AMPAC to elect new officers
The City of Middleton's Airport Master Plan Advisory Committee (AMPAC) is going to meet on Thursday, September 24, for the first time since July 2019. The long gap between meetings was mostly due to the FAA's lengthy evaluation process of Mead & Hunt's aviation forecasts (Mead & Hunt is the consulting firm preparing the Airport Master Plan on behalf of the City), including changes in methodology that the FAA required. In a letter dated July 30, 2020, the FAA gives its approval to the 'medium-growth' forecast scenario established by Mead & Hunt, albeit 'for planning purposes only', which means that the approval 'does not provide justification to begin construction of airport development'. In other words, if the City decides for instance to lengthen the main runway, then it will need to submit new updated numbers to the FAA if it wants federal funding.
According to the accepted forecast, total operations at Middleton Municipal Airport/Morey Field (C29 in its official designation) are expected to increase from just over 41,340 in 2019 to just under 45,420 in 2039. The number of aircraft based at C29 is expected to grow from 100 in 2019 to 125 in 2039 (see table above). The numbers gathered by Mead & Hunt also show that the largest operator by far in terms of flights in and out of C29 is Morey Airplane Company with over 24,330 in 2019 (out of a total of 41,340; see table below). Many, if not most, of these are training flights. Due to covid-19, the numbers for the current year will probably be significantly lower.
The forecasts are part of chapter 2 of the Airport Master Plan, which AMPAC will discuss Thursday.
Before that discussion can take place, the committee members will elect new officers (chairperson and vice-chairperson). If past experience is any guide, this is not going to be a unanimous affair. After the previous chairman Leif Hubbard resigned from AMPAC (he was for all intents and purposes pushed out by mayor Gurdip Brar), several committee members could conceivably be interested in taking his place. With the appointment of City Council member Robert Burck to AMPAC a few weeks ago, it now has 13 members, which means that the successful candidate will need to get at least 7 votes.
First in line (to be a candidate, not necessarily to get elected) is most likely Cynthia Richson, currently in the vice-chair. She accepted that position as a consolation prize after having lost the election for the chair to Leif Hubbard last year. She is also the chairwoman of the Middleton Town Board, and an outspoken airport opponent. Together with two other AMPAC members, Robert Bartholomew (city of Middleton resident) and Julie Loeffler (town of Springfield resident), she forms the so-called Gang of Three whose sole purpose seems to be to sabotage the Airport Master Plan process. Through a barrage of procedural moves and obstructionist behavior, loudly supported by disruptive hecklers in the audience, they managed to turn last year's AMPAC meetings into a farce. Because of her rude and unprofessional behavior, she has managed to antagonize pretty much everyone who does not share her extreme anti-airport views, and is therefore unlikely to receive majority support. (She has become toxic to the point where earlier this year, in an exceedingly rare vote, the City Council even rejected her re-appointment to the Airport Commission, to the great consternation and frustration of mayor Gurdip Brar, who does not like to see his subversive plans subverted. Significantly, he did not remove her from AMPAC.)
Another AMPAC member who lost to Leif Hubbard for the chairmanship is Kevin Munson. A city of Middleton resident, he also serves on the Airport Commission. He might give the AMPAC chairmanship another try, although he is a bit of a loose cannon on the Airport Commission, often pursuing esoteric issues that seem to be driven more by his personal goals and preferences than by the interests of the city or the airport. He also has a history of resigning (and unresigning) from the committee when things don't go his way. His unpredictability has led some observers to question whether he has the right temperament to lead AMPAC, or indeed any committee.
