Name: Apr 16, 2024 Special City Council
Uploaded: 2024-04-16T00:00:00Z
Duration: 1 h 3 min 8 s
Description: One question I would like you to address is FAA safety versus local airports safety because we've been told that these air study shows that FAA says they're safe.

[0:02] So, if you have a one, we're going to call me 13, we do have a form of a case. That's one of the six, excuse me, I can't just say the same applies to the police, I'm pretty sure.

[0:19] I'd both do the existence of the planet, and I think that's where the answer is.

[0:24] And I think there are probably the most advanced one nation under the outline,

[0:29] in the middle of this whole, in the middle of the end of the distance for all.

[0:33] All of our research and answers lie on it.

[0:35] I'd like to really just to get in practice, one to pay, one to pay, one to pay, one to pay,

[0:40] one to the individual.

[0:46] This will be true to me.

[0:49] Is there any more in the audience who would like to give a public comment?

[0:59] For the next item, we're going to go to close and click an obsession, but I don't want

[1:05] an executive session pursuant to set you five and I want that zero second one, one

[1:10] of the Texas government code, consultation with council on legal matters.

[1:15] I didn't do executive session pursuant to set this government code, section five and I've

[1:21] about zero step and two, the deliberation regarding the

[1:24] property, and item three personnel, close machine to

[1:28] the expense of personnel matters in accordance

[1:30] out of five, section five, and one, got zero, seven or four,

[1:34] the next is government code, to discuss appointment,

[1:37] appointment, dilation, these possibilities and do these reassignment,

[1:42] discipline, or dismissal, or democracy, or an employee,

[1:45] or two here, complaint, or charge, and use an officer, or an employee.

[1:49] Okay, we're not going to process you in your 503.

[1:53] Thank you.

[1:54] Thank you.

[1:59] I'm back in.

[2:00] Okay, we're coming into an open session at 701.

[2:06] We can begin.

[2:07] I don't want to take action regarding that.

[2:09] It's just a nice executive session.

[2:11] There are no action items to take.

[2:14] executive session, looking out for item five, air-foot zoning ordinance, discussion with

[2:19] Purpose J for a basic initiative here for a consultant and former member of FAA leadership.

[2:25] And I'm going to turn this over to Ms. Gottlieg Jones to introduce that.

[2:30] All right.

[2:31] We'd like to keep this time to have a public presentation on some various thanks regarding

[2:37] airport in New Tarvins. I'd like to have a David and Sergeant and this group, be able to talk a

[2:46] little bit for our public regarding this is the group that fits together and helped bring

[2:52] together our current airport zoning armates. And David, have you heard?

[2:58] So my name is David Sergei. Thank you, Mayor. I think council providing me here. I'm going to be really

[3:04] And we'll talk about some of the history that I have gleaned over the time period of work with the city, about the airport ordinance.

[3:12] And it goes back to 1966, in 1966, a ordinance was passed as well by the county, signed by the county judge that established the zoning district.

[3:23] And back in 1978, it was amended.

[3:26] And some of the virgins there was given the standard of the time implied that this was about safety.

[3:35] If you look at the virgins of the actual ordinance, it talks about zone safety.

[3:40] You can't be both sort of height, impeding flight, and the glare.

[3:45] Some of the language that the FAA had been developing throughout this time period was reflected in 1978.

[3:53] In 2021, we were engaged to review and amend the ordinance to comply with state and federal law.

[4:02] The one thing that we had to do is include the county because it had deal with safety.

[4:09] And so essentially the ordinance that you have now complies with both state and federal law.

[4:18] It deals with grant assurances that we've talked about in the past that are very important because it can

[4:26] results in severe economic impact to the city if those grant assurances are not applied with.

[4:34] So, you know, I think we have an expert in the field here who I would like to do a lot of this presentation, but I think I'll turn it over to perch safer.

[4:42] So you talked about the FAA is going to be on this and thank you David.

[4:55] Good evening to Mayor and members of the Council.

[5:01] I know you know this, but I'm going to make a few comments for the record and for the benefit of the public about my qualifications and then a couple of personal disclosures.

[5:13] I was born and raised in Bay City, and went off to the United States Army straight out of the high school.

[5:21] Army educated me as a lawyer at the University of Texas, and never after about seven years as a federal prosecutor.

[5:32] I began my aviation career in 1986.

[5:35] in natural, I was the general counsel of the Metfond National Airport Authority for about

[5:44] 18 or 19 years before I joined the George W. Bush administration as a Presidential appointee

[5:54] as the FAA associated administrator for airports.

[5:59] At the end of the Bush administration, I went back into private practice, I represented

[6:05] the largest air carrier airline in the world, the largest, when a car company in the world,

[6:14] the largest airport concessionaire in the world, the largest air carrier advocacy group

[6:21] in the largest helicopter advocacy group and the largest defense contractor in the world,

[6:30] all in relation to their aviation interests, I then went back to the Federal Aviation Administration

[6:41] in the Donald Trump administration, and that makes me the only person in the history

[6:48] of the FAA to hold the position of FAA Administrator for airports twice.

