FAA EXTENSION

Someone is very confused.  The FAA extended the time for consideration of the Part 16 complaint, not the consideration of the closure.  The closure is not being considered until the airport is in compliance to the satisfaction of the FAA.  See the letter on the blog.  The closure will be considered after the airport is found to be in compliance with its Federal obligations, and not just the conclusion of the part 16 complaint.   

PRIORITIES

Ron Blum is making a feeble attempt to convince the community that his personal vendetta against the airport is justified, and that St. Clair cannot thrive if it remains the sponsor of the airport.   The city has an obligation to the Federal Government, and this cannot be overridden by his personal preferences.  The obligation to the community does not override the Federal obligations.   Ron Blum is marketing the concept that the city cannot afford the airport, and that the only solution is closure.  If the city cannot afford to operate the airport, it has another option, find another sponsor for the airport.  The city does not have to be the sponsor.  The obligations are transferable.   Retail development is nowhere in site, and the continued efforts to destroy the airport have backfired on Ron Blum’s plan.   The city should seek to turn over the airport to another party.  

WHERE IS THE RETAIL?

How many years is it going to take until the citizens of St. Clair start to realize that they have been led down a path to nowhere, and this path was extremely expensive? 

The following is what was produced to bring everyone on board.   (From the redevelopment plan page 39.)

At build-out, it is estimated that the total equalized assessed value (“EAV”) of the Redevelopment Project Area, based upon 385,000 square feet of total retail/outparcel space and will be $14,064,531. It is also estimated that at full build-out, the Redevelopment Project Area will produce, based upon estimated annual taxable sales of $99,875,000, the following annual tax revenues:

Local Sales Tax: $ 4,744,063

Personal Property: $ 206,604

So where is the retail?  If you look real close, you might be able to see it at the end of the road.

MCCASKILL AMENDMENT 1800

MRW13702                                                                                                                               S.L.C.

AMENDMENT NO.______________               Calendar No._________

Purpose: To release the City of St. Clair, Missouri, from all restrictions, conditions, and limitations on the use, encumbrance, conveyance, and closure of the St. Clair Regional Airport.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES—113th Cong., 1st Sess.

S. 1243

Making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation,

and Housing and Urban Development, and related

agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30,

2014, and for other purposes.

Referred to the Committee on __________ and

ordered to be printed

Ordered to lie on the table and to be printed AMENDMENT intended to be proposed by Mrs. MCCASKILL

(for herself and Mr. BLUNT)

Viz:

1   On page 24, between lines 16 and 17, insert the fol-

2   lowing:

3   SEC. 119F. (a) The United States, acting through

4   the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration,

5   shall release the City of St. Clair, Missouri, from all re

6   strictions, conditions, and limitations on the use, encum

7   brance, conveyance, and closure of the St. Clair Regional

8   Airport, as described in the most recent airport layout

9   plan approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, to

2

MRW13702                                                                                                                               S.L.C.

1    the extent such restrictions, conditions, and limitations are

2    enforceable by the Administrator.

3           (b) The release under subsection (a) shall not be exe

4   cuted until the City of St. Clair, or its designee, transfers

5   to the Department of Transportation of the State of Mis

6   souri—

7          (1) the amounts described in subsection (c), to

8    be used for capital improvements within the meaning

9    of airport development (as defined in section

10  47102(3) of title 49, United States Code) and con

11   sistent with the obligations of the Department of

12  Transportation of the State of Missouri under the

13  State block grant program of the Federal Aviation

14  Administration; and

15        (2) for no consideration, all airport and avia

16   tion-related equipment of the St. Clair Regional Air

17   port owned by the City of St. Clair and determined

18   by the Department of Transportation of the State of

19   Missouri to be salvageable for use.

20   (c) The amounts described in this subsection are the

21   following:

22   (1) An amount equal to the fair market value

23   for the highest and best use of the St. Clair Re

24   gional Airport property determined in good faith by

3

MRW13702                                                                                                                             S.L.C.

1   an independent and qualified real estate appraiser

2   on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

3           (2) An amount equal to the unamortized por

4   tion of any Federal development grants other than

5   land paid to the City of St. Clair for use at the St.

6   Clair Regional Airport, which may be paid with and

7   shall be an allowable use of airport revenue notwith

8  standing section 47107 or 47133 of title 49, United

9   States Code.

10      (3) An amount equal to the airport revenues re

11  maining in the airport account for the St. Clair Re

12  gional Airport as of the date of the enactment of

13  his Act and otherwise due to or received by the City

14  of St. Clair after such date of enactment pursuant

15  to sections 47107(b) and 47133 of title 49, United

16   States Code.

17   (d) The Federal Aviation Administration shall remove

18  the runway end indicator lighting system at St. Clair Re

19  gional Airport.

20  (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit

21  the applicability of—

22  (1) the requirements and processes under sec

23  tion 46319 of title 49, United States Code;

4

MRW13702                                                                                                                          S.L.C.

