Eden Prairie Lobbying our Federal Legislators for 5,000ft Runway 2007-8
Data Practices Request for Information Related to City's Actions in 2007
Form: view pdf
Letter: view pdf
Newly Disclosed City E-mails Contradict Statements by Neal, Young, and Aho about Airport Expansion
State law requires our government to operate with full disclosure, unless such information is privileged or protected. Anyone can request the government to disclose its data, and the government must provide it, unless the data is of a kind specifically excluded because it needs to be protected.
An Eden Prairie resident recently made a request for data related to the City of Eden Prairie’s communications with MAC and the Federal Government about the proposed expansion of Flying Cloud Airport. The request for documents to the City stated: "I would like to get copies of all correspondence between the City of Eden Prairie . . . and the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce . . . FAA . . . and MAC concerning advocacy for the development and/or expansion of Flying Cloud Airport."
In response to that request, the City provided copies of e-mails from January to March 2007 in which it clearly states the City was supportive of the expansion plans at Flying Cloud Airport, asked MAC what the City could do to help the expansion along, including meeting with Federal Legislators to request money for the expansion.
These e-mails confirm the paper trail disclosed by concerned residents in the Spring of 2007 that the City had adopted a new pro-expansion position. Remember, City Manager Scott Neal sent a letter to Oberstar in March 2007 asking for money for the airport expansion just days after Mayor Phil Young and other City employees attended a Chamber of Commerce meeting where MAC said it was hard to get money from Washington DC. The new disclosed e-mails reiterate that MAC wanted the City’s help in getting federal money for the expansion.
In Spring 2007, the City denied it had taken any pro-expansion steps. After residents complained, Neal tried to split hairs saying that the term "expansion" in his lobbying letter was a mistake; it should have been “improvements.” However, Neal’s letter stated the City had a “new position on the airport expansion [] supported by the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce and many members of the Eden Prairie corporate business community.” (emphasis added) Neal also attached a Chamber of Commerce Resolution in support of expansion to his lobbying letter bolstering the new position.
Significantly, only the 5000-foot runway extension is funded by the Federal money that Neal asked for; no other "improvements" were sought or paid for with federal money.
1. Water and Sewer and Shorter Runway extension were allocated before the March 6, 2007 Chamber Meeting.
2. At the Chamber meeting on March 6, 2007 what was discussed was the $22M they didn't have.
3. They didn't have money for the longer runway or the hangars. That constituted the $22M.
That means when the city mangager responded back to the Anderson email on March 7, 2007, saying (referred to Anderson's email from Feb) that's the message that the city would carry to the national legislators, support the expansion and federal funding for the expansion, he was talking about money for the 5,000ft runway extension.
It was not for cosmetic improvements, water and sewer, the shorter runway, the funding was primarily for the longer runway and hangars.
Statements by Phil Young and Brad Aho, made after residents discovered the Neal letter, were misleading. Because the funding the MAC wanted the city to help secure was not for "sprucing up the facilities" as Brad Aho stated, but for the 5,000ft runway which is first and then new hangars.
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Taken all together, the newly disclosed e-mails and letters, the Neal lobbying letter with the Chamber Resolution, and meeting minutes show that behind the scenes, the City was secretly supportive of the airport expansion and agreed with MAC to lobby and ask for Federal funding to make the expansion happen. MAC needed help from the City to make the expansion happen, and the City lobbied Oberstar, Ramstad, Coleman, Kline, and Klobuchar to push the expansion forward after it had been stalled for years.
These newly disclosed e-mails are in direct contradiction to statements made by Neal, Young and Aho that the City had not adopted a pro-expansion position. In 2007, Young, Aho and Duckstad refused to sign a resolution requiring the City to be “neutral” to the expansion instead of pro-expansion. Butcher and Nelson supported a declaration of neutrality. See Zeroexpansion.com.
Why is this information important now? Given the City’s long history of opposition to the expansion, $750,000 investment against it, and ethical obligation to represent residents’ concerns, not council members own personal agenda, (Section 2.40 of the City Code), it’s outrageous that the City secretly lobbied for the expansion and then denied it! The airport expansion will have negative impacts to thousands of people in Eden Prairie. Over 300 homes will have noise levels “incompatible with residential living” if expansion occurs, and may require noise insulation (Table Q-7 of FEIS). According to the City, Eden Prairie lost over $ 126 million in lost revenue over the life of the property for the expansion, including revenue from 500 homes and over 1 million square feet of office and industrial space. The County lost significant property taxes from the loss of 500 new homes.
Are these statements made by Phil Young and Brad Aho in 2007 believable?
