December 19th 07, 05:37 AM
Airport plan: In for a rough landing?
Hollister Freelance
By Anthony Ha
Hollister City Council members, airport commissioners and airport
tenants all raised concerns Monday about a proposed new airport layout
plan.
Airport Manager Bill Gere said the plan, which outlines possible
development, could open the door to more outside funding. But many
speakers at Monday's council meeting complained that glider facilities
and a new California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection air-
attack base have been left out.
"This airport layout plan here is not the plan we have been working
with for the past few months," said Reno DiTullio, assistant chief
with CalFire's San Benito-Monterey unit.
According to a city staff report, the Airport Advisory Commission
recommended approving the layout plan. But three commissioners -
Douglas Hooton, Fred Meyer and Allen Ritter - said the document had
been changed.
"We never recommended this plan," Meyer said.
After hearing from a number of unhappy airport users, the council
followed City Manager Clint Quilter's suggestion and called for a
special airport commission meeting. At that meeting, airport
commissioners and staff should iron out discrepancies between the plan
approved by the commission and the one presented to the council.
"I'm not willing to vote on this until we have all the information,"
said Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia.
Mayor Doug Emerson also said council members hadn't been given enough
information in their agenda packets. Those packets included the layout
map (labeled "Sheet 1 of 12") but lacked any supporting documentation,
including the remaining 11 pages of the plan or airport commission
meeting minutes.
"It's very difficult to listen to this up here and not have an
answer," Emerson said.
Bill Dickert, director of sales and marketing at ABVision, defended
leaving the air-attack base off the plan. Dickert's company wants to
develop corporate hangars on the land targeted for CalFire's new base,
and he noted that the city and the fire agency have yet to sign a
lease.
"There's no need to show provision for leases that aren't signed,"
Dickert said.
He added that the city needs to make sure it isn't ignoring
possibilities for economic development.
Before the meeting, Gere told the Free Lance that the plan identifies
the land Calfire and ABVision both want as an area whose development
will be determined by a "request for proposal."
The Hollister Municipal Airport's layout plan was last updated in
1999, Gere said, while the Federal Aviation Administration recommends
revisions every three years. If the FAA approves the new layout plan,
the airport will be eligible for many new funds, which could be spent
on building new taxiways and laying more pavement for helicopters, he
said.
Hollister submitted a layout plan to the FAA shortly before Gere
started as airport manager in 2005, but the FAA demanded substantial
revisions, he said.
"They were rather upset, to put it nicely," Gere said. "They felt an
awful lot of things weren't keeping with FAA policy."
The new plan addresses the FAA's concerns, he said.
Local developer Ken Lindsay, who owns the Airpark Business Center at
the south end of the airport, also told the Free Lance he's satisfied
with the document.
"The better the airport and the more facilities it has - it's just
always a benefit," Lindsay said.
Local glider pilots, on the other hand, were vocally dissatisfied
about being left off the plan.
"We feel directly targeted by Bill Gere and we feel harassed and we
feel discriminated against," said Drew Pearce, owner of Bay Area
Glider Rides.
Councilman Brad Pike, whose district includes the airport, said he's
disappointed the facility has become such a divisive issue.
"I'm pretty frustrated with myself and also the process," Pike said.
"We've got to be on board as a team here."
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at
831-637-5566 ext. 330 or .
Hollister Freelance
By Anthony Ha
Hollister City Council members, airport commissioners and airport
tenants all raised concerns Monday about a proposed new airport layout
plan.
Airport Manager Bill Gere said the plan, which outlines possible
development, could open the door to more outside funding. But many
speakers at Monday's council meeting complained that glider facilities
and a new California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection air-
attack base have been left out.
"This airport layout plan here is not the plan we have been working
with for the past few months," said Reno DiTullio, assistant chief
with CalFire's San Benito-Monterey unit.
According to a city staff report, the Airport Advisory Commission
recommended approving the layout plan. But three commissioners -
Douglas Hooton, Fred Meyer and Allen Ritter - said the document had
been changed.
"We never recommended this plan," Meyer said.
After hearing from a number of unhappy airport users, the council
followed City Manager Clint Quilter's suggestion and called for a
special airport commission meeting. At that meeting, airport
commissioners and staff should iron out discrepancies between the plan
approved by the commission and the one presented to the council.
"I'm not willing to vote on this until we have all the information,"
said Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia.
Mayor Doug Emerson also said council members hadn't been given enough
information in their agenda packets. Those packets included the layout
map (labeled "Sheet 1 of 12") but lacked any supporting documentation,
including the remaining 11 pages of the plan or airport commission
meeting minutes.
"It's very difficult to listen to this up here and not have an
answer," Emerson said.
Bill Dickert, director of sales and marketing at ABVision, defended
leaving the air-attack base off the plan. Dickert's company wants to
develop corporate hangars on the land targeted for CalFire's new base,
and he noted that the city and the fire agency have yet to sign a
lease.
"There's no need to show provision for leases that aren't signed,"
Dickert said.
He added that the city needs to make sure it isn't ignoring
possibilities for economic development.
Before the meeting, Gere told the Free Lance that the plan identifies
the land Calfire and ABVision both want as an area whose development
will be determined by a "request for proposal."
The Hollister Municipal Airport's layout plan was last updated in
1999, Gere said, while the Federal Aviation Administration recommends
revisions every three years. If the FAA approves the new layout plan,
the airport will be eligible for many new funds, which could be spent
on building new taxiways and laying more pavement for helicopters, he
said.
Hollister submitted a layout plan to the FAA shortly before Gere
started as airport manager in 2005, but the FAA demanded substantial
revisions, he said.
"They were rather upset, to put it nicely," Gere said. "They felt an
awful lot of things weren't keeping with FAA policy."
The new plan addresses the FAA's concerns, he said.
Local developer Ken Lindsay, who owns the Airpark Business Center at
the south end of the airport, also told the Free Lance he's satisfied
with the document.
"The better the airport and the more facilities it has - it's just
always a benefit," Lindsay said.
Local glider pilots, on the other hand, were vocally dissatisfied
about being left off the plan.
"We feel directly targeted by Bill Gere and we feel harassed and we
feel discriminated against," said Drew Pearce, owner of Bay Area
Glider Rides.
Councilman Brad Pike, whose district includes the airport, said he's
disappointed the facility has become such a divisive issue.
"I'm pretty frustrated with myself and also the process," Pike said.
"We've got to be on board as a team here."
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at
831-637-5566 ext. 330 or .