[6:55] Some people behind my back say you mean to say that you're the only person crazy enough to take

[7:00] And there's a hint of fact there.

[7:08] And so I'm now retired from the FAA and back in private practice and have extensive experience

[7:18] in evaluating and advising airport sponsors like the city of Bay City, airport tenants, folks who own

[7:29] and operate various types of businesses and other undertakings in close proximity to airports

[7:40] all over the country, literally from the East Coast to the West Coast. Personal disclosures,

[7:49] I'm adamant about full disclosure, and I know that you are too. And so I want to make

[7:57] it clear to all the members of the public, you already know this, I am very closely related

[8:05] to Councilman Finley's family, his mother, Jean Anne Finley, and I grew up from little

[8:14] toddlers together.

[8:15] And before that, her parents and my parents were the best of friends, since the time they

[8:21] little toddlers. And so now it's in the third generation. I guess I actually the fourth generation

[8:28] with Councilman Finley's daughters and his brothers son and daughter. And when I come to

[8:38] Bay City, I stay with Councilman Finley's family because if I didn't, his mother would ring

[8:45] my neck like a chair.

[8:48] I also have a very long standing relationship with Councilmember West

[8:53] Morton's family through his heathner relatives, Judge Burt heathner, and his wife Dorothy,

[9:00] and his cousin's Allison and Glenn and Sarah are all folks that I grew up with from my earliest

[9:09] memory here in Bay City and so, less than anybody say here for any reason other than to

[9:19] give you my best professional advice on the matters that are in front of you on this particular

[9:27] document matter will. There it is. Those are those are my connections within this room.

[9:35] So let's talk about the interrupt and you know the several of the landowners I do know I do quite know quite a number of the landowners the ones that

[9:47] Maybe or folks that I've talked to about this

[9:54] Joey Sleva are the millbunker George Harrison

[9:59] like that. And they called me. I think I learned about this matter, you know, working

[10:09] its way through the legislative process in a casual conversation with Councilman Finley's

[10:19] Parents, about six months ago, when I was visiting here in Bay City, one weekend, and I talked

[10:30] to Councilman Finley on and off about it in recent, in recent times.

[10:37] So this is my view of what you're dealing with on this particular agenda item.

[10:45] The most important aspect of this item is aviation safety.

[10:51] That's what the FAA does every day, no exceptions.

[10:57] And that's what every professional at the FAA does every day without exception.

[11:06] And it is by far the overriding concern from my perspective about what you're doing and

[11:16] whatever number two is on a different page, it's far less important than aviation safety.

[11:24] So, and I have read a very

[11:32] documents that have been provided to you by Ms. Jones as the city manager

[11:42] who is notified as the city attorney and Mr. Mason as your airport manager.

[11:50] And so here's what I see from a safety perspective.

[11:57] Number one, especially on your primary runway, which is runway 13, taking off into the wind,

[12:06] which is what you always try to do.

[12:09] If the last five of these turbine towers were to be approved by this body,

[12:19] And then that would increase the difficulty of departures for a large number of the aircraft

[12:29] that are either based at the city, municipal airport, or who use the airport on a transient

[12:37] basis.

[12:38] For example, stopping to get fuel or drop off a passenger or whatever they might be up to.

[12:46] And this is one of those, a lot of those aircraft are what we technical folks call single

[12:55] engine land and they're the least powerful aircraft, they're the aircraft that have

[13:05] By and large, the least advanced guidance systems and navigational aids,

[13:14] they are piloted

[13:15] by largely non-commercial pilots, who, and I can say this because I'm not a commercial pilot.

[13:24] I'm just a private pilot.

[13:26] We have less training, we have largely less experience than somebody who holds a commercial

[13:33] rating or is rated to fly a complex aircraft from multi-engine aircraft or a turbine

[13:40] engineer aircraft like that. And so, if you make it harder for those folks to take

[13:50] off from basic administrative order, meaning that they have to climb faster and get to a

[13:57] They altitude faster in order to safely clear these last five carbon towers that are for

[14:08] your consideration.

[14:10] Then you're making that pilot's job and you're making that airframes job harder in doing

[14:19] so you're assuming safety risk. As a safety professional, I can tell you that you don't

[14:28] ever assume safety risk unless you just literally don't have any other option. And those

[14:37] kinds of circumstances do arrive, arise. For example, in the Bush administration, I was part

[14:46] to putting a dog leg into an approach plate at LaGuardia airport in New York is by far the

[14:59] business.

[15:00] This is the most complex airspace that the United States owns. But Mayor Bloomberg, doing his job as the mayor at the time,

[15:12] he needed to put a garbage transfer station directly across the water from the end of one of the runways at Warnia.

[15:22] I mean, imagine how much garbage the city of New York generates in an hour or a day or a month.

