MEMORANDUM

To:     Mike Wildgen

          City Manager

From: Debbie Van Saun

          Asst. City Manager/Airport Manager

Re:     agenda item

Date:  November 16, 2004

Please place the following item on the City Commission agenda for consideration at their November 23, 2004 meeting.

Minimum Standards for Lawrence Municipal Airport

The attached standards for commercial aeronautical activities at the Lawrence Municipal Airport have been developed for City Commission review.  Once adopted, the standards will be applied objectively and uniformly to all similarly situated on-airport aeronautical activities and services.

Project History

In January, 2003, the Aviation Advisory Board established a committee, comprised of City staff, Board members, and airport stakeholders, to research and develop minimum standards for the Lawrence Municipal Airport.  To that end, the committee reviewed minimum standards from a variety of resources (Salina, Hays, Emporia, Johnson County, etc.) as well as a set of generic standards provided by Airport Development Group Inc. (ADG), the City’s engineering consultant for FAA funded airport projects.  In addition, FAA Advisory Circular number 150/5190-5 was studied to gain insight on FAA’s recommended advice on minimum standards for general aviation airports that have accepted Federal assistance.

Draft minimum standards were developed by the committee and then reviewed by the following entities:

o Aviation Advisory Board

o Hetrick Air Services, Inc. – Fixed Base Operator (FBO)

o City staff – Legal Services Department

o City staff – Risk Management division

o City staff – Public Works Department

o ADG – consultant review

Additionally, a public meeting was held on September 29, 2004 with the intention of gathering public comment on the draft.  We had one member of the public attend who voiced questions about the wording associated with exempt flying club status.

Project Status

All comments and questions resulting from the aforementioned reviews/meetings have been addressed and the draft document has been on the City’s website for several weeks during the public comment review period.  Appropriate clarifications and changes have been made and the Aviation Advisory Board determined at their November 11, 2004 meeting that the document should be forwarded to the City Commission for final review and a recommendation for adoption.

Action Request

The Aviation Advisory Board recommends acceptance of the attached document as a means to establish standards for commercial aeronautical activity at the Lawrence Municipal Airport.  City staff is in agreement with this recommendation and seeks approval from the City Commission of Minimum Standards for the Lawrence Municipal Airport.

c:       Dave Corliss, Asst. City Manager

          Chuck Soules, Public Works Director

          Lloyd Hetrick, Hetrick Air Services, Inc.

          Aviation Advisory Board

att.  Minimum Standards for Lawrence Municipal Airport