Latest CVVC/Minden-Tahoe Airport News

On July 9th the Airport Master Plan was approved by the County Commissioners 3-2, Commissioners Brady and Johnson voting the two nays. The plan has been forwarded to the FAA for approval which may take up to 6 months.

CVVC has many objections to this plan and believes it should not have been sent forward. The most glaring issues are the lack of proper environmental review and the deliberate decision to not include Pinon Aero's plans for the southwest 87 acres of the airfield (100 jet-sized hangars!).

This Airport Master Plan is a federally funded project which falls under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). Federal law requires an environmental review as early as possible. It also states that airport projects must not be segmented to avoid NEPA review. The rationale for this is to ensure that decisions are made with full knowledge of potential environmental impacts. This Airport Master Plan acknowledges that NEPA will be required. This plan charts a course for massive changes in the configuration and operations of our airport that could clearly affect our environment.

How can the Airport Master Plan exclude Pinon Aero? There are approved plans on file with the County. There have been many public requests to have such included. Pinon Aero themselves told members of the Airport Master Plan Working Group that whatever Pinon do with their 87 acres, they will be completed in 7 years. This is well within the 10-20 year outlook covered by the Airport Master Plan. Even if Pinon change their plans, how can we ignore this largest lease on the field? Especially since the lease document has absolutely no constraints on the lessee!

What smart person would move forward with this massive project, without including Pinon Aero, and without the benefit of a proper environmental review as early as possible? Does this make sense?

There are also a number of other critical issues that invalidate the entire plan and enable radical changes in the character of our airport that could negatively impact our treasured rural quality of life. These include:

The Airport Master Plan update consultants have moved on and are preparing the “Environmental Review” phase of the update, minus Pinon Aero’s full plans. County Commission Chairman Kelly Kite has declared that there will be no further discussion or review until this next phase is presented to the Commissioners in July. CVVC believes that failing to comprehend Pinon Aero’s plans invalidates the entire update and results in an end-run around a true understanding of environmental impacts. One of the triggers for a full Environmental Impact Study as required by the National Environmental Protection Act is a significant increase in jet traffic. Failing to comprehend Pinon’s planned 100 jet-sized hangars is an injustice to the residents of Douglas County! More to come on this subject.

Simply stated, Pinon Aero has begun construction on Phase one and utilities are in along Heyborne road, south of Airport Road.

In response to Wayne Ferree’s conclusions that previous pavement capacity studies were conducted incorrectly (see Weight Limit 50,000 Pounds or 110,000 Pounds?! in the 2008 archive below), the County initiated a Peer Review of Mr. Ferree’s findings.) Our understanding is that the review has been completed and conclusions will be presented to the County Commissioners soon. No further information will be divulged until it is presented to the Commissioners. Watch the County Commissioner Meeting agendas (Calendar) for this item; it could have huge implications for the future of our airport!

Acting County Manager, Michael Brown, has reinstituted monthly “Brown Bag” lunch meetings as a tool for free exchange of information and ideas about anything related to KMEV. These are informal gatherings where you bring your own lunch and sit down with Airport Management for an hour. The first meeting consisted entirely of pilots and operational issues were discussed, but the sessions are open to anyone and any airport-related topic, including, for instance, noise abatement. These meeting are to be held the third Wednesday of every month at noon in the Airport maintenance hangar, but please check the airport website, or call the airport office at 775-782-9871 to confirm. The maintenance hangar is located just west of the airport office and Civil Air Patrol buildings at the east end of airport road. Please keep these meetings constructive.

This year, the AAC will not be involved in airport operational issues, but instead will spend most of their energy on a Marketing Plan for the airport. This means they will be working to improve the airport’s image in the community and to attract businesses (both within and outside Douglas County). CVVC finds this to be mostly contrary to an Airport Advisory Committee should be doing. Remember these folks are supposed to be representing you, so let them know what you think: Airport Advisory Committee. AAC meeting minutes are available on the Airport web site: Minden Tahoe Airport.

For personal reasons, Dave McNeil has had to step down from the CVVC Board and his position as President. Dave's brief injection of energy and enthusiasm was both inspiring and very much appreciated. We know that he will continue to support the CVVC mission.

In the wake Dave’s resignation, CVVC Board positions have been shuffled a bit. We are please to announce that Donna Leveck has stepped up to role of President, and Marion Barritt has assumed Donna’s Treasurer’s duties. Thank you both!

SoaringNV opened for business on May 1st. Increased soaring presence is a good thing. We wish them copious success! Here is a pointer to their web site: SoaringNV.

Your support of both of our local soaring operations could go a long way to help preserve the historical character of our airport. Both Soar Minden (www.soarminden.com) and SoaringNV offer glider rides and gift certificates. If you want to give your visitors or a loved one a special experience (or even yourself!), how about making it a glider ride over Lake Tahoe or even a thrilling acrobatic flight? Even better, how about learning to soar?

