CAA: GA News, "Mysterious Little River Airport Committee appointee a no-show at meetings"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thursday, October 3, 2002

Mysterious LR Airport Committee appointee a no-show at meetings
By NAOMI JARVIE
The Mendocino (CA) Beacon


When the Little River Airport Advisory Committee met on Sept. 20, once
again the "mystery man," Dennis Vest of Fort Bragg, was absent. No one
on the committee has met the newest member.

Also, shortly before accepting his appointment to the committee, Steve
Schoolman, the second new appointee, signed up for a master-crafter
class that runs for nine months. He will miss the committee meetings
during that time, but his wife, Kathie Sarin, was appointed as a
pilot-alternate committee member and says she will keep Schoolman
apprised of what is happening.

Agenda items discussed were the land acquisition near the west end of
runway 29 at Little River Airport, design of the proposed additional
hangar, and the scheduling of a public meeting on the update of the
airport plan.

Clear zone acquisition

For several months, the county has been in negotiations with the owner
of a parcel of property near the west end of runway 29.

Since negotiations began, Ed Powers has purchased the property. LRAAC
Chairman Tim Scully said Powers telephoned him twice saying he would
like to trade the property to the county for another parcel, but if a
trade is not negotiated quickly, he will proceed to build a 25-foot-tall
equipment storage building on the property. The building's height would
be within county, but not airport, air space requirements.

Scully said he asked Powers what he wants and Powers replied, "a trade
that makes economic sense," i.e., one that is profitable. Powers
attended the Sept. 20 meeting when Scully and Stephen Ford, representing
the county Department of Transportation, discussed the options
available.

Ford said his office was still waiting for the appraisal to be done. He
said land swaps can take a long time and be a problem as value has to
match and appraisals must be done for the two properties. He said it is
usually better for the county to purchase property rather than to match
it in dollars.

Scully said, "The key thing is that Ed is saying he wants to make a
profit."

Powers interjected, "It is not just to make a profit." He wants to
construct a building. "I went to Planning and had them analyze the
property...," he said, and was told he would be able to get a permit.

LRAAC member Trey Loy said if the land stays in private ownership,
Powers can do what he wants, but in future it could affect air space if
it was decided the airport needed an instrument approach. The
requirements written on the airport plan were done before the FAA
expanded the width of the air space and airport design criteria.

Ford said an option could be an aviation easement, meaning the county
could buy the air space to protect planes. He said it would be a
compromise.

Scully said the master plan shows the possibility of a precision
approach. He said if the GPS approach was ever wanted, that piece of
property would have to be acquired. Air space remains OK for the
non-precision approach used now.

"For future growth it would be nice to have that piece of property," he
said. "The committee would like to see the county acquire this piece of
land."

Powers said the escrow was to close that day, Sept. 20.

Ford said when the escrow closes, the county will then be dealing with
Powers.

Hangars

The hangars project has been a long time in the works, with 16 future
lessees having given the county deposits for proposed hangars. Ford
presented descriptions of various hangar styles to the committee.

He said the cost to build single-row T-hangars is approximately $20,000
less, per hangar, than what are called regular row hangars (a straight
line). He said the U.S. Coast Guard goes with heavier weight steel
which, if used, would increase the cost per hangar.

Loy said the T-hangar roof system is not suitable for the coastal
climate/environment. He said it may be the cheapest solution, but won't
last very long.

He said the low pitched roofs are prone to leakage, that the higher
pitch gable roof lends itself more to ventilation systems, and he
suggested the use of thicker steel, especially on the roof.

Ford said if row hangars are chosen, there would be one continuous roof
across each section of hangars.

The draft plan by Shutt Moen shows the 14 new hangars continuing in a
row of existing hangars west of the airport office, and the two new
larger hangars to the east of the office with space reserved nearby for
another row of hangars sometime in future.

Other matters

The county Department of Transportation has been working on an update of
the airport's long-term plan with the assistance of consultants Shutt
Moen Assoc. A public meeting will be scheduled in November for the
community to have input into the plan.

Scully said that at previous airport planning public meetings community
members complained that they weren't being heard. He said every effort
will be made to hear what the public wants.

An agenda item not covered at last Friday's meeting was the possible
selection of a non-pilot, alternate committee member. Robin Bell, in
attendance, said he is interested in being an alternate member. The
committee also received a letter from Albion resident Cheryl Quist, who
is interested in becoming a non-pilot member on the committee. She was
out of town the day of the meeting.

Also on the agenda, but due to limited time not covered, was a Little
River Airport Pilot's Assoc. application for a pilot/tourist supply
shop, and inquiries as to public transportation or shuttle from the
airport to various destinations and a possible car rental agency being
located on airport property.

And, County Counsel confirmed that the committee has the right to
appoint alternate members. Alternates need to be sworn in and then they
have the same voting authority as a regular member when substituting.


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