[15:31] And they had nowhere else to put it.

[15:33] There was no other place to cite that thing.

[15:36] And so we were forced to put a dog-laid approach into the end of one of the runways there at the Gordia.

[15:45] From what I've read, from the numerous questions that I've asked and had

[15:52] greatly answered by your counsel and your city officials,

[15:58] that's not the circumstance that you're in.

[16:02] You're not in a circumstance where you have to assume safety risk,

[16:09] because there's no other option.

[16:11] And let me comment about the pilots again, just this might seem obvious, but it's still

[16:21] very exciting.

[16:23] Human beings make mistakes, and that includes pilots in command in the left seat of an aircraft.

[16:31] They're out there flying around and making mistakes, right?

[16:34] Not because they're negligent or because they're sloppy or whatnot, they're out there

[16:40] doing their best, but we human beings, we simply make mistakes.

[16:46] And so anything that you do, potentially, to make that pilot's job harder,

[16:56] it creases

[16:56] the chance that they will make a mistake, and those types of circumstances need to be avoided.

[17:04] Secondly, there's discussion in some of the documentation about the known fact that

[17:16] birds change their flight patterns in response to wind turbine farms.

[17:25] That makes sense.

[17:26] The birds are smart.

[17:28] They don't want to hit a turbine tower even any more than a pilot in an aircraft

[17:35] They do make mistakes, even those towers are well-lighted by federal regulation, or still hit them.

[17:44] But that's the rare occurrence, the more normal occurrence is, they figure it out and they change their flight patterns and their passenger patterns.

[17:54] And that, again, makes flying an airplane harder.

[18:03] You've seen in the news just like I have,

[18:05] what happens when an aircraft sucks up a bird.

[18:09] It's always bad.

[18:12] Even even when it's not catastrophic,

[18:16] it's a bad circumstance.

[18:18] And the pilot has to get that aircraft back on the ground

[18:22] as fast as they possibly can.

[18:26] Another third interesting safety implication of the agenda matter that is for your consideration

[18:34] presently is that wind, yes, wind turbines also are known to impact radar signals.

[18:47] Unfortunately, you can't know exactly what those impacts will be in a particular setting

[18:54] in a particular carbon farm until after the turbines are up in generating electricity.

[19:02] That's kind of too late if those turbines are interfering with the guidance systems

[19:08] that the pilots rely upon to help them guide those aircraft.

[19:16] That's particularly critical, and I mean, I can vividly remember

[19:23] growing up here the amount of fog that we have in Commander-in-County.

[19:31] And when it's foggy, it's really foggy.

[19:35] There's no.

[19:35] It's kind of like all or nothing.

[19:38] It's a serious situation, and so if a pilot is flying, if instrument rules and trying to rely upon their radar to get on the ground or to get off the ground, interference by a wind turbine would not be anything but a huge safety risk.

[20:02] In there are some modifications to the airport, under way, presently, that are public knowledge,

[20:17] that also have unsafe the implications.

[20:20] For example, the Texas Department of Transportation currently has under way for basic municipal

[20:25] report, a revision or an update to your airport layout plan.

[20:31] An airport layout plan is a federal document.

[20:35] It's a statutory definition.

[20:37] It's a major federal action that the FAA takes.

[20:43] They actually approve that document and physically sign it.

[20:47] And what that ALP shows is two things.

[20:51] It shows the current circumstances on your airport.

[20:55] the layout of the airfield, the dimensions of the airfield, all the buildings that are

[21:00] in existence, the navigation aids, the lighting obstructions in proximity to the airport.

[21:08] And then it also takes at least a five-year forward look.

[21:13] Based upon your capital improvement program that you have presented to the FAA for their consideration

[21:20] And in figuring out your grant needs going forward.

[21:26] And so, those, like, if I'm going to make these up, if they're, for example, is a runaway

[21:33] extension on the drawing boards, or another set of tea hangers to go along with the ones

[21:39] that you already have, or a new terminal, or an enlarged ramp for aircraft or whatnot.

[21:47] that those future projects that are in your Kaplan Prima program will also be shown on that ALP.

[21:58] But we don't know what the FAA is going to approve on that,

[22:05] Because they're still working on it, and so we won't know that until we know that.

[22:12] And so I suggest to you that this would be an inappropriate time to approve

[22:22] these last five turbine towers or fear that you will, in effect,

[22:29] Him in the airport, you will restrict the potential growth of the airport when it's a very valuable asset that, that already provides as you folks have seen better than I have, especially during natural disasters, you've got law enforcement folks flying in and out of that airport, you've got metavank helicopters, particularly, you've got disaster relief, aircraft bringing in.