The same thing goes for supporting our parachuting operation (Sky Dive Tahoe: www.skydivetahoe.com), and small GA flight schools (Flying Start Aero: www.flyingstartaero.com and NIFTI: www.nifit.com ).

The more we build up the sports aviation side of our airport, the more we help preserve its historical character and make it less attractive to significant increases in jet traffic.

Tuesday April 29th was one of those extremely windy days when traffic through Washoe Valley is restricted, the valley fills with dust, and most people put away their lawn furniture then huddle inside hoping the power will stay on. There were, in fact, 70 mph gusts and a fire broke out in Washoe Valley. But for soaring enthusiasts this extreme weather day brought an entirely different form of excitement.

While most of us were still trying to sleep through the noise of the wind and hoping the tiles on our roofs would stay in place, local Minden soaring pilot Gordon Boettger was getting in his glider at 5:30 AM. He was making another attempt to break his own distance record in our world-famous Sierra wave. Gordon was using a new GPS tracking device that let others follow his progress on the web. His flight was watched by glider pilots around the world – and it was an exciting one! Gordon flew south through the Owens valley all the way to Inyokern and back. He had an eventful landing in 70 miles gusts at Lee Vining, short of his goal to return home. Here are pointers to more information: Boettger Story on Minden Soaring Club web site and Record Courier 05/09/08: Sierra weather not something to be trifled with"

Why is this important to CVVC? This flight is just one example of why “Minden” is considered to be a soaring Mecca and an international treasure. The weather conditions here are not only epic but very unique – only to be found in a handful of places around the world. Douglas County must leverage this rare asset that nature bestowed upon us. We must not loose this internationally renowned soaring site to a major increase in jet traffic!

Many folks call or email CVVC with complaints about airport noise. Most often the call to us is made in pure frustration. Some of you have repeatedly called airport management and never received a satisfactory answer. Some just call us and don’t even bother to call airport management because you think “it won’t make any difference”. Other folks give up and stop complaining, or have never even registered a complaint.

PLEASE don’t give up! It is important to keep calling airport and County management whenever you are disturbed by aircraft noise, even if it seems a wasted effort. Not only do your calls continually remind the County that there is a problem, but they could help get the Airport Master Plan update on the right track. This is because one of the key triggers to an environmental impact study is the number of community complaints received.

Call your Commissioner. Call County Management. Call the Airport. Tell them the time of day, what happened and the effect on your life. Aircraft tail numbers are great, but not necessary! See the "Complaints" section of this website for more information.

One thing we know for certain is that if you DON’T complain, it CERTAINLY WON’T make a difference!

The Douglas County Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. at the CVIC Hall on Esmeralda Street in Minden to hear a presentation from Airport Master Plan consultants, Barnard-Dunkelberg, and to consider forwarding the Draft Airport Master Plan and ALP to the FAA. There will be a question and answer session following the presentation and drawings will be on display.

CVVC has many objections to this plan and believes it should not be approved. The most glaring issue is the lack of proper environmental review and the deliberate decision to not include Pinon Aero's plans for the southwest 87 acres of the airfield (100 jet-sized hangars!)

Greetings! The annual meeting of the CVVC membership was held on Saturday, February 16th, 2008. It was a great meeting with significant outpouring of member frustration with the news of Pinon Aero’s hangar development project that was announced in a front-page headline news story in The Record-Courier the day before. Wayne Ferree of the Airport Advisory Committee was invited to attend the meeting. He gave a presentation which discussed the major flaws with the most recent analysis of the airport pavement weight capacity and provided recommendations for county action necessary to obtain a reputable, professional engineering analysis. Bottom line, as a credentialed Civil Engineer, Wayne believes the true weight capacity is no greater than the current weight limit of 50,000 pounds. So this should put to bed any talk of raising the weight limit.

The meeting proved to be a great educational opportunity not only for CVVC members but also for Douglas County Commissioner Dave Brady, who accepted CVVC’s invitation to attend the meeting. CVVC sincerely appreciates his attendance and his willingness to listen to membership concerns. (Note: Commissioner Johnson was also invited to attend but was unable to do so because of illness. Commissioner McDermid attended the previous annual CVVC meeting. By law, no more than two commissioners can be invited to attend a meeting.)

The meeting concluded with the election of new board members, including myself. I accepted the nomination to serve as the new president of the CVVC. I wish to thank both the retiring board members as well as those continuing their service on the board for the incredible dedication of time and commitment to serving the interests of the membership and the coalition’s mission. Having only recently joined the coalition, I am extremely appreciative of the assistance of the veteran board members in my efforts to become a fully informed and effective leader. I joined the CVVC and wanted to actively serve on the board in order to add the voice of additional perspective to CVVC’s outreach efforts and its effectiveness.

