Our runway is being bulldozed!

BULLETIN: RWY 18/36 in Iowa City is being torn up by bulldozers and
front-end loaders!

As I am typing this, heavy equipment is RIPPING OUT huge chunks of the
runway! In an act reminiscent of Mayor Daley's midnight raid on Meigs
Field, after suddenly ordering the runway closed last week, our Airport
Commission has now ordered the destruction of this runway, without
warning or explanation.

Incredibly, an airport commision that has claimed to have no money for
maintenance or upkeep (at least in the 8 years we've been tenants) has
magically obtained money to pay for the destruction and removal of tons
of 60-year old reinforced concrete.

Upon witnessing the equipment rolling onto the field, cell phones
across the airport burst to life, and I immediately called Randy
Hartwig, Airport Commission President, to find out what was happening.


The story from Mr. Hartwig was that the runway is being torn up in
order to install a new Automated Weather Observation Station (AWOS) and
to gain access to the power cables underneath the concrete.

This explanation is, well, incredible. Is it possible that there is
really no room on our airport property for an AWOS -- which we ALREADY
HAVE IN OPERATION -- other than where Rwy 18/36 currently sets?

Worse, is spending tens of thousands of dollars to rip up the runway
the best use of our limited funds, while our other runways, taxiways,
lights, aprons, and instrument approaches languish in disrepair?

It is clear from the actions of the last 10 days that this runway
closure and demolition were planned out well in advance, yet a closing
date was never announced. Strangely, despite the existence of FOICA
(Friends of Iowa City Airport) -- an airport users group that would
have made advance notification as simple as a mouse click -- (all of
our airport commissioners are members of FOICA) no effort was made to
give advance notice to airport users.

Worse, as former Commission President Rick Mascari has made clear, it
was well within the the power of the Airport Commission to keep this
runway open -- and it was solely their decision to close it.

And, now, it was solely their decision to rip it up.

Since its inception on March 3, 1944, the mission of the Airport
Commission has been to "preserve and protect airport infrastructure for
future generations". With the destruction of this irreplaceable
runway, it appears that this commission has abandoned its charter.

Sadly, the closing of this runway was approved years ago, before the
inception of our airport support group, FOICA. Since then, that
decision has sat "on the books" and -- because no one protested when
the decision was made -- apparently the current commissioners felt the
closure was a "done deal" and could be implemented at any time.

This has apparently led to their "Daley-esque" handling of the
situation. Pilots were given no notification (other than a note taped
to the door of the FBO -- a door very few airport tenants ever use) of
the runway closure -- and the destruction of the runway has come as a
complete surprise to every airport user.

If you feel that the runway closure -- and subsequent demolition -- was
handled improperly, I urge you to contact our airport commissioners.

Randy Hartwig
Howard Horan
John Staley
Greg Farris
Janelle Rettig
Dan Clay (Advisory Member)
Airport Specialist Michael Tharp:
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
Friends of Iowa City Airport
AOPA Iowa City Airport Support Network Volunteer
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
[...]
This has apparently led to their "Daley-esque" handling of the
situation. Pilots were given no notification (other than a note taped
to the door of the FBO -- a door very few airport tenants ever use) of
the runway closure -- and the destruction of the runway has come as a
complete surprise to every airport user.

As sorry as I am to hear of the destruction of your runway, let's not
elevate the Meigs Field closure by comparing it to a legal and relatively
low-impact removal of a single runway at an airport with multiple runways.

If the removal was really on the books since "years ago", it should not have
been a surprise to the airport users.

This event is similar to Daley's actions only with respect to the equipment
being used and the target of destruction. It is otherwise far from it.

Pete

This event is similar to Daley's actions only with respect to the equipment
being used and the target of destruction. It is otherwise far from it.

Everything about this is Daley-esque. I personally know every single
airport commissioner, and I knew NOTHING of this closure, or the
subsequent demolition.

Approval of eventual closure does NOT give the commission the right to
close the runway suddenly and without warning -- and it certainly
doesn't give them the duty or the right to spend tens of thousands of
dollars ripping up the concrete.

Although our airport is far from closed, this action -- taken by a
group that is supposedly in existence solely for the purpose of
perpetuating our airport -- gives me little reason to believe that they
are acting in the best interests of airport users.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Hey, Jay

Make tell the Airport Commission to make sure the runway surgeons are better
then the human surgeons would be a pity for them to amputate the wrong
runway!


