands and if the land is deeded as conservation land and given to the Town of Bedford, then the Commission is in agreement Item 5 - Barker corrected the next to last sentence to say that he objected that the Operations Subcommittee had not met to discuss the numbers presented Item 6 - Barker also said that while there has been an improvement in the minutes, a Massport bias is apparent Hals responded that Massport does its best to record what goes on, and added that Ardine Shepard takes the notes Hals then writes them and then they are reviewed by Francesca de Van Barker asked if a tape recorder could be used Shepard told the members that it takes about fifteen hours to transcribe a tape Ben Obear remarked that he thought that a fine job was being done with the minutes Hals offered to turn over the functin of taking minutes to the HFAC however the proposal did not appear to be accepted 2 Statistics and Planning * Hals reported that the total civilian EXP for September, without singles , was 109 4 compared to August EXP of 110 2 The total with singles and the military for September was 112 2 compared to 113 3 for August There were 75 night operations which was almost the same as the 78 in August Fred Marcus asked that the plot showing the EXP graph state that singles are not included, and Hals agreed to make the change Domnitz stated that the EXP calculations do not correctly indicate the number of single operations shown on the monthly operations total Hals said she had discussed the difference with Bob Miller, and he had explained that all touch-and-go traffic is not included in the EXP because the aircraft do not fly over the 15 , 000 foot mark imagined in the EXP calculations Both Marcus 44 and Domnitz expressed concern over this practice stating that they 74.L. had worked to get singles included in EXP and were not happy to =ilk see the change Hals promised to bring this matter to the attention of Miller and to include a discussion at the next noise \.. subcommittee meeting Norman Fredkin asked if the Hawker Siddeley 'I 700 was included in one of the 15 groups of aircraft and if so which group Hals said she believed it belongs in group 2A with the Lear 35 and will investigate to be certain Hals reviewed the noise complaints for September and reported - 2. ....., there were 355 complaints , and 215 came from one person The most serious complaint was due to a flight test conducted by the FAA at 4 30 a m when 22 complaints were received from all four towns She said that David Davis , Executive Director, reacted to the flight test by writing a letter to the FAA requesting an explanation The response from the FAA was read (see attached) Michelle Matteo said the letter from Mr Davis was excellent HFAC members expressed concern that the FAA had chosen to test during that time period and feared that the test might be repeated in the future Fredkin explained that the interference from traffic patterns at Logan during busy hours would force the Hanscom tests to take place during less busy times He said the FAA had run tests for many years and this is the first time that this violation had occured The HFAC said if a similar test occurs at an unreasonable hour, stronger action should take place Bill Sohni said he agreed with Fredkin and that it would be unlikely for the FAA to test at that hour again Richard Theriault mentioned that even if a lot of complaints are recorded from one person, complaints have risen and night operations are high Hals told members that Massport has hired a person for a three-month temporary position to assist in the noise abatement program During this time, Massport will work towards improving its ability to respond to complaints and also to work with pilots on noise abatement and review noise abatement programs at other airports Barker added that he thinks it is a good idea and believes letters and other actions are important He said that letters to offenders will be more useful and might decrease the number of multiple late night operators He offered to support the idea of hiring a person to assist with the noise program * Hals told the members that the Gillette lease assignment had been finalized and that Cobey Hangar is the new owner She said that some of the users concerns with regard to fueling rights have been addressed Cobey will only fuel aircraft which can be based in the hangar itself Massport also has placed a noise cap on the amount of noise that the hangar operators can generate The limit was set to the estimated noise level which may have occurred if Gillette had continued to use the hangar for the next five years The estimate was based on the Gulfstream 2 plus a Gulfstream 4 operating with a 5% annual growth in operations Questions were raised regarding how Massport intends to monitor the operations Hals replied that monitoring operations by use of flight strips is one way Massport can determine the number of flights She also said that it s easy to spot when a company increases its operations Marcus asked if Massport intended to check every month and Hals said no, she expected Cobey to report changes to Massport Michelle Matteo asked the users how they felt about the plan Michael Dye of Jet Aviation said he would wait and see Matteo then asked for an update at the next meeting * Massport has started work on the drainage improvement program and has completed the ditch work near the Jet Aviation hangar - 3 -- The work near the Shawsheen River is progressing and the Bedford Conservation Ranger, Mike McHugh has approved the work completed During the course of working in the area, Massport engineers found an orange substance coming out of conduits at the outlet to the Shawsheen River Rizzo Associates , Massport consultants who are monitoring the Air Force hazardous waste removal program, took a water sample DEQE has been notified A report on the substance will be ready shortly and will be discussed at the next meeting * Massport has entered into a contract with a consultant to look at all Massport owned buildings at Hanscom and conduct a fire protection and life safety study to determine what should be done to bring the buildings up to the state fire code * Massport has started construction of the car parking lot next to the Tower * Massport has hired a consultant to study the fire protection and life safety systems in Massport owned buildings The study will provide data on the systems and make recommendations for changes where they are required * To adhere to FAA regulations , Massport has started construction of an 8 foot fence along its perimeter on the Lexington and Bedford sides of the field On the Bedford side, the plan was to replace the