Here is the newly elected CVVC board:

My membership in the CVVC was galvanized by my growing frustration experienced over the last several years with an increasing number of noisy and low-altitude executive aircraft overflights of the west side of the Gardnerville Ranchos. In an attempt to eliminate the problem, I first contacted county manager Dan Holler. The email was forwarded without response from him to airport manager Jim Braswell. I was told that the county has no control over aircraft as they arrive or depart the Minden-Tahoe Airport and thus could do nothing to address my concerns other than to look up the tail numbers of the plane if I could provide a description. From there, I, not he, would have to contact FAA to file a complaint with the hope that they would then investigate. I’ve talked with other CVVC members that incurred the same overflight nuisance problem and that had followed up with the FAA. Their experience proved that this is an exercise in futility.

Given the county’s obvious inability to control the overflight problem, it is extremely frustrating to understand that Dan Holler, Jim Braswell and many others have made the overflight problem significantly worse by doing seemingly everything possible to accommodate the special interests of businesses that stand to profit by basing more corporate aircraft here. It is also painfully obvious that Douglas County staff responsible for airport management is under the insane belief that unrestricted economic growth, regardless of the adverse impacts to welfare of existing airport users and valley residents, is what is really best for the good people of Douglas County. I fail to understand how our county commissioners have tolerated, perhaps even blessed, this complete failure of public trust and accountability.

It is my vision and hope that with the support of CVVC’s membership, we can work quickly to restore the accountability of county staff and elected officials in whom we have entrusted to safeguard the future of the airport. After all, our airport is owned by and operated for the benefit of all county residents and tax payers, not just Pinon Aero and Hutt Aviation. And please remember that the sole authority for future planning and development of the county’s airport is the exclusive right of Douglas County voters, not the FAA!

In closing, I just want to say I appreciate the dedication and support of all CVVC members and I look forward to working with each of you.

Here is a link my Guest opinion in the 2/22/08 Record Courier.

On the front page of the Record Courier today, 2/15/08, is an article that re-confirms our greatest fears: Hangar builder hopes to serve Silicon Valley.

There are still those who say that Pinon Aero's plans are just a pipe dream - "don't worry it will never happen". "We don't need to include Pinon's plans in the Airport Master Plan update, because we can't really say what they will do with their lease". This master plan update says there will only be 2 more jets based here in 20 years. Given what we know of Pinon Aero, how can that be right? Also, did you know that no citizen or Board of County Commissioner review will be required of Pinon Aero's plans?

Folks - the County Commissioners and we citizens need to gain control of our Airport. Who’s in charge here?

The 2/7/08 County Commissioners meeting saw several members of the public speak about their concerns over airport growth. This was during public comment for items not on the agenda. As such, no Commissioner response was permitted. Jim Herd attempted to present a series of problem statements and a list of 10 recommendations, but was shut down by Kelly Kite and the 3 minute rule. Here is what he submitted in writing to the Commissioners.

The next right step for a Commission that is listening would be to put the airport on the agenda to determine what must be done to answer concerns identified during public comment. We shall see if they are listening.

Also on the agenda were 2 Airport Capital Funding decisions for development of the east side of the Airport. Jennifer Ware asked that these be delayed until the Airport Master Plan is completed and the Commissioners really understand where the airport is headed. Here is her testimony. The Commissioners approved the spending, and added that one more review will be required before implementation.

The first Airport Advisory Committee meeting of the year was held on Wednesday 2/6/08. This was primarily an administrative meeting that seated new members and thanked departing members for their service. There was discussion about the role of the AAC and how they would set objectives for the year.

The 2008 AAC Members are now:

Assistant County Manager, Michael Brown replaced out-going airport manager Jim Braswell.

Overall, the meeting was a breath of fresh air as Michael Brown made a major point of being subservient to the AAC – not its leader! And several AAC members repeatedly emphasized the need to listen to the public.

That said, it was not an evening with controversial content. And another cautionary word, despite the specific constituencies represented by each member, every single member is actually a pilot! So much for resident representation. But still, it was an encouraging start.

Here is a summary of the dialog from the meeting:

Bradford – should we plan to meet once a month and cancel if we don’t have anything to work on? We might need the first 3 months to define what we are going to get done. We need the BOCC to tell us what we should be doing.

Bradford – we will plan to meet every third Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m.

Herd – you should plan on focusing heavily on the Master Plan. Don’t wait until the end because there is so much controversy. And please restart the Brown Bag lunches.

Bradford – workshop retreat – Feb 19th 9 to Noon at Lampe Park to work on priorities.

Bradford – note that each AAC member is assumed to resign if they miss 3 meetings in a row or 3 in 12 months.

Brown – I plan to restart the Brown Bag lunches.