1            (2) the requirements under the National Envi

2    ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et

3   seq.);

4   (3) the requirements and processes under part

5   157 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; or

6   (4) the public notice requirements under section

7   47107(h) of title 49, United States Cod

JUMPING AROUND THE RULES.

I recorded an event today on CSPAN, the Senate voted to discontinue debate on the transportation and HUD bill (Senate Bill 1243).  The vote failed.   I recorded it for posterity.   The bill has hundreds of amendments, one of which was amendment 1800.

Purpose:

 To release the City of St. Clair, Missouri, from all restrictions, conditions, and limitations on the use, encumbrance, conveyance, and closure of the St. Clair Regional Airport.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES—113th Cong., 1st Sess.

S. 1243

The democrats were very upset.   This will leave the bill open for more discussion and filibuster.   With the Senate going into a five week recess, aviation organizations will have five weeks to inform the Senate on the amendment 1800.   The person at our legislative affairs office thinks this bill is dead in the water, and will never make it to a vote before the October deadline. 

This amendment was an attempt by the city to use the political process and to try and circumnavigate the rules.   I seems that the city has a problem when it comes to rules.  Instead of trying to learn them and follow them, they just do what they want and then try to double talk their way out of them.   The full amendment will be posted in the near future, this will be the first in a series of post on this subject.  

FAA EXTENSION OF TIME

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
WASHINGTON, DC

Jim DeVries     Complainant,                          Docket   No. 16-12-07

V.

City of St. Clair, Missouri     Respondent.

NOTICE OF EXTENSION OF TIME

This matter is before the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) based on the above- referenced complaint, filed in accordance with FAA Rules of Practice for Federally-Assisted Airport Enforcement Proceedings, 14 CFR Part 16. Pursuant to 14 CFR Part 16, subpart B, the date by which the Director’s Determination will be issued in this matter is hereby extended to September 16, 2013.
An extension of time is necessary and appropriate for a fair and complete determination in this case.
Randall S. Fiertz Date
Director, Airport Compliance
and Management Analysis

WHATS ON THE TABLE?????

U.S. Department of Transportation 

Central Region 901 Locust 

Federal Aviation Iowa, Kansas, Kansas City Missouri 64106 

Administration Missouri, Nebraska (81 6) 329-2600

December 28, 2012

Mayor Ronald Blum
City of St. Clair
#1 Paul Parks Dr.
St. Clair, MO 63077
Dear Mayor Blum:

Thank you for your letter dated August 30, 2012, about the City of St. Clair’s (City) formal request to close the St. Clair Regional Airport (K39).

In accepting Federal Airport Improvement Program funds, the City signed a grant assurances contract and agreed to specific federal obligations, including the commitment to keep the airport open and to make it available for public use as an airport. The City may not close the airport without the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s consent and without a formal release from its applicable federal obligations.

When evaluating a sponsor’s request to close a federally obligated airport, the FAA considers a number of pertinent factors. These factors include the sponsor’s past and present compliance record and its actions in making the airport available for aeronautical use by the public. In light of the FAA’s concerns about the City’s apparent unwillingness to maintain St. Clair Regional Airport available as a usable airport, the Agency will not consider closing St. Clair Regional Airport, as the city requested several months ago, until the city corrects deficiencies at the airport.
The corrective actions include:

 Conducting adequate repairs and the regular inspection of pavement surfaces, runway safety areas, and airport lighting systems including the airport beacon, runway lights and the lighted windsock. The obligation for the City to maintain these facilities exists as long as the airport is used for airport purposes or until the FAA releases the City from this obligation;

Working with the State of Missouri to address operational and financial issues raised by the Department of Transportation Office of inspector Genera!; and

 Resolving the formal complaint filed under 14 CFR Part 16 and the recent informal complaint regarding the increase in tenant rental fees.

                                                                                                                                                                          

Again, the FAA has placed the City’s request for closure on hold. Future discussions will be limited to issues related to the City completing the steps detailed in this letter, including correcting the known safety violations at the airport, adequately addressing your outstanding Part 16 and Part 13 compliance complaints and completing an acceptable corrective plan related to the OIG Hotline complaint. Should you require clarification, please contact me at 816-329-2601,

Sincerely,

Jim Johnson
Airports Division

MISSOURI LAW

Missouri Revised Statutes

Chapter 71 
Provisions Relative to All Cities and Towns 
Section 71.005 

Candidates for municipal office, no arrearage for municipal taxes or user fees permitted.

71.005. No person shall be a candidate for municipal office unless such person complies with the provisions of section 115.346 regarding payment of municipal taxes or user fees.

Missouri Revised Statutes

Chapter 115 
Election Authorities and Conduct of Elections 
Section 115.346 

Persons in arrears for municipal taxes or fees shall not be candidates for municipal office, when.

115.346. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, no person shall be certified as a candidate for a municipal office, nor shall such person's name appear on the ballot as a candidate for such office, who shall be in arrears for any unpaid city taxes or municipal user fees on the last day to file a declaration of candidacy for the office.

WHAT WILL THE CITY DO NEXT???????

