NPIAS

The city placed an item on the agenda to remove the airport from the NPIAS.  The agenda is normally on the city’s website, usually by Friday morning.  Last week it was not, provoking suspicion, and sure enough first item, an ordinance to remove the airport from the agenda.   The FAA was notified, and they came back with, that’s not how it works.  They are in the NPIAS until the ACO-100 takes them out.   

The following is the last paragraph of the city’s corrective action plan.

As always, thanks for all of your assistance as we try to stumble out way through this increasingly odd and convoluted process. We will in fact continue stumbling along, and we will in fact prevail compelling in the end, no matter how long it takes to reach that end. The story is just too compelling to let it go now.

Sincerely,

Rick Childers

The only thing that is compelling is that the city is under the impression that they are making progress with the FAA.  Basically what they have done is provide additional proof for further compliance action.  The city is also mistaken by thinking they are making progress.  So far they have managed to be found to be in non compliance with the following:

Routine maintenance.

Non-aeronautical use of the property, this cost them $15,000+.

They were found to be in non compliance with the rates and charges policy.  They tried to force the fixed wing tenants off the field, and got caught. 

They were found to be in non compliance with, and still are in non compliance with the rates and charges policy, along with about seven other grant assurances. 

So, if you were to pick a number from 1 to 100, on the closure scale, the city in 2004 or 05 or somewhere around their, was probably around a -85.   After the grant, they were at 0.   The city thinks they are somewhere around a +75 or even +85, but what they don’t know or what they are not reporting is that they are probably around -25.  

The DC Compliance office is in charge of St. Clair, this was a major step in preserving the airport.  An even bigger step is that now the FAA (the ones in DC) is in the house of St. Clair.  This is a monumental step in preserving the airport. 

The city has been mistaken in thinking it was in negotiations with the FAA!!!  From the city corrective action plan;

        Upon termination of positive discussion regarding closure only those repairs and upgrades for which appropriate documentation can be provided will be considered.  

       

        The FAA said;

An acceptable corrective action plan will include a commitment from the City to ongoing routine maintenance of the rotating beacon and the runway lighting system and will not condition that commitment on the outcome of closure discussions.

The important element and the most obvious is the attitude of resistance to be in compliance.  This shows an uncooperative and abusive nature.  What is more obvious is the presence of malice in the attitude of the city toward the airport, tenants, pilots, and supporters of the airport.  Yes, MALICE; the intention or desire to cause harm or pain to somebody.  There is no question that the city has intentionally tried to cause harm the airport.  The lack of maintenance shows the intent to cause harm to a person and or personal property. 

This list can go on and on, but the reality here is that the city is going backwards in its closure plan, and the city just does not know it yet.  The more the city tries to carry out their plan of airport destruction for closure, the further they get behind.  Why does the city not see this??  They have preached the anti- airport propaganda for so long, they now believe it themselves. 

A prediction!!  The Feds will eventually tell the city “put it back the way you found it.”