Brown – a bit of a tutorial on the County code on the formation of the AAC. This is a 50,000 foot look at the AAC. Specific areas called out include noise, public relations (could possibly address the mounting noise complaints), teach the community about the airport (so they complain less), airport element of County Master Plan, Airport Master Plan, airport marketing, and implementation of Master Plan. AAC should take initiative and not wait for BOCC guidance, then seek AAC approval for the priorities.

Hayes – we should get involved with the Master Plan now.

Ferree – we need a way to gather public input.

Brown – rules and regs are done. BOCC should approve tomorrow.

Ware – refreshing to see a much better approach to the AAC from all concerned. Is retreat meeting open to public? (Yes.) Be sure you proactively seek public input – don’t expect them to come to you.

Bradford – World Air Games is still on the table. Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority has Jim Van Den Heuvel taking the lead. He was at the recent NZ event. TV coverage was excellent but ground activities were very weak. (No other detail.) We would need to create a controlling entity (LLC) and get a leader if we were to proceed. Bradford urged caution!

Then we broke for coffee and cake to thank the outgoing members. As is often the case, this was the most productive element of the meeting. Good dialog about why CVVC is so outspoken and critical. There was actually the embryo of common ground and even consensus! Why can’t such an environment be constructed more often? Maybe it will with the new players.

There were two Airport Master Plan meetings held on 1/31/08. The first was an informal report back from the consultants on the 90 public comments they received (there were more but they summarized repeat comments). There were about 20 in the audience and the consultants offered paper copies of their responses to all 90 comments but talked only in generalities. (Click here for the report.) This report contained all the formal substance of the day. Virtually all the comments of substance were deflected in favor of their original plan.

To be fair, they have removed the parallel runway 34. They claimed that the removal of parallel R34 was due to public input, but sources say it was because the soaring pilots said they didn’t want it. While it does remove one of the most obvious and egregious elements, it doesn’t change the overall tone and intent of the Master Plan.

Another modest apparent win was to get the AMPWG to ask for Pinon Aero to disclose their business plans for their massive 87 acre land lease. Click here to see the plans Pinon Aero submitted to the Douglas County building department. It shows 100+hangars, many of which are large enough to fit a 737.

The second meeting was a formal Airport Master Plan Working Group (AMPWG) meeting with about 25 in the audience (mostly the same folks). The consultants basically went over the same material. As usual, the AMPWG members didn’t say much and the 8 members in attendance included only ONE resident-representative (Dennis Davis). Chairman Fred LaSor was unavailable, so Vice Chair, Mike Neilon, was in charge. He did a decent job of running the mechanics of the meeting. As before, however, there was no real outcome or vote, except for presumptive approval because they discussed the next phase and the next meeting.

Here is a list of AMPWG members in attendance – remember there were 14 originally, but John Garvin quit in protest and Chuck Dickerson passed away recently (RIP).

AMPWG attendees: Neilon (Business Council and airline pilot), Davis (resident), Schroeder (professional pilot and instructor), Pchelkin (C.O.C.), Gangwish (Hutt Aviation), LaLonde (pilot), Fry (resident and volunteer worker for Braswell). This is only half of the original 14 appointees!

Here is a summary of the discussion...

Thanks to Mr. Neilon, Jennifer Ware was asked to submit her public comment in writing to the Working Group since she was unable to complete the statement in 3 minutes. Here is her submission.

Read the report and draw your own conclusions:
REVIEW OF PAVEMENT CAPACITY STUDIES FOR THE MINDEN-TAHOE AIRPORT by Wayne Ferree
Mr. Ferree's Resume

The Airport Capital Improvement Plan (ACIP) was presented by the airport manager and unanimously approved by the BOCC! This is the formal process to get FAA funding for the next few years. It includes money to build infrastructure on the east side. The plans were never reviewed by the Airport Advisory Committee nor any other public meeting! The Airport Manager said he had consulted some people at the airport, but he never said he consulted ANY of the actual owners of the airport!

Capital spending is what defines the future of our airport and the owners should be consulted before submitting anything. It is disrespectful to the owners and to the Master Planning process to implement the east side right before the new Master Plan is finished! Airport Manager Mr. Braswell, Assistant County Manager Mr. Brown, Commissioner Johnson all defended the action. Johnson said 60 to 70% of people support the east side! Mr. Brown said the work on the east side is modest and he is trying to help soaring. Mr. Braswell said the requested money could still be changed at a later date.

Three more "Public Outreach" sessions are being held to gather community feedback on the Airport Master Plan.

One session will be held on Wednesday, January 16th from 6 pm to 8 pm at CVIC Hall, 1604 Esmeralda in Minden.

Two further sessions will be held on Thursday, January 17th.
The first will be at the Minden Tahoe Airport Administrative Office (1614 Airport Road) from 2 pm to 4 pm.
The second session will be held from 6 pm to 8 pm at Stateline in Edgewood Village (169 Highway 50).

