HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-11-17-HFA-min- . ~ ,
A G E N D A
HANSCOM FIELD ADVISOR`I COMMISSION
NOVEMBER 17, 1987
7:30 P.M.
1. 7:30 P.M. Minutes
2. 7:40 P.M. Commission Relations and Massport -
Fred Marcus
3. 3:00 P.M. Brochure - Peter Barker
4. 8:20 P.M. Railroad Spur -Robert Domnitz
5. 8:40 P.M. Land Use Subcommittee - Jane Farmer
6. 9:00 P.M. Noise Subcommittee - Richard Theriault
7. 9:20 P.M. Statistics and Planning - Joyce Hals
8. 9:25 P.M. Other
The meeting will be held in the Selectmens Room,
Lexington Offices, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue,
Lexington, at 7:30 P.M.
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 A.O.P.A.
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 t0 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 fuvure, 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 ~n record and was told
that they are kegt.
. Item 3.- With regard to the purchase of the Cerasuolo
praperty, 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 riot
allowed by the Darter Plan). Datteo 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 Dassport bias is apparent. Hals
responded that Dassport 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. Stati~ icy. and Plannipg
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
Darous 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
Diller, 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 Darcus
and Domnitz expressed concern over this practice stating that t
had worked to get singles included in EXP and were not happy to
see the change. Hals promised to bring this matter to the
attention of Diller and to include a discussion at the next no
subcommittee meeting. Norman Fredkin asked if the Hawker Sidde.
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 repo~°ted
there were 355 complaints, and 215 came from ore 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 laid 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 Matted 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 year's 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. Dill 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
aiz•ports. Darker 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 finalised 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 5o 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 Matted asked the users how they
felt about the plan. Michael Dye of Jet Aviation said he would
wait and see. Matted 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.
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The work near the Shawsheen River is progressing and the Bedford
Conse~°vation 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. DE~E 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
realised 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 3Q
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 Domnitz` belief that
buying the land violates the Master Plan. Hats stated that
Massport does not agree it violates the Master Plan,as it
precludes the land from being developed for housing.
+= 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
c~~riference room. A copy will be sent to Norman Fredkin.
3. Noise Subcommittee Report -
at the last meeting three major
noise complaint system 2. EXP
information regarding nighttime
nighttime increased operations.
and Joyce Hals will be visiting
October 28, 1987.
Richard Theriault reported that
issues were discussed. 1. the
(and SEL weighing factors). and
surcharges as they relate to
He also advised members that he
airports in California the week of
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 Proposal - 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
X10,000 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 far 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 Clpdate: 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
i'~assport 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
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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.
8' Other: Peter Barker took up the issue of a recent brochure
developed and distributed by Massport. He said the brochure was
misleading and biased showing favoz•able 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 wez°e 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 850 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 1988 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,
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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 Aprii"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.
Matted 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 Matted 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, ~Jperations
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. Matted 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.
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