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
BULLETIN: RWY 18/36 in Iowa City is being torn up by bulldozers and
front-end loaders!

As I am typing this, heavy equipment is RIPPING OUT huge chunks of the
runway! In an act reminiscent of Mayor Daley's midnight raid on Meigs
Field, after suddenly ordering the runway closed last week, our Airport
Commission has now ordered the destruction of this runway, without
warning or explanation.

Incredibly, an airport commision that has claimed to have no money for
maintenance or upkeep (at least in the 8 years we've been tenants) has
magically obtained money to pay for the destruction and removal of tons
of 60-year old reinforced concrete.

Upon witnessing the equipment rolling onto the field, cell phones
across the airport burst to life, and I immediately called Randy
Hartwig, Airport Commission President, to find out what was happening.


The story from Mr. Hartwig was that the runway is being torn up in
order to install a new Automated Weather Observation Station (AWOS) and
to gain access to the power cables underneath the concrete.

This explanation is, well, incredible. Is it possible that there is
really no room on our airport property for an AWOS -- which we ALREADY
HAVE IN OPERATION -- other than where Rwy 18/36 currently sets?

Worse, is spending tens of thousands of dollars to rip up the runway
the best use of our limited funds, while our other runways, taxiways,
lights, aprons, and instrument approaches languish in disrepair?

It is clear from the actions of the last 10 days that this runway
closure and demolition were planned out well in advance, yet a closing
date was never announced. Strangely, despite the existence of FOICA
(Friends of Iowa City Airport) -- an airport users group that would
have made advance notification as simple as a mouse click -- (all of
our airport commissioners are members of FOICA) no effort was made to
give advance notice to airport users.

Worse, as former Commission President Rick Mascari has made clear, it
was well within the the power of the Airport Commission to keep this
runway open -- and it was solely their decision to close it.

And, now, it was solely their decision to rip it up.

Since its inception on March 3, 1944, the mission of the Airport
Commission has been to "preserve and protect airport infrastructure for
future generations". With the destruction of this irreplaceable
runway, it appears that this commission has abandoned its charter.

Sadly, the closing of this runway was approved years ago, before the
inception of our airport support group, FOICA. Since then, that
decision has sat "on the books" and -- because no one protested when
the decision was made -- apparently the current commissioners felt the
closure was a "done deal" and could be implemented at any time.

This has apparently led to their "Daley-esque" handling of the
situation. Pilots were given no notification (other than a note taped
to the door of the FBO -- a door very few airport tenants ever use) of
the runway closure -- and the destruction of the runway has come as a
complete surprise to every airport user.

If you feel that the runway closure -- and subsequent demolition -- was
handled improperly, I urge you to contact our airport commissioners.

Randy Hartwig
Howard Horan
John Staley
Greg Farris
Janelle Rettig
Dan Clay (Advisory Member)
Airport Specialist Michael Tharp:
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
Friends of Iowa City Airport
AOPA Iowa City Airport Support Network Volunteer
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 20 Jul 2006 09:36:38 -0700, "Jay Honeck" wrote
in .com::


If you feel that the runway closure -- and subsequent demolition -- was
handled improperly,


Have you considered authoring a news article, and distributing it to
the local news papers, and contacting the local TV news departments?

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
This event is similar to Daley's actions only with respect to the
equipment
being used and the target of destruction. It is otherwise far from it.

Everything about this is Daley-esque. I personally know every single
airport commissioner, and I knew NOTHING of this closure, or the
subsequent demolition.


Jay, notwithstanding the ancient decision to do the closure and
destruction -- it is a moot point, after all -- did your public officials
violate the terms of Iowa's Iowa Open Meetings Law: Iowa Code Ann. Ch. 21.1
et. seq. in scheduling the destruction?

" 21.3 Meetings of governmental bodies shall be preceded by public notice
as provided in section 21.4 and shall be held in open session unless closed
sessions are expressly permitted by law. Except as provided in section 21.5,
all actions and discussions at meetings of governmental bodies, whether
formal or informal, shall be conducted and executed in open session."

I don't know Iowa's statutes, but typically the only exceptions permitted by
law are those pertaining to pending litigation or personell matters.