"The Memorandum of Understanding still stands and the city supports improvements and sprucing up the facilities. "
Brad Aho
Eden Prairie News, March 29th 2007
"There was no discussion at the council about encouraging or lobbying or spending money to secure federal financing for the runway….We don’t do things behind closed doors. It’s not right. It’s not legal and we certainly haven’t done it on this issue."
Phil Young
Eden Prairie News, March 29, 2007
PRINT AND DISTRIBUTE THE FLYER BELOW TO COMMUNITY NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS-
Ad Running in Eden Prairie News, October 23, 2008 Edition
Was there a "change in direction" by the city of Eden Prairie in regard to the Flying Cloud Expansion?
Yes.
The City Lobbied For Federal Funding and Deceived the Public.
The question is who should be held responsible for this change in direction? City Managers are hired by the city council and accountable to them.
Here are the evidentiary documents:
<Email Order:
January 29, 2007 -Neal to Anderson-10:45
Monday January 29, 2007-Anderson to Neal- 10:50AM
Thursday February 1, 2007- Anderson to Neal
Wednesday March 7, 2007- Neal to Anderson- 14:35 (2:35PM)
Wednesday March 7, 2007- Anderson to Neal- (3:48)PM
Thursday March 8, 2007- Neal to Anderson
March 6, 2007- Chamber Meeting to talk about partnering with city for funding the expansion attended by EP staff and the Mayor.
Eden Prairie City Council Minutes
Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce Minutes
EMAILS OBTAINED THROUGH FOIA PROCESS/TIMELINE
1. February 1, 2007 Email from Anderson Timothy to Scott Neal (obtained through the FOIA process)
To: Scott Neal
RE: Lobbying for Airport Improvements at Flying Cloud Airport
Scott, Mitch is still waiting for some input on this issue from our DC lobbyist, but so far has suggested it would be nice if you get the chance to let Ramstad know (and the Senators, too, for that matter, although they will be less informed and will need more education) that the city is now OK with the FCM expansion (And maybe even supportive?!). We know he [Ramstad] has been reluctant to step out on the issue given the past differences between MAC and EP, and could use some comfort that it's OK, for example, if he supports Federal funding of the project. That would help us. I'll get back to you with more if we hear more from DC. Tim
2. February 20, 2007 Council Workshop- Postive New Attitude on behalf of the city council: "Chamber of Commerce Government Committee, representing the Commission. The chair of the Committee, Dick Ward, was extremely happy that there seems to be such a positive new attitude on the part of the City Council and new Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission with regard to talking about Flying Cloud Airport."
3. In Eden Prairie City Council Meeting minutes from March 8th which included EP Chamber of Commerce Meeting minutes from March 6, 2007; this meeting was attended by MAC, Phil Young, an EPAAC member and Eden Prairie Staff; it was stated that MAC didn't have the money for the longer runway. The suggestion was that the city partner to help raise the required funding necessary.
4. March Wednesday, March 07, 2007 Email from Scott Neal to Timothy Anderson
Thanks Tim. This is the message that we'll communicate to Jim [Ramstad] about Flying Cloud.
Call your local elected officials, state and national legislators and tell them no taxpayer dollars for an unecessary expansion that was funded through the deceptive efforts of Eden Prairie's council leadership.
Analysis Of Events-Chamber Of Commerce 051907
view docRecent Summary Of Events 2007
view pdf
If the 5,000ft runway goes through we can all thank the new council leadership.
Call your local elected officials, state and national legislators and tell them no taxpayer dollars for an unecessary expansion that was funded through the deceptive efforts of Eden Prairie's council leadership.
City Manager Statement from 2004--
How ironic it is that in 2007 the industry was even less flush, so Neal lobbied our national legislators for money at the behest of our new council leadership.
Eden Prairie City Manager's Online Blog
http://edenprairieweblogs.org/scottneal/
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Flying Cloud Airport
"The airline industry is not flush right now, so all this discussion of expansion may just be for naught."
Scott Neal
http://zeroexpansion.com/more_talktrans.html#econRole
Explanation of FAA Public Comment Period on AIP Funding grants for airports like FCM Read and write or call the FAA by 10-8-08
Contact these FAA personnel and tell them NO EXPANSION, NO TAX PAYER DOLLARS FOR THE RUNWAY FOR NO ONE.
Here's a LETTER you can send to the FAA
Open this Link and Print, Send in the mail
Deadline October 8, 2008
TAKE ACTION NOW-
Bridge to No Where: Runway Expansion for No One
This is our response to Mayor Young's Commentary Aug 28, 2008 EPN
A 5,000 ft runway at Flying Cloud Airport will service less than 1% of the airport's users.