The following is from the FAA response the last letter the city sent the Feds.

The FAA has stated, “In order to address the remaining questions relating to Item 4, any future Air Evac leases should reflect a similar percentage increase in the base monthly rate to the increases experienced by other tenants from 2007-2013 pursuant to Title 49 United States Code Section 47107. In the alternative, the City should provide its cost allocation methodology for its rental rates. This methodology should be consistent with the FAA’s Rates and Charges Policy. “

What does this mean?  One would have to read the Rates and Charges policy to understand this, but it basically states that you cannot raise the rent on one group of airport users, and not raise the rent on another user.   You cannot charge one group of users for the cost associated with another group of users. 

These rules are very clear as to the intent with which they are written, run the airport for the benefit of the aviation public.   Until the city figures this out, they are dead in the water.  The city does not have a rental rate method, nor do they understand the Rates and Charges Policy, they probably do not know where to find the Rates and Charges policy, since they are published in the rules and regulations for airport operators.

As the man said, life is tough, it's allot tougher if you are stupid!! 

FAA REPLY TO CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN

The city has not produced any information on the following letter.  No articles in the paper, not even a mention in the council minutes.  It is like they did not get a copy of the letter.  There were plenty of articles in the paper about MoDOT stating they would not oppose the closure.  Why have we not heard from the City on this letter? 

FAA REPLY TO CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN

May 21, 2013

Mr. Rick Childers
City Administrator
City of St. Clair
#1 Paul Parks Drive
St. Clair, MO 63077

Re: St. Clair Regional Airport

March 26, 2013 Correspondence

Dear Mr. Childers:

Thank you for your March 26, 2013 letter. The corrective actions described in your letter demonstrate that the City has made significant progress in addressing the action items contained in my December 21, 2012 letters and Jim Johnson’s December 28, 2012 letter.
However, there are still a few items that must be addressed in order for the City’s corrective action plan to be accepted by MoDOT and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The purpose of this letter is to outline the items which require additional action and to provide the City with guidance to ensure that its corrective action plan is accepted. 

Routine Maintenance items 

For item 1, “Grass and Weeds in Cracks on Runway and Apron”, the City’s response suggests that pavement cracks are only sprayed once a year. However, if weeds begin to grow out of pavement cracks after the annual spraying has occurred, these weeds should be sprayed as needed. An acceptable corrective action plan will include a commitment from the City to ongoing routine maintenance of grass and weeds in cracks on pavement surfaces. 

For Item 4, “Rotating Beacon Inoperative”, and Item 7, “Runway Lights Broken and Mounted Improperly”, ongoing routine maintenance must continue regardless of the status of negotiations on the City s closure request. 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. 

Compliance Plan Correspondence 

For Item 3, which relates to main hangar storage, the actions proposed are acceptable and address the compliance issues raised, but additional information is needed for MoDOT and the FAA to accept the City’s corrective action plan for this item. Please provide me with documentation demonstrating that the $ 11,700 transfer to the new airport account has occurred. Please also provide documentation of the public auction to sell any items remaining in the hangar and documentation demonstrating that the auction proceeds were transferred to the new airport account. 

For Item 4, which relates to Air Evac’s lease, MoDOT and the FAA agree that inclusion of a CPI indexing clause in the next Air Evac lease will help to ensure that Air Evac’s monthly rental rate reflects current economic conditions. MoDOT and the FAA also agree that different categories of tenants can have different rental rates, so long as a consistent methodology is utilized to establish fees for comparable aeronautical users of the airport. 

Although the City’s letter indicates it will include a CPI indexing clause in its next lease agreement with Air Evac, the letter does not state whether the base monthly rental rate for Air Evac will increase from $300/month when the Air Evac lease is next negotiated. Without this information, MoDOT and the FAA cannot determine whether the City’s proposed corrective action plan for Item 4 is acceptable. 

The City’s March 26 letter stated that its lease rates reflect a variety of factors that differentiate certain types of tenants from one another. The differences between Air Evac and the fixed wing tenants may substantiate different rental structures for businesses operating at the airport and for other fixed wing tenants, but without any type of documentation outlining the City’s rental structure for businesses
operating at the airport, MoDOT and the FAA cannot determine whether Air
Evac’s lease agreement is consistent with such rental structure. 

In order to address the remaining questions relating to Item 4, any future Air Evac leases should reflect a similar percentage increase in the base monthly rate to the increases experienced by other tenants from 2007-2013 pursuant to Title 49 United States Code Section 47107. In the alternative, the City should provide its cost allocation methodology for its rental rates. This methodology should be consistent with the FAA’s Rates and Charges Policy. 

MoDOT is available to work with the City to address these remaining corrective action plan items and to identify steps the City can take to ensure future compliance. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. As soon as a response is received on these remaining items, I will coordinate with the FAA to determine whether the City’s corrective action plan is acceptable. 

Sincerely, 

Amy Ludwig
Administrator of Aviation
cc: Mr. Jim Johnson, Federal Aviation Administration
Ms. Lynn Martin, Federal Aviation Administration