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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 The City of Georgetown is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you require assistance in participation at a public meeting due to a disability, as defined under the ADA, reasonable assistance, adaptations, or accommodations will be provided upon request. Please contact the City at least four (4) days prior to the scheduled meeting date, at (512)930-3652 or City Hall at 113 East 8th Street for additional information: TTY users route through Relay Texas at 711. 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.