Here is the notice posted on the Airport website: http://www.mindentahoeairport.com/Documents/AMPout1-17.pdf

These sessions will likely follow the format of the first such session which was held on December 19th. In that session, large poster boards of the proposed changes were displayed around the room. Some of the Airport Master Plan Working Group (AMPWG) members and consultants, and Airport staff were milling around answering questions and writing-down any public comment. There was no formal presentation and no public discussion of any feedback. Worse, there were no new alternative proposals that reflect what the public has been saying for 2 years! There was no debate of the issues. Given the short notice and the holidays, there was also very little public turn-out.

Attend one of these meetings, and/or submit your comments to the decision-makers listed below. Bring your friends and neighbors.

The "ALP" or Airport Layout Plan is the most critical piece of this entire update. It is what will determine the future character of our airport. Study the proposals and draw your own conclusions. Here are some areas to examine and questions you might ask of the Master Plan people.

Do not trust THEIR process! Any input you provide verbally should also be followed up in writing to:

CVVC has created the above distribution lists to make it easier for you to send your comments to the respective groups. Should you wish to contact any individual person in these groups, you can find their contact information at www.ourairport.org/contactus.htm.

This Master Plan will define the next 20 years of our airport and it will be irreversible. It’s Nevada Law! You don’t get to vote on it – they only need three Commissioners’ votes and we know how this team has been voting lately! So, please try to get out there and generate that public outcry. If you are unable to attend, please submit your feedback and comments ahead of time.

The first “extra” public review of the Airport Master Plan Update was held Wednesday December 19th. This was one of several meetings that are being held as a result of the December 6th Board of County Commissioners review of the Airport Master Plan progress. It is in response to public outcry that the plan defies public input. To their great credit, the County Commissioners are listening to us all and responding. This new series of meetings is a necessary step along the way to protect and preserve OUR airport. It is therefore vital that we capture this new opportunity the County Commissioners have provided.

Your CVVC Board believes that the Master Plan Working Group and Consultants have already heard the public input, and have ignored it. That is: keep our airport small, support small aircraft/soaring and limit jet traffic to only that which genuinely serves local needs. The new plans already presented would greatly expand the airport and provide no assurances that a jet invasion and major growth will not occur. Therefore they are unacceptable.

You can find Dieter Meun's report on this meeting by clicking here

The Airport will be a major topic at this Thursday’s Commissioner’s meeting. Largely as a result of the outcry led by CVVC, our County Commissioners have put the item on the agenda to be heard no earlier than 6 pm so that more working folks will be able to participate. They seem to be genuine in their desire to hear our concerns and take some action. We ask all CVVC members who are able to please attend. A show of force is important. And, please consider making a very short statement. You could simply state your support for the CVVC position, or explain your personal hot buttons.

The only way we can win this battle is with sensible policy positions and a very loud outcry. Our opponents are winning so far, and that means significant new airport growth – read the Master Plan Working Paper #3: Click here (large file!).

Here is the agenda item:

AIRPORT

30. Discussion and possible action on items related to the Minden-Tahoe Airport including the role and scope of the Airport Advisory Committee; Airport Master Plan; Airport Capital Improvement Program/Capital Improvement Program; land development, infrastructure planning and eastside development; and the Airport Weight Ordinance including updates and status on items and board direction to assist in prioritizing the airport work program. (approx 1.5 hrs)

Location: Douglas County Commissioner Meeting Room of the Douglas County Administration Building (Old Courthouse), 1616 Eighth Street, Minden

If you haven’t already seen Wednesday’s Record Courier, you may wish to read several pieces on the subject:

CVVC held a special member meeting on 11/17/07. The meeting was very well attended and the atmosphere was quite passionate. Our Airport is marching towards major growth and it is time for the citizen-owners to get involved and take control.
In as little as a few weeks - IT COULD BE TOO LATE!

The Airport Master Plan update process is ignoring public input. It calls for major expansion of the East side of our airport in the name of safety and "to promote and support soaring", while ignoring existing land leases to speculative developers with plans for massive growth. Moving gliders to the East side only serves to support undesirable growth of the entire airport.

We think Terry Burnes' letter to our Commissioners sums things up pretty well. Click here to see it!
(Also please see the next news item for more public comment and perspectives on the situation.)

The CVVC board shared a proposed path forward and received a resounding mandate from those in attendance to proceed. This includes getting the Airport Master Plan update process on the right track, voting in a new Airport Ordinance in 2008 and electing 3 County Commissioners in 2008 that support maintaining the rural character of OUR Airport.

Click here for the material presented at our Special Meeting

We want to thank those who have already signed up to help take back control. Please check back to this website in a few days when we will have:

In the mean time, please pass the word by referring your friends and neighbors to the material on this web site, urging them to please get involved and/or Join CVVC!

