Aviation Board Hears Update On Power Line Project
February 12, 2020 at 12:57 a.m.
By David [email protected]
The Federal Aviation Administration awarded the city a $6.3 million supplemental grant in November for phase one of the Warsaw Airport runway extension. Phase one includes the lowering of the electrical power lines, and the grant will cover the entire cost of the project.
Mary Kerstein, CHA project manager, said, “We have received a model from (American Electric Power) basically showing ... the new structures, and we’ve reviewed that model and found that they did not have the most up-to-date information. So they were still thinking that the runway would only be extended 1,000 feet at a 34-to-1 approach surface, which as of September of last year the FAA had approved a 1,500-foot extension and a 50-to-1 approach surface.”
She said with the change, one of the structures was “actually an obstruction to that approach surface,” so AEP was made aware of that and of the new criteria approved by the FAA in 2019.
“So they have that information now. We’re still trying to set up a formal coordination meeting with them, but we have been reaching out to them and letting them know of these issues that we found with their model,” Kerstein said.
Warsaw Municipal Airport Manager Nick King also has been reaching out to AEP, she said, because they haven’t received a response back from the initial email letting AEP know of the discrepancy. If they don’t hear back soon with a response, she said they may go down some other avenues.
“We have been able to review the model and that was a big step to know that they have a little bit more design to do with that,” Kerstein said.
In the claims approved by the board Tuesday, there was a claim from AEP for $9,219.54.
King said that was for a repair to overhead power line obstruction lights on the power lines on the east end of the runway.
“A couple of the feed lines were damaged so they had to fix the feed lines and then go up and replace quite a few bulbs. Not just the bulbs, but the actual structures the bulbs go into, so that’s why that bill is quite higher than what it normally is to get bulbs changed out there,” King explained.
Later in the meeting, King presented his idea to have a snow removal policy for the airport.
“Most airports the size of Warsaw don’t really have snow removal policies or a snow removal plan,” he said. “When it snows, they remove snow from the runways and move on with life.”
With the corporate traffic Warsaw has in and out on a daily basis, King said, “I thought it would be a really good idea to sit down, work with some of corporate tenants, as well as our GA tenants, give them an opportunity to give feedback to the airport, see what their needs are, what their criteria are.”
He said the FAA has changed how the airport grade runways, moving to the “Runway Condition Assessment Matrix.” If a runway is dry, it’s a 6 on a scale of 1 to 6. If it’s wet and raining out, it’s a 5, and etc. “There’s a breakdown of all the potential runway conditions.” Typically, if a runway gets below a 3, King said he would close it because it wouldn’t be safe.
He said he wanted to bring up the snow removal policy idea to see if the board had any questions, concerns or considerations. He also asked if any board members would like to help look at crafting a policy. Board member Gene Zale said he would if he’s around, and Board Vice President John Yingling said he would.
The Federal Aviation Administration awarded the city a $6.3 million supplemental grant in November for phase one of the Warsaw Airport runway extension. Phase one includes the lowering of the electrical power lines, and the grant will cover the entire cost of the project.
Mary Kerstein, CHA project manager, said, “We have received a model from (American Electric Power) basically showing ... the new structures, and we’ve reviewed that model and found that they did not have the most up-to-date information. So they were still thinking that the runway would only be extended 1,000 feet at a 34-to-1 approach surface, which as of September of last year the FAA had approved a 1,500-foot extension and a 50-to-1 approach surface.”
She said with the change, one of the structures was “actually an obstruction to that approach surface,” so AEP was made aware of that and of the new criteria approved by the FAA in 2019.
“So they have that information now. We’re still trying to set up a formal coordination meeting with them, but we have been reaching out to them and letting them know of these issues that we found with their model,” Kerstein said.
Warsaw Municipal Airport Manager Nick King also has been reaching out to AEP, she said, because they haven’t received a response back from the initial email letting AEP know of the discrepancy. If they don’t hear back soon with a response, she said they may go down some other avenues.
“We have been able to review the model and that was a big step to know that they have a little bit more design to do with that,” Kerstein said.
In the claims approved by the board Tuesday, there was a claim from AEP for $9,219.54.
King said that was for a repair to overhead power line obstruction lights on the power lines on the east end of the runway.
“A couple of the feed lines were damaged so they had to fix the feed lines and then go up and replace quite a few bulbs. Not just the bulbs, but the actual structures the bulbs go into, so that’s why that bill is quite higher than what it normally is to get bulbs changed out there,” King explained.
Later in the meeting, King presented his idea to have a snow removal policy for the airport.
“Most airports the size of Warsaw don’t really have snow removal policies or a snow removal plan,” he said. “When it snows, they remove snow from the runways and move on with life.”
With the corporate traffic Warsaw has in and out on a daily basis, King said, “I thought it would be a really good idea to sit down, work with some of corporate tenants, as well as our GA tenants, give them an opportunity to give feedback to the airport, see what their needs are, what their criteria are.”
He said the FAA has changed how the airport grade runways, moving to the “Runway Condition Assessment Matrix.” If a runway is dry, it’s a 6 on a scale of 1 to 6. If it’s wet and raining out, it’s a 5, and etc. “There’s a breakdown of all the potential runway conditions.” Typically, if a runway gets below a 3, King said he would close it because it wouldn’t be safe.
He said he wanted to bring up the snow removal policy idea to see if the board had any questions, concerns or considerations. He also asked if any board members would like to help look at crafting a policy. Board member Gene Zale said he would if he’s around, and Board Vice President John Yingling said he would.
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