|
Airport plan is OK’d
By Cindy Perry /cindyperry@alpineavalanche.com
It’s taken 12 years, more or less, for an Alpine City Council to approve an airport site plan.
Current council members did that Tuesday night after considerable and lengthy debate among themselves and with City Manager Chuy Garcia and Steve Bellardo, chairman of the Airport Advisory Board.
Councilman Gerald Raun started discussion by noting that a plan was presented to the council in 1996 and never acted on; Councilman Avinash Rangra added that most of the data used at the time is obsolete.
After citizen Jack McNamara pointed out that voters in 2003 soundly rejected a proposal to upgrade the airport, Raun said, “What voters rejected was the ‘Taj Mahal’ proposed for a terminal, for about $4 million.”
Bellardo asked whether it was possible to amend the master plan to eliminate the terminal idea, adding, “We don’t need a $4 million terminal. … We have people waiting to build hangars [and] they’re being made victims of something that happened long ago. We want to work on a master plan.”
The airport board has said improvements need to be made to parking, utilities, beacons and other infrastructure.
Raun asked whether adopting a plan required the city to spend any money; City Attorney Rod Ponton said no.
“There is an urgency to approve this,” Rangra said, “so we can say there is a plan in place and now people can build. … I like to do
things that are neat and clean. My concern is that we are approving something retroactively.”
Ponton said, “My understanding is that the Airport Advisory Board and the city manager are asking to put together something that will … give the city an engineer’s master plan. To do that, they have to start somewhere.”
Bellardo, an architect, has drawn a plan that takes into consideration needs for expansion and for major clients at the airport, including the U.S. Border Patrol, Texas Department of Public Safety and Air Marine aircraft.
“I have six that want to build [hangars],” Bellardo said, adding that the Border Patrol is leasing the biggest hangar currently on site. “They’d like to be close to the taxiway and away from commercial traffic; they’re mostly helicopters. … We have the DPS air facility, they’re talking about building a hangar. We have upwards of 20 areas where folks can build.”
After a couple of questions from council members addressed to Bellardo, Mayor Jerry Johnson said, “I think we need to defer to Steve’s leadership.”
That the council did, approving a motion by Raun to adopt Bellardo’s site plan for airport construction “as long as the Airport [Advisory] Board and city staff develop an engineering plan for future development and the city is not responsible for any funding at the present time.”
He added, “That 1996 plan is … poof!”
Bellardo assured the council he would provide a larger drawing soon to present to the city and utility officials.
In a related matter, council members voted to get the airport manager to maintain a log of aircraft arrivals and departures for statistical purposes.
Two other issues that prompted lengthy discussion were repairs to the Alpine Volunteer Fire Department’s ladder truck and a grant application for improvements to American Legion Park.
Fire Chief Mark Scudder detailed all the parts and accessories needed to bring the expensive truck up to ISO (International Organization for Standardization) code. (That non-governmental organization sets standards that often become law; it also acts as a consortium with strong links to governments.)
Since the city and county bought the truck in August 2006, the vehicle has been exposed to the elements, sitting outdoors next to the main Alpine fire station. Because of varying weather conditions, Scudder said, some parts have deteriorated, but others were never on the used truck to begin with. As an example, he said fire hose connections on the truck aren’t the same size as fire hydrant openings, so adapters are needed.
He also said a 1,000-foot hose is a must for the department, but it’s very expensive, and the truck came without radios. When the ladder truck is used at a fire, Scudder said, firefighters must communicate with hand-held radios, which hampers their firefighting efforts.
After he recited the list of problem parts, Scudder told the council, “The tires are not in good shape. … We don’t want to have a tire problem [while fighting a fire]. … Other than that, the truck is in good shape.”
After answering a few more questions from council members, Scudder got the council’s promise to allocate $10,000 to match the county’s appropriation so the ladder truck can be upgraded.
When it came time to act on a proposed grant application for American Legion Park improvements, Rangra and Raun complained that other parks were getting short shrift.
But Garcia reminded them that the council earlier had approved splitting grant applications, per recommendations by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, so the city could get more bang for its bucks.
Tom Greenwood, an architect and member of the Parks and Recreation Board, agreed with Garcia that TPWD had recommended seeking separate grants for separate parks.
“We do have a good, solid plan,” Greenwood said. “I think in being able to use local funds, making American Legion Park a priority in the first round, gives [planners] for the Veterans Memorial Park another year to raise more money.
Tom Brown, an engineer with Naismith Engineering, said, “We still have to compete for grants. … We expect some in-kind community support and volunteers” to help cut costs on the park.
After a bit more discussion, the council approved authorizing Garcia to apply for a TPWD grant for improvements at American Legion Park.
In a separate move, the council OK’d submitting a grant application to TPWD for improvements at Medina, Trails and Kokernot Park.
In other action Tuesday, council members:
Discussed needed repairs at the Sunshine House, Alpine’s center for senior citizens. Rangra said, “We have an obligation to our senior citizens.” Raun added, “I suggest we get an estimate on what repairs [are needed and cost], and bring it back to the council. Let’s see if we have the money.”
Asked city staff to place on the next agenda a proposal for an interlocal agreement between the city and Brewster County regarding the Alpine Volunteer Fire Department.
Approved a Porsche Club proposal to hold a driver education event in May at the municipal airport; the Alpine Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the event and is working with Porsche enthusiasts.
Authorized the city manager to repair and retrofit Musquiz Well No. 7, the city’s largest.
Waived fees on the Civic Center for the annual Family Crisis of the Big Bend fundraiser on New Year’s Eve.
Approved first reading of an ordinance setting fees at the city landfill.
Approved first reading of an ordinance setting fees for line extensions.
Approved an interlocal agreement with Southwest Texas Municipal Gas Corp.
Approved first reading of an SWTMG franchise ordinance.
Postponed action on a contract with the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and postponed a plan to set limits on allocation of funds for events and festivals.
|