The Airport Master Plan Working met Wednesday 10/17 in the Board of County Commissioners chambers in Minden. The consultants presented their 3rd working paper, "Concepts, Alternatives and Development Plan".
You can find it here. (warning - it's a very large file!). Or, copies can be obtained from the Airport Office.

The current plan that is going forward moves gliding to the East side of the airport under the banner of "safety", and to build a world-class soaring center. Several new small aircraft runways are prosposed to accomodate this. The stated intent is laudable, but the reality is that the plan is enabling much greater capacity (up to 355,000 movements a year vs. the current 80,000) and creates a vacuum on the West side of the airport that will suck in more jet traffic, where gliders once dominated. This would violate the recent Airport Resolution by the County Commissioners whereby they stated their vision of retaining our small, rural airport.

The master plan update process is a farce when it comes to public input!

None of the alternatives that were proposed ensures that we will maintain a small community airport appropriate to our rural community - which is the essences of the County Commissioner Resolution and what most of the public input clearly states. The alternatives only serve to open the door more widely to a jet invasion!

Proponents say that the jet invasion will never happen, but we are already seeing increased jet traffic with Hutt Aviation’s 2 junket planes and other increased jet traffic this summer. There are new casinos going in and a new Convention Center in South Lake will soon be pulling in travelers that will increase jet traffic into Minden-Tahoe Airport. These flights are/will be in aircraft that are within the legal limit of the current weight ordinance! AND, they support a vital part of Douglas County’s tax base and economy, so a limited number of these flights should be an acceptable use of OUR airport, even though there will be an environmental price to pay. But how can we prevent the subsequent snow ball?! Hutt has plans to eventually add another 10-12 jets! And that’s only the beginning. Big developers and land speculators are tying up valuable land at the airport and County Management has neither the motivation, nor in some cases, the legal standing to terminate these land leases. These developers have massive jet facilities on the drawing board and they are not just a dream because they have already paid over a half million dollars in rent to retain the leaseholds. These are successful business people who clearly see a strong market in the foreseeable future.

None of this is comprehended in the master plan update! So the public are supposed to believe that these changes are all being made in the name of safety and that traffic will only grow from 80,000 to 89,000 movements in 20 years! Give us break - we're not that stupid!

The County is planning to put a question on the November 2008 ballot to raise or eliminate the weight ordinance. CVVC has developed a comprehensive position paper on this that is also tied to the airport master plan. We presented this position paper at the meeting on Wednesday.

    CVVC Position Paper Presentation
    CVVC Position Paper

Despite CVVC's input and very loud outcries from the public at the meeting on 10/17, it appears that the process will roll on. Though, we can only make this assumption, as there never was a motion from the working group one way or the other.

Here is a sample of public comment on the process.

We see this entire process as a farce. One member of the working group asked how the proposals and assumptions got to this point because he was never even asked to be involved in developing the plan. (So where DID the assumptions come from? Where WAS the public input?) Several other members of the working group effectively said that the document was just a document and not that important. WRONG! The Airport Master Plan becomes THE legally controlling document for our future! The consultant said they are open to public input, but only for two more weeks! You'd better get that in during the next two weeks!

The Minden-Tahoe Airport Management is conducting a customer satisfaction survey. The survey was mailed to all tenants and focuses heavily on a pilot's perspective of the airport. CVVC would have liked to have seen such a survey also comprehend the perspectives of the citizen's of Douglas County, the true owners of Our Airport.

Regardless of this over-sight, there is room at the bottom of the survey for general comments. This would be the place for non-airport users to make their prespectives known.

We are encouraging any one with an opinion about Our Airport to complete this survey and submit it as soon as possible. Let them hear from you - your opinion counts!

Here is the survey:  Airport Survey

The CVVC Board sadly notes the passing of one of our Board members, Ralph Elvik, on August 20, 2007. He was 83. All who knew him over the years feel the loss of his crusading spirit. Ralph was one of the most committed crusaders for saving the rural quality of life in our Carson Valley. He worked with CVVC towards assuring our Minden-Tahoe Airport remains a provider of services for our local aviation pilots, including those involved with soaring and sports aviation activities. Correspondingly, he made his position clear that our airport should not accept a future as a jet center, small or large. Ten days before he passed away, Ralph penned a letter to the editor of the Record-Courier. You can read it here.

This letter should serve as a testimonial to his tireless efforts on the community’s behalf. He will surely be missed by all of us.

The Board of County Commissioners unanimously passed an airport resolution on May 3rd. Sponsored by Commissioner Johnson, this resolution was drafted by a joint working group of 3 members from the CVVC Board and 3 members of the Airport Advisory Committee. The resolution provides guidance to County Staff, the AAC, and the Airport Master Plan Working Group that our airport shall retain a rural community character. Specifically, the resolution says the airport must “serve the needs of Douglas County residents and businesses”, and “continue to provide for firefighting and other emergency aviation needs, and to promote various sport aviation activities, particularly soaring …..”. This discriminates against no-one, but it does clarify the focus and specialization of our airport for the future.

