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04/26/2011 Regular Meeting • KODIAK ISLAND BOROUGH s I U PARKS & RECREATION COMMITTEE I MAY 2 3 2011 J 1 MINUTES L i April 26, 2011 7 m . at the K A FRG;CSnlereric &"'. S OFFICE ' P P. �F{gom� CALL TO ORDER VICE CHAIR SALTONSTALL called to order the April 26, 2011 Parks & Recreation regular meeting at 7 p.m. ROLL CALL Committee members present were Pam Foreman, Hans Tschersich (arrived 7:02 p.m.), Jeff Huntley, Patrick Saltonstall, Andy Schroeder, Rick Lindholm, and Willy Bethea. Excused members were Mike Sirofchuck and Sandra West. Ex- Officio members present were Peggy Rauwolf (arrived 7:05 p.m.), and Casey Janz (arrived 7:06 p.m.). Absent Ex- Officio members were Kevin Murphy, Ian Fulp, and Chris Lynch. A quorum was established. Community Development Department staff present was Bud Cassidy and Sheila Smith. COMMITTEE MEMBER SCHROEDER MOVED to excuse Mike Sirofchuck and Sandra West. VOICE VOTE ON MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY APPROVAL OF AGENDA COMMITTEE MEMBER FOREMAN MOVED to approve the agenda as it stands. VOICE VOTE ON MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS COMMITTEE MEMBER HUNTLEY MOVED to approve the minutes of the April 12, 2011meeting. VOICE VOTE ON MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY AUDIENCE COMMENTS AND APPEARANCE REQUESTS David George introduced himself stating he's active Coast Guard and has been involved in meetings regarding the Coast Guard's land use policy. He said SCHROEDER had met with them to provide some input. George is also an ITN member and also a responsible ATV user. He has ridden all over the east coast and has seen what works and what doesn't. He is here tonight to listen and also as a resource. OLD BUSINESS A) Possible Municipal Airport Fencing - Mark Kozak Mark Kozak, City Public Works Director, stated in 2004 the FAA worked with the City of Kodiak to do a master plan for the municipal airport, Lilly Lake, and Trident Basin. One of the issues of concern was that the municipal airport was the home base of Island Air who had grown to the largest and most active air service on the island providing scheduled service. A master plan was looked at and many municipal airport deficiencies were identified one being it's a very non - compliant airport and a lot of safety issues were identified. At that point, the FAA said the municipal airport was so far from a FAA P &R Minutes Page 1 of 4 4/26/2011 compliant airport they won't go any further, and they won't participate in further improvements at the airport. Out of that process there were things identified, such as obstructions into the airspace, unlimited pedestrian access in and out of the airport; the trees are too close, the buildings are too close to it. The City Council adopted a resolution for both airports separate; the one for the municipal airport was adopted in 2005 basically listing a series of items that they wanted to and could achieve to reduce the overall risk to both the users and the surrounding areas. One was administratively update the airport codes to enforce code issues, install signage, remove and mark obstructions, install fencing, and potentially rebuild the runway. Gary Stevens and Alan Austerman were able to get the city grant funding to work on updating the codes, installing fencing, and remove the trees in the flight path. The only trees removed were on city property, and the fence is the last piece that's going on now. A driving factor was the amount of people walking through on and off the runway. A portion was fenced but it still continues. We were able to get this state grant to get this project together. One primary safety concern expressed is people cutting through the airport at various locations. There are aircraft departing that can't see all the way to the end of the airport and you have aircraft coming and going. In the report there is a section that talks about injuries to people on the ground and discusses the need to protect pedestrians or vehicles on the ground from aircraft. The unrestricted to the public increases the risk. We've had users report people next or on the runway that shouldn't be. In some cases, people have been confrontational about being asked to leave. Some years there's been up to 5 incidents reported to the police. It's been all age groups of people reported being on the runway. We want to stop the people not supposed to be on the runway. When asked the question what's an alternative that access can be kept open, one person suggested a fence between the runway and the lake but that is putting a serious safety hazard in the way for aircraft using either the runway or the lake. Kozak doesn't know of an alternative solution. From the airport perspective we want to keep people off the runway at all times. Kozak anticipates the fence to be completed by May 20th. Discussion of the private property behind the airport, and the possibility of the installation of a pedestrian gate that electronically closes and locks when a plane approaches and the lights flash. Rolan