existing six-foot fence The contractor and Massport realized that this would displace some trees and shrubbery planted by the abutters A decision was reached to build the new fence behind the old fence which required cutting some trees to clear a path so this could be accomplished Approximately 30 letters were sent to the abutters to notify them of the construction Two of the thirty abutters called and objected An ENF for this project was filed with MEPA two years ago Theriault asked if there is a time limit on ENFs and was advised that there is one for commuter airlines , but not for airport improvement projects * The Beechcraft building is under construction * The Greiner Plan was discussed at the Massport Board Planning Committee The plans were found acceptable The next step will be to have the full Board vote on the plan and then an airport layout plan will be developed for the FAA * The Bedford Town Manager, Rick White, and Davis , are discussing the Cerasuolo property Massport had offered a fifty-year conservation restriction and a letter from Bedford is expected with a counter-offer Massport believes that an agreement will be reached Matteo reminded members of Bob Domnitzbelief that buying the land violates the Master Plan Hals stated that Massport does not agree it violates the Master Plan, as it precludes the land from being developed for housing 44 The GEIR was delivered to the GEIR subcommittee and a meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 24th at 7 30 P M in the Hanscom cnference room A copy will be sent to Norman Fredkin 3 Noise Subcommittee Report - Richard Theriault reported that at the last meeting three major issues were discussed 1 the noise complaint system , 2 EXP (and SEL weighing factors ) and information regarding nighttime surcharges as they relate to nighttime increased operations He also advised members that he and Joyce Hals will be visiting airports in California the week of October 26 , 1987 to look at noise monitoring systems Barker asked when the information on surcharges will be updated and Hals told him it is ready A new date for the next meeting will be determined after talking with Bob Miller Miller cannot attend meetings on Tuesdays and an attempt will be made to meet on another regular date 4 HATS II Pronosal - Jane Farmer reported she had attended two meetings spearheaded by Senator Carol Amick John Eddison chairman of the Lexington has asked the four towns to go beyond what HATS has done as they have leveled off activity The concept is to coordinate regional land planning and growth in the four towns Where the orignal HATS delved into traffic issues, HATS II will concentrate on traffic and land issues The towns feel that there is a lot of information is available from the work done by Massport on the transition zone study They are asking for representation from the four towns ' Selectmen, Planning Boards , Conservation Commissions , and members-at-large There is discussion that a paid planner would be hired , each town paying $10 , 000 a year Several towns do not seem to be in favor of this proposal The ideas are still being formulated and the next step will be for the Selectmen to have HATS recalled and to define a scope for the land study Theriault asked if any of the recommendations of the original HATS had come to fruition and Farmer responded that nothing concrete, it instigated political efforts to help Bedford focus on traffic problems on the Route 3 corridor and common borders among towns Questioned on the future of HATS II , Farmer felt the DPW controlled the situation, but with HATS II , the towns would control their own land issues Larry Smith of Cranberry Hill Associates , told the members that he had met with the Traffic Improvement Committee regarding the proposal and that it favors inclusion of representatives from the commercial/industrial sector Norman Faramelli of Massport added that the one issue that HATS agreed upon was the realignment of Old Bedford Road He said that some HATS issues worked better than others , and in particular pointed to the sub-regional traffic model and that with the original HATS, towns view one another s developements and had ---. an opportunity to comment 5 Cranberry Hill Update Norman Faramelli reviewed the agreements between Massport and the developer Larry Smith regarding land swaps to accommodate a realignment of Old Bedford Road He then explained that since that agreement, Massport was contacted by Smith in August and asked to consider an easement on Massport property to accommodate leaching fields from a septic system at the Cranberry Hill development Smith was told to determine the legality of such an easement before Massport would consider it Larry Smith then explained that his engineers had conducted perk tests on his property last spring and they had passed the standards However, a more sophisticated test done voluntarily in August revealed a potentially serious problem which would cause outflows of effluent in a short period of time Based on this information, Cranberry Hill Associates had two options to consider They were to build a sewerage disposal system of their own or to dispose of the effluent in a leaching field on Massport property The second option was considered best because it was less expensive and would be considered more favorable by DEQE Smith said he could not afford both the sewerage system and the land swaps/road alignment changes already agreed upon He said that his engineers had studied the matter and felt that the leaching field would pose no threat to the environment and the daily flow was equal to wastes from four houses He explained that Hanscom Field was an old lake bed and that it has a sandy base capable of absorbing the wastes Both DEQE and the Lincoln Board of Health have agreed to this sollution Massport is willing to grant an irrevocable easement because the studies show no adverse impacts and do not preclude future use of abutting lands for similar purposes should the need arise Jane Farmerasked when the percolation tests were conducted and Smith replied in August Farmer pointed out that the weather in August is dry weather Smith agreed that the ground water is low at that time, but the tests they conducted were 14 feet below surface and are the lowest in the area This means the water table at that level is not likely to change much during seasonal variations Norman Faramelli told the members the site is located near the T-Hangars in the clear zone, where nothing else can be built Fred Marcus was concerned that during discussions regarding the hotel he remembers some problems dealing with septic problems Joyce Hals explained that it was