[23:00] supplies, and you have the potential for overnight package delivery, faster mail service,

[23:13] things like that, which a lot of people don't, they don't necessarily think about that,

[23:19] because they don't, they don't see it, they don't drive out on the other side of Ben Black to

[23:24] look at the airport, actually they ought to. I could sit for hours and watch airplanes

[23:30] come and go, but that's just me, you know. But I think if they if they did that, they would

[23:38] have a much better understanding, a much more understanding of the value that that airport

[23:44] already brings to Madagore to County, and how that airport can grow and continue to benefit

[23:54] Madagore to County, not only through just data-day transportation services, but the economic impact

[24:02] that every airport in America throws off to their local community, whether it's a large hub like

[24:10] Just an intercontinental, which everybody around here is familiar with, are a general aviation, like basic emissable.

[24:18] No exceptions.

[24:19] Every last one of those 3,300 more or less obligated airports across the United States are economic generators for their community.

[24:34] And if you, if you made the wrong decision from a safety perspective, not only would you

[24:46] impair safety, which, of course, as I said, is by far the most countervailing consideration.

[24:53] But at the same time, you would add insult to injury by impairing the economic generator

[25:01] Now, on the other side of Anne Black, now there has been a suggestion in some of these

[25:11] maluminous documents that this is easy to fix, we'll just put a dog leg in a couple

[25:19] of the departure plates going off of runway 13, which is generally in the direction of

[25:27] these last five urban towers.

[25:32] I would advise you to think long and hard before doing that

[25:37] because, again, you're impairing safety.

[25:46] The landing phase and the takeoff phase of any

[25:50] aircraft, whether large or small, is the most unstable part of that flight.

[25:59] Up at cruise altitude, in cruise velocity, that's stable, wings level, going, going

[26:07] where you're going, but when you have that aircraft configured for takeoff or landing,

[26:14] That is a comparatively unstable phase of flight.

[26:21] So, if you, again, if you make the pilot's job harder, if that man or woman is

[26:28] going to have a seat that's actually flying that aircraft has to be focusing on yet another

[26:34] thing to do, to turn right or to turn left in the middle of a departure in order to avoid

[26:43] a turbine tower that is proposed in that area. You're just given that individual one more

[26:52] thing on their checklist that they are responsible for doing to get that aircraft safely

[26:58] off the ground and up and on its way to its destination.

[27:07] Now,

[27:11] related to that, it's another

[27:14] potential problem that you could face if those five turbine towers were put into operation.

[27:25] Like I said,

[27:29] the FAA has said is you would have to raise the departure plate to get to

[27:39] save altitude over those five towers. In other words, the aircraft will have to climb

[27:49] faster and get to a safe altitude faster in order to be safe. Well, you're talking about

[27:59] as I mentioned a moment ago, generally the aircraft that have the least amount of power

[28:08] compared to others. The ones that have the least gross payload, and so that pilot will

[28:16] then be faced with the prospect of taking on board less fuel and not flying as far or taking

[28:27] on less passengers or less payload to ensure that they can actually execute a faster,

[28:38] percent over those five turbine towers. The argument can be made legally that by doing that,

[28:48] you're restricting your airport. You're making your airport less available to the aeronautical

[28:57] public. And if that's correct, then you may be a wall thing toward a violation of the airport

[29:06] noise and capacity act of 1990. That act in a nutshell says that if you have a federally

[29:18] obligated airport, you may not restrict that airport and the access in and out of that

[29:28] airport without to members of the aeronautical public without going through what's called

[29:37] part 161 process.

[29:46] You don't want to do that. Part 161 process is very lengthy, very expensive,

[29:54] as a handful of millions of dollars and since then.

[30:00] That act was passed by Congress and signed into law in 1990. The FAA has approved exactly no Part 161 programs.

[30:13] So several airports across the country have tried to get to her, whether it was trying to keep certain types of heavy aircraft from flying in and out,

[30:26] Whether it was trying to lessen the noise in noise sensitive airports around their airport or any number of other reasons

[30:35] and they've spent millions and millions of dollars trying to do that, and the FAA has never improved one of those programs.

[30:43] And so you could get yourself in the box, a blind alley, where you permit these or me.

[30:54] You permit these five towers to be installed at the end, and then the FAA comes back and says,

[31:01] wait a minute folks, you just restricted your airport by racing the minimums for a lot of your

[31:10] based aircraft and a lot of your aircraft. You didn't get our permission, so you got to fix this.

[31:20] Well, the only two fixes that I can think of are removing those five towers after they're

[31:27] already up and running. I think as a practical matter, we can all imagine that that would

[31:33] be a very nasty piece of litigation with a bunch of people, you know. And donors and

[31:41] the developers and the power systems and like that, which I mean, who knows what the result

[31:48] of that would be in court or go to a part 161, we know exactly what the result of that

[31:58] will be, you'll spend millions of dollars trying to persuade the FAA that that was a good

[32:02] idea and they'll say no, and so I caution you to think a little more broadly and just the

[32:11] idea that there is maybe a physical obstruction aspect of this, or maybe there's a navigational

[32:20] equipment aspect of it's, in my judgment, a much water consideration, then what may have

[32:29] been proposed to you up to this point.

