HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_GTAB_10.11.2019Minutes of the Meeting of the
Georgetown Transportation Advisory Board and the
Governing Body of the City of Georgetown, Texas
October 11, 2019
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Board Members Present: Ron Bindas — Board Chair, Dan Jones, George Brown, Sheila Mills,
Doug Noble, Troy Hellmann, Ercel Brashear
Board Members Absent: Robert Redoutey, Rachael Jonrowe
Staff Present: Wes Wright, Ray Miller, Emily Koontz, Michael Hallmark, Joseph Carney, Paul
Diaz, Wayne Reed, Susan Watkins
Others Present: Carl Norris -ACC, John Milford -ACC, Louis Alcorn - University of Texas at
Austin, Trae Sutton — KPA, Phillip Huntley — Garver, Jacob Walker — HDR, Wendy Dew — ACC
Regular Session
A. Call to Order: Meeting called to order by Chairperson Ron Bindas at 10:OOam
Georgetown Transportation Advisory Board may, at any time, recess the Regular Session to
Convene an 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 Board Members and Visitors: All board members, visitors, and staff
were introduced.
C. Updates to various planning initiatives by CAMPO and TxDOT transportation
improvement projects as wells as an update on GoGeo Operations. Ray Miller gave
updates. All updates included in the packet.
D. Discussion regarding the Airport Monthly Update and Project Time Lines - Joseph A.
Carney, C.M., Airport Manager and Ray Miller, Acting Director of Public Works. Joseph
Carney gave updates. All updates included in the packet. Brashear asked why there
were two different financial reports. Paul Diaz replied that there were several reports
previously generated before the city's reorg, now that the budget team is putting the
report together the reports there will only be one report and that will eliminate variances
in reports because there will be no time difference between when reports were
generated.
Citizens Wishing to Address the Board: The following people with the Airport
Concerned Citizens (ACC) signed up to speak to the Board on Item E:
Carl Norris — 6 minutes (extra 3 minutes donated by John Milford) — Statement attached
to minutes.
E. October 2019 GTAB Updates - Wesley Wright, P.E., Systems Engineering
Director/Michael Hallmark, CIP Manager. Wesley Wright gave updates. All updates
included in the packet.
F. The Draft Bicycle Master Plan.
The City of Georgetown Public Works Department is working with graduate students
from The University of Texas at Austin to create a Bicycle Master Plan for Georgetown.
The plan will serve as a blueprint for potential cycling transportation enhancements in
the future. Brashear asked and Miller replied that the $15 million estimate would
produce about 51 new miles of bike lanes. Noble asked and Miller answered that some
of this could be tied in to street maintenance projects. Bindas commended Miller on his
thoroughness and also advised caution with proceeding forward because of the inherent
dangers of road sharing with bicycles and cars. Hellmann asked and Miller answered
that protected bike lanes will work differently depending on the widths of the streets
and expressed concerns about residents be able to park in front of their homes.
Legislative Regular Agenda
G. Consideration and possible approval of the Minutes from the September 13, 2019
Meeting - Emily Koontz - Board Liaison. MOTION by Hellmann, second by Brown to
approve the minutes. APPROVED 6-0-2-1 (Redoutey and Jonrowe - absent, Brashear -
abstained)
H. Consideration and possible action on Task Order KPA-20-001 to Kasberg, Patrick, and
Associates, LP (KPA) in the amount of $162,970.00 for professional engineering services
related to the FY20 Downtown ADA Improvements -- Wesley Wright, PE, Systems
Engineering Director. Plans are included in the packet. Bindas asked and Wright replied
that this plan highlights specifies projects that are higher need and not compliant.
MOTION by Hellmann, second by Noble. APPROVED 7-0-2 (Redoutey and Jonrowe
- absent)
I. Consideration and possible recommendation to award a contract to Royal Vista, Inc. of
Liberty Hill, Texas for the construction of the 17th Street CDBG Sidewalk project in the
amount of $163,405.00 - Wesley Wright, P.E., Systems Engineering Director/Michael
Hallmark, CIP Manager. Wright explained that CDBG stands for Community
Development Block Grant. The reason this area was chosen was because of the income
in the area and the two GoGeo bus stops. MOTION by Noble, second by Brashear.
APPROVED 7-0-2 (Redoutey and Jonrowe - absent)
J. Consideration and possible action on Task Order KPA 20-002 with Kasberg, Patrick, and
Associates, LP in the amount of $423,500.00 for professional engineering services related
to FY20 Street Maintenance and Curb and Gutter replacement -- Wesley Wright, PE,
Systems Engineering Director. Plans are included in the packet. MOTION by Mills,
second by Brown. APPROVED 7-0-2 (Redoutey and Jonrowe - absent)
K. Consideration and possible action to approve an appropriation of $2,650,000 to AvFuel
Corporation for annual fuel purchases for resale at the Georgetown Municipal Airport --
Joseph A. Carney, C.M., Airport Manager and Ray Miller, Acting Director of Public
Works. The city is currently choosing to continue with the contract with AvFuel to
purchase fuel against that and sell later. Hellmann asked and Carney replied the fuel
purchases do not happen all at once. MOTION by Brashear, second by Brown.
