North Cook News

City of Prospect Heights Chicago Executive Airport Board and City Council met Sept. 18.

Here is the minutes provided by the board and the council:

I. Open Workshop

A. Call to order by CEA Chairman Harris

The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m.

B. Pledge of Allegiance - Chairman Harris led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance.

C. Roll call confirmed the following:

Chicago Executive Airport: Recording Secretary Jennifer Pfeifer took roll call. Directors Donohue, Kiefer, Lang and Saewert were present. Director Kearns was absent.

City of Prospect Heights: City Clerk Joanna Prisiajniouk took roll call. Mayor Helmer, Aldermen Cameron, Dolick, Morgan-Adams, and Quinn were present. Aldermen Ludvigsen was absent.

Village of Wheeling: Deputy Village Clerk Karen Henneberry took roll call. Trustees Krueger, Lang, Papantos, Ruffatto, Vito, Vogel and President Horcher were present.

D. Welcome and Opening Remarks

Chicago Executive Airport Chairman Harris welcomed guests, officials and residents. He spoke about leadership and partnership. He noted that the Airport is self-sustaining and that they are partners with the municipalities. He spoke about the mission of Chicago Executive Airport, the Aviation Academy and U.S. Customs facility. He thanked everyone for their continued support.

City of Prospect Heights Mayor Helmer said he is honored to speak first and thanked everyone, the Airport Board of Directors, Airport Operations and Jamie. He is convinced that this is the best and greatest airport in the State of Illinois.

Village of Wheeling President Horcher thanked everyone for sharing their evening and looks forward to the Airport growing and fulfilling its potential.

E. Citizens Comments and Concerns

Maureen Stotskoff has been a resident of Mount Prospect for 32 years. The Airport 32 years ago was an excellent citizen but now she is very disappointed. She invited everyone to experience the discomfort the Airport noise causes at her home. She hopes everyone will continue to listen to citizens.

Steve Neff spoke about the Part 150 noise study that was approved 28 years ago. He said the Noise Committee was started in the Fall of 2015 and had nothing to review because none of the noise study’s recommendations were ever implemented. He spoke about the RSIP and said the Airport should ask for more funding. He spoke about the airport buying property and the effect on property taxes, the U.S. Customs building project and the Inter-Governmental Agreement. He spoke about jets waking him up.

Neal Katz spoke about his six-years of service on the Airport Board of Directors and the accomplishments of the board during that time; Residential Sound Insulation Program, there are less piston aircraft and more jets, but the jets are quieter. He hopes the airport will continue to grow and be healthy because it is a necessity to the community, brings jobs and money to the area. He said in the future he will be speaking on behalf of the GA community. He thanked everyone.

F. State of the Airport and Major Projects Update Presentation by Executive Director Jamie Abbott

Jamie introduced the Airport staff, welcomed the new officials in attendance and spoke about the vision and mission statement.

• Annual Operations

o 78,609 flight operations – this is half the operations of 15 years ago.

o 245 based aircraft which is an important figure because the State considers this when setting priorities.

o 463 Customs operations which has remained steady and flat for years.

o 6.5 million gallons fuel flowage annually which indicates a strong business climate.

• Our tenants consist of three FBOs, jets, turboprops and helicopters, there are 144 piston aircraft and four flight schools on the field.

• Key events are youth education programs, community involvement events such as Rock ‘n’ Run the Runway and the Collings Foundation, and special events such as animal rescue flights and sponsorship of the BMW Championship which brings in participant traffic.

• Chicago Executive Airport remains financially self-sufficient. 

George Sakas presented about Business and Economic Development

• The Airport completed an Economic Impact study. George spoke about economic activity, jobs, and direct tax revenue to the State and local municipalities.

