AIRPORT NOISE ADVISORY PANEL (ANAP) 4 th Quarter, December 11, 2008 6:00 P.M. FINAL MINUTES MEMBERS PRESENT: General Aviation FAA/Airport Traffic Control Tower Fixed Base Operator Sparks Chamber of Commerce Truckee Meadows Regional Planning City of Reno Citizen Washoe County Planning City of Reno Citizen Airlines Representative RSCVA Nevada Air National Guard City of Reno Planning Airport Board of Trustees MEMBERS ABSENT: EDAWN City of Reno Citizen (Stead) Nevada Air National Guard City of Sparks Planning ALSO PRESENT RTAA Bill Vandenberg, Chair Patrick Reardon, Vice Chair John Anderson Don Berman David Ellsworth Ryan Gauger David Ginsburg Peter Gower Glenn Graves R. Paul Kelly Dr. Larry Kleinworth Lara Knipmeyer Capt. Jon Proehl Tim Smith Lt. Col. Mitch Sperling Beverly Straub Randi Thompson Paul Davis Les Harkins Arbie Neal Mike Railey Lt. Col. Mitch Sperling Jim Rundle Dean Schultz, A.A.E., Senior Director of Planning & Engineering Mark Cameron, Noise Abatement Coordinator Rick Miller, Airport Noise Analyst Faith Allen, Program Technician Brian Pratte, Air Cargo Manager VACANT SEATS Air Cargo FAA/Flight Standards District Office Reno/Sparks Chamber of Commerce Page 1
CALL TO ORDER The Airport Noise Advisory Panel (ANAP) met at the Airport Authority Administrative Offices, Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO), Reno, Nevada. Chair Vandenberg called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. INTRODUCTION OF NEW ANAP REPRESENTATIVES Mr. Cameron introduced Ms. Lara Knipmeyer who is the new City of Reno Citizen representative. Mr. Cameron announced that Mr. David Ginsburg, Sparks Chamber of Commerce representative, would be resigning and that Mr. Bob Donovan, present at the meeting, would be replacing him. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Panel approved the minutes from the 3rd Quarter meeting of September 11, 2008 with no changes. 2009 QUARTERLY MEETING SCHEDULE The Panel approved the 2009 Meeting Schedule: Thursday, March 12, 2009 Thursday, June 11, 2009 Thursday, September 10, 2009 Thursday, December 10, 2009 NOISE COMPLAINTS & CARGO ACTIVITY Mr. Miller presented the noise complaints from July, August and September of 2008. The 3 rd quarter complaints came from 23 households. The total noise complaints for the 3rd quarter numbered 268 with 104 complaints in July, 100 in August, and 64 in September. Mr. Miller explained that the decrease in the number of complaints was mainly due to the shift in winds during that period of time. The largest percentage of noise complaints came from the Huffaker area with 234 complaints at 87.3 percent of the quarterly total. There were no complaints from the Northeast Reno, Smithridge, Stead, Virginia Foothills and Virginia City Highlands areas. South Hills had 12 complaints (4.5 percent), Sparks had 5 complaints (1.8 percent), Donner Springs had 12 complaints (4.5 percent), Double Diamond had 1 complaint (.4 percent), Mt Rose Highway had 1 complaint (.4 percent) and Other had 3 complaints (1.1 percent). As a ratio of complaints to operations, the early morning hours generate the highest number of complaints to operations. The total average daily passenger airline operations for the 3rd quarter were 160. The total average daily cargo operations were 32. Of the 268 total noise complaints Page 2
which specified an incident time, 65 percent referred to flights occurring during daytime hours and 35 percent referred to flights during nighttime hours. Daily airline operations have 88 percent of their operations during the day, while daily cargo operations have 69 percent of their operations during the day. Daytime operations occur between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., while nighttime operations occur between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. CARGO ACTIVITY Mr. Miller reported that there were no changes in the cargo activity for the 3 rd quarter; however, that will change with the upcoming holiday season. FLIGHT SCHEDULE CHANGES Mr. Miller detailed the following flight schedule changes since June (84 daily departures): July (84 daily departures) No Change. August (84 daily departures) No Change. September (72 daily departures) Continental Airlines discontinued two (2) daily departures to Houston, TX. Express Jet discontinued one (1) daily departure to Tucson, AZ; one (1) daily departure to Spokane, WA; one (1) daily departure to LA/Ontario, CA; and two (2) daily departures to Long Beach, CA. Horizon discontinued one (1) daily departure to Seattle, WA. Delta Connection discontinued one (1) daily departure to Salt Lake City, UT and three (3) daily departures to Los Angeles, CA. The trend continued into the current quarter as well. October (71 daily departures) US Airways discontinued one (1) daily departure to Phoenix, AZ. November (69 daily departures) United Airlines discontinued two (2) daily departures to Denver, CO and one (1) daily departure to San Francisco, CA. Delta Airlines increased one daily (1) departure to Salt Lake City, UT. The Panel asked Staff if more noise complaints could be expected in the upcoming months due to the anticipated increase in plane load factors. Staff does not expect a noticeable increase. The Panel asked about Noise Complaint No. 5 on Page 3 of the Noise Complaints regarding a citizen who had his satellite knocked off. Mr. Miller explained that it was back on his house a few days later so he is not sure what the citizen was referring to at the time of the complaint. SOUND INSULATION PROGRAM STATUS Mr. Cameron provided an update on the residential sound insulation program. Phases 16.3 and 16.4 (66 homes) have been completed. Alpine Energy completed Phase 16.3 (43 homes) north of the airport and staff is currently working on the final Change Order and close-out documentation for the work Advanced Installations was involved in Phase 16.4 (23 homes) south of the airport. Advanced Installations did have some issues in getting this phase completed. The work in this phase was not done in a timely manner and investigation into the situation has determined that it was caused solely by the window manufacturer, Graham Page 3