Rouse stated Jim Chase keeps an airplane at the airport and is an avid user of the airport. He spoke at length last night at the meeting we held at the Fisherman's Hall and he said he talked to one fellow 7 different times who enjoys walking on the runway, and he didn't change his route because he wants to walk on the runway. Fencing all the way around the airport seems to accomplish most of the fix but it's still that issue at the end of the lake. Another point is that it requires a trespass on private property for people to use that route. That's probably not the right place to improve a trail system. Kozak also stated in the past when we had issues with the base /town road the municipal airport was heavily used. It's also a safety outlet for all commercial aviation going off of state airport. Several times a year we have anywhere from 1 — 6 commercial aircraft operating off of state at municipal due to weather. The ocean fog comes in and the municipal is here. It gives the commercial users a safe place to go. We don't see that on a day to day basis but it does happen several times a year. Currently there are 10 privately owned hangars. The City of Kodiak is about to start adopting updated airport codes and leasing processes, and there are more people who wish to build hangars there. He sees municipal developing general aviation but he doesn't think you will see an increase of P &R Minutes Page 2 of 4 4/26/2011 commercial activity. Within the airport code the objective is to not limit commercial operation, but the objective is to not encourage or promote scheduled air service. South of Lilly Lake would not interfere with the airport. VICE CHAIR SALTONSTALL said maybe staff can look for potential routes to get to Selief Lane and enhance the trail around the end of the runway to make it more of a viable option. He feels people will still continue to go across the runway. B) Work Session to Review Draft Sections of the Trails Plan Public in attendance was David George, John Neff, Julian Hiner, Jeremiah Wagner, Luis Mendez, Curtis Howell, Wanda Scholze, and John Rauwolf. The committee discussed the remainder sections of Draft Trails Plan and gave any changes to Cassidy to relay to the consultants. During discussion there was consensus on putting in the Trails Plan to identify an urban trail need for a connector between Larch Street and Selief Lane, the Draft Trails Plan should be put on the website by chapters, and to utilize the email list to notify people of every meeting including public meetings, and an email should be sent out notifying people that the website has been updated. Cassidy said he will check to see how long it will take to get the changes made to the plan so we can get a draft out to the public but it might not have the maps in it. Smith stated she thought she read that the Draft Trails Plan would be released to the public and there would be a 90 day review period. During discussion, it was the consensus to have the Trails Plan public meeting mid May and if that's not possible to hold off until September after the fishing season. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business. COMMUNICATIONS A) BLM email re: 17b easements Cassidy said he's contacted BLM and he is getting money to come to Kodiak to talk with the committee. BLM is responsible for 17b easements and there are a few that can't be found; either they are proposed, or not in the location they're supposed to be. REPORTS The next 2 Parks & Recreation meetings will be on May 10, 2011 and May 24, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the KIB School District Conference Room. Patrick Saltonstall said he will miss the May 24, 2011 meeting. Andy Schroeder will not be at the May 10, 2011 meeting. AUDIENCE COMMENTS There were no audience comments. COMMITTEE MEMBER'S COMMENTS Willy Bethea thanked the audience for coming and said their comments were well received. HER Minutes Page 3 of 4 4/26/2011 Pam Foreman congratulated the committee because they have basically passed the Trails Plan on to the next level. Casey Janz said she likes seeing this input and hopefully it's an avenue to get new blood on the committee to represent the different aspects. Jeff Huntley said he agrees with Casey. Hans Tschersich said while he was rummaging around his house he found things that shows he's been on the committee for at least 10 years or more and how the committee has been struggling with these issues for so many years. It's been a very slow progress. He's really happy they can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Peggy Rauwolf said she's glad to be back. Patrick Saltonstall said we've got the plan but we're still going to be having the summits. We are going to be revisiting the plan all the time. ADJOURNMENT COMMITTEE MEMBER BETHEA MOVED to adjourn. VICE CHAIR SALTONSTALL adjourned the meeting at 9:20 p.m. KOD K : D BO �GH PARKS': RE'RE• �N ;M T EE By: ! a_ 1 I 1 n Mike Sires c , Chair ATTEST By: ttS -•1 L . a IA Sheila Smith, Secretary Community Development Dept. APPROVED: May 10, 2011 P &R Minutes Page 4 of 4 4/26/2011