The resolution also calls for creation of a new airport use ordinance to replace the Weight Ordinance, which is likely non-defensible given our use of FAA funding and the current weight-bearing capacity of the main runway. The new ordinance will be put before voters in 2008. It will need to provide better protection from environmental damage and yet avoid discrimination that might invite serious legal and financial problems for the County.

The resolution is just a start and is only meaningful with implementation. A lot hinges on the Master Plan update, capital improvements, protections in a new Airport Use Ordinance, and Airport Management. There is much work ahead!

The Resolution as modified by the BOCC

Jim Herd submitted the following Guest Opinion to the Record Courier, published on 5/25/07. This opinion does not yet reflect an offical CVVC position. Members are encouraged to provide feedback to the CVVC Board at cvvcBoard@ourairport.org.

Minden-Tahoe Airport belongs to the taxpayers

Two articles on our airport were on the front page of the 4/27/07 Record Courier. And they are NOT good news!

A major development is moving forward on our airport that will bring more traffic to our skies and provide infrustructure in support of larger aircraft. Pinon Aero has 87 acres on the southwest corner of field, with plans to develop "Private, Corporate, FBO, Aviation Industrial and Aviation Manufacturing Hangars". (Ref: Airport Developers List)

The article touts an "environmentally friendly development" as they will have hangars that won't look like hangars (read large) and a septic system that will not pollute our water supply. What they fail to mention is the environmental impacts that the development WILL bring: the jet noise and air polution that our weight ordinance is trying to prevent!

Furthermore, a UNR study has been released that confuses, and seemingly attributes jobs and economic benefits derived from the area surrounding the airport to the airport itself. Given the simultaneous announcement of this study with that of the start of Pinon Aero's development, and the fact that the study was funded by the Northern Nevada Development Authority, the Carson Valley Chamber Economic Development Committee and the Business Council of Douglas County, CVVC can only conclude that this report is posturing to justify more unwanted growth at our airport.

Here are the Record Courier articles and the study:

New Valley air park proposed
Report: Airport raises $151 million
UNR Study

The third working session of the Airport Master Plan Working Group was held on March 28th. This was followed by the first of three public information meetings. While the real work will start in the next working session which covers alternative proposals, CVVC has several concerns with progress to date.

At the working session, the Bernard Dunkelberg & Company consultants presented the 2nd "working paper" which covers capacity and facilities. The paper is very “generic” (likely extracted from previous work done by the consultants) and much of it is a tutorial (Airports 101). They have totally missed the uniqueness of KMEV! The document makes no attempt to direct the future – it is almost exclusively reactionary, and reads as if their lord and master is the FAA instead of the owners of the airport. In many places it clearly yields to the preferences of the FAA without fighting to serve the residents who own the airport.

The report is heavily focused on aviation aspects of the plan update and almost ignores the concerns of the local residents.

• Almost NONE of the “owner’s and residents” concerns are addressed – e.g., the Weight Ordinance, residential encroachment, etc.
• Many safety issues remain unaddressed.

Furthermore, there is no evidence of correcting any of the shortcomings of the last report, despite a good bit of public testimony with major concerns. (See John Garvin's input.) And, there is no emphasis on moving towards solutions - they don’t even define the major problems that need solving. E.g., the weight ordinance.

The first public information meeting was not well advertised and poorly attended. It essentially just introduced the update process, and covered very little of substance.

The next report will explore alternative proposals. Unless the public gets involved, this project is going to fall far short of our expectations. The only weapon that will make any difference is a huge public outcry. Stay tuned to this site and please spread the word.

Further Critique of the 2nd Working Paper

Airport Master Plan Update - Past Reports

CVVC submitted a Record Courier Guest Opinion on March 28th urging all to get involved in the Airport Master Plan update process, and pointing out some of the issues we see at our airport. A rebuttal was submitted by Mr. Endter on April 6th. Mr. Endter's guest opinion contains many eroneous conclusions about CVVC, Soaring and the airport in general:

• Mr. Endter did not check his facts with the one remaining Soaring operator. Soar Minden is on public record stating that business is down 50%.
• The issue CVVC has with the current direction of the airport is the type of aviation activity, not the quantity. Since 2001 the airport has been changing in ways that support biz jet traffic to the detriment of soaring and sports aviation.
• CVVC has no hidden soaring agenda. We want to get back to being what Mr. Endter calls "a small town airport with country flare" that serves the needs of Douglas County – it is our airport! Soaring is an integral part of that effort.

3/28/07 Record Courier - CVVC Guest Opinion on Airport Master Plan Working Group Meetings and the status of the airport.
4/6/07 Record Courier Guest Opinion - John Endter retort
4/13/07 Record Courier Guest Opinion - Dieter Meun's reply to Mr. Endter.