[32:32] Now, let me switch finally to FAA grant assurances.

[32:44] I know there's been a lot of discussion about that in the community and I'd like

[32:50] to give you a little more specific understanding of that process and also to kind of camp

[33:01] down some bad information that has been going around the community.

[33:09] As the mayor knows and has Ms. Odefe knows, every time the FAA gives you a grant, you have

[33:19] to sign a grant agreement with the FAA. It is a binding contract and a touch to that

[33:31] contract, after you read through a lengthy list of federal statutes, executive orders, federal

[33:37] regulations,

[33:40] you get to the 39 airports, sponsored, grant assurances that presently are on

[33:49] the books.

[33:52] Those grant assurances are not rules, they're not regulations, they're not

[33:58] And on policy statement that the FAA has drafted over the decades, each one of those 39

[34:05] grand assurances is virtually for Betham from a federal statute.

[34:12] Those 39 obligations must be performed by you as a federal, federally-obligated airport sponsor.

[34:23] And a couple of those are particularly pertinent to the matter that is presently before you.

[34:33] Number 20, talks about hazard removal and mitigation and protecting the approaches and departures from your airport.

[34:46] Now a lot of people think about that in some pretty straightforward and easily understood ways.

[34:56] For example, let's say you've got private property, 500 feet off the end of your runway,

[35:05] and right on the center line of the runway, there's a tree that's too tall.

[35:11] Well, it's your obligation to get rid of that tree.

[35:16] Otherwise, we're back to what I was talking about a minute ago, where the approaching departure plates of the airport have to be lifted in order to make sure aircraft get over that tree.

[35:28] It's your obligation whether through negotiation with the landowner to get a right of access.

[35:36] Maybe you have to pay for the right of access, maybe you have to go out and condemn a small portion

[35:45] of that property or whatnot.

[35:47] You got to get rid of that tree.

[35:49] Well, we're in the flip side or the flip circumstance.

[35:55] The tree hadn't sprouted yet.

[35:57] There are five, there are five proposals out there for some trees to sprout, to sprout in the form of turbine powers, and it's your duty under, for an assurance number 20, because it interferes with the approaches and departures from your airport, and with the safety of the airspace around your airport.

[36:25] to do everything that is reasonably within your authority to prevent that group of 5 trees from growing up and penetrating the approaches to your airport.

[36:42] And so, I caution you in a row to grant sure it's number 20.

[36:49] And then there's number 21 that comes obviously right behind it, which has to do with

[36:55] compatible things.

[36:57] You have a statutory duty, under federal law, and you have a contractual duty, to the

[37:12] that is reasonably within your authority to ensure that the land use around your airport

[37:21] within certain parameters and it's different for each airport depending upon the nature

[37:27] of the operations and the type of aircraft and the size of the airfield and whatnot to ensure

[37:33] And those surrounding land uses are maintained compatible with the operations of the airport

[37:41] and not surprisingly, number one on that list is saved, you got it, you got it, stay safe.

[37:51] And so, let's, let me, let me work taste this for you.

[38:04] Let's assume that you approve these five remaining towers under

[38:13] are some handful of them.

[38:18] Then, also assume that one of your existing tenants in it, somebody out there makes any

[38:26] municipal airport that's renting out any rent, any fuel flowage fees, and all that kind

[38:32] of stuff, is in one of these smaller aircraft that suddenly has to get off the ground 50%

[38:41] faster than what they have to do presently, and they go, and as the city council is not,

[38:50] they're not, they're not doing their job in hazard mitigation.

[38:57] They're not doing their job in ensuring that the compatible land uses around the airport

[39:04] remain that way. And so they would file what's called a Part 16 action. It's under Title

[39:13] 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 16. Now, as I've told you before,

[39:26] Part 16 is intended

[39:29] to be, and says in plain English that it is an expedited process, in my world, that's a joke.

[39:40] Because everybody said, oh, yeah, we're going to, you know, somebody that doesn't know better,

[39:43] they said, oh, I'm going to do it, part 16, and I'm going to get you straight now, and it's

[39:48] an expedited, and so you better, here we go, and you're going to get straight quick, nothing

[39:54] can be farther from the truth. That's a minimum of two-year process, even to get to the first

[40:05] level of decision. And that's what's called a director's determination. The director of

[40:12] airport compliance and systems management is a senior executive in the office of airports,

[40:20] reports directly to the Associate Administrator for airports, and so, at least two years

[40:28] to get to that director's decision. And then, if somebody doesn't like the director's

[40:35] decision, whether it's you or the person that filed the part 16 in the first place, then

[40:42] a appeal, the director's decision to the Associate Administrator for Air Force.

[40:50] That's another year or process, usually minimum, and all the quiet, all what you're doing,

[41:02] nothing against these good folks in misotope.

[41:04] I mean, they're doing a good job for you in my judgment, and I've seen some real messes

[41:09] in this, I'm telling you.

