STEAD AIRPORT USERS’ ASSOCIATION Meeting Minutes, November 13, 2012
The Stead Airport Users’ Association (SAUA) monthly meeting was called to order at 5:15p at the Stead Airport Manager’s Office, November 13, 2012, as follows:
1. Attendance: Tom Hall, President; Ken Weigand, Vice-President, Dan Ross, Secretary, Dave Miller, Treasurer, Tracy Rhoads, IT Manager. Board Members: Mike Walsh, Lew Gage, Lin Manning, Terry Matter, RARA Representative, Mike Dikun, Reno-Stead Airport Manager, and Bill Eck, RTAA Representative. Member(s) absent: Don Osborne. Special guests, Robert Vester, RTIA Chief of Airport Police and Bob Meurer, President of the Reno-Tahoe Aviation Association, www.renoaviation.org.
2. Minutes: Minutes of the August 14, 2012 meeting were unanimously approved.
3. Treasurer’s Report: Cash on hand, $3373.65. Currently there are 65 members. 19 members have not paid the current membership year (1 July -30 June) dues. Dave asked that all non-current members be notified. New membership year began July 1, 2012, dues are $20 per year. Dues can be paid: check by mail, PayPal from the Website, or cash to Dave Miller.
4. Correspondence: None
5. Officers and Directors: None
6. Airport Manager’s Report: All airfield scheduled maintenance activities have been completed for the year. Attention is now focused on snow removal and snow removal equipment maintenance. Mike estimates that Stead is no more than 8-10 hours from full operation after a normal snowfall of 6-10 inches. Again, just as a reminder, current snow removal priorities are as follows: Fire lanes, runway 8/26, taxiway A, taxiways between hangars, runway 14/32, taxiway B, in that order. The entry gates to Stead now have the new computer-operated card lock system installed. The change over from the metal “dog tag” key is scheduled for a 6 month period ending in the March 2013 timeframe to give all tenants ample time to trade their metal key for or rent a key card. During this 6 month period, both keys, the metal key or the card, will open the gates. After the 6 month exchange period expires, only the card will remain functional. For those with metal keys, there is no charge for the exchange. For those without metal keys or lost metal keys, there is a one-time refundable charge of $25. Key cards are now available at the Airport Manager’s Office. Please report any difficulties with gate operations to Mike. Mike also briefed that Reno-Stead Airport is aggressively pursuing Drone development with the intent of becoming the primary location for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) development nationally. Congress recently directed the FAA to integrate (note: not study but integrate) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) into the National Airspace System. Nevada is a natural location for UAS Industries because of the wide-open spaces and sparse populations, especially Northern Nevada. According, Governor Sandoval has directed state officials to implement an immediate program to encourage the UAS developers to locate their industries in Nevada. Concurrently, the RTAA, at last month’s meeting adopted Resolution #511 expressing “the Airport Authority’s support for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) development in the state of Nevada and (specifically) at Reno-Stead Airport”. Mike noted that flight safety and concurrent use of the airport facilities would be his entering positions on all discussions or negotiations concerning basing UAS development and operations at Stead.
7. Stead Liaison Report: Bill Eck: Mr. Eck expanded on Mike Dikun’s UAS brief and also noted that operational safety would trump economic activity. However, the push to bring as much UAS development as possible to Nevada and especially Reno has the support of Nevada’s Senior Senator, Governor, City of Reno and the Airport Authority Trustees.
8. Special Guest Chief Vestor: Revisited airport security issues, all airport in general and Stead in particular. Aircraft security is important an all airports, keep your aircraft as secure as possible, at all times. Just as you wouldn’t think of leaving your car unlocked with the keys in the ignition, your aircraft is no less vulnerable but has far more serious consequences. Remember, if it locks, LOCK IT! Stead is an isolated airport with limited physical barriers to unauthorized personnel and police presence, especially at night. The best protection for Stead aircraft and hangars is the tenants themselves. If you see something suspicious, report it to the Airport Manager, police, or you should immediately report to the Transportation Security Operations Center (TSOC) any threat information, as well as any suspicious incidents and activities that could affect the security of U.S. civil aviation (e.g., suspected hijacking, bomb threats, both specific and non-specific, information relating to the possible surveillance of an aircraft or airport facility, and correspondence that could indicate potential threat to civil aviation) by calling the GA Secure hotline at 1-866-GA-SECURE (1-866-427-3287). If you see something, say something. (For a complete list of current Trustees and their bios, go to www.renoairport.com/airport-authority/board-trustees). Tom reiterated that Board Trustees and Airport Authority Staff are always welcome/encouraged to attend the monthly SAUA meetings. The next General Membership and Safety meeting is scheduled for TBD, location TBD.
9. RARA Report: Bill Eck noted that several of the local responder groups are being recognized nationally for their outstanding efforts that prevented further loss of life after the tragic accident at last year’s Air Races.
10. IT Report: Tracy gave an in-depth briefing of the SAUA Website Statistics. 252 visits from 27 countries, average duration on site is 4:20 viewing more than two pages, and 35% of visitors were new users. The search terms most used were “Stead Users, Stead Airport Users, Stead Airport Users Association, 2013 aviation scholarships, hangar/aircraft for sale/rent Reno, and the new AME, Dianne Higgins”. 62 of the site visits were via a mobile device and lasted an average of 15 minutes visiting two or more pages. Pages most visited: Home Page, For Sale, Forum, Medical Examiners List, SAUA Store, and the SAUA Fall Newsletter. Maintenance actions since the last meeting: Posted 18 articles, added/removed two items from the For Sale Page, and removed 30 bogus/SPAM registrations from the Forum posts. Currently there are 39 registered users on the SAUA Website. For a guy who is a volunteer IT professional, he seems to spend a lot of time on the SAUA Website. Thanks again for your time and efforts Tracy.
11. General Discussion: Bob Meurer: Bob introduced himself as the newly elected president of the Reno-Tahoe Aviation Association. He said he just wanted to visit and get to know the board members of the Stead Airport Users Association. He would like to attend as many meetings as possible and establish a close working relationship with SAUA and R-TAA as possible. Since Tom attends the R-TAA meetings he said Bob would be welcome at our meetings.
12. Next Meeting: December 11, 2012, 5:15p at the Reno-Stead Airport Managers Office.
13. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 7:20p.
Respectfully Submitted,
______________________
Herman D. Ross, Secretary
STEAD AIRPORT USERS ASSOCIATION (SAUA) MISSION STATEMENT
To represent the interests of all Tenants on the Reno-Stead Airport including Aircraft Owners, Fixed Base Operators, Aircraft Repair Facilities, United States Government Agencies and all parties of interest;
To ensure that all Tenants have the opportunity to speak with a united voice to the Reno Tahoe Airport Authority (owner of the airfield facility), the Federal Aviation Administration and the Local Governments relative to safe and affordable flying in Northern Nevada;
To enrich and promote the reputation of General Aviation within our community; and
To promote a “Good Neighbor” policy with the Nevada National Guard, support facility improvements that enhance the Tenant experience and encourage affordable services, fuel prices and hangar rentals from all service providers operating at the Reno Stead Facility.