May 2nd AAC Meeting

A detailed report of the meeting can be found in the Members Only Section of this site. There are some critical developments for our airport. Please take the time to read this report.

April 11th Goals Workshop

The AAC met on April 11th to develop their 2007 goals. The public was invited to attend, but not comment. Prior to the meeting, CVVC submitted recommendations for 2007 priorities. These include a focus on Citizen and User Satisfaction. See the Members Only Documents Section of this site for our complete submission and a more detailed report of the meeting. (Look under AAC.)

Here are the minutes from the workshop.
Here are the AAC's 2007 objectives.

March 7th AAC Meeting

The AAC last met on March 7th. New AAC members were installed. While there was a great deal of good debate, nothing was actually accomplished in 2.5 hours. Hopefully, the good dialog will form the foundation for a major shift in style and effectivity for the AAC. CVVC plans to encourage this. A full report of the March 7th meeting can be found in the Members Only Documents Section of this site. Here are the minutes.

On January 4th the County Commissioners announced their new appointees to the AAC.

--Wayne Ferree – representing “Community at Large”
--John Marsalis (re-appointed) – representing “Airport Commercial Community”
--Bob Trumbly – representing Business Community

Please go to the airport web site to review the entire AAC membership, including contact information.

Remember, the AAC exists to advise Airport Management and the Board of County Commissioners on Airport matters. They are chartered to represent various factions of the the Douglas County community, including YOU! So, get to know your respresentative and let them know what you think!

CVVC attends all AAC meetings. If you are unable to attend, check back here for the latest developments.

On May 3rd, the BOCC approved closing of the gates at our airport.

While CVVC is not opposed to gates and recognizes the security and liability benefits of such, this infrastructure is yet one more step towards the type of airport we do not want to see. Security and liability protections are good. In the larger context of the trends we see at our airport, however, this is more bad news. Small, rural airports do not need fences and gates. Jet centers and busier airports do.

In December 2006, two Commissioners proposed a temporary lifting of the weight ordinance to study how many overweight jets would actually land at Minden-Tahoe Airport. The proposal would require over-weight jets to first obtain prior permission to land. (See the Record Courier Article of 12/03/06: Proposed trial period would test airport traffic, and other links below for further details on the proposal.)

CVVC has opposed this "PPR Test".

We have presented the County Commissioners with a conceptual solution to the problem of how to respect the will of the voters AND reduce legal and fiscal exposure for the County. Our proposal would strictly control future infrastructure at the airport and not allow the kind of “improvements” necessary to support major increases in aviation operations.

As of this writing, various groups and individuals are seriously considering our proposal. We are hopeful that a meaningful consensus can be built. Please note that the CVVC proposal contains significant concessions in an honest attempt to solve a serious problem. Also, we have not yet made hard commitments because we need feedback from our members. If, after studying the documents below, you have questions and comments we want to hear them.   (Contact Us)

See the following for more information:
12/07/06 Statement to Commissioners
12/21/06 Statement to Commissioners

Record Courier articles and opinions:
01/14/07 Airport seeks $200,000 NDOT grant
01/05/07 Airport weight limit questions
01/05/07 Coalition: Keep airport weight limit in place
12/29/06 Coalition offers plan for airport weight ordinance resolution
12/29/06 Letters to the Editor – see the submission by Art Fontanes
12/03/06 Proposed trial period would test airport traffic
02/03/06 Weight limit delayed
01/20/06 What sort of airport is it?

On January 1st, Commissioner Nancy McDermid was sworn into office, replacing Tim Smith. Also, Commissioner Dave Brady, who was previously appointed by Governor Guinn, was sworn in after winning his election. Our five Commissioners are incredibly hard working people! They know the extent of their obligations before they step forward, and the part time salary for more than a full time job! CVVC congratulates them all and extends our profound gratitude for their service to Douglas County and its residents. They have a really tough job, and with the airport their challenges are tougher than any other County asset! Why? Because the airport is highly technical, highly regulated (by various authorities – local, state, & federal), highly controversial, and very expensive to operate.

CVVC looks forward to working with all the County leaders in a spirit of cooperation to really solve some problems.

The latest CVVC Newletter was mailed to members last month. If you missed or have lost your copy, or if you are a new member, you can access CVVC Newletters via the Documents tab of the Members Only section of this web site. Contact if you are a CVVC member and do not yet have a password.

The folks up at Woodfords/Markleeville have big plans for their airport! Most folks have never even seen Alpine County airport. It is tucked up between foothills near Markleeville and currently has absolutely no infrastructure. It has historically been used for emergency services and as a cute place to drop in for a hike or even an overnight camp right next to the runway. Well, Alpine County now has a grand vision for the future! Details are not available to us, but we will find out. This might be totally insignificant to Douglas County residents, but as everyone knows, air traffic can affect a very large “footprint”.