The Board of Directors authorized a VIRTUAL meeting conducted in parts online at www.smaacmn.org.
Item Date
CONVENE 27 Nov 20
President’s Report Posted at the website 27 Nov 20
Interests Survey Member's Responses 11 Dec 20
Board Nominations
a. A form was posted 28 Nov 20
b. Nominees by Seats closed 1 March 21
To be elected: Seat 3, to 30 Nov 2023; Seats 5 and 8 to 30 Non 2022;
Seats 4 and 7 to 30 Nov 2021.
Board Elections Online balloting by 2021 SMAAC Members Only 10-17 March 21
Adjourned Two Directors Elected, to be seated later. 6 April 2021
Note: The new Board of Directors will convene to elect Officers and resume operations. The Members did not address how the Board
should proceed with respect to consider the number of Directors or which seats/terms were filled by this election. Consequently, the Board will
consider whether or not to consider 2 seats Vacant until the 2021 Annual Meeting or to fill 9 Seats with 3 Directors to be elected at the 2021
Annual Meeting. The By-Laws imply 3-year terms for 9 Directors to be elected at 3 Annual meetings unless otherwise decided at the meeting.
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The readers of the News Blog and other posts often have interests other than "airport noise. " In fact, the term was coined by the aviation industry lobby at the onset of jet airliners to very successfully dump all matter of overflight complaints into the lap of Airport Sponsors.
SMAAC Members have spent years grappling with airlines, developers, and local and State government over the MAC’s denial of responsibility for air and water pollution, public health and safety, and local air service,
Please help by volunteering to work on the survey as 202 Members.
The mismanaged pandemic, the divisive election, and peaceful protests interrupted by fearful violence after George Floyd’s death overshadowed most every SMAAC effort last year. There were fewer visits to our website; traditional Forums and Fund-raisers were postponed or canceled, and our plans to unite with climate-change activists in caucuses and campaigns were minimized.
In 2019, SMAAC joined cities and groups around major hub airports working with the new House Transportation Committee Democratic majority to revive the 2015 official EPA/FAA Finding that commercial aviation endangered public health and welfare by releasing GHG; more (CO2 equivalent) each year 2006 to 2014. Some studies to update the health risks near busy airports like MSP were funded in the 2019-2020 FAA reauthorization. The studies would quantify public health risks near airports before the pandemic and illuminate provisions being debated in health services and slowing climate-change policy bills.
There is a need, the current Board believes, for more Directors, Members, Volunteers, and Donors in 2021, because of significant changes in commercial aviation in the Twin City Metro, Minnesota, all over the nation and around the world. COVID-19 dropped MSP air travel more than after 9/11 (2001) and the recession (2008-09).
Governor Walz issued an Executive Order in 2019 directing all State Departments and Agencies to limit GHG releases. In January, SMAAC Board Members and State Legislators asked the Governor to meet with us to discuss the Executive Order and his MAC appointments in a SMAAC Forum. The meeting is still pending: Governor Walz is, reasonably, dealing with the pandemic. The Metropolitan Airports Commission has made sustainable energy changes on-site at MSP, which we support, but denies responsibility for airline operations that increase fuel consumption and GHG emissions.
Despite peak-hour air traffic uncertainties, unknown corona-virus vaccination schedules and foot-dragging over more government financial relief —factors hard to locate in MAC planning —airlines using MSP in 2019 are being offered fee reductions to restore service. That likely would mean PBN routes and higher runway rates leading to more GHG and noise per flight. –and in turn more unacknowledged public health and safety risks, just as in 2004 (after 9/11) and the recession (2008).
MAC Chair Rick King correctly argues that whether air travel recovers and grows slowly or rapidly, MSP Airport competes with other airports for scheduled flights. The airfield, terminal, parking and other facilities and buildings represent a public investment, and the enterprise must plan for balanced budgets. We question how much expanding services for connecting passengers has benefitted the Twin Cities’ and Minnesota economic growth compared to the facilities planned in 1998 and completed in 2003 when Runway 17-35 was certified and 160 operations per hour in NW flow was assumed safe – and air pollution was not yet considered a public health or global warming risk.
James. R. Spensley, President