Planning session debates airport future

The debate over the future of the Minden-Tahoe Airport flared up on Oct. 17 at a meeting of the Airport Master Plan Work Group.

That debate is expected to come to a head in 2008 when the airport weight ordinance appears on the ballot.

Airport consultants Peter van Pelt and Ryan Hayes of Barnard Dunkleberg & Co. presented alternatives for future configurations of the airport that included additional runways and construction of a new center on the airport's east side.

While saying the new runways would expand capacity, van Pelt said that referred to hourly capacity not increased use of the airport.

Use is expected to grow at 1.4 percent annually over the next two decades, reaching about 85,000 operations a year at the end of the period.

None of the configurations presented altered the airport's main north-south runway.

The airport has two runways that cross the main runway, a configuration Hayes said is uncommon and poses safety issues should all the runways be in use.

Instead the consultants proposed a configuration that extends one runway, closes another and adds three more.

Under the consultant's plan, Runway 12/30, which runs southeast of the airport, would be extended 1,640 feet. A new 1,800-foot runway would be built parallel to the taxiway on Runway 03/21 and Runway 12G/30G would be moved 900 feet southeast and 150 feet to the northeast. Runway 12G/30G would be widened and a new runway, 16L/34R, would be built along the east side of the airport.

The expansion would increase the number of simultaneous operations the airport could handle to about 355,000 a year and would better segregate air traffic by different types of aircraft.

But it is also the most expensive alternative and would require the purchase of 255 acres, consultants said.

Consultant van Pelt said none of the new runways would be built to large aircraft standards.

"Every one of these runways is a small aircraft runway," he said.

The least expensive alternative, would construct a light aircraft glider recovery runway pointed northeast and another runway parallel to the main runway to launch small aircraft and gliders.

The least expensive alternative would require 182 acres in easements.

Gardnerville pilot Jim Herd accused the committee of ignoring prior public comment on the plan.

"What is being presented today is a house of cards," he said. "There is no visible substance to this process."

Jennifer Ware of the Carson Valley Vanguard Coalition presented a position paper on the airport ordinance and the master plan.

Ware said members feel the ordinance and master plan should go hand-in-hand.

In their proposal, the coalition said they feel no new runways should be built that are capable of handling larger aircraft than tow planes and gliders.

Ware repeated Herd's warning to the working group.

"People are going to reject it, and not just because of the lack of public comment," she said. "You need to go back and start this process over again."

Ware claimed the coalition represents the residents of Carson Valley outside of the airport.

However, when questioned by board member Bill Schroeder, she would not say how many members the coalition represents.