Councilmember Supernaw, Plus Price, Pearce & Gonzalez, Propose At Least Seven To Eleven Add'l Days For Public Review Of Forthcoming "Feasibility Study" On Airport Customs Facility (Int'l Flights) Before It Comes To Council

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(August 5, 2016, 6:15 p.m.) -- Councilman Daryl Supernaw, joined by Councilmembers Suzie Price, Jeannine Pearce and Lena Gonzalez, have agendized an item for the August 9 City Council meeting that asks the City Manager and Airport Director to make a forthcoming study on a Federal Inspection Service (customs) facility publicly available and webpost it "at least 15 days before scheduling any City Council meeting to discuss the Study; and further provide sufficient time before the scheduled City Council meeting to conduct a Fourth Council District community meeting for the purpose of receiving public input on the Study."

In their agendizing memo, the Councilmembers write:

[Scroll down for further below.]

On February 23, 2015, JetBlue Airways formally requested the City to apply to the United States Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, for a User Fee Airport Designation and to seek approval to establish a Federal Inspection Service Facility (FIS) at the Long Beach Airport.
After receiving JetBlue's request, the City elected to prepare a comprehensive Feasibility Study to determine the overall feasibility, including economic feasibility, of moving forward with an FIS facility at the Airport. After a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process, Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc. was selected on January 5,2016, as the vendor to prepare the FIS study. Since the selection of Jacobs Engineering, two community meetings/study sessions regarding the proposed FIS were hosted by the City and Airport staff in order to introduce members of the Jacobs team and to provide responses to questions about various components of the FIS study. Each study session was attended by well over 100 community members and various other stakeholders.
Given the demonstrated community interest in the proposed FIS facility, it is important that the public and other stakeholders have adequate time and full opportunity to thoroughly review the Jacobs FIS study before the matter is presented to the full City Council for consideration. Providing the public and stakeholders with access to the FIS study and an opportunity for a community meeting well in advance of a formal Council discussion and consideration will serve to inform the community about the proposed FIS project and will allow for a more informed discussion when the matter is eventually brought before the Council for its consideration.

Most LB Council agenda items routinely give the public an eight day review period before Council action, although some only give four days time by appearing online at 5 p.m. Friday before the upcoming Tuesday Council meeting. Thus, the Councilmembers' request amounts to seeking between seven and eleven days (or more if a Council majority agrees) beyond current time periods to examine what is expected to be a voluminous report on multiple issues that a City-hired consulting firm has had over a year to prepare.

By comparison, state law allows the public at least 30-45 days (and some agencies allow more time) to examine an Environmental Impact Report on a public-impacting project before its proposed findings reach the decisonmaking body.

As separately reported by LBREPORT.com, the firm hired by the City to produce the feasibility study, Jacobs Engineering Group, contributed $2,500 on July 26, 2016 to the political committee that ran the $600,000+ campaign for the June 2016 LB sales tax increase, a Mayor/Council advanced ballot measure creating a revenue stream that a Council majority can spend for any general fund items it wishes.

Jacobs states on its website that it has worked with Dallas/Fort Worth Airport for more than 40 years. "Our history begins at the very start, with the ground-breaking for runway construction in 1969. Since that time we have assisted DFW with various projects to help them continually improve their customer experience and stay up-to-date in an ever evolving industry." Regarding its Aviation industry clients, Jacobs states:

Jacobs' aviation teams help clients and their customers prepare for a smooth take-off and landing at international, regional, and municipal airports around the globe.
Starting with aviation planning, site development, and asset management to architecture and engineering design through to construction support, commissioning and long-term facilities management, we are able to help our clients connect all of the critical aspects of their facility to provide an excellent experience for their traveling customers.
In the U.S., Jacobs has worked in more than 80 commercial airports and in the past 15 years we have successfully delivered 12 major aviation programs totaling more than $15 billion...

Internal Airport documents, obtained under state freedom of information law and reported by LBREPORT.com in June 2014, show that without publicly-voted Council approval or public discussion, LB Airport's now-exited director worked with JetBlue throughout much of 2013 to examine the feasibility of a customs facility (including two LGB-hired internal feasibility studies.) The Airport director told Councilmembers of the activities via August and November 2013 summary memos, but no then-Council incumbents (including now-Mayor Garcia) told the public what was taking place as the City entered the 2014 election cycle.

In February 2015, after a new Council majority had taken office, JetBlue (which came to LB Airport in 2001 aware that it served exclusively domestic locations) asked the City to allow a federal inspection (customs) facility, asking in effect that the City change its Airport to an international facility to suit the company's desires. The action is discretionary with a Council majority.

Some residents, including former LB Airport Advisory Commission member (and current LB City Prosecutor) Doug Haubert, have voiced the opinion that allowing a customs facility could create additional risks to LB's protective Airport ordinance; since the City couldn't limit a customs facility to JetBlue or any single operator, it could invite a powerful category of international cargo and passenger operators to seek flight slots already filled under LB's protective Airport ordinance.

If an entity were to challenge LB's Airport Ordinance and prevail, Long Beach could lose its Airport noise limits and operating rules that currently protect the City, permanently exposing Long Beach to unlimited flights at all hours on all runways (including those now protected from routine large aircraft operations.) Multiple Long Beach officials have stated that LB's Airport ordinance is a major City asset that must be protected. Although JetBlue has pledged that it will operate under the Airport Ordinance terms, it (obviously) can't control the actions of others.

In July 2015, a Council majority voted 6-3 (Supernaw, Austin and Uranga dissenting) to proceed with what it called a comprehensive feasibility study on a federal inspection (customs) facility. Public testimony in the Council Chamber was over two to one opposed. Of those testifying in support, half were associated with JetBlue and most of the others in support Airport or aviation business ties. Public speakers in opposition were mainly Airport impacted homeowners, several of whom voiced concern with safeguarding their home values.

The motion that approved the item was made by 5th dist. Councilwoman Stacy Mungo, who extemporaneously stated: "I want all of you to stay in the homes you're in, but quite frankly if you moved, the city would actually increase its property tax revenue." Her words sparked audience anger (and on social networks some called for her recall.)

As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, in November 2013, Aerolease (part of Aeroplex/Aerolease Group at LB Airport) made a $350 campaign contribution to candidate-Mungo's campaign. After taking office in July 2014, Councilwoman Mungo received contributions to her officeholder account (second half of 2014) from Aeroplex President/CEO Curt Castagna and the Aeroplex group's Manager...as well as the JetBlue Airways Corporation Crewmember Good Government Fund.

In the first half of 2015, Councilwoman Mungo received contributions to her officeholder account from Aerolease Long Beach and from three individuals who are the group's manager, office manager and spouse of its Presiden/CEO.

Developing.