• George spoke about business development and said our first line customers are the FBOs, our partners are charter operations, corporate flight departments and general aviation. He said there is planned and possible construction, more FBO expansions and redevelopment of runway 6/24 land. Revenue will grow through fuel sales and fees. The Airport has taken on some non-traditional growth such as the Aviation Academy and, in the future, Urban Air Mobility, which is vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

• The new U.S. Customs building is a requirement of Customs and Border Protection. It will be in the southwest corner of the airport in a new 3000 square foot facility.

Jamie presented the final segment about major projects at the Airport.

• Runway 12/30 was rehabilitated this summer.

• Residential Sound Insulation Program (RSIP) – Jamie spoke about historical noise measurements at the airport which have been reduced by 30% from 1986 to 2016. Contributing reasons are fewer flights, technological improvements and pilot technique. Jamie explained what the RSIP is, who can participate and who administers the program. He announced there will be a town hall meeting in November and the noise contour map will be published. There will be a policies and procedures manual and ten homes will receive sound insulation, then the full program will start.

• Master Plan – Jamie presented about the different phases of the study, the goals, major proposals and what to expect next. The Master Plan is projected to be complete in 2020 and then the communities will approve the Airport Layout Plan.

G. City Aldermen and Village Trustees: Questions and Comments

• Trustee Papantos asked if runway 12/30 widening is still planned. Jamie answered that widening is not part of the Master Plan, but it would be a benefit to certain aviation segments. Craig Louden, CMT, said that it is included in the five-year projects plan. Trustee Papantos said that if the runway is widened then there will be more east-west traffic. Jamie agreed that it will make the runway more usable for more traffic.

• Trustee Papantos also questioned the cost of the new Customs building which she calculated at $1000 per square foot which she says is high. Jamie pointed out that the building only contains what is required and the Chairman said the price tag includes more than just the building. Jamie will break down all the costs and get them out to the officials.

• Trustee Papantos asked for an update on the state fuel sales taxes. Chairman Harris said the Airport had nothing to do with that decision, CEA does not collect nor distribute taxes, and cannot do anything about the enforcement of this law. Trustee Papantos would like to see the money collected at CEA go back into CEA. Village Manager Jon Sfondilis spoke about the sales tax issue.

• Trustee Papantos asked if a larger, readable copy of the ALP will be produced and said that Wheeling has projects planned for areas that the Airport is indicating developments of its own. Jamie assured her that this is a planning document and just because development is shown on the ALP does not mean that it will be built. This is a very long-term document. An approved ALP makes projects eligible for future funding from the FAA.

• Alderman Dolick asked for an explanation of what happened to the 310-departure idea and if the noise contour would change if runway 12/30 was widened and therefore used more often. Jamie explained what the 310-departure is and said the Airport Board of Directors decided that the RSIP would be more impactful. The 310- departure project would require a costly environmental study. Jamie said widening runway 12/30 could shift the noise contour. The noise exposure maps will be redone every five years and will take any noise shift into consideration.

H. Closing Comments from Chairman Harris, City of Prospect Heights Mayor Nick Helmer and Village of Wheeling President Patrick Horcher

President Horcher thanked the Airport for the information and the evening. He thanked the Trustees and staff for attending and looks forward to the next meeting in a year.

Mayor Helmer said that he is pleased that an Airport representative comes to the city council meetings every month to keep the City up to date. The Airport is very proactive at providing information to people. He thanked everyone and wished for continued success.

Chairman Harris thanked Chevy Chase Country Club for hosting the meeting. He said that both the Airport and the Country Club are community assets.

II. Adjournment

A motion was made by Chicago Executive Airport Director Donohue and seconded by Director Kiefer to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved by a roll call vote. Ayes: All. Nays: None. Absent: Director Kearns.

A motion was made by Village of Wheeling Trustee Ruffatto and seconded by Trustee Krueger to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved by a roll call vote. Ayes: All. Nays: none.

A motion was made by Prospect Heights Alderman Morgan-Adams and seconded by Alderman Dolick to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved by a roll call vote. Ayes: All. Nays: None. Absent: Alderman Ludvigsen.

Meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m.

https://www.prospect-heights.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_09182019-902