Friday, August 16, 2002
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Friday, August 16, 2002 |
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Airport Authority OKs new 'license' for weather monitoring station ... with one change
By JOHN
MUNFORD
Plans to build new commercial hangars at Falcon Field are coming into conflict with federal officials who claim the structures might interfere with readings at a weather monitoring facility operated there by the National Weather Service. According to airport officials, federal representatives have threatened to "pull" the Automated Surface and Observing System from Falcon Field if the airport authority doesn't sign a "license" which could possibly be interpreted to forbid any buildings from being within 500 feet of the station. The problem: at least one of the sites at the new Hangar Area B will likely be within 100 feet of the ASOS monitoring station, said Airport Manager Jim Savage. It is believed the new hangars might interfere with wind readings at the ASOS station, but it is unlikely any other readings could be affected, Savage said. The ASOS station gauges wind direction, wind velocity, temperature, dew point, visibility and ceiling height, Savage said. "Obviously, we want the sensor here and we want good information from it," Savage said. The weather data from the sensor is often used by pilots coming to and departing from Falcon Field. The authority has already spent approximately $580,324 in federal and local funds to prepare the Hangar Area B site to lease to commercial proprietors at a higher price than it currently charges for its other hangar space. To recoup its money, and eventually turn a profit on the area, the authority is counting on financial returns from rent payments on the six sites at Hangar Area B. Authority Chairwoman Catherine Nelmes said she had no problem with the authority agreeing to relocating any sensors the new hangars might interfere with. Such a provision is included in the license the authority approved Wednesday night. But the authority voted to "cross out" the paragraph that might ban any structures from being built within 500 feet of the ASOS. "I don't have a problem with us moving it and us paying for it," Nelmes said. In other business, the authority also voted to replace its electronic gate system after it was damaged the evening of July 11. The gate system will be replaced with a hydraulic mechanism that will likely be more sturdy than the previous chain and sprocket system, which had to be repaired approximately every six months, Savage said. Although the police department investigated the incident and found parts of the vehicle that caused the damage, no suspects have been identified, Savage said.
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