Architectural Products. RTAA did not ask for liquidated damages; however, Graham will be precluded from further participation in the sound insulation program. Going forward, if Graham can provide documentation from another west-coast airport that they have successfully completed sound insulation work, RTAA will consider allowing Graham to participate in future phases at RTIA. It has been determined that Advanced Installations did everything possible to keep home owners informed of delays and that steps were taken to correct them. Phase 17A (17.1 and 17.2) consisted of 122 homes in South Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County. G.E. Chen Construction completed that work by the end of October, 2008. The work was done ahead of schedule. Staff is currently working on the final Change Order and close-out documentation for the work. Phase 17B (17.3, 17.4 and 17.5) is currently in the process of receiving bids. Phase 17.3 consists of 68 homes in Sparks; Phase 17.4 consists of 32 homes in South Hills; and Phase 17.5 consists of 55 homes south of the airport in the Wood Chase Condominiums for a total of 155 homes. Construction will begin in May 2009. Phase 17C is a phase for which RTAA received an additional $2 million in discretionary funding. This phase is for homes located in the Wood Chase Condominiums. Phase 17C currently consists of 140 homes. Phase 18A will be developed using a $6 million grant to be received from the FAA. On September 17, 2008, two Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) were advertised soliciting Statements of Qualifications (SOQs) from firms interested in providing design and project administrative services for the sound insulation program. On October 22, 2008, three RTAA staff members and one Board Trustee met to evaluate the SOQs and discuss each firm s qualifications. Two SOQs to provide architectural services were submitted one from CSDA and the other from Architect +. Architect+ was determined to be the most qualified. Three SOQs to provide acoustical services were submitted one from Harris, Miller, Miller and Hanson; one from Brown-Buntin Associates; and one from Salter Associates. Brown-Buntin Associates was determined to be the most qualified. RTAA has a long, successful history with both Architects+ and Brown-Buntin Associates. RTAA is entering into an annually renewable contract for up to five phases of work with both firms, potentially covering Phases 18-22. The Panel asked staff if the foreclosure situation has caused any problems with the sound insulation program. Mr. Cameron told the Panel that the program is currently dealing with a number of issues. One of the main issues is the number of rental homes that are owned by absentee owners and getting the owners to communicate with their tenants regarding the sound insulation program. In answer to the Panel s question regarding the eligibility of newly constructed homes, Mr. Schultz clarified that new homes are not eligible for the program. However, Staff does work closely with the three jurisdictions to make sure that conditions are placed on the new developments so that they address noise issues during the construction. If homes are located within the Airport s 65 DNL contour, Staff asks that they have acoustical analyses done and appropriate attenuation material built into the projects. Staff cannot go back and retrofit homes Page 4
built after October 1, 1998. Staff does request that noise disclosure statements be offered for developments closest to the airport. PERMANENT AIRCRAFT NOISE AND OPERATIONS MONITORING SYSTEM STATUS Since issuing a Notice to Proceed on April 1, 2008, the system deployment schedule has slipped slightly due to a variety of unforeseen problems. Flight data will be available from the tower before the end of the month. This will allow Staff to create its own annual noise contour. A number of unforeseen problems were encountered in placement of and permitting for the site monitors. However, Site No. 4 at Sparks Middle School will be operational next week. The system is now providing some basic flight tracking information from a connection to the passive radar system. The data being received is still in development. Staff anticipates that system acceptance testing will begin prior to our next scheduled ANAP meeting. The Panel will be provided with a revised schedule for system deployment at the next meeting. Deployment will not be completed by December 31, 2008. Trustee Thompson handed out Mr. Cameron s magazine article, Sound Insulation Programs Depend on the Weather that was published in the October/November 2008 issue of the Airport Magazine. AIR SERVICE PRESENTATION Brian Pratte, Air Cargo Manager for the RTAA, gave a PowerPoint presentation on the current status and foreseeable future of passenger and cargo air service for both the local industry as well as nationwide. Mr. Pratte offered to send copies of his presentation to any Panel members who wished to receive a copy. AIRPORT AUTHORITY STAFF ITEMS There were no Staff items. MEMBER ITEMS There were no member items. PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. ADJOURNMENT There being no further questions or business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Page 5