Through the Fence at airport required by FAA

Council hears from property owners about agreements

LOCK HAVEN -- Airport related matters dominated a large portion of the Lock Haven City Council meeting during its public comment period this week.

The majority of the discussion surrounded Through the Fence agreements that were sent to five property owners near the William T. Piper Memorial Airport.

Some of those owners -- Nils Mantzoros, Carl Williamson and Craig Kehrer -- attended council's meeting on Monday to express their frustration with the process.

The discussion surrounding the Through the Fence agreement, which is required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), became a major topic when the city placed temporary fencing along the properties of those who had not signed their agreements on May 16.

This included five properties along East Water Street - where a taxiway leads into the airport.

At the time, City Manager Gregory Wilson said the fences were put in place to meet FAA requirements regarding the Through the Fence rule. Wilson reiterated this on Monday night.

Wilson said himself and other city staff including City Planner Abbey Roberts, along with council members and Solicitor Justin Houser, met with representatives of the FAA and Bureau of Aviation in October.

During the meeting, Wilson said the city was notified it was not following the FAA's requirement to have Through the Fence agreements with property owners that utilize the airport. This, he said, was meant to be in place since 2008.

The agreement needed to be put in place, otherwise it would risk funding the city receives from the FAA for the airport, he said.

"We were directed in no uncertain terms that if we wanted funding from the FAA and BOA (Bureau of Aviation) we had to do this. The FAA directed that, the FAA was the one who provided the agreement and the FAA are the ones who identified you as these customers," Wilson said.

He further stated the FAA also directed city staff to base its fee off of its T Hangar rentals.

"So (the FAA) determined who would be responsible for paying them. Not the city, not the city manager," Wilson said.

Council member Steve Stevenson, who attended October's meeting, confirmed Wilson's information.

"Everything he said was correct. I think we've bent over backwards trying to do this. We're not any further than we were back in October. We need to find some middle ground," Stevenson said.

The contents of the proposed agreement were what many of the property owners took issue with.

Mantzoros said the original agreement that he received was very restrictive and he and other property owners felt basing the fee on rentals for the hangar was too high.

"My intention here is the (agreement), I'm willing to negotiate," he said. "I'm not trying to get out of it. I'm concerned with the lack of negotiation."

The original agreement, according to Wilson, was amended after the city was contacted by Bob Larsen, owner of Lock Haven Air Parts in February.

However, following that date none of those who were sent the agreement signed and returned it.

Property owners such as Kehrer -- who resides in Florida for a portion of the year -- said they hadn't received the letter or agreement.

He noted he also sent an email to Wilson and Mayor Joel Long but hadn't received any response.

Wilson said the agreements were sent to addresses listed on the property owner's tax records or a law firm that contacted the city and declared it was representing a property owner.

This was also the case when updates to the agreement were sent in February, March and, most recently, on May 13.

Wilson said the most recent updates made after Mantzoros spoke with Houser were also included.

"Unless it was something the FAA specifically directed -- like the price -- any request you've made for alterations has been approved and it will be incorporated in," he said. "When it's all said and done, just like every other hangar agreement, it will go back to the FAA and they'll either like it or they won't."

If the agreements aren't signed before the city's next meeting with the FAA and BOA, Wilson said it could have an effect on funding.

Wilson said the temporary fencing that was put up last week would be taken down, saying it was done as a way to get the attention of those who hadn't signed the agreement.

Ultimately, no decisions were made regarding the ongoing agreement negotiations.

"The fence is coming down, you know where we're at in getting this set up with the FAA and the requirements," Long said. "Hopefully we can keep the negotiations with our solicitor going to get this taken care of."

Property owner Carl Williamson questioned if council could have an airport advisory committee. He said he'd served on one for Piper in years past and felt it worked well.

"We got a lot done. We didn't always agree on things but we were an advisory committee," he said.

Long noted that, while the potential of an airport authority was still in the works, the city wasn't looking into an advisory committee at the time.

Council member Barbara Masorti, who serves on the airport subcommittee for council, noted that a potential authority is ongoing with two different groups.

"We're working on it. Things take so much time and can be so complicated but... things are moving forward," she said.