John Schaffer replaces Leif Hubbard on AMPAC as the delegate from the Plan Commission, where he serves as chairman of the Park, Recreation and Forestry Commission (PRFC), also in replacement of Leif Hubbard. As opposed to the latter, John Schaffer is a loyal Gurdip Brar supporter, and there are those who view Leif Hubbard's forced exit from his various committees as part of the mayor's strategy to replace critics with loyalists wherever he can. It would thus not be surprising if the mayor wanted John Schaffer to complete the take-over of Leif Hubbard's positions by becoming chairman of AMPAC. There is one big difference between Leif Hubbard and John Schaffer, however: Leif Hubbard had many years' worth of experience in City government, including chairing committees, while John Schaffer has virtually none. His leadership experience extends to chairing four PRFC meetings since his appointment this June. Still, he seems to be mayor's pet, and if the other members of AMPAC are looking for somebody to steer the committee who has an unencumbered mind and who is not burdened by any relevant previous experience, then John Schaffer might just be the man.
Robert Burck is the second new AMPAC member (besides John Schaffer), having been appointed only a few weeks ago. He has been on the City Council since 2017, representing district 2. He also serves on the Library Board, the Middleton Area Development Corporation Board, the Personnel Committee (which he chairs), the Public Works Committee, and the Airport Commission. His appointment raises the number of AMPAC members to 13, eliminating the possibility of tied votes. It also means that the city of Middleton now has an elected official on AMPAC, just like the towns of Middleton (Cynthia Richson) and Springfield (Dan Dresen). According to some idle and irresponsible press speculation (Middleton e-View 20), the appointment of Robert Burck could signal the City Council's intent to have him become chairman, and reintroduce some sort of normalcy to the AMPAC proceedings.
AMPAC is a committee that deals with a contentious issue, and that is composed of members representing a wide range of constituencies and special interests, some narrower, some wider. It is also a City of Middleton committee, not a Town of Middleton or Town of Springfield committee.
Therefore, the person to chair it should not only be a city of Middleton resident, but also someone who is independent, has a wide-ranging mandate (i.e. does not directly represent a special-interest group), has more than an ounce of common sense, as well as the required local-government experience, not to mention mental stability. That of course narrows the options down considerably, leaving in fact only Robert Burck and, maybe, Ray Fey (city of Middleton resident and longest-serving member of the Airport Commission) as viable contenders. But then again, if elections were a sure thing, we wouldn’t really need them, would we?
City meetings calendar
Besides the Airport Master Plan Advisory Committee, which will meet on Thursday, September 24, at 5:30 pm (via Zoom, like most City committee meetings), six other committees have currently also scheduled meetings:
The TID Joint Review Board will meet on Monday, September 21 at 4:00 pm via Zoom for an update on current and potential TIF projects, and to give final approval to TID 3 amendment 10, which will subtract 32 parcels from the TIF district and return them to the regular property tax roll.
The Commission on Aging will meet on Monday, September 21 at 4:00 pm at the Senior Center to discuss budget and volunteer matters, and to appoint a representative to the Pedestrian, Bicycle and Transit Committee.
The Sustainability Committee will meet on Monday, September 21 at 6:30 pm via Zoom to discuss the sustainability-related chapters of the City's Comprehensive Plan, as well as updates to the Middleton Sustainable City Plan.
The Park, Recreation and Forestry Commission will meet on Monday, September 21 at 7:00 pm via Zoom to get updates on the Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, and to discuss plans to convert the Splashpad at Lakeview Park from a flow-through system to a closed circuit with a filtration and chlorination system allowing water to be reused. Initial cost estimates are more than double the $100,000 predicted by City staff.
The Plan Commission will meet on Tuesday, September 22 at 7:00 pm via Zoom. Two public hearings will take place at the beginning, one of which is for a GIP rezoning amendment for the Restoring Hope Transplant House at the corner of Terrace Avenue and Parmenter Street. The rezoning as well as the specific implementation plan to add on to the building are also decision-items on the agenda. The commission will also discuss the draft of the 2020 Comprehensive Plan.
The Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, September 23 at 6:00 pm via Zoom to continue presentations of City department budget requests for 2021.
The Conservancy Lands Committee might meet on Wednesday, September 23, but no agenda has been posted yet.
All access information for Zoom meetings are posted at City Hall and on the City's website: http://meetings.cityofmiddleton.us