But, it's a very wealthy 1%, who according to Glenn Orcutt of the FAA's Great Lakes Division, consists of large corporations. Large corporations are, in fact, the only determiners of whether the runway actually goes through. Why? Because they've lobbied the FAA for it. And all they had to do was ask.
Runway development is not based on need, because operations at Flying Cloud Airport have steadily decreased for decades. It's not because there isn't already ample capacity for larger corporate jets, because there are at least four other airports in close proximity to accommodate them. Why then? It's because of what Jack Lanners, the current MAC chair, refers to as "convenience."
These corporations want their aircraft parked in their back yards.
Not only will we be bailing out all the big movers and shakers, but by subsidizing the mode of travel of local corporations, we will be giving away our mortgage payments and our kids' tuition money to the tune of millions in earmarks for pork projects, like the FCM expansion.
This summer we appealed to the city council to view our video presentation concerning the increase in noise violations and the consequences of a change from small neighborhood airport to corporate hub.
The council voted unanimously not to view the video. Whether they watched it or not, the council couldn't even try to make the thousands of noise complaints we've had this past summer go away. The public is irate, not just because there are constant violations of the voluntary curfew, but because there's the greater threat of larger, noisier aircraft in the future.
Few people know about FAA rules, but for the city to appeal to the FAA for a mandatory curfew while asking them to spend millions expanding a runway which will result in more noise, is sending a mixed message. Really the wrong message because our Mayor is simply pandering to the public. The FAA doesn't allow any mandatory curfews at airports.
The city would have to do a Part 161 study, which MAC and the city specifically avoided in 2002 because of the $3M to $4M costs of conducting a study. Every neighborhood airport wants a mandatory curfew. In Burbank California, the airport authority recently presented a draft for a study that would impose mandatory limits on flights from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m..
Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority Proposes Curfew
According to the press release, "This would be the first application to the FAA for a [mandatory curfew] by any U.S. airport since Congress passed the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990, which barred airport imposition of new access restrictions unless approved by the FAA." "This is groundbreaking territory. We know we have an uphill battle, but the deal is to fight the fight and go as far as we can."
Evidently "it's hard to gauge what the FAA is thinking because no airport has ever started and finished a 161 study."
But, Phil Young should know all of this.
What our Mayor may not know is that the FAA just put out a timely request; timely because it's no time for pork and no time for taxpayers to foot the bill for expanding an unnecessary runway. The FAA request asks the public to weigh in on discretionary grant funding to non-primary airports like Flying Cloud Airport.
If in fact the fiscal accountability our council leadership has talked about is on the level, we can hardly believe Eden Prairie wants to put $3M to $4M down on a study which no community has ever completed successfully. And this surely is not the time for a $10M runway expansion for a few corporations just because they don't want to use Holman Field, Lakeville, Anoka or MSP. After all, our hard earned tax dollars will already be at work saving our entire financial system.
Don't you think it's fair to ask Best Buy, Super Value and others to park their aircraft somewhere else? Businesses need us a lot more than we need them. We should all remember that next time we go out to shop.
For more information on how you can contact the FAA and stop the expansion, which is stopping the increase in noise from larger jet aircraft, go to this URL www.zeroexpansion.org . Or email us at transportationtalk@yahoo.com
NOTE: Does that mean we give up on monetary penalties for violations? No. We should demand that our legislators and local leaders work on penalizing the violaters of voluntary curfews with monetary penalties.. It's really time the public stop forking over and the users become accountable to the set limitations. It's clear, they must not take them very seriously.
Contact these FAA personnel and tell them NO EXPANSION, NO TAX PAYER DOLLARS FOR THE RUNWAY FOR NO ONE.
*Bob Huber, ADO Manager
Jesse Carriger, Assistant ADO Manager<
Minneapolis Airports District Office
Federal Aviation Administration
6020 28th Avenue, South, Room 102
Minneapolis, MN 55450
Phone: 612-713-4350
FAX: 612-713-4364
Contact List: Minneapolis ADO, MSP-600
*Jeri Alles, Division Manager
Debbie Roth, Assistant Division Manager
Mary Kruger, Administrative Officer
Cindi Leitner Administrative Program Assistant
U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration
Great Lakes Region Airports Division
2300 E. Devon Avenue , Des Plaines , Illinois 60018
Phone: 847-294-7272
FAX: 847-294-7036
Contact List: Office of the Division Manager, AGL-600
*Elliott Black, Planning and Programming Branch Manager
Paul Lo, Regional Planning Specialist/Capacity officer
*Sharon Burkes, Regional AIP Funds Control
Federal Aviation Administration
Planning and Programming Branch, AGL-610
2300 East Devon Avenue
Des Plaines , Illinois 60018
Phone: 847-294-7272
FAX: 847-294-7036