Major LB Airport Terminal Addition Fast Tracked By City Hall In Ways That Avoid Public View & Council Review Until Deal Largely Done
(August 11, 2002) -- A major addition to LB Airport's terminal building and holdroom facilities, reported first by LBReport.com among LB media, is being fast tracked by City Hall in ways that avoid discussing its neighborhood and environmental impacts publicly and avoid City Council review until the process is far advanced and unlikely to be stopped.
To further speed the project, City Hall has sought and obtained FAA conceptual approval to proceed with the project using a "design/build" approach (not separate design and build contracts). City Hall plans to finance the Airport additions by adding a per passenger "head tax" (passenger facility charge, approved by City Council and FAA) that will pay off bonds that will be floated to fund the project quickly.
The bond funding will, in effect, create a continuing fiscal justification for City Hall to promote the Airport to maintain passenger levels (to generate the passenger tax to pay off the bonds). City management plans to seek Council approval for the per passenger fee in the coming City Council budget on which Councilmembers will be asked to vote by the end of September.
City Hall's LB Airport terminal addition would be larger than the current terminal building footprint, linked by a corridor to the terminal's south side and extending westward. The footprint of the addition -- roughly 38,000 square feet for passenger hold room, concessions, security screening and baggage claim areas (baggage claim is roughly 19,000 sq. ft.) -- is larger than passenger holding increases City Hall declared necessary in 1997 to handle 41 commercial + 25 commuter flights (details below).
City staff says the addition is needed to handle the 41 (over 75,000 pounds) + 25 (under 75,000 pounds) noise budgeted daily flight level because larger capacity planes and higher load factors (percentage of filled seats) and new security reasons mean its previous estimates are now undersized.
However to date, no documents have been made public showing on what basis city staff came up with the dimensions of the addition...and whether it may be larger than necessary to accommodate passengers from the 41 + 25 flights (and might later be used to do so.)
While using larger passenger levels to justify the additions, City Hall is simultaneously using a document approved by a previous Council over five years ago for a smaller addition (roughly 12,000 sq. ft, never built) assuming smaller passenger levels and impacts. LBReport.com excerpts of that document below: a 1996 Negative Declaration (finding no significant environmental impacts) for the smaller project, issued on Christmas Eve 1996 and receiving Council approval January 1997.
By using the document for the smaller never built project to justify the new larger proposed one, City Hall has thus far avoided public and Council review of neighborhood and environmental impacts (including traffic, noise and pollution) associated with the new Airport terminal additions.
Instead of receiving public review, the Airport terminal expansion was given staff Site Plan Review. A Notice of Final Action by City Hall's Site Plan Review Committee was issued for the Airport terminal additions on August 5, 2002.
Using public record materials LBReport.com has managed to piece together significant parts of what City Hall has planned.
In a June 18 memo accompanying a City Council agendized item city management obtained voted Council approval (8-1, Webb dissenting) to release a Request for Proposals/Qualifications to construct the Airport terminal additions. The memo did not disclose the size or scope of the Airport terminal additions, include drawings, photos or representations. It advised in dry fiscal terms:
DISCUSSION
To accommodate the realization of authorized flight activity levels at the Airport, staff
has been working on plans for the construction of approximately $10 million of holdroom
improvements, including expansion of the existing holdroom, security screening area
and baggage claim area, various site improvements to accommodate these new
facilities and construction of a concession area.
To expedite the construction of these needed improvements, staff and the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) have conceptually agreed that the improvements should
be constructed through a design/build contract. This will allow the designer and the
contractor to work together during the design process and allow the contractor to
proceed with the early acquisition of long lead items, such as baggage handling
equipment. Under a design/build approach, the public agency advertises the project for
bids through a Request For Proposals/Qualifications (RFP) process after having
completed 30 percent drawings. Staff is currently completing that task and will be
prepared to issue the necessary RFP in the near future.
In order to obtain the $10 million funding needed for this project, a Passenger Facility
Charge (PFC) will be proposed to the City Council as part of the FY-03 budget. A PFC
is a charge imposed on all passengers enplaned at an airport. The charge is
established by a public agency and approved by the FAA. Revenue from PFC's must
be utilized for specific projects as outlined in Federal Regulations and approved by the
FAA.
FISCAL IMPACT
The current cost estimate of $10 million for the proposed improvements is based on the
completion of 30 percent drawings. When the drawings and the RFP process have
been completed, the City Council will be requested to award a design/build contract.
Short-term bond financing will be used to cover the contract costs. Revenues from
proposed Passenger Facility Charges (PFC) will be used to repay the bonds. PFC
revenue collections are expected to begin February 2003, yielding $3,900,000 for Fiscal
Year 2003. Estimated PFC revenue projections for Fiscal Years 2004, 2005 and 2006
are $5,900,000, $6,500,000 and $7,300,000 respectively. The PFC rate is pending City
Council and FAA approval. |
The artist rendering to the right was provided to us on request after the meeting by the City of LB, courtesy designer HNTB. HNTB is a prominent engineering, architectural and planning firm which designed the Airport addition City Hall is discussing. The wall in the forefront of the artist rendering will "hide" the existing electrical building and electrical upgrades/improvements. The wall will be roughly 60' long compared to the terminal bldg. which is over 175' long. The holdroom extension is "behind" (westward from) the bag claim area and not seen in this perspective. It will have white panels similar to the bag claim area.