Port prepares to vote on final chapter of airport master plan May 9

Next meeting: Thursday, May 9, 4:30 p.m., Airport Conference Room

— by Katie Wilkins, Orcas Issues reporter —

The Port of Orcas held a special meeting last Thursday, May 2 in the airport conference room. The two items listed on the agenda were discussion of airport staffing structure and discussion of the Airport Layout Plan. Throughout the course of the meeting, topics covered included prioritizing airport projects, potential property acquisitions, and possible consequences with the FAA if the Airport Master Plan is not fully implemented. Commissioners also agreed on a partial agenda for the next regular meeting on May 9^t. Members of the public present were this reporter and one other person.

The majority of meeting time was spent discussing various aspects of the Airport Layout Plan (ALP), particularly what projects the port would like to prioritize. The ALP is part of chapter four of the Airport Master Plan, the last remaining chapter that requires FAA approval. The ALP essentially represents a 20-year plan for the airport based on the “preferred alternative” that was presented to the public last September. Once port commissioners vote to approve the ALP, it will then be submitted to the FAA along with the rest of chapter four. After the FAA gives its approval, a 30 day public comment period will follow. Then the Airport Master Plan can be published and considered complete.

The Airport Master Plan is tailored to address compliance with FAA regulations, and suggests solutions to correct deficiencies where those regulations are not met. However, it is up to port commissioners to decide which parts of the Airport Master Plan to implement, and when to implement them. In the course of the May 2ⁿ meeting, Port commissioners identified three main priorities from the Airport Master Plan:

• Relocating the taxiway to provide regulation-distance separation from the runway for larger planes now using the airport
• Moving the airport terminal to the southeast development area (the site of the former dog park)
• Resurfacing the runway

The taxiway and terminal relocation projects would be coordinated, since the current terminal is on the site of the proposed new taxiway. Resurfacing the runway has been on the airport’s wish list for several years, and as a high safety priority is likely to receive FAA funding.

There was also significant time spent discussing the idea of rerouting Mt. Baker Road away from the airport, a concept which is part of the “preferred alternative” of the Airport Master Plan. Tony Simpson stated that moving Mt. Baker Road was the “number one safety concern,” and that taking it out of the Airport Master Plan would trigger FAA rejection of the plan. There were no direct objections from commissioners to moving Mt. Baker Road, but there were also a few comments expressing skepticism about it happening in the near future.

There was some discussion during the meeting of potential property acquisitions as part of the Airport Master Plan. Commission chair Greg Sawyer brought up the idea of buying property from Brandt’s Landing to accommodate “run-up” area for the airport runway. He expressed some doubt that they would be interested in selling, while Tony Simpson said that “they see a potential heyday” since the FAA is authorized to compensate a landowner for loss of property.

Simpson also raised the subject of sending a letter of condemnation to adjacent property owner George Larson of Larson Storage, if he was interested in selling to the port. Simpson said that Larson could “reset his capital value if we signal the intent that we would consider eminent domain.” This would mean a tax break for Larson, with the caveat that he would have to reinvest money from the sale into similar property. Simpson said that the port would only send this type of letter if Larson requested it.

Worthy of note is the fact that the port tentatively expects $3 million in funding from the FAA in 2022 for real estate acquisition, based on email correspondence between Tony Simpson and DOWL consultant Leah Henderson.

While the Airport Master Plan lays out changes needed to meet FAA regulations, it is still unclear what the consequences will be if the port chooses not to pursue those changes. Commissioner Clyde Duke posed the question in the May 2 meeting: “What happens if we do nothing for twenty years?” A roundabout discussion ensued, including a comment from chair Greg Sawyer that “the FAA is not gonna come calling us.” Tony Simpson similarly stated that “They [the FAA] don’t force people to do stuff.”

However, Simpson also pointed out that if the port’s priorities for projects don’t match the FAA’s priorities, the FAA might not fund the projects that the port wants to do. Clyde Duke also raised the question of the port’s financial obligations to the FAA: “Hadn’t we already accepted money we were supposed to do something with?” Greg Sawyer and Tony Simpson both responded that the port was obligated to the FAA based on accepting funding for twenty years. When Duke asked about the nature of this obligation, Simpson replied that he didn’t know the exact wording, and that the relevant document is over 300 pages long. No definitive answers to Duke’s questions were reached in this meeting.

The evening ended with some debate as to whether another special meeting should be scheduled before the next regular meeting in order to further discuss and then vote on the ALP. Commissioners ultimately decided to wait until the regular meeting on May 9. It was also agreed, upon public request, to include time on the agenda for Q&A with the public on the Airport Master Plan. As of this writing, the next port meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on May 9 in the airport conference room.