HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_GTAB_09.08.2017Minutes of the Meeting of the
Georgetown Transportation Advisory Board and the
Governing Body of the City of Georgetown, Texas
September 8, 2017
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Board Members: Steve Johnston - Chair, Ron Bindas - Vice Chair, Donna Courtney -
Secretary, John Marler, Sheila Mills, Mark Allen, Troy Hellmann and John Hesser
Board Members Absent: Doug Noble
Staff Present: Octavio Garza, Jim Briggs, Mike Babin, Mark Miller, Cindy Alejandro,
Wesley Wright, Ed Polasek, Russ Volk
Others Present: Carl Norris, Dennis Hegeberth, Terry Reed, Richard Balentine and
John Milford - ACC, Tom Crawford, Ken Mabe, Larry Wood,
Regular Session
A Call to Order: Mr. Johnston called the regular GTAB Board Meeting to order on
Friday, September 8, 2017 at 10:00 AM
The Board may, at any time, recess the Regular Session to convene in Executive Session
at the request of the Chair, a Board Member, the City Manager, Assistant City Manager,
General Manager of Utilities, City Council Member, or legal counsel for any purpose
authorized by the Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code Chapter 551, and are
subject to action in the Regular Session that follows.
B Introduction of Visitors
C Industry/CAMPO/TXDOT Updates - Ed Polasek, Transportation Planning Coordinator
Travis Baird and Ed Polasek recently met with TxDOT's Mobility 35 staff to discuss the
development of their projects. One important outcome, based on our previous request,
TxDOT is completing the environmental clearance for the Northbound Frontage Road
from Williams Drive to Lakeway as part of the Williams Drive Interchange project. The
Northbound Frontage Project is currently in the 2015 Bond Program as a FY 2023
Construction project. This really helps us in the preliminary design and approval
process.
D September 2017 GTAB Updates - Wesley Wright, P.E., Systems Engineering Director /
Michael Hallmark, CIP Manager
E Discussion regarding the Airport Monthly Report and Project Time Lines. — Russ Volk,
C.M., Airport Manager and Octavio A. Garza, P.E, C.P.M., Public Works Director.
Mr. Norris spoke on this item, comments are at the end of these minutes.
Legislative Regular Agenda
The Board will individually consider and possibly take action on any or all of the
following items:
F Review and possible action to approve the minutes from the regular GTAB
Board meeting held on August 11, 2017. - Cindy Alejandro - GTAB Board
Liaison
Motion by Marler second Bindas by to approve the minutes as presented.
Approved 8-0-1 (Noble absent)
G Consideration and possible recommendation to approve the First Amendment to
the Facility Lease Agreement with Wood Aviation, Inc. - Russ Volk, C.M.,
Airport Manager and Octavio A. Garza, P.E., C.P.M, Public Works Director
Motion by Hellmann second Marler by to approve the First Amendment to the
Facility Lease Agreement with Wood Aviation, Inc. Approved 8-0-1 (Noble
absent)
H Consideration and possible recommendation to approve a purchase of Iteris
Battery Backup and Video Processors from John Drake, of Santa Ana, Ca. in the
amount of $133,345.00. - Octavio Garza, P.E., Public Works Director
Motion by Marler second Hesser by to approve a purchase of Iteris Battery
Backup and Video Processors from John Drake, of Santa Ana, Ca. in the amount
of $133,345.00. Approved 8-0-1 (Noble absent)
Adjournment
Motion by Marler second by Hesser to adjourn meeting. Approved 8-0-1 (Noble
absent). Meeting adjourned at 10:39 AM
Attested:
Donna Courtney - Secretary
Jana Kern - GTAB Board Liaison
GTAB STATEMENT
SEPTEMBER S. 2017
AGENDA ITEM "E"
AIRPORT MONTHLY REPORT AND PROJECT TIME LINES
Good morning Mr. Chairman, members of the Georgetown Transportation
Advisory Board, city staff and ladies and gentlemen. My name is Hugh C.
Norris, Jr. I am a member of the Airport Concerned Citizens (ACC).
This is the 72nd presentation by ACC members to the city council and/or the
GTAB demanding compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) regarding federal funding and fiscal transparency for the Georgetown
Municipal Airport (GTU).
My comments this morning address Item "E" regarding the missing staff
response to the ACC GTAB May 12, 2017 Statement. That statement
described some critical grant approval defects in two proposed state and/or
federal funded projects currently included in the city's FY 2018 budget for
Airport CIP: Design and Construction Rehab for Runway 18-36 scheduled for
funding in FY 2018 and 2019 and Taxiway Edge Lighting scheduled for FY
2018. The board required staff to respond to this one and half page public
statement made in the board limited six minutes. Staff could easily analyze
any defective points or issues in that statement in one day and prepare a
concise professional rebuttal of no more than two to four pages. It has now
been four months since staff received the board's request and no response
has been presented for public review and comment. Sadly, this type
stonewalling and silent contempt by the city and staff to public NEPA
compliance demands regarding defective GTU state and/or federal grants is
nothing new to our community.
It is our understanding that in lieu of a professional concise staff response a
bound 50 page document was secretly released to this board and city
officials. We understand it consisted of transcript excerpts from the Texas
Transportation Commission (TTC) January 28, 2016 meeting, city council
minutes, federal level correspondence, airport fact sheet, and an engineer's
certification letter regarding the 1514GRGTN 25 project grant. We
understand the secret report totally omitted professional rebuttal of issues or
points regarding the illicit Runway 18-36 and Taxiway Edge Lighting
projects.
ACC members presented public objection testimonies at the described TTC
meeting for the commission's Minute Order (MO) consideration that included
two GTU grants, the 25 project 1514GRGTN and the new GTU master plan
update. The TTC arranged order of speakers to ensure that city and state
officials spoke last thereby preventing by TTC rules any public rebuttals to
false statements by these officials prior to the TTC's MO vote.
The 1514GRGTN grant is a TxDOT segmented and modified sub -program of
the total construction multi -project, multimillion program identified by the
2005 GRW-Willis GTU master plan to accommodate for the planning period
new expanded numbers of based aircraft and take off and landing
operations. Three prior master plan and updates have been completed for
the GTU. Each plan separately identified multi -project, multimillion dollar
programs for cumulative accommodations for new expansions of based
aircraft from 48 to 405 and annual operations from 31,550 to 202,025.
None of the master plans and their program projects were for safety and
reliability for initial based aircraft and operations. There has never been any
opportunities for public review and commentary for 1514GRGTN. An
Environmental Assessment (EA) was prepared for the Fuel Farm, a single
segmented project out of the 1514GRGTN sub -program, but all of the over
100 public verbal and written objections to the entire sub -program were
ruled by TxDOT to be outside the limited scope for Fuel Farm FONSI
purposes and ruled irrelevant.
It is understood this secret response included state official statements
repeating the lie against me addressed in my GTAB June 09, 2017
statement and correspondence sent to me from federal elected and
administrative levels without inclusion of my written rebuttals stating them
riddled with false, misleading or no information and/or positions inconsistent
with the NEPA. An included engineering report addressed only project
elements of 1514GRGTN and not the Runway 18-36 Rehab for doubling the
strength of the runway. All the city responses on the airport fact sheet
contain false or misleading information. The city response to the EIS
question is without merit and inconsistent with FAA NEPA compliance Orders
5050.413 and 1050.1F.
For appropriate community involvement, this staff response report should be
presented to this board and the public in an open free dialog workshop
attended by local, state and federal officials and the press, TV broadcast by
the city's streaming video productions, and made into a YouTube video for
global review.
Mr. Chairman, I welcome comments and/or questions from the board.