not a problem but said that due to Air Force high daily peak flows there may have been a need to have holding tanks allowing the system to work during non peak hours He asked the Commission to review the comments in the GEIR before discussing the matter further Jane Farmer said she wanted more information regarding the topography and drainage in the area Michelle Matteo said that as town representatives , it would be necessary to talk to their towns She pointed out that the Concord representative was not there Fred Marcus said he thought the plan and Massport's taking money sounds like a 180 degree turn on Massport's part Jane Farmer asked why it was brought to the attention of the Commission only two days before a Board vote Peter Barker said Massport should give earlier notice if they are aksing for a respons from the towns He also said he wanted to --- ; work with Massport , and not just be notified The town needs time Michelle Matteo said that Concord should be notified Marcus said that the easement would set a precedent for new land use at Massport and that two days is unreasonable notice to respond Matteo wants the planner of each of the four towns to be notified She also asked to have the GEIR subcommittee meeting moved up Ben Obear asked other HFAC members that if the system will not preclude usage of the land, and from an engineering aspect it is within reason, what are the issues Members responded that unbuildable land may be turned into developed land Ben Obear said that the housing and commercial issue has already been committed Smith explained that a on-site sewage plant is being built at the housing development but that plant cannot accept the sewage from Cranberry Hill Cranberry Hill can build its own system but if it does so, they cannot go through with the land swap Matteo said that the towns and the Commission's concerns need to be addressd and the GEIR and the land use subcommittee need to meet 6Other Peter Barker took up the issue of a recent brochure developed and distributed by Massport He said the brochure was misleading and biased showing favorable statistics rather than 1987 figures He said the brochure s headlines meeting community needs , controlling growth, limiting noise, are misleading and untrue He said that while quieter jets are used at Hanscom Field, noise has increased He said the brochure mentions that noise complaints are reviewed by the HFAC , when in fact , his experience has been contrary to this statement, and that only at this meeting, the complaints were reviewed He further stated that the overall approach of the brochure is one of representing the commission as a rubber stamp of approval for Massport s public relations campaign Barker also expressed outrage with a letter from Dave Davis to the petitioners which said that Massport had dropped the proposal for a motel six months prior to the signing of the petition de Van pointed out that the brochure had been sent to approximately 650 petitioners who were residents of the towns which surround the field, pointing out that the remaining number, were either not residents of such towns , or have since moved She responded to Barker's statements by explaining that the brochure was meant to be a general primer on Massport's development of Hanscom Field and of issues relating to the operation of the airport It was mailed out not only to petitioners , but to the community at large, and elected officials She explained that the numbers represented fiscal year 1986 figures , and that when a future brochure is published that the events and numbers within the time frame of the last publishing will be added She noted that a similar brochure about Hanscom was published in the late 70 's She disagreed with Barker's comment that the new brochure does not deal with the issues and she pointed out that the old brochure only talked about operations in general and the economic benefits of the Field, whereas the new brochure deals with noise, traffic, land, and other issues of concern to the community She also said that the brochure does depicts Massport in a favorable light because that's what it was meant to do She said the goal of the brochure was to represent Massport s policies and views She also said that there is no policy statement, or fact that is incorrect, and if there are any, she would be interested in his bringing these to her attention Marcus concured with Barker s statements and said that the HFAC should not have been included in the brochure de Van said that the HFAC was included just as the pilots , tenants , and other constituencies , with whom Massport deals with on a day-to-day basis , were included She said the HFAC is an official body representing the towns and should have been included Barker said that he remembered April 's meeting when communications issues were discussed He said there had been an agreement that such materials as press releases and publications would be reviewed by the HFAC de Van stated that while communications issues were discussed, it was not agreed that HFAC would review or approve documents produced internally She stated that outside constituencies generally do not take part in an approval process of internal documents She also asked Barker whether , if tasked with the responsibility to produce a general overview of his company, would he not produce copy that described the company s views on its operations and progress Norm Fredkin asked how often the brochure is produced, then stated that since he has been on the HFAC he has seen progress with Hanscom and that while other members may question the coordination of the brochure, they should review the piece asking themselves how it ultimately benefits the community Matteo repeated that she felt a lack of communication and an incorrect process Ed Farnsworth also said that Massport was using the HFAC as an approving board Bob Domnitz asked to have Massport Board of Directors minutes sent to HFAC It was agreed that a copy would be sent to him rather than to each member Michelle Matteo announced that three HFAC members had met with the soon to be designated new Airport Manager at Hanscom She is Barbara Patzner, former Station Manager at Continental Airlines at Logan Airport who comes to Massport with more than 20 years aviation/airline management experience Jack Armour, Operations Director at Logan airport has stated that he will work with her closely and provide Logan back-up assistance particularly in the area of snow plowing Matteo told the members she thought the new manager would have a more visible role in the community She starts November 9th and there will be an overlap of a few weeks with Frank Hidinger czg