On 20 Jul 2006 09:54:22 -0700, "Jay Honeck" wrote
in . com::

Approval of eventual closure does NOT give the commission the right to
close the runway suddenly and without warning -

Have you contacted the FAA regarding the necessity of the airport
operator to provide 30-day notice before taking such action? I
believe a new fine structure was implemented in reaction to the
destruction that occurred at Meigs.

Suggest that you send in a FOIA request to the FAA regarding any
information on your airport that occurred in last 3-6 months. Someone must
have filed something including the runway closing notice. You might also
uncover some other things that you haven't heard about yet but are soon to
happen. Unfortunately, it will cost you a few dollars to get this, so be
as specific as possible when you request the info so as not to get every
weather report, etc., that mentions the airport. They only charge for the
reproduction costs.

Thanks, Dan

Jay Honeck wrote:

BULLETIN: RWY 18/36 in Iowa City is being torn up by bulldozers and
front-end loaders!

As I am typing this, heavy equipment is RIPPING OUT huge chunks of the
runway! In an act reminiscent of Mayor Daley's midnight raid on Meigs
Field, after suddenly ordering the runway closed last week, our Airport
Commission has now ordered the destruction of this runway, without
warning or explanation.

Incredibly, an airport commision that has claimed to have no money for
maintenance or upkeep (at least in the 8 years we've been tenants) has
magically obtained money to pay for the destruction and removal of tons
of 60-year old reinforced concrete.

Upon witnessing the equipment rolling onto the field, cell phones
across the airport burst to life, and I immediately called Randy
Hartwig, Airport Commission President, to find out what was happening.

The story from Mr. Hartwig was that the runway is being torn up in
order to install a new Automated Weather Observation Station (AWOS) and
to gain access to the power cables underneath the concrete.

This explanation is, well, incredible. Is it possible that there is
really no room on our airport property for an AWOS -- which we ALREADY
HAVE IN OPERATION -- other than where Rwy 18/36 currently sets?

Worse, is spending tens of thousands of dollars to rip up the runway
the best use of our limited funds, while our other runways, taxiways,
lights, aprons, and instrument approaches languish in disrepair?

It is clear from the actions of the last 10 days that this runway
closure and demolition were planned out well in advance, yet a closing
date was never announced. Strangely, despite the existence of FOICA
(Friends of Iowa City Airport) -- an airport users group that would
have made advance notification as simple as a mouse click -- (all of
our airport commissioners are members of FOICA) no effort was made to
give advance notice to airport users.

Worse, as former Commission President Rick Mascari has made clear, it
was well within the the power of the Airport Commission to keep this
runway open -- and it was solely their decision to close it.

And, now, it was solely their decision to rip it up.

Since its inception on March 3, 1944, the mission of the Airport
Commission has been to "preserve and protect airport infrastructure for
future generations". With the destruction of this irreplaceable
runway, it appears that this commission has abandoned its charter.

Sadly, the closing of this runway was approved years ago, before the
inception of our airport support group, FOICA. Since then, that
decision has sat "on the books" and -- because no one protested when
the decision was made -- apparently the current commissioners felt the
closure was a "done deal" and could be implemented at any time.

This has apparently led to their "Daley-esque" handling of the
situation. Pilots were given no notification (other than a note taped
to the door of the FBO -- a door very few airport tenants ever use) of
the runway closure -- and the destruction of the runway has come as a
complete surprise to every airport user.

If you feel that the runway closure -- and subsequent demolition -- was
handled improperly, I urge you to contact our airport commissioners.

Randy Hartwig
Howard Horan
John Staley
Greg Farris
Janelle Rettig
Dan Clay (Advisory Member)
Airport Specialist Michael Tharp:
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
Friends of Iowa City Airport
AOPA Iowa City Airport Support Network Volunteer
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

As they say "follow the money". Watch for development of any kind at the
either end of the runway.

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
The story from Mr. Hartwig was that the runway is being torn up in
order to install a new Automated Weather Observation Station (AWOS) and
to gain access to the power cables underneath the concrete.

FOICA knew about this decision being on the books but didn't get it
reversed. What else has been forgotten? Time to see about land use zoning
changes. Someone has plans for the land and there's a record of it or the
money somewhere.

Might be time to find one or two or 50 endangered species or on the land. If
you can't have a runway, they can't have new buildings either.

D.