Saturday, October 04, 2014

Redlands Municipal Airport (KREI) Advisory Board discusses stockpile, airshow

REDLANDS>> The Redlands Airport Advisory Board is seeking help from the city attorney and City Council to ensure the removal of a stockpile that has formed near an airport runway.

After much discussion, the board on Wednesday agreed to ask the City Council to direct the city’s counsel to write a letter to San Bernardino County officials asking that they not renew a permit for the large dirt pile and that the pile is removed by the end of the year.

“This has been very critical all along. This is not the first time we’ve voiced our concerns,” said Ingrid Biglow, chairwoman of the advisory board.

The California Department of Water Resources is in the second phase of its East Branch Extension Project, which included the construction of a 400-foot reservoir and the accumulation of a large stockpile just past the end of the runway outside of Redlands city limits.

The Citrus Reservoir is on the northeast corner of Opal Avenue and San Bernardino Avenue in unincorporated county territory.

Pilots were alerted to the situation near the end of 2012.

City officials have been working with the Aeronautics Division of Caltrans and county on the removal of the pile, which is on privately owned property.

San Bernardino County approved a permit, twice, for the stockpile through November. They are eligible for a third permit, said Chris Boatman, senior project manager with the city of Redlands.

“At this point, essentially now what I have is a timeline,” he said. “Aside from our efforts with Cal Trans’ Division of Aeronautics, we’re on the path now to monitor the timeline and any concerns or changes that occur.”

Boatman said staff with the Quality of Life Department, which oversees the airport, has written to the county about the pile being an incompatible land use near the airport.

Councilwoman Pat Gilbreath, liaison to the board, requested the item be placed on the Council’s agenda for the second meeting in October.

Ted Gablin, president of the Redlands Airport Association, asked why the city’s land use agreement with the county to protect the area surrounding the airport has not been brought up.

“There’s so much liability in this,” he said. “It’s dangerous to pilots. We need to get this done. The thought of granting an extension on another permit is mind boggling. It really is. I really can’t say more about it.”

The board also discussed scheduling a special meeting in November to develop parameters for future airshows.

A subcommittee of three board members intend to attend a meeting between city staff and representatives of Hangar 24 Charities to discuss the Airfest and anniversary celebration held in May.

They will discuss the organization of the Airfest and ways to improve communication among the charity, pilots and business owners at the airport, which was a heated topic at board meetings prior to the show.

Representatives from Hangar 24 Charities are expected to debrief the board on this past show in December.

“This looks like it might be a recurring event. I want to come up with a process that is efficient and makes sense and I want to do that collaboratively,” Boatman said.

James Hoyt, Association member, said there is no opposition to an airshow, but would like to be part of the process.

“So there are a lot of angry people, but nobody is really opposed to an airshow or an airfair, but we need to be part of that process this year,” he said. “If this is a recurring event, everyone out there needs to be involved and everyone needs to have a say.”

In other airport related business, the board was updated on a $150,000-Federal Aviation Administration Capital Improvement grant, which has been approved by the City Council and FAA.

The grant will help fund the Redlands Airfield Lighting and Sign Plan, which is a project under the city’s five-year Airport Capital Improvement Plan with the FAA and the 10-year plan with the California Department of Transportation.

The plan includes updates to the runway, taxiway and directional lighting at the Redlands Municipal Airport.

The board asked that they be kept abreast of any projects going on at the airport.

The minutes of the last meeting in September have been posted on the city’s website, for the first time.

“I’m pleased to see them there. It’s a viable track record of what takes place here,” Biglow said.

An update on the airport’s finances was postponed to December.

- Source:  http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com

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