[41:11] They're doing a good job for you and it's been a pleasure to get to know them and to work with

[41:18] them and have my questions answered and wanted to likewise miss Jones.

[41:24] But all the time, you're just paying them in your white and so then the Associate Administrator

[41:31] for Airports issues what's called a final agency decision,

[41:38] that is a very serious responsibility

[41:44] I can't remember how many fans that I've ever issued, but I can tell you that during my two terms at the FAA,

[41:54] 16 of my fans were appealed to federal circuit court.

[42:00] That's a straight, that's in the statute, it's a straight shot.

[42:04] It goes directly from the airports organization to federal circuit court.

[42:09] For example, here, it would go straight to norms, to the fifth to the fifth circuit.

[42:18] I've never been at 16 times, I've never been overturned, and a really good staff, good

[42:26] lawyers, a lot of hard work and professionals at the FAA, they're very proud of their

[42:35] track record, they don't want to be overturned either.

[42:40] And so,

[42:44] let's worst case it again.

[42:47] So let's say it gets, and in, let's say a part 16

[42:52] were built today.

[42:57] Well, I can't tell you who the Associate Administrative

[43:01] for your approach will be in three years.

[43:05] If President Biden wins, it might be my successor,

[43:08] Shneta Griffin, if she is re-appointed to that presidential position.

[43:15] If President Trump wins, I have no idea.

[43:20] But it will be three years at a minimum while you're paying the lawyers

[43:26] in the consultants and then let's say you lose and the FAA says, you violated 20, you violated

[43:39] 21 or you violated one of the other of them, then you then your grants, your federal funds

[43:53] immediately are at risk.

[43:59] Here's how that's going to play it out.

[44:03] If you then have to go to New Orleans, then you're really not in some lawyers, because, you know,

[44:14] pellet work in federal circuit that's not what I do, but there are a lot of lawyers that

[44:20] do that. That's what that's the only thing they do, and they're really expensive. And then

[44:26] the clock starts running again and you're waiting on a bunch of judges on the federal circuit

[44:31] and whatnot. And so, and in the meantime, whether it's Ms. Griffin, my successor, or whoever

[44:40] is the next in line is the associated administrator. They've already cut off your discretionary funds.

[44:48] That one person with no process, no method. That one senior executive presidential appointee can cut.

[45:00] Your discretionary funding, the big pot of money off with a signature. So you've already been put off from the big pot. And then when you lose in the federal circuit, then your entitlement funding that you get automatically.

[45:23] It's a computer formula, an algorithm embedded in a financial computer, then that then

[45:32] then start a process to cut you off from that.

[45:37] And so here's how that works.

[45:40] The first thing they do is they cut you off from future cranes.

[45:45] If the violation is bad enough, then they'll stop paying on your current, you know,

[45:52] ones that are currently open, where as the project progresses, you pay periodic payments

[45:58] to the contractor to cut those payments off, and then if it's a really bad violation in

[46:05] the view of the FAA, they have the authority to turn around and call back from you the last

[46:13] six years of grants that you've got, whether they're a discretionary or entitlement that

[46:19] matter if it was an FAA grant, they can claw back six years' worth and so you end up writing

[46:26] the check to the Secretary of Transportation. I promise you that the Secretary doesn't want

[46:34] your money. That doesn't help grow the system. That doesn't help maintain airports, but the Secretary

[46:44] and have any discretion in that regard. You have pulled your end of the bargain on those

[46:51] crunchances and, and while it is not a routine thing for people to have their grants

[47:00] clawed back or stopped, it does happen and it could happen to you and here's how. You get

[47:08] So the end of the road in the federal circuit and you lose,

[47:15] and again, I'm not wishing

[47:19] you get a bad luck, I'm really not, I'm just telling you what the numbers will show

[47:24] you.

[47:26] The FAA is really serious about this and they're really proud of their record in court.

[47:36] They rarely, rarely get overturned.

[47:41] And so, you lose, and the FAA then comes back to you and says,

[47:46] I hear, you want these grants back, and of course you say,

[47:50] of course, you want these grants back, and what do I have to do?

[47:54] And they say, fixed this problem. You, you fixed this problem.

[48:00] If they didn't have any jurisdiction to fix it, you fix it.

[48:05] And so then you turn around to the landowners underneath these five remaining carbon towers,

[48:15] you turn around to the developer that put them there in the first place and their investors

[48:21] and it's whole host of characters and say, we got to get rid of those five towers.

[48:27] And they say, sorry, but we'll see you in court, and they may put a preemptive strike

[48:37] on you when they know what you're thinking.

[48:39] And again, you're stuck, you're in a box, and you can't find your way out because you

[48:48] can't, as a practical matter, get rid of the problem, and on the other hand, well, you

[48:55] You might, but that would be a lot of expensive litigation over a long period of time.

