Council Communication

Request to Approve Night Construction Work at the Ashland Municipal Airport
Meeting Date:	March 1, 2005		Primary Staff Contact:	Jim Olson, 552-2412 olsonj@ashland.or.us
Department:	Public Works		Secondary Staff Contact:	Joe Strahl, 552-2411 strahl@ashland.or.us
Contributing Departments:
Approval:	Gino Grimaldi

Statement: The Public Works Department's contract with LTM, Inc. includes completing several improvements at Ashland Municipal Airport including replacing the outdated runway lighting system. This work will take approximately two weeks and requires that the runway be closed during construction. In an effort to limit daytime runway closure, it is requested that the contractor perform this work during nighttime hours only. It is requested that nighttime construction be authorized at the Ashland Municipal Airport for a period of two weeks beginning in March or April.
0
Background: In August, 2004, Council approved a Federal Aviation Grant offer for the Ashland Municipal Airport 2004 Airport Improvement Project (FAA Project No. AIP #3-41-0002-06). The 95% grant, along with a Federal Aid to Municipalities grant, provides nearly $900,000 to complete the approved schedule of work. One of the main elements of work includes the replacement of the existing low intensity runway lighting with medium intensity lighting. This work will involve trenching along both sides of the runway to install electrical conduits, wires, light housing canisters and the lights themselves. All of this work is done in close proximity to the runway and within the runway safety zone. FAA regulations require that the runway be closed when equipment is continuously within the safety zone. The construction documents require that the contractor install 19,000 feet of cable and conduit and 70 runway lights within two weeks. To avoid closing the runway for 14 consecutive days during busy daytime hours it is recommended that the contractor conduct this portion of the work during nighttime hours (from 7:00 PM to 8:00 AM).
0
Related City Policies: The City's Municipal Code is very specific regarding the hours of allowable noise. AMC Section 9.08.170.A states "No person shall make, assist in making, continue, or cause to be made any loud, disturbing, or unnecessary noise which either annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, repose, health, safety, or peace of others." Construction activities are exempted between the hours of 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM (Section C.4); noises in excess of specific decibel levels are considered public nuisances (Section C), yet the Council can provide a variance (Section C.5). Although the airport is somewhat isolated with few adjacent residences, it is located within the City limits and is subject to AMC Section 9.08.170. The work will be primarily trenching and backfilling requiring the use of diesel powered excavators and trucks that do not exceed "allowable" decibel limits. The use of noisier equipment such as pavement grinders and pneumatic hammers is not anticipated. The nature of the work requires that trucks and equipment will be operating within a few feet of the runway, well within the runway safety zone. FAA regulations require that the runway be closed when equipment is continuously within the safety zone. Ashland Municipal Airport is a Visual Flight Rule (VFR) airport and conducts very little nighttime operations. Since the airport has only a single runway, a two week daytime runway closure would effectively close the airport to all operations. A nighttime closure, however, would have little impact on the operation of the airport as normal activities would be able to resume by 8:00 AM each day.
0
Council Options: Approval of nighttime work at the Ashland Municipal Airport would have no financial impact on the contract as the contractor and engineer have both anticipated this nighttime work. Inspections will be provided by the contract engineer, David Evans and Associates, so City staff will not expend overtime budgets. If nighttime operation is not approved it will be necessary to close the airport for two weeks, impacting fuel sales revenues and more importantly limiting its use for emergency flights and for FedEx and freight deliveries redirected from a fogged-in Medford Airport.
0
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends approval of nighttime construction operations at the Ashland Municipal Airport for a period of two weeks beginning in March or April.
0
Potential Motions: Council may move to approve construction beyond normal construction hours as outlined in AMC Section 9.08.170 to permit nighttime operation at Ashland Municipal Airport for a period of two weeks.
0
Attachments: Please click on the link below to view the following attachments: • Vicinity map • Detail map

AirportConstruction_Attachments.pdf (540.7KB)

The above document(s) are Adobe® Acrobat® PDF files and may be viewed using the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™. Most newer web browsers already contain the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader™ plug-in. However, if you need it, click on the "Get Acrobat® Reader™" icon to download it now.