APPROVED 7-0-2 (Redoutey and Jonrowe - absent)
Adjournment
Motion by Hellmann, second by Bindas. APPROVED 7-0-2 (Redoutey and Jonrowe -
absent)
Meeting was Adjourned at 10:57 AM
Approved: Attested:
Bindas -Chair Dan Jo s - 5ecre#ary
I
Emily K ntz - GTAB S d Liaison
GTAB STATEMENT
OCTOBER 11, 2019
AGENDA ITEM "D"
AIRPORT MONTHLY REPORT
Good morning Mr. Chairman, and members of the GTAB. My name is Hugh C. Norris, Jr. My
residence is 4400 Luna Trail, Georgetown, Texas. I am a member of the Airport Concerned
Citizens (ACC), a group of over 100 city households.
My comments this morning on behalf of the ACC continue our August 9, and September 13,
2019 statements demanding a professional study showing how the Georgetown Municipal
Airport (GTU) can be seamlessly relocated to a safe, superior, and protected site at no cost to
current taxpayers.
Our August 9, 2019 GTAB statement touched on the hazards associated with GTU's location to
the ground dwelling public and esteem of the city. The GTAB denied participation of any public
member having NEPA related concerns for the health, safety, environmental hazards and
property values of those on the ground in development of the 2016 Airport Master Plan and its
$60 Million PROGRAM of continued hazardous aviations expansion. Public objections were
ignored and destroyed without response. By its actions, the GTAB has endorsed the 2030
Comprehensive Plan Update land use plan for the GTU as the single most dangerous location of
a civilian/military airport in the nation. That plan locates the industrial zoned GTU in the
planned landlocked heart of our city rapidly growing to 200,000 and totally atop the exposed
Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone (EARZ).
We were dramatically reminded last week of our vulnerability to these hazards by the
devastating air crash, explosions and fires at Bradley Airport (BDL) in Connecticut. Like the
GTU, the BDL is a military/civilian airport only larger. BDL has over 2,400 acres. It is well
buffered from development. The GTU has, reportedly, between 550 and 640 acres and, due to
lack of proper city zoning, is densely enclosed and landlocked by non -airport compatible land
uses. The enormous BDL toxic aviation fuel fires required large quantities of firefighting foam
containing PFAS, an EPA toxic chemical, that local officials fear may have dangerously
contaminated the Farmington River and points downstream. As this board knows, the GTU lies
entirely atop the EARZ, a vast honeycombed cavernous structure, providing direct surface water
recharge to the Edwards Aquifer, a sole and public regional water supply.
If the BDL disaster had happened here, it could have destroyed dozens of private homes and
enveloped travelers of portions of neighborhood streets and major city roadways with significant
loss of life and properties. Contrary to FAA regulations, these homes and roadways lie within the
crash and explosion "Runway Protection Zones and Object Free Areas" shown on the GTU
Airport Layout Plan approved by TxDOT for federal and state grants for operations expansion
approved by this board. If a BDL type explosion ignited the 35,000 gallons of above ground
stored GTU toxic aviation fuels it could have ignited numerous FBO fueling stations, and the
resulting inferno would make our disaster larger than that of the BDL and potentially poison the
sole and public water supply of the Edwards Aquifer. Every person in this room knows to avoid
such a potential disaster, the GTU must be relocated to a safe, superior, and protected site.
Members of this board are obligated by their recommendations to protect the best transportation
interests of the citizens of Georgetown as a whole, but may feel restricted in any actions for
possible GTU relocation based on past city airport dogma and contents of the Citizen FAQ
posted on the city's GTU website. DON'T BE! Past dogma and the entire FAQ are riddled with
falsehoods, distortions, misinformation, and lack of information which the ACC will debate in
any open GTAB forum. The FAQ portion on airport relocation is a prime example.
Our city leaders sought citizen input for use of over $500,000 in excess FY 2018 budget funds.
They spent over $1 Million studying alternatives for the two Austin Avenue Bridges. They
recently approved almost $400,000 for a bus system that virtually no one rides but the drivers.
They sold their previous city facilities to substantially afford their palatial new ones. No
responsible city leader, and that includes members of this board, can refuse in good conscience
to accept the location of the GTU as best of all possible alternatives without a professional study
showing there is no other alternative. The city can easily fund the study. Why should it not? If
this board refuses to respond to this request, it must demand the city's Communications
Department explain the refusal to the citizen owners of the airport.
Mr. Chairman, comments and/or questions from board members will be appreciated.