[49:02] And at the same time, you've got to have the money, you need to keep growing the airport

[49:08] and that for most people that takes federal funding, that's why that trust fund is there,

[49:15] It's been there since 1982, and so not that Congress appropriates enough on an annual basis,

[49:28] but that's a separate subject.

[49:30] If you have a chance to talk to your senators and congressmen, you might tell them they've

[49:36] been stuck at 3.3 billion for over 10 years now.

[49:40] We all know the cost of doing anything, including airfield construction, has gone up a lot in over 10 years.

[49:48] So that's just a little

[49:52] political rant and I guess you have it, but my point obviously is this.

[49:59] You've got a very serious decision to make here. There are all sorts of implications,

[50:05] which I hope I've described to your satisfaction, but the one who always got to come back to the

[50:14] one that you must remain focused on to the exclusion of all else is aviation safety. That's what

[50:25] rules of the Roost, so to speak, and so, again, I compliment Ms. Odefay, Ms. Jones, lawyers

[50:35] and consultants that have advised you up to this point, I do think they're doing a great

[50:40] job for Luria, and I urge you to remain focused on safety, because you've got a greater

[50:50] report, a lot better airport than one that I grew up on over here on a normal street,

[50:56] over on the backside of the river tracks there, there's still a hangar up over there, too.

[51:02] It's all right?

[51:03] My father built one of them in your grandfather, contributed to part of it because one

[51:09] of his aircraft was in it, too, sir.

[51:11] He had me after working on it, and so, you know, he got a great asset there.

[51:18] It's growing, it's having a great economic impact on the city of Bacity in Managora County.

[51:25] It's got a lot of potential for advancement as a part of the system of airports

[51:32] that America is justifiably proud of, and so just stay focused on safety.

[51:41] Any questions?

[51:42] One question I would like you to address is FAA safety versus local airports safety because we've been told that these air study shows that FAA says they're safe.

[51:56] Well, yes I've read all those studies and those those five are only God knows how many of those studies I've read in the last 38 years.

[52:11] But it's a lot,

[52:14] there is a difference in what the FAA looks at during an obstruction and airspace

[52:27] analysis and obstruction evaluation and airspace analysis and what the airport sponsor

[52:35] you are responsible for through your grain assurances.

[52:43] The FAA basically looks at everything above 200 feet.

[52:52] If you're proposing to build something that physically would extend more than 200 feet

[53:01] above ground level or some other

[53:04] classes, if you're going to build an airport within a certain distance around an airport

[53:10] that's going to be chief in reflective glass, or if you're going to build any sort of

[53:20] installation that gives off radio waves, electromagnetic pulses, anything like that that might

[53:28] interfere with navades or guidance systems on aircraft or radios on aircraft, then you must

[53:37] file what's called a form 7460-1. And that's been done and you can see the results,

[53:45] the first step in that process was the filing of 7460-1. And now you've got the evaluation.

[53:51] But that is effectively from 200 feet up to the heavens, below 200 feet, that bothers to you.

[54:06] Now, I don't want to get an argument with the real estate lawyers, because I'm not on.

[54:11] Some real estate lawyers will say, well, actually, the federal government doesn't own until 400 feet H-E-L.

[54:19] I love it. It doesn't make any difference. The subject today is that FLA has looked

[54:25] above 200 feet, but they're turning to you and saying, you got to fill that gap from

[54:34] the ground up to 200 feet, H-E-L. And that's exactly what your airport zoning ordinance

[54:44] does. It takes it all the way down to the ground and it talks not only in about physical

[54:54] instructions, but it talks about noise and talks about why my hazard, which are an honest

[55:01] to God problem, or especially an aircraft that is in takeoff or landing configuration and

[55:10] unstable at that point. And so that's the, if somebody, if somebody reads just the front

[55:22] page of one of those OE AAA reports, they go, hey, no problem. Come on folks. Keep reading.

[55:32] And you get back into the details and they talk about, for example, they talk about the

[55:47] That's a visual whiteboardal route that's on the aeronautical chart, along with the airport.

[55:56] And they mentioned that there's not a whole lot of traffic on B-70.

[56:05] That's not the way I think about safety.

[56:07] If you're not one aircraft out of the sky, you've messed up.

[56:11] This is not about...

[56:14] This is not about minimizing risk.

[56:16] This is about not assuming the risk in the first place when you don't have to.

[56:25] You're not in that box where, oh my God, we have to have this and there's no other alternative.

[56:31] That's not where you are.

[56:34] And so did that answer your question?

[56:36] Yes sir.

[56:36] There's other very well.

[56:39] You have a council.

[56:41] Members have any questions?

[56:42] No, but I would like to thank you for your time and efforts.

[56:49] I'm so sorry, thank you.

[56:51] Before you take all of us,

[56:52] we have some people here from the public.

[56:55] If you have your question,

[56:57] has it been answered?

[56:58] Would you like to get your question answered?

[57:00] If you have any.

[57:06] I want to make sure.

[57:07] Okay. Thank you, sir.

[57:08] Thank you.

[57:10] Thank you.

[57:11] Thank you.

[57:19] Thank you.

[57:20] the last six years and potentially be talking.

[57:24] We have about 10 million over.

[57:25] 10 million over.

[57:26] And the city could be a lot ofable for.

[57:28] If you would have to pay back then.

[57:32] And not get me more.

[57:34] Right.

[57:36] Any other comment, concerns?

[57:38] Questions?

[57:39] Council has more to bring up before we adjourn?

[57:42] We didn't go.

[57:43] We didn't close session.

[57:44] But I don't think there's anything concerning about it.

[57:48] We have had tentatively talked about an April 29th date, just that's that hearing.

[57:55] I have not heard that on that date from the applicant of Perlivariance.

[58:03] Didn't know how y'all scheduled still was, but if y'all want to move forward with that date as the date,

[58:11] We'll continue moving forward and having on the April 23rd agenda to approve the rules.

[58:19] The rules that you'll abide by as the Board of Adjustments in the case are in the granting of variances.

[58:29] And so just to let us know if that date is still feasible for everybody.

[58:37] It is, I'm good for it.

[58:41] From 24 to midnight.

[58:44] From Monday.

[58:45] And that would be five or six o'clock.

[58:47] Yeah, probably.

[58:48] I mean, the earlier, the better.

[58:50] This is what it means of hearing.

[58:54] You said, the 29.

[58:57] That's the date.

[58:58] We attend a temporary chat.

[59:02] And I can let you know.

[59:03] I'm not going to be.

[59:07] I'm not going to be here.

[59:08] I'm the 29.

[59:09] You're not.

[59:10] I will not be here.

[59:13] I'll leave you.

[59:15] I'm available.

[59:16] I'll be out in the town.

[59:18] Here's I'm available.

[59:21] You would time would you prefer to start?

[59:26] Maybe.

[59:31] Or if you didn't need to buy a beer at four.

[59:34] We're having a beer.

[59:35] Would that help?

[59:36] Or?

[59:36] I'd need to travel from San Antonio.

[59:40] Would four help?

[59:41] Would that be?

[59:42] Okay.

[59:44] Yeah.

[59:44] Yeah, I'm not going to be here. I'm watching it.

[59:47] So force power here.

[59:49] Okay.

[59:50] It's okay.

[59:52] Tings.

[59:53] I don't know what it means to that.

[59:56] Okay.

[59:59] Okay.

[1:00:12] I really don't want to miss.

[1:00:18] I don't, I will talk to them and say if we can get an ultrasound.

[1:00:24] And real quick, I'd like to, yeah, I said, I want to thank James Mason as well and didn't acknowledge and recognize him for all his work and yes, all the information he's provided has been extremely helpful.

[1:00:40] And you've done a good job keeping us abreast. Let's go on and inform to help make this decision that is obviously pretty difficult.

[1:00:52] As well as the attorneys, Mr. Surgeon, his associates.

[1:00:56] Thank you all for coming down.

[1:00:58] It's actually, it's made us feel, made me feel tremendously.

[1:01:05] A little more at ease.

[1:01:07] Just to understand the process and things that we didn't know before.

[1:01:12] So I appreciate all that information and James.

[1:01:17] Thank you so much for coming down and spending your time with us.

[1:01:21] We appreciate that.

[1:01:23] Hopefully we can remind people that the type of this session will be on the city's

[1:01:31] website for viewing after today.

[1:01:35] We do keep those videos available for the public to watch at any time.

[1:01:39] anyone who would want to educate themselves by Mr. Schaefer and Mr. Sarge's discussions in open

[1:01:48] session, they will be available to watch. And we might want to point them that direction.

[1:01:55] I have to say that it is an enjoy to work with Kirk Schaefer and an honor, really, because

[1:02:01] So accomplished, and for him, the volunteer, this was a volunteer situation that he volunteered

[1:02:10] to come to, and to educate council of his own town, and should be proud of a hometown

[1:02:19] help here, appreciate it very much.

[1:02:22] Thank you, sir.

[1:02:22] Thank you.

[1:02:24] We're going to work on some Cuban A's to folks too, and in the near future, that would help some people

[1:02:30] out there.

[1:02:30] And I don't know any other experts in any other things, so you don't need to.

[1:02:35] I don't know how to get above the bat.

[1:02:41] I mean, wow.

[1:02:43] Why?

[1:02:43] We're standing on your shoulders, Blaine.

[1:02:46] Stakely going to the gym, stay strong.

[1:02:48] No, John.

[1:02:50] You don't get much better.

[1:02:54] And I'd like to...

[1:02:57] Uncle Blaine's compliments.

[1:02:58] Thank you so much for all that you've done to be here to help us out.

[1:03:00] of the educators in the other comments and need to move to a general motion.

[1:03:06] Again, all of them say hi.

[1:03:08] All right.

[1:03:08] Thank you.

Apr 16, 2024 Special City Council

Agenda

Transcript